Gen 31:1-55 We all know people who are of the ‘what you see is what you get’ type. They are often outspoken, sometimes thoughtless even offensive in the way they express their opinions, but at least there is no hidden…

Gen 30:25-43 A woman from a controlling religious group married someone in the same group and they moved to the husband’s country. As she awakened to her husband’s manipulation, she began to plan her escape. She used to put aside…

Gen 29:31-35; 30:1-24 A former colleague desperately wanted a family, so much so, that she divorced her husband when he categorically stated that he would not have children, ever. She married someone else, but ironically, her second husband turned out…

Gen 29:1-30 I recently read the survivor story of a woman who was sexually abused as a young child by a cousin, then later by another cousin. When she finally told her parents, they did not believe her. She ended…

Gen 28:10-22 When he was encouraged to confess his sins on his deathbed, Voltaire, the famous French philosopher, allegedly said, ‘God will forgive me, that’s his job’. Many today imagine God this way and are outraged by the idea that…

Gen 27:30-46; 28:1-10 My father always wanted to become a medical doctor, but he was barred from training by the Communist regime of the time. Every year for fifteen years, he completed the entrance exam and did well, but was…

Gen 27:1-29 The story of how Jacob stole Esau’s blessing is fraught with questions. The narrator gives no explicit evaluation, so it is hard to know what to make of it. Does God approve of such deception that Rebekah and…

Gen 26:1-33 Hearing the obituary of famous people can at times be intimidating. It seems that some manage to cram into their lives more achievements than most of us could in two-three lifetimes. They may have a long list of…

Gen 25:27-34 When I was a teenager, my Dad bought me a big Webster’s Dictionary. This was before the internet, so printed reference books were a real asset for looking up information. Additionally, at the time in Hungary, English-language books…

Gen 25:19-26 Most of us reading Genesis are familiar with the story of Sarah’s childlessness, but few may remember that Rebekah was barren, too, and we hear little of her painful journey. We are simply told that Isaac prayed, and…