Day 17 (Summary)

Genesis 34:1-35:29
The daughter of Jacob (Dinah) gets raped by a guy called Prince Shechem.

Not good.

Jacob tells his sons when they get home from work and their tempers blow...

But Prince Shechem comes to them (oh dear, they're probably angry enough to kill him) and what he asks is OUTRAGEOUS!  He asks to marry Dinah - the girl he's just raped!  The sons hide their anger and say sweetly: Of course you can!!! ... IF you circumcise yourself and all the men of your town.

Prince Shechem does this (OUCH) but then Simeon and Levi go to the town and kill everyone there (except their sister.)  They strip the town of all its valuable stuff and go back to their father with Dinah.  Jacob's not happy because he thinks that it will make other people in the area dislike him and gang up and attack him.

Then God comes and tells Jacob to go back to the altar that Jacob had built when he'd run away from Esau.  So Jacob does so and God appears again and says: You've already had one of my angels tell you, but I want to tell you again as you are still being called Jacob.  That is NOT your name anymore.  Your name is Israel.  I want everyone to call you Israel.  And God also says all the promises that he usually gives about many descendants and lots of land.

Rachel gets pregnant again, but she had trouble giving birth.  The baby came out and Rachel was told that it was another boy.   She was dying and knew it so she named her son "son of sorrow" (Ben-Oni) but Israel (who was once called Jacob) comes in and says, "Nope.  Not his name.  His name will be Benjamin."

Rachel dies.  Rachel is buried.  Israel keeps moving his tents around.  At one point Reuben (the eldest son) goes and sleeps with Bilhah, one of his father's wives.  The equivalent of his step mum!! :S :S :S

Eventually Israel comes back home to where his father lives.  Isaac lives until he is 180 and then dies.  Esau and Israel bury him.


Matthew 12:46-13:17
Jesus' family come to see him and someone tells him.  Jesus shocks them all and says: "Who are they really?  I'll tell you shall I?  I'm surrounded by my brothers and sisters because anyone who does what God wants is my brother or my sister.

Woah.  Harsh stuff for the people who were his actual brothers and sisters!  On the same day Jesus tells the parable of the guy who sows some seeds and depending on where it lay depends on how much it grew.  It all seems like nonsense to the disciples because they ask him: "Why on earth do you teach people with stories that we can't understand?"

Jesus basically says: "It's part of a prophecy that says people will hear but never understand.  Then it says that they'll see but will never perceive.  If people listened more and looked out for each other more and understood everything in their hearts then they would come and believe me and i would heal them.".


Psalm 10:1-11
God you stand way off
Bad guys shoot the weak, who are hurt and maimed by the evil man's plots
The bad man is greedy and thinks it is good to be greedy and he hate god and s pits at him.
the evil man is proud
his thoughts have no time for God
He seems to get rich and have ltos of money all the time!
He sneers at people who hate him and says
"you're not going to make me poor or get my position.  I'm unshakable!"
He also says "I'm always going to be happy and never have any troubles."
He curses and lies and gives threats
He kills people
He htinks that God does not ssee all the bad things he does.