RTW January 10
The Sister Wives
There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.
Genesis 29:17
My Takeaways
Something Old
Where did Jacob learn to make a memorial? How did he know that this was important to God?
Something New
When we feel unloved and our eyes are delicate, we have to remember:
- God was good to Leah, even when her husband wasn’t, and even when her sister wasn’t.
- God is good to you, even when no one else is.
- God has plan for you, even when you can’t see the plan.
Something to D0
Live loved, because I am.
Good morning friends.
A couple of things I picked up in this reading:
Jacob used the stone where he laid his head as the memorial pillar.
Rachel was a shepherd (I only thought of men as shepherds)
I wonder what “story” Jacob told Laban that caused Laban to say “you really are my own flesh and blood!” Did Jacob tell of how he deceived and tricked his father? Because that’s what Laban ended up doing. Did Laban recognize himself and his own deceitful nature in Jacob? How do I want people identify with me? When people look at me, experience me, I want them to experience CHRIST in me and see Him in themselves.
The story of Rachek and Leah really hit my heart hard this morning. I so identify with Leah. I’ve felt overlooked for so long – even by God. My dream of a husband feels dead at 54. I’ve watched others find happiness in this area and I’m left barren. I don’t dwell on it too much really anymore, but it was like the reopening of a wound this morning. I need to let God do some more healing here because I’m kind of angry and disappointed with Him to be honest.
That’s all I have right now … I’ve got some wrestling to do on this. I didn’t realize how strongly I still felt about this lack …. guess I buried it.
Praying for you!
Thank you!
My heart goes out to you! I just prayed for you. It’s good that you are being honest with God about how you feel about your situation and about Him. I would encourage you to take Wendy’s words today to heart.
Oh I am! It was a perfectly timed lesson for me
Mary, praying for you today. I often feel unloved also. Even when I was married I felt unloved. It wasn’t until I turned to God and began to realize and accept Gods love that I began to get the sparkle in my eyes. I hadn’t lost it, I never had it. You can look at my childhood pics and there is no sparkle. I was in my fifties before that sparkle became evident. And, it is Gods unending, unconditional love that put it there.
Thank you. I feel like I am just finding the sparkle in my eyes as well. And I do know that He has NEVER EVER left me, abandoned me, ignored me. His timing is perfect. I’m not giving up hope – my hope is in Jesus.
A beautiful testimony. Very encouraging.
Npshirley, I too realized though today’s lesson that I never had that sparkle either. I had a dysfunctional childhood of neglect, abuse and no love, affirmation or encouragement from my dad or my mom either. I’ve spent my whole life searching and longing to be loved starting young with boyfriends and then as I got older I still am dealing with this with my husband of 15 years who struggles to show me affection even though I know he cares about me. God has shown me that I should patiently endure abd focus everyday on becoming my best self. He will enable me to do that. I’ve almost walked away from my marriage so many times. God has brought me back to scripture to show me again and again that a divorce because I feel unloved is not His will for my life. I’m praying for all of us ladies in this situation. My prayer for myself and all of us is that we find that love from
God to fill that deep void in our hearts and for it to be enough.
Awesome!! 🙂
Thank you for your honesty, Mary. I”m praying for you this morning to be filled to overflowing with God’s love for you and that it flows out to others.
Thank you so much!
Wonderful reminders Wendy!
I was convicted by a statement a couple of weeks ago and I just can’t shake it:
“You need to tell your face that you are a Christian”!
Wow..like Mary said I want people to see JESUS when they look at me…but what is my face saying? Ouch!!
Thank you for sharing that quote. That’s is convicting’
WoW! That is a powerful statement that made me sit right up and think! Thank you for sharing❤️
Yes!!! Before The Christmas holiday (I was on vacation from Christmas Eve til after the new year) i been struggling at work in keeping a good attitude in an unhealthy atmosphere. And I spoke to Holy Spirit about it – I felt like I had lost my ability to be a witness for the Kingdom. And He said this WAS my witness. He did some significant work during my break and I am back to MYSELF – and the road back is my testimony! This is the story I want to tell others.
As I read the account of Rachel and Leah and all their children I was struck by how they continually manipulated things one up the other. They have their servants to their husband to sleep with and bartered over mandrakes to sleep with him. What would have happened if they’d gone before God and each other to work out their jealousy and bitterness? God could have blessed them both with children of their own wombs and unity with each other and Jacob. A good reminder for me to pay attention and not manipulate or try to control things when I feel a spark of jealousy or bitterness toward a person or issue. Go to God, go to that person is possible, be patient and still to let healing come without manipulating or controlling for my own profit.
So agree with you. I was asking myself the same thing today, Where were their prayers?
Powerful!
Thanks for this message today. A great one to hear on my birthday!
Because of my infertility, I have always identified with Rachel, but today, I see Leah and her struggle to be loved. I see the sibling rivalry. I see how tough it must have been back then to be loved for one of two reason (primarily)… 1. your beauty and 2. your ability to produce children. That was about it. Thankfully, things have changed dramatically.
Happy Birthday. Hope your day is blessed!
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday to amyrait!!!
One thing that stuck out to me today was Genesis 28:20, when Jacob says if God will be with him on his journey, and help him to return safely to his father’s household, then the Lord will be his God. Was the Lord not his God before? Are we witnessing the beginning of Jacob’s faith journey at this point in his life? Maybe that explains some of the deception and sin earlier on in his life. That verse made me think today.
I also noticed the “if…then” of Jacob’s vow to the Lord. It seems as if he was making his decision to follow the Lord conditional on if God did what He told Jacob He was going to do.
Yes MaryJG, this bothered me actually. Jacob says “if” 3 times before he says “then” the LORD will be his God. It does seem conditional for sure. Then I wondered, do I do that? Does my faith depend on “if” God answers my prayers and does what I want him to do?? Hmmmm
I noticed that too. My Something to do today is praise God for His faithfulness and His love!!
I noticed this too. And going back and rereading it again, it seemed even more evident. It must have been a huge faith builder for Jacob when God did indeed do all of that for him.
That verse caught me also. Seems his devotion is very conditional at this point. Jacob is mirroring Gods promises to him inGenesis 28:15. God promises to do the exact things Jacob mentioned later. How often do I do the same thing to God. If…..then….. Something to work on.
Who/what am I jealous of? What am I doing with that jealousy? Am I taking it to the Lord or am I trying to manipulate things in reaction to it?
Live loved, because I am!
Something Old
Genesis 29: 1-14a reads like a modern day love story. It always touches my heart that there was such an immediate emotional connection between Jacob and Rachel. We often focus on the sadness of Leah, being unloved and unlovely, but I feel genuine sadness for Jacob and Rachel since they were so committed to one another and yet prevented from being “One”. They were forced, through deception, to accept the inclusion of the sister. Not at all sure this is not simply further proof that God intends one man-one woman.
Something New
One commentary noted that the reason Jacob put a stone (s) about his head was for protection from wild animals as he slept.
Maybe Jacob was not being conditional in his prayer and vow to God. He had had a strange dream and was perhaps uncertain (as we often are) whether it was truly God speaking to him, or simply his own thoughts. Maybe he was saying, “If this was really You, God, …..then…..”
Something To Do
Recognize again and again that God does not forget, nor overlook, nor does He not see, all that is transpiring in our lives. (Psalm 11:4, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; His eyes examine them.”) He saw Leah. He saw Jacob. He saw Rachel and He sees……..you and me! And in His infinite grace and mercy He continues to work good out of all our messes.
love it!
Thank you for the message today. God was speaking to me when reading what Leah was doing trying to earn love and then Wendy’s video just confirmed it.. It was a hard message to hear but I needed it.
Jacob (Jennifer) awoke and said “surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
May my eyes always be open to God’s presence anywhere, everywhere that I am.
How didn’t Jacob know it was Leah instead of Rachel? Was he drunk?
That was really sneaky if Laban to not be up front about the younger daughter not marrying first.
Oh the unloved verse about Leah. Sweet Leah, I can so relate. With a wonderful husband who has a hard time showing affection it’s a real hurt in my life too. But I’m encouraged by the verse that God noticed. God has been very clear I am to continue focusing on who God is making me to be and being my best self regardless of what I’m getting from my husband. Making sure to always choose Joy and totally trusting God with all of it and my hurt.
Rachel “give me children, or I’ll die!” Gen 30:1 more exaggeration talk.
All this giving of women and having so many babies for other people. It’s all so crazy! And wow do the women get pregnant so easily! Lol I wonder how they took care of so many children at the time. It couldn’t have been easy!
Remember Leah was the mother of Judah from whom David descended and eventually Jesus. To me the picture is almost Messianic. Leah was a caring, loving woman. It is suggested that is why God blessed her with so many children because she made such a wonderful caring mother. She had so much love to give and longed for the love and affection of Jacob who just outright rejected her. Just as Jesus has so much love to give and longs for us to return that love but we just outright rejected him for some physical attractiveness of this world.
Laban deceived Jacob, just as Jacob had deceived both Esau and Isaac… Wow… This hit home to me. I think I forget that my God does not like deceitfulness….
Lots of thoughts I pondered over in todays reading. I wondered why Jacob even asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage when he knew she was the younger daughter? Wouldn’t it been very unlikely during that time in history for a dad to ever give away his younger daughter before the oldest was married off? Jacob had to have known this. Did you ever think that maybe he was trying to pull a quick one on his Uncle Laban? Interesting how Jesus came through Judah, who was Leah’s son, Jacob’s firstwife. Those first wifes seem to be the wifes that God recognizes, he never did approve of more. I kind of felt sorry for Esau today. Do you think when his dad was giving the blessing that was the first time that Esau was aware that he couldn’t marry a Canaanite woman? Maybe he thought by marrying Ishmael’s daughter, a family member, things might go better with him. Obviously Isaac never shared that story either . Why else would he go and take on another wife? Isaac must have done a poor job in raising his boys spiritually. The best part about today’s reading was Jacob’s dream. What a vision! Kind of like Paul who had an encounter with God. Both of these men’s lives were changed after the encounter. Jacob no longer referred to God as “Your God.” Of course he still had a long way to go. But I think it was at this point when he begin to make his confession of faith, but change takes time. Which is so evident in Jacobs life. After his confession of faith life did not instantly become easy, but God was definitely keeping him safe and changing his heart. Working for his Uncle for 14 years kept him away from Esau. One thing that I definitely took from what I read today is God is no different today. When I confessed my faith my life began to take shape. My sins were forgiven, I had a hope of an eternal life and the presence of God in my everyday life. Something Jacob was certainly starting to understand. Definitely God’s grace and plans are being fulfilled through the life of Jacob.
“Leah had to share her husband”, those words brought back hurtful memories!
My husband at the time, was previously married but divorced on paper only. He was still in love with his first wife, called her the day of the wedding, saying he loved her, if they could get back together again, he would stop the wedding. Her answer was no which he confessed much later in our marriage about calling her. He was a cheater before our marriage, during, until I finally had enough! I did stick it out for 33 years for the sake of our 5 kids, once they were grown and on their own. We tried marriage counseling, he said our marriage is fine but after that he took us down a road of a literal hell. He married 5 times after our divorce.
I can relate to Leah’s life, there is so much more to my story but through it all God has been good to me, has blessed me with many blessings, better to me than any husband! God’s word has been a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path!
Man, the love Jacob felt for Rachel. Fourteen years of hard labor. He was willing to do whatever it took to have his uncle allow him to have Rachel’s hand in marriage. Even after he realized (after the first seven years) he had been deceived and tricked by his uncle. Rachel was still worth another 7 year of hard labor.