198) It's been a while... Picking back up on this thread.
If Twitter spams your timeline with any long-ass thread I write, just mute the conversation.
(Apparently, my threads are long... Who knew?)
Lastly, I can't in good conscious stay w/ the non-biblical angle on this.
199) "good conscience," not conscious... Geesh... Off to a bang-up start...
Anyway, here we go...
200) Why are we focusing on Esau/Jacob? Because—I believe—the family feud is going on to this very day. It may even be the missing piece.
The Bible tells me so.
But it's the (non-canonical) Sefer ha Yashar (Book of Jasher) where we'll find MANY details...
Lots of bad blood.
201) After Jacob secured the birthright—first by buying it, and secondly with Isaac's blessing—he feared Esau's wrath, and fled to Harran, where Abraham dwelt before entering the promised land. Uncle Laban and his family were still there (Leah & Rachel), w/ Jacob's future wives.
202) Many years later, upon Jacob's return to the promised land, We have a number of significant happenings that are of great importance...
Stay with me. I promise this all ties together.
203) I missed a VERY important part of the story...
Before Jacob left for Harran, he saw the Stairway to Heaven—AKA Jacob's Ladder.
"...and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep."
—Genesis 28:11
Jacob's Pillow
204) "And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;"
205) "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south."
—Genesis 28:13-14
206) "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it."
—Genesis 28:18
207) Some of you already know the significance of this stone. Does it play a role in modern times? Absolutely.
I'll circle back to Jacob's Pillow later in this story. It's really quite amazing how important it is...
Back to the story... Let's recap.
208)
- Isaac and Rebekah command Jacob NOT to marry Canaanite wives.
- They send him to Uncle Laban to find kinfolk
- In Bethel, he falls asleep on his stone pillow
- Jacob see angels going up and down the stairway
- God speaks to him
209)
- God tells Jacob that his seed will be as the dust of the earth, just as he promised Abraham.
- Jacob is amazed and anoints the stone
- Jacob then moves to Harran
All of this is critical...
210) Ok... Fast forward 20 years.
Jacob returns to the promised land with all his substance, his wives, and his children.
However, before the meeting with Esau, another thing happened.
Jacob wrestles w/ an Angel and becomes Israel.
211) "And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."
—Genesis 32:27
212) The very next morning, Esau came with 400 of his men, and Jacob feared... Did they do battle? Nope.
They embraced each other and wept.
213) "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept."
—Genesis 33:4
214) So what's the problem... They reconciled. Jacob moves to Shechem and Esau settled near Mount Seir (Edom), just South of the Dead Sea—Modern day Petra.
(I made a map for perspective... Below)
Why all the bad blood?
The details of which are found in the Book of Jasher.
215) Since we already thoroughly discussed Jacob's sons, and what was to befall them in the future, let's pick back up to Jacob's last days, after his blessings.
What did he make Joseph promise him? What was soooo important to Jacob?
He wanted to be buried in the promised land.
216) "Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite..."
—Genesis 49:29
217) And THIS is where the problems start... But the details are not in the Bible. They're in chapter 56 of The Book of Jasher.
sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher…
218) "And Pharaoh sent Joseph, saying, Go up and bury thy father as he said, and as he made thee swear; and Joseph rose up with all his brethren to go to the land of Canaan to bury their father Jacob as he had commanded them."
—Jasher 56:32
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