27Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.
I always know when there will be deliverance with a message because the enemy gets mad and starts creating technological havoc. But surely I say to you...deliverance is here in the name of Jesus!! God has been giving me direct downloads in the middle of the night about this message that He told me would be done today.
God showed me some things about Rachel in a way that I had not expected. Rachel felt slighted because her promise was delayed due to someone else's deceit. In this scripture it is due to her father, Laban. But what Rachel failed to understand was that though she was second in number she was still first. Leah was given to Jacob due to trickery on his wedding night which he was supposed to celebrate with Rachel. Rachel spent her years with Jacob full of anger and jealousy over the fact that Leah stole what was hers and then had children. But Rachel missed the blessing. She was so busy focusing on what didn't happen when had she tuned into God, she would've seen what did happen. The enemy likes to get us so distracted that we miss the blessing so that we won't give God glory. This is a two part blessing.
1. Rachel might have been second in number but she was seen first by Jacob. He fell in love with Rachel and she was first in his heart.
2. Jacob could have settled for Leah and let it go at that but his love for Rachel was so strong that he had to go back for her.
No matter what Leah did and no matter how many babies Leah had, Rachel had the real prize, Jacob's heart. Having Jacob's heirs were important in custom but it is very hard to capture a man's heart. By Rachel having Jacob's heart he wanted to please her. Leah didn't have Jacob's heart so she was the one attempting to please and appease Jacob. Leah had Jacob's body. I will say again what a dear male friend said to me, "just because a man sleeps with you doesn't mean he loves you." Men can unfortunately disassociate themselves from their emotions to the point that sex is just an act whereas women often become emotionally attached through the act. And for Leah this was true. Leah had to pretend to be Rachel and have the sex in order to grab Jacob's attention. All Rachel did was be herself and he fell in love with her and was willing to wait for her. Sex was preserved until after the wedding ceremony/festivity to consumate and make the marriage official. But what really makes a marriage official in God's eyes is love and devotion because HE is love. Rachel despised Leah and her children though none of that really mattered. Rachel had the real and true marriage. Rachel's years ended early but they could've been spent with a brighter outlook because she had the heart of the man she loved.
To every Rachel,
do not see yourself as second but know that you are first. To every
Leah, no amount of children can change what is in a man's heart when it
is ordained by God. And to every Laban, forcing or manipulating a
situation that was not to be only causes more problems. The chains have been broken.
Just read this post and had to comment. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I never looked at Rachel's story this way and just saw her as a victim. But isn't the enemy always working to get us to focus on the wrong thing??? Some women will do almost anything (lie, cheat, manipulate, etc) to gain a man's heart and gain nothing in the end. Rachel had Jacob's heart the whole time; she was the victor.
AMEN!!!!
ReplyDelete