Forgive me, my computer is acting like the weather; strange. For two days I have tried to post this entry and I keep getting shut out. Today started sunny with blue skies, and now there are very dark gray clouds accompanied with hail and snow. Hmmm.... My family has three birthday parties going on today regardless of the weather. :-)
Well, it was busy back in the day too. :-) Jacob was instructed by God to get his family gathered together and move to Bethel located in Canaan. Jacob rounded them up and advised them to cast out all false gods, remove earrings (thought to be connected with pagan worship), bathe and change into clean clothes. After this preparation they began their journey. Once their Jacob did as instructed and built an altar. God told Jacob to remember that God is the same God who saw him through his trepidation of reuniting with Esau. He is a faithful God.
Deborah, Rebekah's nurse passed away and was buried under an Oak tree.
God appeared to Jacob and blessed him reminding him that his (Jacob's) name now was Israel as he is the father of many nations and will be fruitful. Israel built a memorial here anointing it with oil.
Rachel, being pregnant, went into a stressful labor. She named her son Benoni (meaning affliction), as she breathed her last breath, but his father renamed him Benjamin meaning son of the right hand. She was buried on the road to Ephrath (Bethlehem) and Israel placed a stone there. He now has twelve sons.
Reuben, another of Israel's sons, laid down with his father's concubine, Bilhah. The Bible states Israel was deeply offended by this action.
Israel went to visit his father Isaac who was then 180 years old and his father passed away. Esau and Israel buried him near his kinsmen.
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