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January 22nd
Our Bible reading for today is Genesis chapters 30 & 31.
At this time in biblical history, Jacob was a grown man in his early forties. He has been living near the city of Haran in the wilderness of Padann Aram for the last twenty years. His father Isaac sent him there to find a wife from the family of his mother. (Behind the scenes, Jacob’s mother was strongly suggesting the same trip, but with a slightly different motive: to hide from his angry brother, Esau, who vowed to kill Jacob because he stole His “firstborn” blessing.)
Well, Jacob made it to the region of his mother’s birth. He wound up working for his mom’s brother...and marrying two of his uncle’s daughters.
And so we’ve come to today’s reading.
At first, I thought...”Wow, this is ugly. Two sisters, sharing the same husband, at the same time, competing for his attention and devotion. And they use their children by Jacob to make their case for superiority in their separate relationships with Jacob. That had to be a dysfunctional situation.
“Me against you. Yours against mine.” How was all that going to work?
Answer: God...He was working His plan and using imperfect people to accomplish it.
I cannot help but see the sovereign activity of God in this portion of scripture.
Cutting to the chase, Jacob had 12 sons from his marriages to Leah and Rachel. From these sons would come the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. From those 12, God chose one tribe from whom the Messiah would be born.
Surely God would choose one of Rachel’s sons since Rachel was Jacob’s, first love. Surely God would choose Joseph since he was Jacob’s favorite son out of the twelve.
But it didn't happen like that. God chose Leah and her fourth-born son, Judah.
Listen to the Messianic Psalm 78...
“God rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves” (vv. 67–68).
God chose...God elected...God sovereignly determined the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Go back with me...Before Jacob left home, his dad blessed him...told him of his God-given destiny. “God chose you, to be the son of the promise given to Abraham...through you, a great nation will come forth...You will have the land God promised your grandfather.”
Did you see it? Did you hear it? God chose Jacob, not Esau. That choosing came before the twins were born. That declaration...that prophetic decree... that the older will serve the younger...was made by God long before the boys could have been shaped by their experiences. God elected and chose the path and the people that He would use to fulfill His sovereign purposes.
And Jacob’s dad, Isaac, ....most surely told his son...” my brother Ishmael came before me...but God chose me to be the son of the promise that God gave my dad...a promise about a great nation and a great land...and now it has passed down to you...Jacob...you’re the chosen....and some nights in Haran 20-30 years later....yes dad...dysfunctional family and all.”
God promised that Jacob would become a great nation...and he did. God promised that from that people all the families of the earth would be blessed...and they have been through the coming of Jesus Christ...his life, his death, and his resurrection...unto eternal life for all who believe Him.
Enjoy the rest of the story.
