Thursday, November 15, 2007

What's Your Focus?

So tonight I was reading the story of Jacob and his wives Leah and Rachel. For those that don't know the story, quick synopsis. Jacob loves Rachel, but Leah is older and daddy wants her married first, so he convinces Jacob to work seven years to get Leah. Leah dresses up as Rachel and marries Jacob. It must have been a thick veil, because he didn't notice. Daddy says, sorry but you can have Rachel if you work another seven years. Jacob does. Big happy family.

Almost.

Jacob doesn't have to wait the seven years, just work the seven years. He actually gets Rachel a week after Leah. So Leah obviously feels pretty unloved. And so the women fight for Jacob the only way they know how. Having children. They even get their servants to sleep with Jacob and have kids when they can't (kind of overkill, but okay).

But here's what I noticed tonight. Heard the story, knew all that, exciting none the less, but knew it. This part I never really picked up on. After every single kid is born, no matter who to, the mother (or surrogate mother, master of the servant) says something along the lines of "Jacob will love me now because I have a son" or "God has answered my prayer for a son" which they really only prayed to get Jacob's attention, or something along the lines of vindication or celebration. Every single child born the focus is in some way on Jacob. Every son but one.

Gen. 29:35a ~ Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!”

Now I don't know which is sadder, that it took four kids before she praised the Lord, but after all the bickering over a man, this was the only child born in which God was praised without a hidden agenda to Jacob.

And which tribe did Jesus come from again? Hey, if you want to go even deeper into spiritual ramifications of what God thinks and feels, was Jesus from the tribe who's mother was loved or despised...?

T

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