Who do we say that Jesus is? Are we willing to take up our cross, and follow Him, or are we chasing things of the world and losing our souls? Are we ashamed of Jesus? Let’s discuss this in Mark 8.
Did a great crowd have anything to eat after three days with Jesus? Was Jesus concerned about their welfare?
In those days, when there was a very great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come a long way.” (Mark 8:1-3 WEB)
Were the disciples only looking at a physical solution? Again, did Jesus have a divine solution?
His disciples responded, “How can anyone get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy these people?” Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They said, “Seven loaves.” He told the crowd to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them apart, and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they gave the bread to the crowd. (Mark 8:4-6 CEB)
Similar to feeding the 5000, what did Jesus do? What did Jesus do after that?
They also had a few little fish, and after Jesus had blessed these, he told the disciples to pass them around. The crowd of about 4,000 people ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets. As soon as Jesus had sent the people away, he got into the boat with the disciples and crossed to the territory near Dalmanutha. (Mark 8:7-10 CEV)
Did the Pharisees begin to argue with Jesus? Would God give a sign to such a generation of unbelievers?
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. (Mark 8:11-13 ESV)
Did the disciples completely miss Jesus’ intended meaning because they were only thinking materially? Do we?
They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. (Mark 8:14-16 HCSB)
Did Jesus ask if the disciples' hearts were hardened? Do we also sometimes miss Jesus’ purposes because of hard hearts?
Knowing this, Jesus asked them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand or perceive yet? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, but fail to see? Do you have ears, but fail to hear? Don’t you remember? (Mark 8:17-18 ISV)
What did Jesus remind them of? What should the two events have helped them understand? Do we also need to be taught the same lesson over again, because of our hard hearts?
When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? (Mark 8:19-21 KJV)
What did Jesus do with a blind man? Did He anoint him with olive oil or spit on his eyes and lay hands on him?
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and pleaded with Him to touch him. And taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He was asking him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and was saying, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22-26 LSB)
Is a description of an event in the Bible always a prescription for us to follow? Is there an instruction anywhere else that is normative for the church? Let’s look at James?
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14 NKJV)
Who did people say Jesus was? Who did his disciples say He was?
Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” And He warned them to tell no one about Him. (Mark 8:27-30 NASB)
How did Peter react to the news that Jesus would suffer, be killed and rise again? Do we also avoid suffering, not believing that it is sometimes God’s will?
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Mark 8:31-33 NIV)
Must we be willing to deny ourselves by taking up our own cross? Are we willing to accept the will of God, however painful?
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mark 8:34 NKJV)
What happens when we try to hang on to our lives? What happens if we are willing to give up our lives for Christ’s sake and for the Gospel?
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. (Mark 8:35 NLT)
Do those who chase worldly possessions do so at risk of losing their own souls or lives?
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what will a man give in exchange for his life? (Mark 8:36-37 WEB)
Are we ashamed of Christ and His teachings? What danger does that put us in?
Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One [Son of Man] will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38 CEB)
Who do we say that Jesus is? Are we willing to take up our cross, and follow Him, or are we chasing things of the world and losing our souls? Are we ashamed of Jesus? You decide!
Wrestling with God (Genesis 32)
Jacob’s name meant a heel catcher, someone who gets ahead by slowing someone else down. God had prophesied to Rebekah that the older would serve the younger, but Jacob took the inheritance and the blessing by tricking his brother. Was his suffering under a wage-cheating father-in-law a good lesson for him regarding this character flaw? Was his journey from Jacob the supplanter to Israel the persistent ruler with God a saga of spiritual growth? Is his tenacity a lesson for all of us? Do we wrestle with God in prayer? Let’s look at Genesis 32.
Did angels meet Jacob on the way? Have angels ever met us unawares?
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. (Genesis 32:1-2 NIV)
What message did Jacob send to Esau? Did he seek peace with his brother?
Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’” (Genesis 32:3-5 NLT)
What did Jacob plan? Was he afraid that his brother planned evil?
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, along with the flocks, the herds, and the camels, into two companies. He said, “If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape.” (Genesis 32:6-8 WEB)
What was Jacob’s prayer? Was this a test of his faith in God’s word?
Jacob said, “Lord, God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I’ll make sure things go well for you,’ I don’t deserve how loyal and truthful you’ve been to your servant. I went away across the Jordan with just my staff, but now I’ve become two camps. Save me from my brother Esau! I’m afraid he will come and kill me, the mothers, and their children. You were the one who told me, ‘I will make sure things go well for you, and I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, so many you won’t be able to count them.’” (Genesis 32:9-12 CEB)
What gifts for Esau did Jacob prepare? What plans do we make when we don’t fully trust God’s word?
After Jacob had spent the night there, he chose some animals as gifts for Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 males. Jacob put servants in charge of each herd and told them, “Go ahead of me and keep a space between each herd.” Then he said to the servant in charge of the first herd, “When Esau meets you, he will ask whose servant you are. He will want to know where you are going and who owns those animals in front of you. So tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, who is coming this way. He is sending them as a gift to his master Esau.’ ” (Genesis 32:13-18 CEV)
What further preparations did he make? Do we try to bribe people too rather than simply trust God’s word?
He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.” So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions. (Genesis 32:19-23 HCSB)
Why was Jacob’s name changed to Israel? Should we wrestle with the same tenacity in prayer?
And so Jacob was left alone, and he struggled with a man until daybreak. When the man realized that he hadn’t yet won the struggle, he injured the socket of Jacob’s thigh, dislocating it as he wrestled with him, and said, “Let me go, because the dawn has come.” “I won’t let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” Then the man asked him, “What’s your name?” “Jacob,” he responded “Your name won’t be Jacob anymore,” the man replied, “but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you’ve emerged victorious.” (Genesis 32:24-28 ISV)
Who was the angel in reality? If we can’t see God, who then was this? Was it the preincarnate Christ?
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. (Genesis 32:29-32 KJV)
Jacob’s name meant a heel catcher, someone who gets ahead by slowing someone else down. God had prophesied to Rebekah that the older would serve the younger, but Jacob took the inheritance and the blessing by tricking his brother. Was his suffering under a wage-cheating father-in-law a good lesson for him regarding this character flaw? Was his journey from Jacob the supplanter to Israel the persistent ruler with God a saga of spiritual growth? Is his tenacity a lesson for all of us? Do we wrestle with God in prayer? You decide!
Did angels meet Jacob on the way? Have angels ever met us unawares?
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. (Genesis 32:1-2 NIV)
What message did Jacob send to Esau? Did he seek peace with his brother?
Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’” (Genesis 32:3-5 NLT)
What did Jacob plan? Was he afraid that his brother planned evil?
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, along with the flocks, the herds, and the camels, into two companies. He said, “If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape.” (Genesis 32:6-8 WEB)
What was Jacob’s prayer? Was this a test of his faith in God’s word?
Jacob said, “Lord, God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I’ll make sure things go well for you,’ I don’t deserve how loyal and truthful you’ve been to your servant. I went away across the Jordan with just my staff, but now I’ve become two camps. Save me from my brother Esau! I’m afraid he will come and kill me, the mothers, and their children. You were the one who told me, ‘I will make sure things go well for you, and I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, so many you won’t be able to count them.’” (Genesis 32:9-12 CEB)
What gifts for Esau did Jacob prepare? What plans do we make when we don’t fully trust God’s word?
After Jacob had spent the night there, he chose some animals as gifts for Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 males. Jacob put servants in charge of each herd and told them, “Go ahead of me and keep a space between each herd.” Then he said to the servant in charge of the first herd, “When Esau meets you, he will ask whose servant you are. He will want to know where you are going and who owns those animals in front of you. So tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, who is coming this way. He is sending them as a gift to his master Esau.’ ” (Genesis 32:13-18 CEV)
What further preparations did he make? Do we try to bribe people too rather than simply trust God’s word?
He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.” So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions. (Genesis 32:19-23 HCSB)
Why was Jacob’s name changed to Israel? Should we wrestle with the same tenacity in prayer?
And so Jacob was left alone, and he struggled with a man until daybreak. When the man realized that he hadn’t yet won the struggle, he injured the socket of Jacob’s thigh, dislocating it as he wrestled with him, and said, “Let me go, because the dawn has come.” “I won’t let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” Then the man asked him, “What’s your name?” “Jacob,” he responded “Your name won’t be Jacob anymore,” the man replied, “but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you’ve emerged victorious.” (Genesis 32:24-28 ISV)
Who was the angel in reality? If we can’t see God, who then was this? Was it the preincarnate Christ?
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. (Genesis 32:29-32 KJV)
Jacob’s name meant a heel catcher, someone who gets ahead by slowing someone else down. God had prophesied to Rebekah that the older would serve the younger, but Jacob took the inheritance and the blessing by tricking his brother. Was his suffering under a wage-cheating father-in-law a good lesson for him regarding this character flaw? Was his journey from Jacob the supplanter to Israel the persistent ruler with God a saga of spiritual growth? Is his tenacity a lesson for all of us? Do we wrestle with God in prayer? You decide!
Escaping a Cheat (Genesis 31)
Injustices are many in this world, yet if we try to find justice in our own power, we may make matters even worse. Is it best to wait on the Lord? Let’s look at Genesis 31.
Did Laban’s attitude towards Jacob worsen? Did God protect Jacob? What did Jacob say to Rachel and Leah?
Now Jacob used to listen while Laban’s sons kept on complaining, “Jacob has taken over everything our father owns! He made himself wealthy from what belongs to our father!” Jacob also noticed that the way Laban had been looking at him wasn’t as nice as it had been just two days earlier. Then the Lord ordered Jacob, “Go back to your father’s territory and to your relatives. I’ll be with you.” Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to the field where his flock was and informed them, “I’ve noticed that the way your father has been looking at us hasn’t been as nice as it was just two days ago. But my father’s God has been with me. You know I’ve been serving your father with all my heart. Even so, your father has cheated me. He broke our wage agreement ten times. However, God didn’t allow him to harm me. (Genesis 31:1-7 ISV)
To whom did Jacob give credit for his blessings? To whom do we give credit?
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. (Genesis 31:8-9 KJV)
What did Jacob dream about? Did God bring him justice from his father-in-law’s swindling?
And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream—and behold—the male goats that were mating were striped, speckled, or mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are mating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” (Genesis 31:10-13 NASB)
What did Rachel and Leah say to Jacob? Were they fed up with their father’s mistreatment?
Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” (Genesis 31:14-16 NIV)
Did they finally leave, without telling Laban about their departure?
Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. (Genesis 31:17-21 NKJV)
What did Laban do when he found out? How did God warn him in a dream?
Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” (Genesis 31:22-24 NLT)
What happened a week later? Was he worried about the family idols?
Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain, and Laban with his relatives encamped in the mountain of Gilead. Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp; and didn’t allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now have you done foolishly. It is in the power of my hand to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t speak to Jacob either good or bad.’ Now, you want to be gone, because you greatly longed for your father’s house, but why have you stolen my gods?” (Genesis 31:25-30 WEB)
Did Rachel lie to her father? What happened next?
Jacob responded to Laban, “I was afraid and convinced myself that you would take your daughters away from me. Whomever you find with your divine images won’t live. Identify whatever I have that is yours, in front of your brothers, and take it.” Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen them. Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and her two servants’ tent and didn’t find them. So he left Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s. Now Rachel had taken the divine images and put them into the camel’s saddlebag and sat on them. Laban felt around in the whole tent but couldn’t find them. Rachel said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry with me because I can’t get up for you; I’m having my period.” He searched but couldn’t find the divine images. (Genesis 31:31-35 CEB)
Did Jacob finally confront his double-dealing, swindling father-in-law?
What have I done wrong? Have I committed some crime? Is that why you hunted me down? After searching through everything I have, did you find anything of yours? If so, put it here, where your relatives and mine can see it. Then we can decide what to do. (Genesis 31:36-37 CEV)
What did Jacob accuse Laban of? Was he a selfish father-in-law?
These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.” (Genesis 31:38-42 ESV)
What was Laban’s answer? Did he come to an agreement?
Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.” (Genesis 31:43-44 HCSB)
What did Jacob do? Did he condescend to an agreement between the two?
So Jacob took a stone and raised it as a pillar. Then Jacob told his relatives, “Go gather some stones.” So they picked up stones and stacked them one on top of the other. Then they had a meal together there by the stack of stones. Laban named the place Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed. (Genesis 31:45-47 ISV)
What was their covenant? Was it not to do each other harm?
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee: This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. (Genesis 31:48-53 KJV)
Did they eat a communal meal? Did Laban finally depart?
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. Then early in the morning Laban got up, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place. (Genesis 31:54-55 NASB)
Injustices are many in this world, yet if we try to find justice in our own power, we may make matters even worse. Is it best to wait on the Lord? You decide!
Did Laban’s attitude towards Jacob worsen? Did God protect Jacob? What did Jacob say to Rachel and Leah?
Now Jacob used to listen while Laban’s sons kept on complaining, “Jacob has taken over everything our father owns! He made himself wealthy from what belongs to our father!” Jacob also noticed that the way Laban had been looking at him wasn’t as nice as it had been just two days earlier. Then the Lord ordered Jacob, “Go back to your father’s territory and to your relatives. I’ll be with you.” Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to the field where his flock was and informed them, “I’ve noticed that the way your father has been looking at us hasn’t been as nice as it was just two days ago. But my father’s God has been with me. You know I’ve been serving your father with all my heart. Even so, your father has cheated me. He broke our wage agreement ten times. However, God didn’t allow him to harm me. (Genesis 31:1-7 ISV)
To whom did Jacob give credit for his blessings? To whom do we give credit?
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. (Genesis 31:8-9 KJV)
What did Jacob dream about? Did God bring him justice from his father-in-law’s swindling?
And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream—and behold—the male goats that were mating were striped, speckled, or mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are mating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” (Genesis 31:10-13 NASB)
What did Rachel and Leah say to Jacob? Were they fed up with their father’s mistreatment?
Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” (Genesis 31:14-16 NIV)
Did they finally leave, without telling Laban about their departure?
Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. (Genesis 31:17-21 NKJV)
What did Laban do when he found out? How did God warn him in a dream?
Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” (Genesis 31:22-24 NLT)
What happened a week later? Was he worried about the family idols?
Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain, and Laban with his relatives encamped in the mountain of Gilead. Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp; and didn’t allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now have you done foolishly. It is in the power of my hand to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t speak to Jacob either good or bad.’ Now, you want to be gone, because you greatly longed for your father’s house, but why have you stolen my gods?” (Genesis 31:25-30 WEB)
Did Rachel lie to her father? What happened next?
Jacob responded to Laban, “I was afraid and convinced myself that you would take your daughters away from me. Whomever you find with your divine images won’t live. Identify whatever I have that is yours, in front of your brothers, and take it.” Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen them. Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and her two servants’ tent and didn’t find them. So he left Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s. Now Rachel had taken the divine images and put them into the camel’s saddlebag and sat on them. Laban felt around in the whole tent but couldn’t find them. Rachel said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry with me because I can’t get up for you; I’m having my period.” He searched but couldn’t find the divine images. (Genesis 31:31-35 CEB)
Did Jacob finally confront his double-dealing, swindling father-in-law?
What have I done wrong? Have I committed some crime? Is that why you hunted me down? After searching through everything I have, did you find anything of yours? If so, put it here, where your relatives and mine can see it. Then we can decide what to do. (Genesis 31:36-37 CEV)
What did Jacob accuse Laban of? Was he a selfish father-in-law?
These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.” (Genesis 31:38-42 ESV)
What was Laban’s answer? Did he come to an agreement?
Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.” (Genesis 31:43-44 HCSB)
What did Jacob do? Did he condescend to an agreement between the two?
So Jacob took a stone and raised it as a pillar. Then Jacob told his relatives, “Go gather some stones.” So they picked up stones and stacked them one on top of the other. Then they had a meal together there by the stack of stones. Laban named the place Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed. (Genesis 31:45-47 ISV)
What was their covenant? Was it not to do each other harm?
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee: This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. (Genesis 31:48-53 KJV)
Did they eat a communal meal? Did Laban finally depart?
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. Then early in the morning Laban got up, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place. (Genesis 31:54-55 NASB)
Injustices are many in this world, yet if we try to find justice in our own power, we may make matters even worse. Is it best to wait on the Lord? You decide!
Polygamous Life (Genesis 30)
Does Jacob’s life reveal why polygamy does not work? Did Leah suffer because of this selfish lifestyle? Did competition between wives make family harmony difficult? Did God bless Jacob despite his personal failings? Did God know what He was doing when He designed marriage to be between one man and one woman? Let’s look at Genesis 30.
What was Rachel’s solution for her inability to have children?
And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. (Genesis 30:1-4 KJV)
Which children did Bilhah bear? In the midst of an imperfect life, did Rachel still look to God?
Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan [judge]. And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestling I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali [wrestling]. (Genesis 30:5-8 NASB)
Which children did Zilpah bear? Did Leah thank God or good luck?
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad [troop]. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher [happy]. (Genesis 30:9-13 NIV)
A mandrake is a hallucinogenic and partly poisonous plant that generations believed helped barren women become pregnant. We can see why Rachel wanted them. What happened?
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” (Genesis 30:14-15 NKJV)
Did Leah continue to suffer in her marriage? Did God answer Leah’s prayers? Did she believe that God approved of this surrogate birth? Did He or was He simply showing mercy?
So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. She named him Issachar [recompense, reward], for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. She named him Zebulun [exalted], for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah [judgment]. (Genesis 30:16-21 NLT)
Did Rachel finally get pregnant? What did Jacob request of his father-in-law?
God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb. She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She named him Joseph [YHWH has added], saying, “May Yahweh add another son to me.” When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you.” Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake.” He said, “Appoint me your wages, and I will give it.” (Genesis 30:22-28 WEB)
What payment arrangement did Jacob suggest? Was it the speckled animals in the flock?
Jacob said to him, “You know how I’ve worked for you, and how well your livestock have done with me. While in my care, what little you had has multiplied a great deal. The Lord blessed you wherever I took your livestock. Now, when will I be able to work for my own household too?” Laban said, “What will I pay you?” Jacob said, “Don’t pay me anything. If you will do this for me, I will take care of your flock again, and keep a portion. I will go through the entire flock today, taking out all of the speckled and spotted sheep, all of the black male lambs, and all of the spotted and speckled female goats. That will be my price. I will be completely honest with you: when you come to check on our agreement, every female goat with me that isn’t speckled or spotted and every male lamb with me that isn’t black will be considered stolen.” (Genesis 30:29-33 CEB)
Did God honor Jacob’s superstitious act for His own divine purposes?
“I agree to that,” was Laban's response. Before the end of the day, Laban had separated his spotted and speckled animals and the black lambs from the others and had put his sons in charge of them. Then Laban made Jacob keep the rest of the sheep and goats at a distance of three days' journey. Jacob cut branches from some poplar trees and from some almond and evergreen trees. He peeled off part of the bark and made the branches look spotted and speckled. Then he put the branches where the sheep and goats would see them while they were drinking from the water trough. The goats mated there in front of the branches, and their young were spotted and speckled. (Genesis 30:34-9 CEV)
Did Jacob become wealthy enough to start on his own as a result?
Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:40-43 HCSB)
Does Jacob’s life reveal why polygamy does not work? Did Leah suffer because of this selfish lifestyle? Did competition between wives make family harmony difficult? Did God bless Jacob despite his personal failings? Did God know what He was doing when He designed marriage to be between one man and one woman? You decide!
What was Rachel’s solution for her inability to have children?
And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. (Genesis 30:1-4 KJV)
Which children did Bilhah bear? In the midst of an imperfect life, did Rachel still look to God?
Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan [judge]. And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestling I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali [wrestling]. (Genesis 30:5-8 NASB)
Which children did Zilpah bear? Did Leah thank God or good luck?
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad [troop]. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher [happy]. (Genesis 30:9-13 NIV)
A mandrake is a hallucinogenic and partly poisonous plant that generations believed helped barren women become pregnant. We can see why Rachel wanted them. What happened?
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” (Genesis 30:14-15 NKJV)
Did Leah continue to suffer in her marriage? Did God answer Leah’s prayers? Did she believe that God approved of this surrogate birth? Did He or was He simply showing mercy?
So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. She named him Issachar [recompense, reward], for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. She named him Zebulun [exalted], for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah [judgment]. (Genesis 30:16-21 NLT)
Did Rachel finally get pregnant? What did Jacob request of his father-in-law?
God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb. She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She named him Joseph [YHWH has added], saying, “May Yahweh add another son to me.” When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you.” Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake.” He said, “Appoint me your wages, and I will give it.” (Genesis 30:22-28 WEB)
What payment arrangement did Jacob suggest? Was it the speckled animals in the flock?
Jacob said to him, “You know how I’ve worked for you, and how well your livestock have done with me. While in my care, what little you had has multiplied a great deal. The Lord blessed you wherever I took your livestock. Now, when will I be able to work for my own household too?” Laban said, “What will I pay you?” Jacob said, “Don’t pay me anything. If you will do this for me, I will take care of your flock again, and keep a portion. I will go through the entire flock today, taking out all of the speckled and spotted sheep, all of the black male lambs, and all of the spotted and speckled female goats. That will be my price. I will be completely honest with you: when you come to check on our agreement, every female goat with me that isn’t speckled or spotted and every male lamb with me that isn’t black will be considered stolen.” (Genesis 30:29-33 CEB)
Did God honor Jacob’s superstitious act for His own divine purposes?
“I agree to that,” was Laban's response. Before the end of the day, Laban had separated his spotted and speckled animals and the black lambs from the others and had put his sons in charge of them. Then Laban made Jacob keep the rest of the sheep and goats at a distance of three days' journey. Jacob cut branches from some poplar trees and from some almond and evergreen trees. He peeled off part of the bark and made the branches look spotted and speckled. Then he put the branches where the sheep and goats would see them while they were drinking from the water trough. The goats mated there in front of the branches, and their young were spotted and speckled. (Genesis 30:34-9 CEV)
Did Jacob become wealthy enough to start on his own as a result?
Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:40-43 HCSB)
Does Jacob’s life reveal why polygamy does not work? Did Leah suffer because of this selfish lifestyle? Did competition between wives make family harmony difficult? Did God bless Jacob despite his personal failings? Did God know what He was doing when He designed marriage to be between one man and one woman? You decide!
Sad Polygamy (Genesis 29)
Were God’s patriarchs and matriarchs very imperfect? Yet, were they also people of great faith? Is the same true of many church members today?
After he left home to escape his brother’s threats, how did Jacob meet Rachel?
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east. He looked, and saw a well in the field, and saw three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well’s mouth was large. There all the flocks were gathered. They rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone back on the well’s mouth in its place. Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well. See, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep.” (Genesis 29:1-6 WEB)
How did that first meeting between Rachel and Jacob go?
He said to them, “It’s now only the middle of the day. It’s not time yet to gather the animals. Water the flock, and then go, put them out to pasture.” They said to him, “We can’t until all the herds are gathered, and then we roll the stone away from the well’s opening and water the flock.” While he was still talking to them, Rachel came with her father’s flock since she was its shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his uncle, and the flock of Laban, Jacob came up, rolled the stone from the well’s opening, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. Jacob told Rachel that he was related to her father and that he was Rebekah’s son. She then ran to tell her father. When Laban heard about Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him. Laban embraced him, kissed him, and invited him into his house, where Jacob recounted to Laban everything that had happened. Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my flesh and blood.” (Genesis 29:7-14a CEB)
How did Jacob ask for Rachel’s hand? Was he to work for his uncle?
After Jacob had been there for a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn't have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?” Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I'll work seven years for you.” (Genesis 29:14b-18 CEV)
How did Laban deceive Jacob regarding his two daughters?
Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:19-25 ESV)
What excuse did Laban give? Did Jacob finally get his wish for Rachel? How must Leah have felt?
Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.” And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. (Genesis 29:26-30 HCSB)
Was polygamy God’s ideal from creation? Imagine having your husband only part of the time? Imagine being the neglected wife? Did God take pity on Leah?
Later, the Lord noticed that Leah was being neglected, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, “The Lord had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me.” Later, she conceived again, bore a son, and declared, “Because the Lord heard that I’m neglected, he gave me this one, too.” So she named him Simeon. Later, she conceived again and said, “This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I’ve borne him three sons.” So he named him Levi. Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, “This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children. (Genesis 29:31-35 ISV)
Were God’s patriarchs and matriarchs very imperfect? Yet, were they also people of great faith? Is the same true of many church members today? You decide!
After he left home to escape his brother’s threats, how did Jacob meet Rachel?
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east. He looked, and saw a well in the field, and saw three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well’s mouth was large. There all the flocks were gathered. They rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone back on the well’s mouth in its place. Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well. See, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep.” (Genesis 29:1-6 WEB)
How did that first meeting between Rachel and Jacob go?
He said to them, “It’s now only the middle of the day. It’s not time yet to gather the animals. Water the flock, and then go, put them out to pasture.” They said to him, “We can’t until all the herds are gathered, and then we roll the stone away from the well’s opening and water the flock.” While he was still talking to them, Rachel came with her father’s flock since she was its shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his uncle, and the flock of Laban, Jacob came up, rolled the stone from the well’s opening, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. Jacob told Rachel that he was related to her father and that he was Rebekah’s son. She then ran to tell her father. When Laban heard about Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him. Laban embraced him, kissed him, and invited him into his house, where Jacob recounted to Laban everything that had happened. Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my flesh and blood.” (Genesis 29:7-14a CEB)
How did Jacob ask for Rachel’s hand? Was he to work for his uncle?
After Jacob had been there for a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn't have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?” Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I'll work seven years for you.” (Genesis 29:14b-18 CEV)
How did Laban deceive Jacob regarding his two daughters?
Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:19-25 ESV)
What excuse did Laban give? Did Jacob finally get his wish for Rachel? How must Leah have felt?
Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.” And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. (Genesis 29:26-30 HCSB)
Was polygamy God’s ideal from creation? Imagine having your husband only part of the time? Imagine being the neglected wife? Did God take pity on Leah?
Later, the Lord noticed that Leah was being neglected, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, “The Lord had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me.” Later, she conceived again, bore a son, and declared, “Because the Lord heard that I’m neglected, he gave me this one, too.” So she named him Simeon. Later, she conceived again and said, “This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I’ve borne him three sons.” So he named him Levi. Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, “This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children. (Genesis 29:31-35 ISV)
Were God’s patriarchs and matriarchs very imperfect? Yet, were they also people of great faith? Is the same true of many church members today? You decide!
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