Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him on his way to Laban, Rebekah's brother - but not before telling him to take a wife from among his own people there. Esau, wanting to curry his father's favor, but still doing it HIS way, decided to marry a relative, too. But he married an Ishmaelite, who was not party to the covenant with Isaac. We can't do things our way and expect to succeed. I always told my kids there are only two ways to do anything: God's way and the wrong way. There is no such thing as YOUR WAY.
Jacob's ladder: It was a dream. But Jacob SAW the Lord, standing at the top of the ladder, and God spoke to him, reaffirming the blessing on his life and his descendants. He named the place, "Bethel", which means "House of God". Later, on his way back home, he stopped there and re-named it "El Bethel" - the "God of the House of God".
What Jacob didn't know was, he, the young deceiver, was going to meet up with a seasoned deceiver. He spent 20 years in Haran with much hardship and suffering, working like a common servant for wages. He got a wife he didn't want, and ended up with 2 wives, 2 concubines and 12 children. Guess what?! Laban made him respect the rights of the firstborn. Like I always say: "you can come easy, or you can come hard". Or how about this one? "You can pay me now, or pay me later". Because that's just what happened to him.
I would love to have been there when Jacob finally raised the veil on his new wife. Leah was the firstborn and her father made Jacob take her first. Apparently she wasn't as lively and pretty as Rachel. But, he still wanted Rachel. Laban said to give Leah her wedding week, then he could have Rachel too, but had to work another 7 years for her. So he got two wives in 8 days!
In v.31 it says that "Leah was hated", but that's not like we think. It just means that Jacob PREFERRED Rachel. So, God gave her a boost - now the wives were even, as Leah had four sons in a row. Leah really believed that when she had sons, her husband would prefer her, but it didn't work out that way.
RESPONSE: God, You never let me get away with anything, do You? I am grateful that you are not always gentle when I am sneaky. That You are the aggressor when I don't "get it". That means You care. But sometimes it doesn't feel that way. When I complain, please ignore me. I really am glad You don't leave me the way You found me. I count on You to train me, teach me, make me like You. I love You.
MATTHEW 9:18-38
What makes this passage so interesting is three things: (1) The dead girl was 12 years old, and the sick woman had been bleeding for 12 years. Numbers are not mentioned casually in the Bible, but have significance, otherwise they are not mentioned at all. Twelve is the Bible number associated with government and rulership, and once again, this is tied in with Jesus' authority being documented.
Jesus was hurrying to Jairus' house to heal Jairus' sick daughter, when He was interrupted by a sick woman grabbing hold of his garment. She was "stealing a healing" - so to speak. She tried to be inconspicuous, but the Luke version said she realized she couldn't remain undetected, so she threw herself on His mercy. Why did Jesus take the time to deal with her, when Jairus' daughter lay dying? I believe part of the reason was to minister to this woman, who had spent 12 years being "second-class" because of the nature of her illness. She was now elevated to "daughter". Jesus commended her faith as the source of her healing.
(2) The other interesting thing about this event is in Luke 8:56; Mark 5:43 and Matthew 9:31. "Don't tell anyone about this." If you recall, just outside Jairus' house were scoffers and scorners (Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53). They were not to get a firsthand report as to how and what had happened inside the house. They were not to be witnesses to "holy things".
(3) This one is REAL interesting. Two blind men "got up" and found their way to Jesus! They even followed Him into a house.
RESPONSE: These were desperate situations and desperate healings. A dead girl, a rejected woman, and two blind guys. Jesus really upset the status quo this time! He dealt with three things that His church at that time did not want to touch: death, blood, and blindness. But He was not intimidated by the enormity of the situation, the ugliness of it, or the pressure of the timing involved. I want to be as smooth as Jesus.
PSALM 11:1-7
Faith in the Day of Trouble: God has promised to never forsake the righteous. This prayer will help us to stay "in faith" when we are afraid. David's friends advise him to flea in fear out from the city, but David refused. In support of their advice, they say that the foundations they all depend on (things like truth, loyalty, honesty, power, inegrity, justice) were being destroyed, so who is safe any more?
God is still on His throne. He sees it all. He knows what He is doing. And, more importantly, in vs 5 we learn that when all around us is being false (kind of like right now), and you don't know who you can trust, YOU have integrity, YOU be truthful, YOU care about justice, YOU be honest because YOU are being "examined". (investigated, put to the test, proven) The same trial that destroys the wicked, will lift up the righteous as they pass the test. (like Noah and the water)
PROVERBS 3:11-12
How many times have I said this to my kids as I was spanking them? Do you think they believed me? There are two commands here: (1) Don't make light of God's correction, and (2) Don't get despondent under it either. It seems we are prone to one extreme or the other. Either way is the wrong response. We need to repent, like it says in Revelation 3:19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (Hebrews 12:5-1)
I put the whole thing in here for you to see because it is the NT explanation of what we just read - and who wants to hear it? We should. It would explain a LOT of things. God is not as interested in our comfort as He is in our HOLINESS.
RESPONSE: No matter where I turn, it seems like I am under the God-microscope. I seem to get caught in the storm a lot. Does that mean I am God's favorite? No matter what the people are doing around me, I must hear God and do what He says. And if I hear nothing, then submit and be quiet. Oh, and repent.
No comments:
Post a Comment