Mon.’s Devo - Jacob Takes a Wife(s)

Read Gen. 28:1-29:35, Matt. 9:18-38, Ps. 11:1-7. Pr. 3:11-12 Today in Proverbs we read that the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Jacob was the son that the Lord delighted in, but he did get Esau’s birthright and blessing by deceit so he is punished by an even craftier man named Laban. Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Leah. It is all in God’s plan but just not in Jacob’s. He ends up working for Laban 14 years just to get Rachael. In the meantime, he hates Leah, the first born. Leah spends her whole life trying to win Jacob’s heart only to fail. She names her children names to describe how she feels. Her first baby is called Rueben which means “see a son”. Son’s were what every mother wanted to produce. Rueben would be the heir, the first born. She thought that having the first male would give her Jacob’s attention. It must not have done what she hoped, because she named the next son Simeon which means “hearkening”. She wanted to get God’s attention to see that she was not loved by her husband. She was still looking for some type of attachment with Jacob by her third son, Levi which means “attached”. Her last attempt, for a while, was Judah. With him she finally learned that God was her husband and she would praise Him no matter what happened between her and Jacob. In Matthew, we learn that faith is how we get God’s attention. It is also how we get his hand to move. Jesus was stopped in his tracks by a woman who touched the hem of his garment. She wasn’t looking for attention, but she got it. Her faith made her whole. Lord, You say that the upright men will see your face. We want to do that.