Hey there, friends!

Congrats on completing Week 2!

You all didn’t have as many questions, but there is one that I wanted to highlight. This one comes from Kelly!

“I have a couple of questions about Jacob & Esau. Why could Isaac only give one blessing? Also, after Isaac found out he had been tricked, why did he bless Jacob again before sending him off to Laban’s house? It seems like Jacob is being rewarded for being deceitful. What am I missing here?”

These are great questions. The scripture that Kelly is referencing comes from Genesis 27. It is true that Jacob gets an incredible blessing! Nations will serve him, he will live in a land of abundance. Jacob has it made! He gets the best blessing. However, it is not actually the only one. Isaac does bless Esau as well, it just isn’t nearly as fantastic as Jacob’s blessing. In verses 39-40, we hear Esau’s blessing. The conclusion is really important for us to understand. The CSB reads “But when you rebel, you will break his yoke from your neck.”

This is exactly what we are going to see later in Genesis. When Jacob and Esau meet again, Esau has done really well for himself and has forgiven Jacob for the deceitfulness. The blessing comes true, but it takes a lot of time and heartache in order to move past it.

As far as the second blessing for Jacob goes, it is best to think of that as a customary blessing that Isaac gives. It doesn’t provide any prophetic power like the first blessing in question does. And, as you will see, Laban definitely makes Jacob pay for his deceitful ways. Laban becomes the deceiver in the following chapters.

It does seem like Jacob is being rewarded for being deceitful. But I think this just goes to show the theme of the book that we will read later on. Jacob’s son Joseph will tell us “you meant this thing for evil, but God meant it for good.” Genesis is showing us that even in the middle of sin and brokenness God is using it to bring about his purposes. That’s something that we can hold on to even as we are confronted with our own sin and deceitfulness.

Thank you, God, that you use my evil for your good purposes!!

GREAT question, Kelly!

Big Announcement: We’re Moving!

I wanted to give you an update on this newsletter. You guys have signed up for my first ever newsletter. I’ve never done this before, so I’m learning a lot as I go. What I’ve learned so far is that the particular platform that I’m using isn’t the best for our purposes.

I’ve started to move my content over to a platform called Substack. This is going to make it easier for me to send out these newsletters as well as add more posts to help you read and study the Bible.

If you’re receiving this, you don’t have to do anything to switch over. I am taking you with me when I go!

But this does mean a few things are changing.

First of all, we won’t have a referral program for now. So I won’t be able to give you your own link to share. You will have to use the standard link that everyone gets. I’m working on that, but I haven’t found the solution yet. I’ll keep you updated as I learn more.

With this, I’ve decided that I want to make some changes to the newsletter. The biggest change is that I’m giving the newsletter a name! When we change over to substack, you will receive emails from the Simplified Bible Newsletter.

Why the name change? Because it shares the mission I’m trying to accomplish with this newsletter. The Bible can be confusing and hard to understand. I have made my life goal and my passion in ministry simplifying the Bible so that everyone can read and understand it. The Simplified Bible Newsletter is one of the ways that I’m looking to do this.

If you want to help me get the word out, you can copy and send out this link: https://simplifiedbible.substack.com/?r=1w00kf&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web

It will take you to the new page!

When will the change take place?

Immediately! You will receive your week three email from the new platform. If you have any issues at all, you can contact me on social media, or send me a personal email at [email protected]

Thank you guys for coming with me!

-Woody