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Welcome to my blog: I intend to share heartfelt writing about anything that comes to mind. |
| Summary of Week one's Bible study: It is clear that Leah and Rachel struggled with each other. Leah wanted the love of her husband and Rachel wanted children. Leah was having children while Rachel had their husband's love. The significance that I could find in birthing many children is that children were considered a blessing from God. It also states that God opened Leah's womb and closed Rachel's because Jacob hated Leah while he loved Rachel. This shows some of the consequences of favoritism. Favoritism will be a theme in our study of Joseph's life as you will see. The definition of his name, Joseph, means "He will add" and the rood word means to add; to increase. Rachel believed God would give her another son. Apparently, Jacob lived with Rachel because in one of the verses, it talks about when Leah had another son, she had thought maybe he would then live with her. In those days, the maid conceived and gave birth, and their child was considered the children of their master. I have read in some commentaries where the maids of Rachel and Leah were considered concubines. However, the scriptures directly say they gave them to Joseph as another wife. However, they were still a maid/slave. It appears that Rachel did not fully trust God for her children until after she had Joseph. She tried all kinds of things to cure her infertility. She wanted Jacob to give her children. His response was to ask her if he was in God's place. She used mandrakes which were at that time a medicinal practice for infertility. She also used her maid which 2 sons were born from. Sadly, Rachel dies while giving birth to Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin. God ultimately gave her children when he was ready and in his timing. Joseph would have been around the age of 6 when his brother Benjamin was born and his mother died. God also in his sovereignty ended up causing the Messiah to descend from Leah, the hated wife, through Judah and the priestly line of Moses and Aaron through her son Levi. (478) Author IconMail Icon brought up a couple good points in our discussion too. Is it possible that God is always choosing the youngest instead of the oldest or the least favored in this line as a picture of Christ since he is considered the second Adam? Also, in this line of descendants, there are many examples of sin and God's sovereignty in the life of these people. Could the ten commandments be more of a reprimand as opposed to just rules to follow? Since the law is supposed to be what lets us realize we need Christ, these 10 commands reveal the sin in us because we are not able to obey the law perfectly. Only Jesus could do that. We then had a great discussion on Justification and regeneration based upon these thoughts. When we use deceit as a way to get what we want in life, it causes ill feelings from those around us. The relationship with Laban and his sons were not as they were before. Joseph would have witnessed this family tension. He would have been around 5 or 6 when the family fled from Laban to return to Jacob's family. Rachel stole her father's images, false gods. Rachel obviously was not just worshiping the god of Jacob's family. She was worshiping other gods. I wonder if this brings new significance back to the mandrakes too. Was there some kind of ceremonial ritual performed with them? I wonder what religious rituals or practices Joseph witnessed from his mother as a small child. Looking into some study Bibles' notes and commentaries notes, Laban apparently used some sort of divination to know that he had been blessed for Jacob's sake. He also was warned in a dream by the God of Isaac, Jacob's father, that he shouldn't harm Jacob when he was chasing after him. God had intervened on Jacob's behalf and saw how he was treated by Laban. God still took care of him even during this time. I am thinking his actual conversion experience/ commitment to the God of his father didn't happen until later when he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. Deceit leads to distrust. Distrust leads to tension and confrontations in a relationship. Be careful what you threaten also. Our words and our actions can cause problems for us in the future if they are not done through the spirit and will of God. I think at this point it is obvious that Laban and Jacob were wanting to come to blows had God not intervened. So, they make an agreement to make peace and to not see each other again. God would be their witness. Before Laban left Jacob, he kissed his family goodbye. This would have been the last time Joseph had seen his maternal grandfather and mother's side of the family. Was verses nine through twelve in chapter 32 Jacob's sinner's prayer? Jacob was afraid and greatly distressed when he heard that his brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men with him. He was so troubled that he divided his family and possessions in 2 in hopes that if Esau attacked them, then at least half of them could escape and be saved from Esau's wrath. Right before this, he had been met by a host of angels. I wonder if Joseph also saw these angels. Humility comes with true repentance. Jacob had deceived Esau 20 years earlier and had fled from him for his life. Now he had come back with his family, and was still afraid after all these years that Esau would kill him and his family for what he had done all those years ago. We are still seeing consequences of his deceitfulness. |
 Take UP Your Cross Did I forget to send a prompt? I could have sworn I sent one.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Are you in the need for prayer? Let us know here and we will pray for you.
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Have fun with these words: serendipity, sparkle, ramble, facts, ghosts, harness, and couch. As I look out the hotel window, the city lights seem to sparkle. I sit down on the couch as the ghosts of my past seem to haunt me. My mind seems to ramble through all the facts that got me here today and somehow it was all a simple case of serendipity. Hmm! This could be a great start to a mystery novel. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  What are your thoughts about Tik Tok ban? Is this the beginning of a new trend where apps are being banned because of politics? We already have books being banned. What's next? God only knows what these politicians are thinking, and he is the only one who wants to know at times. I think it's getting ridiculous. The only thing that stays the same is everything changes.  |
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