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Jacob’s Silence We've pondered how the story began. Highly disturbing. We have Shechem, the son of Hamor, who abuses his exalted position to see, take, and rape one of the daughters of a migrant family that just came into the area and bought new property. So we took a long time, and rightfully so, to…

The Oppression of Dinah We are coming to the center of the third act of the Yaaqov story. It's not a happy story. It's highly disturbing, and it's gonna repeat patterns that we have seen at the center of the other two acts. Recall that in the first act, you had the story of the twins and deceptions as…

Introduction: A Statement That Reorients Everything Few sentences in Scripture are as concise and as demanding as Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21 : “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” This is not a poetic flourish or a slogan for difficult times. Paul is not writing from comfort or security.…

The Reunion of Jacob and Esau We have the sending of messengers to Esau. He's coming with 400 men. We have the wrestling with God, seeing him face to face. Yaaqov is now the wounded servant. But he has the blessing, he has the blessing of God. The blessing of God is a dangerous thing to one's own health.…

This morning we are taking a short break from our journey through the book of Philippians. As we move through the year, I like to pause and draw attention to the biblical calendar and the Jewish festivals that shaped the faith of God’s people. Even though we do not celebrate these feasts as Christians,…

God Wrestles With Jacob We are in the final act, the third and final act of Yaaqov's story, and we have reached the middle of this opening piece. The meeting with Esau happens on either side of this narrative right here. And the fact that they're all next to each other, it's a point of meditation that…

Introduction: What Is Worth Showing the World? Paul’s words in this passage are not theoretical. They are spoken from confinement, under real threat, with his future uncertain. He is not writing from comfort but from custody. Yet what rises to the surface is not fear, bitterness, or self-defense. It…

Jacob Builds an Ark We are at a crossroads moment in the story of Yaaqov. We just walked with him through a 20-year exile in Mesopotamia, halfway to Babylon, in the house of Lavan. Do you remember the first story of him leaving the land was having that dream and vision of Heaven and Earth united with…