Genesis 30 (1)

Father, thank you for Your Word that is holy and pure. With Your Word, seasons are aligned, destinies are changed, the thoughts of men's hearts are exposed in order for lives to be saved and transformed. Thank you Father, for in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. Thank you LORD that today is no different because You are the same yesterday, today and forever. May the Word deliver, set free, restore, heal and transform the lives of Your sons and daughters in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

Today's Word is coming from Genesis, chapter 30. This chapter begins with a discontented Rachel who is jealous of her sister Leah that is able to bear children unlike herself. She cries out to Jacob and tells him, "give me children, or else I die!" (Genesis 30:1). Jacob becomes angry at Rachel and asks her, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" (Genesis 30:2).

In Genesis 29, we saw that Leah's heart when it came to conceiving sons for Jacob was in anticipation to receive Jacob's love. It's only after Leah had Judah that she decided she would praise the LORD (Genesis 29:35). Rachel on the other hand, received all the love from Jacob to the point that her husband's love blinded her reliance on God's help to bear a child as seen in Genesis 30:1 above until she turned her eyes to the LORD for His help. In God's eyes, this was 'a perfect plan' as Genesis 29:31 NKJV tells us, "When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren."

Although unknown to Leah at the time, I believe God used her sons as a source of His comfort and love towards her. While on the other hand, Jacob's love for Rachel was God's source of comfort and love towards her. For example, we see Reuben bring mandrakes to his mother Leah, a bond between mother and son that Rachel yearned to have for herself (Genesis 30:14-15) but fortunately for her, she had Jacob's love unlike her sister.

After a series of competition between Rachel and Leah simultaneously giving their maids to Jacob so that he may conceive children by them, eventually, the LORD also remembered Rachel and she managed to conceive a son. She named him Joseph and said "The LORD shall add to me another son." (Genesis 30:24 NKJV).

Up to this point, we learn that Jacob had one daughter, Dinah (Genesis 30:21) and eleven (11) sons in total who were, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah were Leah's children while Gad and Asher were Jacob's sons born through Leah's maid, Zilpah (Genesis 30:10-13). Joseph was Rachel's son while Dan and Naphtali were born through Rachel's maid called Billah (Genesis 30:4-8).

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'll end with this Word found in Genesis 30:22-23 (NKJV)

"22.Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23.And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach."

AMEN. Thank you LORD that just like You remembered Rachel, you have remembered Your people and removed every reproach from their lives in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to become a child of God where all reproach and shame is permanently removed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ found in the new covenant; I invite you to make this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, by grace you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where you get to freely access everything I've shared in this post. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

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