READING FOR MAY 13, 2024: GENESIS 29, 2 CORINTHIANS 11, PSALM 40:9-17 GENESIS 29 Many of us might remember a time when we first set out from home to begin a new phase of life. Did we feel a mixture of adventure and fear? Were our senses ultra-alert? Think back to those days and identify with Jacob. As is often the case in the Bible, important developments in this story occur at a well. Not many years ago, the local shopping mall might have served this purpose for us. Jacob, not afraid to speak to strangers, used this time and place to learn he had reached his destination and to encounter the lovely Rachel.
Jacob, having the advantage of prior intelligence about her and obviously smitten, displayed extra courtesy by rolling away the stone blocking the well and by watering Rachel’s sheep. Was he this nice to Esau? Finally, he told Rachel who he was. This information traveled immediately back to Laban, the crafty father of Rachel.
Jacob worked for no pay for Laban until asked how he would like to be paid. This was the perfect opportunity to bring up his desire to marry Rachel. Recall Jacob took full advantage of Esau’s momentary hunger when he acquired the valuable birthright in exchange for lentil soup. This time Laban’s deal was a bit more formidable: seven years of labor. Still, Jacob whistled while he worked during this time because of the ultimate prize. A few chapters back in 2 Corinthians, Paul showed us how we can implement this principle in our lives: “We do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16-17). Knowing the end reward affects our attitude today.
At the end of seven years, Jacob, whose name means supplanter or deceiver, was on the receiving end of a gigantic deception when Laban supplanted Leah for Rachel. Was this an example of reaping what was sown (Gal.6:7)? Seems so. Was Laban right to be concerned about Leah? Yes, but it is hard to justify his deception. Does this mean the Bible advocates for polygamy? No, this was not God’s original design (Gen. 2:24), Jesus’s direction (Matt.19:5), or allowed for those in church leadership (1 Tim. 3:2). When polygamy occurs in the Old Testament, it usually becomes a source of problems, even drifting from faith in God.
In this case, we see an unloved wife, Leah; and we see a barren wife, Rachel. After giving birth to several sons, Leah still failed to gain Jacob’s love. When she named her last son Judah, meaning “praise the Lord,” she expressed the truth that we all must learn: only God can meet our deepest needs. Despite this total disfunction, we find that God will always achieve His purposes. The sons of Jacob became the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah’s son Levi became the father of all priests, and her son Judah the father of the Kings—including Jesus, the King of Kings.
READINGS FOR MAY 13, 2024 CONTINUED: 2 CORINTHIANS 11, PSALM 40:9-17 2 CORINTHIANS 11 Paul asks the Corinthians to bear with him in this chapter while he expresses some rather personal feelings. Do we have friends with whom we can share like this? It seems increasingly rare these days. Paul thinks of himself as a spiritual matchmaker between the Corinthians and God. He confesses, though, he fears Satan might trick them away from their relationship with the Lord, just as he did with Eve so long ago. We should take Paul’s concern seriously. Satan has not lost any of his subtilty. Just as then, he is able to make what God has clearly called sin to appear good and acceptable. Paul is pleading with us not to deviate from what he has taught about Jesus. It would be hard to build a case that salvation can’t be lost from his letter. Lester Holt signs off each NBC nightly newscast with a comment appropriate to holding onto our salvation: “Take care of yourself and each other.”
Perhaps for the first time, Paul informs them that he subsisted on the donations from other churches in order to preach the Gospel to them for free. He somewhat sarcastically asks, is this proof that he did not love them? He again warns that false teachers are hard to spot. Do we know the truth given to us through the apostles’ teachings or are we only vaguely familiar?
As evidence of his almost desperation that they not fall away, he reluctantly recounts his credentials as a credible spokesman for God—a spiritual resume. On a related issue, let’s ask ourselves, why would Paul undergo such tumultuous hardships if he thought all people would go to heaven whether they heard and accepted the Gospel or not? What are wewilling to do to share the Gospel with those loved ones who still don’t know or don’t believe?
PSALM 40:9-17 David makes a great point in verse 9: he proclaims the good news of righteousness among God’s people. We must keep in the front of our minds that righteousness is connected with gladness, not the drab existence sometimes portrayed in popular culture. In Brian Tabb’s article about the book of Philippians, he writes, “The apostle Paul uses the Greek words for joy and rejoicing sixteen times in only 104 verses. And yet he writes from a dingy Roman prison.” David says, don’t hide this little-known truth from others. Be verbal about our salvation. Yes, evils without number surround us (vs. 12). Yes, our sins are many (vs. 12). Satan tells us we are thus too flawed to talk about our faith. David instead prays for God’s deliverance and victory over Satan’s forces. David tells those of us who truly seek God (and we wouldn’t be studying this if we weren’t) and those who love God’s salvation (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) to REPEAT CONTINUALLY THE FOLLOWING WORDS AFTER HIM:
“THE LORD BE MAGNIFIED.”
