Genesis 35-37:24

Jacob seeks to honor God by building an altar at Bethel, because He is "the God who answered me in my hour of distress, and who has been with me wherever I have gone." Trying to understand this Old Testament God has been very difficult for me at times, to this point. But this acknowledgement by Jacob is a very comforting concept for me.  God reiterates His promise of the covenant, this time to Jacon (now called Israel) that he will makes his descendants numerous, and God repeats his exhortation to "be fruitful and multiply." After Rachel dies, Israel retains home to his father, Isaac. Isaac, too, passes away at a very old age.  The focus of the story now shifts to Israel's favorite son, Joseph. What is it with these Old Testament parents and their habit of playing favorites.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a parent and this notion of having a favorite is completely foreign to me. Anyway, Joseph's older brothers grow to resent him--not surprisingly. They plot to kill Joseph, but one of his brothers, Reuben, intervenes and convinces them to, instead, throw Joseph down into a dry well.