Genesis 34 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 34.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/34/1/s_34001

Meditate on this phrase from verse 5.

So Jacob kept silent.

Here is another chapter in God’s Word that reads like a novel, yet it is fact not fiction. These words are eternally preserved to teach you about God and life and how to do better than those who have gone before.

Many of the families in the Bible are what would be described today as dysfunctional. The root of the dysfunction was often fathers who were not present, not speaking up, and not leading their families in the way of holiness.

When Jacob heard his daughter, Dinah, was raped by Shechem, he did nothing about it; he kept silent. His silence gave Hamor, Shechem’s father, time to try to convince Jacob and his sons that their family should intermarry with his idolatrous family, settle down, buy land, and live happily ever after.

Observe this chapter carefully. Jacob did not say a word until the end of the chapter! His sons did all the talking! They deceived Hamor and Shechem, convincing them they would let the marriages begin after all the men in Shechem were circumcised. The men of Shechem agreed to the plan. After every male in the city was in pain from their circumcisions, Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, killed them all. They and their other brothers then took the women and children and pillaged their homes.

Jacob finally, selfishly spoke out, saying: “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household” (Genesis 34:30).

Jacob’s sons replied that their sister should not have been treated as a harlot! Since their dad refused to do anything, they handled the situation their way.

Husbands and fathers, this chapter is for you. Protect your family! Do not hesitate to speak up on their behalf. Do not hesitate to tell your children, no matter how old they are, that they cannot go visit the “pagans” of the land (Genesis 34:1). Your children do not need to attend godless parties, watch godless movies, and play godless games. You are the head of your home. Speak up!

As a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), use Genesis 34:5 as a reminder to pray for the men in your life to not be silent and to lead their families in Godliness.

“LORD, make ________ not keep silent about You.

Help him lead and protect his family!


In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 33 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 33.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/33/1/s_33001

Meditate on verse 20.

Then he erected there an altar

 and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

Wrestling with God changed Jacob; so much so, God changed his name to Israel. And even though he walked with a limp, he was no longer crippled by fear of man because like his grandfather, Abraham, now he feared God (Genesis 22:12).

Jacob divided his family into 3 companies in Genesis 33, and rather than using them as human shields, he walked in front of them and led his family to meet Esau. Miraculously the reunion was joyous, and after Jacob and Esau met, they went their separate ways without animosity between them.

Jacob traveled on to Canaan, to the city of Shechem. The last time Shechem had been mentioned in the Bible was when Abraham first arrived to the land of Canaan nearly 200 years earlier (Genesis 12:6- 7). When he came to Shechem, God appeared to Abraham and promised him and his descendants the land. Abraham built an altar there to the LORD. It was the first altar Abraham built in the land promised to him by God.

Shechem was also the first city where Jacob stopped after returning to the land that would someday bear his new name, Israel. In Shechem, like his grandfather Abraham had done, Jacob built an altar to God and named it El-Elohe-Israel; God, the God of Israel.

Jacob, now named Israel, acknowledged that God was his God, not just the God of his ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. God was personally his God. God had sojourned with him and wrestled with him. He had blessed him and been with him in the midst of joys and fears. He was God, the God of Israel!

What about you? Is there a time and a place where you have spiritually built an altar, a place of sacrifice, where you died to yourself and acknowledged that God is your God? If not, let today be your Shechem. If you already have, thank God for the privilege of living with Him.

Pray Genesis 33:20 over yourself and your family for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, You are El-Elohe- __________.

You are God, the God of ___________,

 the God of me and my family.

Because of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 32 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 32.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/32/1/s_32001

Meditate on verse 7a.

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

God freed Jacob from Laban, and almost immediately forced him to face an old enemy, his brother Esau. Jacob had sent messengers to let Esau know he was coming home. The messengers returned telling Jacob his brother was coming to meet him with 400 men! Jacob assumed this welcoming party did not have good intentions (recall Jacob had tricked Esau out of a birthright and a blessing), and he quickly went into panic mode. He divided his family, the women and children, into two companies and surrounded himself with them, as if they were an army. He selected 580 of his animals, his blessings from God, to be given to Esau as a peace offering before having to face him. After his acts of desperation, Jacob put in a cry to God to deliver him.

Thankfully, in the midst of acts of faithlessness, God in His faithfulness will hear a cry for His help.

As the presents were being delivered and his wives and children were sent ahead to face the enemy, Jacob was left alone to face God. It wasn’t a pleasant encounter because God wrestled with Jacob all night. But even wrestling matches with God are meant for good, so you can be thankful when they come. The match ended with God blessing Jacob and giving him a new name, Israel. He indeed would be the father of God’s great nation as promised to his grandfather, Abraham (Genesis 12:2). The wrestling match also ended with Jacob being humbled by God; he walked the rest of his life with the limp God inflicted. That limp would always remind Jacob to fear God and not man.

Examine your life. What or who are you afraid of? What or who are you sacrificing to protect yourself? Are you giving away blessings from God because you are responding in fear to a situation?

STOP! Take a deep breath and pray Genesis 32:10-12 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, _________ and I are unworthy of
all the lovingkindness

 and of all the faithfulness which You have shown us.


Deliver us, I pray, from the hand of ____________,


for we fear them, that they will come out and attack us.

Help us to trust You and Your promises, LORD.


In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 31 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 31.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/31/1/s_31001

Meditate on verse 7b.

God did not allow him to hurt me.

Jacob worked a total of 20 years for his uncle, Laban. For his service, Jacob received two wives and flocks and herds of animals. God prospered and protected Jacob during this time despite the fact Laban often tricked and deceived him. After 20 years of living with Laban, the LORD told Jacob it was time to return home (Genesis 31:3).

Jacob relayed the message from God to return to Canaan to his wives, Leah and Rachel. They submissively responded to their upcoming move to another country by saying, “Do whatever God has said to you” (Genesis 31:16).

Husbands, do you seek God’s favor and blessings for your family? Is the LORD your God?

Wives, how do you respond when your husband tells you God has given him direction for your family? Do you rebel against the direction God is leading or do you reply, “Let’s do whatever God has told you”?

Pray Genesis 31:7 and 16 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, do not allow the enemy to harm _________ and me.

As You tell us what to do, help us to do whatever You say, God.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 30 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 30.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/30/1/s_30001

Meditate on verse 22.

Then God remembered Rachel,

and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.

If anyone tells you the Bible is boring, they have not read Genesis 30! It starts with two jealous sisters competing to have the most children by the same man. They even gave their maids to their shared husband in hopes of getting more children. (The writers of daytime television could only hope to have this kind of imagination!)

The chapter also described Jacob’s method of livestock management. God blessed Jacob’s selective breeding of his flocks and herds and made him exceedingly prosperous. God’s favor on Jacob even brought blessings to Jacob’s uncle who also happened to be his father-in-law.

Incredibly, the stories you are reading in God’s Word are not the figment of someone’s imagination. They are historical accounts of real people with real relationships with each other and with the real God of the universe. God recorded these events to give you hope as you walk with Him.

As you live with the LORD, take encouragement from Genesis 30:22: “Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her.”

In the midst of your family circumstances, ask God to remember you and pay attention to you. Pray Genesis 30:22 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, remember _________ and me.

 God, give heed to us
and open up _________ for us.


In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 29 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 29.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/29/1/s_29001

Meditate on this phrase from verse 32.

The LORD has seen my affliction.

Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, sent him to stay with her brother for a few days until Esau’s anger over the loss of blessing subsided. Before Jacob left home, his father, Isaac, tasked him to find a wife from among his cousins (Genesis 27:43-45; 28:1-2).

Days turned into years because Uncle Laban said Jacob could marry one of his daughters after he worked seven years for her. Jacob agreed and worked to marry Laban’s beautiful younger daughter, Rachel. On the honeymoon night, Laban substituted his older, not so pretty daughter, Leah. It must have been a lively wedding celebration because Jacob was unaware he had spent the night with Leah instead of Rachel until the next morning. When questioned by Jacob, Laban replied that it wasn’t the custom for the youngest to marry first, and Jacob could work an additional seven years and be married to both Leah and Rachel. Jacob agreed.

Notice Leah in Genesis 29:31-35. She was unloved by Jacob. She knew it, and most importantly, God knew it. He saw her affliction, opened her womb, and let her have four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Judah is the tribe from whom Christ would come. God let unloved Leah be the great, great, great ... grandmother of the Messiah. You will read tomorrow in Genesis 30 that Leah had two additional sons, Issachar and Zebulun and a daughter, Dinah. God gave unloved, unwanted Leah seven children because God loved her; He wanted her to be the mother of half of the tribes of Israel and the one from whom His Son would come.

No matter your circumstances, pain, or affliction, God sees you; He hears what is happening, and He notices you. Cry out to Him, and watch for what He is doing in your life.

Pray Genesis 29:31-33 and 35 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, You see what is happening to _______ and me.

You see our affliction; You have heard about it.

Because You know, I will praise You.


For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall - Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Genesis 28 - Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 28.

www.blueletterbible.org/ministries.cfm

Meditate on verse 12.

He had a dream, and behold,

a ladder was set on the Earth with its top reaching to Heaven;

 and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

In Genesis 11, the people tried to build a tower to reach into heaven. In Genesis 28, Jacob dreamed about a ladder coming down from heaven to earth. The LORD stood above the ladder; angels ascended and descended on it. God spoke to Jacob and blessed him.

God came down to man. There is no amount of human effort that can reach God. God reaches down to man. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; He walked with Enoch; He walked with Noah; He walked with Abraham. God walks and talks with those who have a relationship with Him.

Every other world religion is man’s attempt to reach God, vain efforts to accomplish what only Christ could do. Jesus Himself said in John 1:51, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus is the ladder in Jacob’s dream! He is the only way to God, the only way to heaven. He came to earth 2,000 years ago, so you can get to God! Praise Him today for being your Way, your Truth, and your Life (John 14:6).

Pray Genesis 28:13 and 15 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“You are the LORD, the God of my family!


Be with _________ and me and keep us wherever we go.

 In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell