May the mumbling commence!
Are daughters due a part of the inheritance from their
father? The custom of that time would
usually say, “No”. God says differently
then… and now.
The dreams and covenants
the Lord gives us is for both male and female.
The covenant was for Abraham and Sarah, for Isaac and Rebekah, for Jacob
and Leah. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
“Once, while the flocks were
mating, I had a dream and saw the billy goats, all of them streaked, speckled, and
mottled, mounting their mates. In the dream an angel of God called out
to me, ‘Jacob!’
I
said, ‘Yes?’
He said,
‘Watch closely.
Notice that all the goats in the flock that are mating are
streaked, speckled, and mottled. I know what Laban’s been
doing to you. I’m the God of Bethel
where you consecrated a pillar and made of vow to me. Now be on your
way, get out of this place, go home to your birthplace.’”
Rachel
and Leah said, “Has he treated us any better? Aren’t we treated worse than outsiders? All he wanted was the money he got from
selling us, and he’s spent that. Any
wealth that God has
seen fit to return to us from our father is justly ours and our children’s. Go ahead.
Do what God told you.”
Jacob did it. He put his children and his wives on camels and gathered all his livestock
and everything he had gotten, everything acquired
in Paddan Aram, to go back home to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
(Genesis 31:10-18)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
"In breeding season I
once had a dream
in which I looked up and
saw that the
male goats mating with the flock were streaked,
speckled or spotted. The angel
of God said to
me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here
I am.' And he
said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are
streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that
Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and
where you made a vow
to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native
land.'"
Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do
we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only
has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.
Surely all the wealth that God
took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you."
Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock
ahead of him, along with all the goods he had
accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 31:10-18)
There are numerous differences
between the NIV and Peterson’s work. Two
of those differences I see as being significant to the Spirit and heart of the
text. One of those cases, I lean heavily
toward the NIV. In the other, I lead
toward Peterson’s work.
I like that Peterson has brought
out the meaning of home. When Jacob
leaves Paddan Aram and goes to Canaan, he would be going home. That’s a little more than simply going to
your native land.
Home can be confusing. I’ve lived in several places for significant
amounts of time. I was born and raised
in Ohio. I’ve spent a majority of my
life there – about twenty-nine years of my forty-one. But I’ve also spent about four years of my
life in northern Indiana, where I went to seminary. I spent a couple of years in southwest
Georgia. And the last five years or so I’ve
lived in Kansas.
For Christmas, I went “home” to
Ohio. When it came time to leave, I also
went “home” to Kansas. Where is home for
me? That’s a complicated question. Home is where God has called me to be. Home has been several different places for
me. But home is always wherever God
calls me to be.
On the other significant
difference, I regret that Peterson has left out the inheritance theme that
Rachel and Leah spoke to Jacob about.
Normally daughters in that culture have no right to an inheritance from
their father. But their father had
cheated their husband Jacob. What they
had was rightfully theirs and their children’s.
But it goes much deeper than that.
God’s promise and covenant is not only for Jacob. It’s also for Leah and Rachel. They realize that and tell Jacob to do as God
has told him. They were choosing God and
listening to his summons to Canaan.
Will
we choose God and the inheritance that He has for us through Jesus? It’s an essential question for our eternal
life.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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