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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject: The Story of Jacob [3] - Rachel and Leah Bible Verse:Genesis 29:1-30 (TLB) "Jacob traveled on, finally arriving in the land of the East. He saw in the distance three flocks of sheep lying beside a well in an open field, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. (The custom was that the stone was not removed until all the flocks were there. After watering them, the stone was rolled back over the mouth of the well again.) Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked them where they lived. “At Haran,” they said. They then told Jacob that they knew Laban, and that he was coming with his flock, accompanied by his daughter Rachel. “Why don’t you water the flocks so they can get back to grazing?” Jacob asked. “They’ll be hungry if you stop so early in the day!” “We don’t roll away the stone and begin the watering until all the flocks and shepherds are here,” they replied. A s this conversation was going on, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. And because she was his cousin—the daughter of his mother’s brother—and because the sheep were his uncle’s, Jacob went over to the well and rolled away the stone and watered his uncle’s flock. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and started crying! He explained about being her cousin on her father’s side, and that he was her Aunt Rebekah’s son. She quickly ran and told her father, Laban, and as soon as he heard of Jacob’s arrival, he rushed out to meet him and greeted him warmly and brought him home. Then Jacob told him his story. “Just think, my very own flesh and blood,” Laban exclaimed. After Jacob had been there about a month, Laban said to him one day, “Just because we are relatives is no reason for you to work for me without pay. How much do you want?” Now Laban had two daughters, Leah, the older, and her younger sister, Rachel. Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely, and in every way a beauty. Well, Jacob was in love with Rachel. So he told her father, “I’ll work for you seven years if you’ll give me Rachel as my wife.” “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to someone outside the family.” So Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But they seemed to him but a few days, he was so much in love. Finally the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my contract,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife, so that I can sleep with her.” So Laban invited all the men of the settlement to celebrate with Jacob at a big party. Afterwards, that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. (And Laban gave to Leah a servant girl, Zilpah, to be her maid.) But in the morning — it was Leah! “What sort of trick is this?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked for seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?” “It’s not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of her sister. Wait until the bridal week is over and you can have Rachel too — if you promise to work for me another seven years!” So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. Then Laban gave him Rachel, too. And Laban gave to Rachel a servant girl, Bilhah, to be her maid. So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her more than Leah, and stayed and worked the additional seven years. " Message:
We have a long passage today, because not much is needed in the way of commentary on this “Bible story.” Theologically, the only significance is that Jacob marries within the tribe; like Isaac, he returns to his ancient lineage to find a wife. But he doesn't get the wife he bargained for!
It is odd that Isaac, unlike Abraham, doesn't set aside a large amount of gold or other goods to buy Jacob a wife. Jacob has to earn his bride, very unlike lucky Isaac; remember that Abraham sent a servant with gold to Mesopotamia, and the servant brought the beautiful Rebekah back to Isaac and, almost literally, dropped her in his lap. But God works in mysterious ways, and Jacob is going to need a number of women to beget all the sons he will need to populate the nation named after him.
Meditation : Prayer : Now unto him that is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen |
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