Genesis 35 – March 21 

This is when Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, ties up the loose ends of Jacob’s generation. This is the last chapter where Jacob will be the main focus. From this point forward, the spotlight will shift to Jacob’s children. Over this chapter and the next we will consider the ten epilogues – seven today and three tomorrow.

1. Laban’s Epilogue 

Just like the Israelites plundered the Egyptians in the Exodus, Jacob plundered Laban. But even though God took the Israelites out of Egypt, there was still Egypt in the Israelites. At their first opportunity when Moses was away, they created for themselves an idol, a golden calf, to worship in place of God. They gave all credit of their deliverance to this inanimate object that had been nothing more than jewelry the day before. So why do I call this Laban’s epilogue? Because Jacob had left Laban, but there was a part of Laban that was still in the camp of Jacob. He had the household gods of Laban with him to that day. But here we will see how the house of Jacob is finally purged of idols and purified before the Lord. Jacob is finally going to obey the command of the Lord. He is going to leave Shechem and return to the place where God had shown him the stairway to heaven. And Jacob knows that before he stands before God, he must remove all of the practices of idolatry from his household. So, he collects all of the idols and buries them. Do you have any idols? We must destroy them with equal fervor.

2. Canaan’s Epilogue

After the destruction of the Shechemites, Isaac had become a stench in the nostrils of the tribes of Canaan. But, now God is protecting Jacob and filling the tribes of Canaan with fear so that they would not even dare to approach. Fear is the last sentiment that we see in the hearts of the people of Canaan in the book of Genesis. We do not learn anything more about them until the 12 spies enter the land in Numbers 13.

3. Rebekah’s Epilogue

The title of this point might be surprising to you considering the fact that Rebekah is not mentioned, except in referencing her servant, Deborah, who died. But, I think that is the point. It is likely that Deborah is being highlighted as a way of underscoring the fact that the Bible will never focus on Rebekah because of her sin. She is always ignored. She is the only patriarch or patriarch’s wife that is never given a eulogy. 

4. Rachel’s Epilogue

Rachel was the love of Jacob’s life. She was so precious to him that he was willing to work 14 years for her. She was his delight and he would always love her the most. On his deathbed, Jacob does not mention Leah, only Rachel. Can you imagine the emotions in the tent of Jacob that day? He was so excited about the birth of another child from Rachel. He was overjoyed that it was a son! But, just as quickly as his life was filled with laughter and his spirits were lifted, they were dashed to bits as he realized his wife was dying. 

5. Baby Battle Epilogue

I think back to Rachel’s words as she called out to God in Genesis 30:1. “Give me children or I will die.” And when God gave her a second child, she died. The story of Rachel and Leah, perhaps more than any other in the Bible, gives us a clear warning against idolizing our children. We are to love them, care for them, and be thankful for them if God gives them. However, we are never to seek our satisfaction in our progeny. If we do, we will ultimately always be disappointed. They cannot satisfy our souls. Rachel surely loved this newborn. But the name she gave reveals that he was not able to give her the satisfaction her heart craved. She desired to name him, Ben-Oni, son of my sorrow. Jacob, who went through life being called a usurper, or thief, knows the power of a name and does not want his son to bear the weight of being called the son of sorrow, so he changes his name to Benjamin, son of my right hand. The right hand was a place of favor, so the very name Benjamin means, “My favorite son.” So, the baby battle that began in Genesis 29 has now become a war of attrition. Leah has become barren and Rachel has died giving birth. And we are given, for the very first time, the complete list of the twelve children who would become the tribes of Israel. 

6. The Blessing/Birthright Epilogue

Abraham had more than one son, but only one son of the promise. Isaac had two sons, but only one son who received the promise. Jacob has twelve sons and the question in the air is, who will receive the promise? On the one hand, when we get to Genesis 49, we will see that all of them are going to have a form of spiritual inheritance. However, the seed of promise that will result in the messianic rule cannot be passed down to more than one child. So, who would receive the blessing of the promised seed that had been foretold that would crush the head of the serpent? This is where Reuben makes a power play, attempting to show his dominance in the family. He had relations with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. He was declaring to everyone that Jacob, that limping old man, is not in charge any longer. We will see that this plays a major role in Genesis 49.

7. Isaac’s Epilogue

Jacob seemingly saw him before his death. What was that like? Can you imagine? Jacob lied to his father’s face 40 years earlier. Now, finally he has returned and we don’t even know if they were able to talk before Isaac died. Perhaps Jacob stayed away for fear of reprisal. Perhaps he attempted to reconcile, but Isaac was unwilling. Perhaps they did reconcile and felt much sorrow over the years of their separation. Regardless, I want to make a simple, obvious, practical point here. Reconciliation is not something to be put off. Don’t wait because you never know how much time you have. I will never forget a funeral I once attended where the son who died had been estranged from his mother. The mother was at the funeral and cast herself on the casket shrieking in sadness that she would never be able to restore the relationship with her son. Do not put it off, but honor God by living at peace with all men, as far as it depends on you.