The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 31:19,
“When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods.”
This takes place when Jacob is told by God to return home after serving Laban for twenty years. Why Rachel stole her father’s idols is a mystery. Some have suggested that after seeing how God had blessed Jacob she wanted to remove Laban’s idols so he could no longer worship them. This seems unlikely to me in that if Rachel had learned anything about God from Jacob it would have been that God desires our faith, our hearts. Simply removing some statuettes that have been falsely ascribed the role of deity would be a futile attempt on Rachel’s part. In any event it would have been much easier for Rachel to dispose of them prior to leaving and thereby not endangering herself through getting caught with them.
It may have been that Rachel felt that with these idols, Laban might have been able to “divine” the route Jacob and company would be taking back to his home. It may have been also that Rachel wanted to take something from her homeland and something from her youth to have with her as she fled with Jacob to what would be for her, uncharted territory. And, of course it may have been that Rachel felt these idols might have provided her with safety for the journey and a prosperous future.
Rachel, along with Leah, acknowledges it is God who has prospered Jacob and his family, “Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children.” 31:16. To me, Rachel seems to be an inconsistent mix of things. She acknowledges God on the one hand but her actions appear to communicate less than a complete embrace of God.
The irony of these worthless idols having to be protected by Rachel in sitting on them, while allegedly being on her period, is rich. The one thought that comes to my mind this morning comes from Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” And, Jesus’ quote of Deuteronomy 6:5 in Matthew 22:37, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Our God not only demands nothing less - he is certainly due nothing less from me. He is worthy of all of my love from all of my heart. He has given me life! He has provided me with a way to him through his Son, Jesus Christ! He has assured me participation in the resurrection! He has demonstrated to me love, mercy, kindness and forgiveness that demand an uncompromised love and fidelity from me!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
(314) 814-8486
This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately
No comments:
Post a Comment