Theme: The mystery of good and evil. In Genesis, Jacob tricks his brother and flees from his wrath. In Romans, Paul bemoans human moral weakness. The Gospel parable deals with the mystery of the weeds growing together with the wheat

COMMENTARY

Lesson 1: Genesis 28:10-19a (C)
Upon hearing of Esau's plan to kill Jacob after Isaac's death, Rebekah spirits Jacob back to her relatives in her native land. It is an unsettling time for Jacob, leaving home and a fugitive. Jacob stops for a night at Bethel and in his dream God reaffirms the covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac. In the dream, Jacob views a stairway to heaven, probably a ziggurat, with the angels of God ascending and descending. This establishes Bethel (house of God) as a sanctuary until the time of Josiah.

Lesson 1: Wisdom 12:…