Jacob one of the patriarchs  (Abraham and Isaac)

  1. Jacob was a deceiver
    1. Stole birthright from brother
    2. Lied to Father
    3. Ran for his life to his uncle Laban
      1. Wanted to marry Rachel, but was deceived and Leah was wife
      2. Deceived by Laban 10 times
    4. Wrestles with God and his character is changed
    5. Esau is there to meet Him and he is reconciled with him
    6. Set to fulfill his destiny and become the blessing to the nations that God prophesied would happen. (genesis 12: 3)
    7. Builds an altar to God and calls upon God.
    8. Story in the middle of this in Chapter 34

2. Dinah goes out.

  1. She is raped by Shechem
  2. Shechem  loves her and wants to marry her
  3. Jacob and brothers  meet with Shechem and they tell him that if all the men circumcise themselves they will intermarry
  4. three days later when all the men where sore, they were attacked and killed by Simeon and Levi
  5. Jacob confronts them and states that now we are in danger from all the other nations around us.

3.Importance of the past.

Jacob is going to a new area of blessing with his relationship with God as he is going to reveal a whole new name to Him.  Deal with past to enable Him to move into this revelation.

Vs 1 Dinah the daughter of Leah the unloved one.

Vs 5 When Jacob heard this, he did not say a thing.

Vs 7 They Simeon and Levi where shocked and furious.

Vs 8 Hamor, the father of Shechem, meets with Jacob and brothers.  Putting the brothers on the same level as the father.

Vs 13 Jacobs sons responded deceitfully to Hamor.  WHERE DID THEY LEARN TO DO THAT?

Vs 30 I will be ruined and my entire household will be wiped out.  STILL NO CONCERN FOR DAUGHTER.

Vs 31 Our sister , NOT YOUR DAUGHTER,  is not a prostitute.

the whole chapter is a reminder of the consequences of the past that  Jacob is dealing with.

  1. His living a life of deceiving Esau, Isaac, and Laban is coming to roost.
  2. his not loving his children and wife is having horrible consequences.

4. Generational curses.

Exodus 20: 5 Lay the sins of the parents upon their children the entire family is effected.  Even children in the third and fourth generation of those who reject me.

Exodus 34: 7 …I do not excuse the sins of the parents but lay it upon their children and grandchildren.

Numbers 14: 18 He lays the sins of the parents upon their children the entire family is affected even to the third and fourth generations.

Deuteronomy 5: 9 Lay the sins of the parents upon their children the entire family is effected.  Even children in the third and fourth generation of those who reject me.

Fair for God to punish children for the mistakes of parents?  There is more to it than that.  If there are ungodly habits in the household, then there is a great chance that the children are going to pick up those habits.

  1. We carry a baggage because of the households we grow up in
  2. We carry a baggage because of being unloved.
  3. Shrug our shoulders and say Oh well, and excuse who we are because of what has been passed down to us from the generations that have been in front of us.

5. A couple of thoughts

  1. If we are going to move into a new revelation of God we are going to have to deal with the past.
  2. Not easy steps to do this but the knowledge that we need to do something.
  3. Curses are for those who reject Christ. Exodus 20: 5 Those who serve Christ have a blessing for a thousand Generations. EXAMPLE someone served God in the year 600 there is a blessing on your life today.
    1. No longer will children be punished for sins of the father. Ezekiel 18: 20
  4. Worried about a generational curse?  Remember in Christ you are a new Creation the old is gone all things are new.  Past cannot follow us.
  5. We need to renew our minds to see who we are in Christ Romans 12: 1, 2
  6. Jacob repented and cast out the idols in the household after this danger came to them.  Jacob buried by Leah not Rachel (Genesis 49: 29 – 31)

Parable of the Stump.Our lives are not defined by what we don’t have, our lives are defined the roots that grow out of the stumps in our lives.