Sun.’s Devo - By Faith

Read: Genesis 28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12
Isaac called in Jacob and blessed him with Abraham’s blessing and told him not to take a wife from the Hittites like Esau did, but to go back to Rebekah’s family and take a wife from her people.
When Esau realized that his parents didn’t approve of his Kennanite wives, he took a wife from Isahmael’s daughters.
On the way to Haran, Isaac stopped for the night and laid his head upon a rock. He dreamed of the stairway to heaven. He saw God who told him that the land he was lying on would be his one day and that his descendants would be like grains of dust on the earth. God would be with him and bring him back to this place. When Jacob awoke he was greatly moved and took the stone he had slept on and stood it up as a pillar. He named the place Beth-el which means “house of God”. He vowed to give God a tenth of all he possessed.
When he arrived in Haran he came to a well where all the shepherds were waiting until they all gathered their sheep there, then they would take the stone away and water the sheep. Jacob asked the shepherds if they knew his uncle, Laban and they told him that his daughter was walking up that very moment. One look at Rachel and Jacob was smitten. He took the stone off the well and watered her sheep himself. He kissed her and followed her home.
Jacob worked for Laban for a time before Laban offered him wages. Jacob offered to work for Laban 7 years for his daughter Rachel. Laban happily agreed and when the time came, Leah still hadn’t been taken so Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah first. Jacob had to finish out his week with Leah, promise to work another 7 years for Laban and get Rachel the second week.
Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so God opened Leah’s womb but closed Rachel’s. Leah had four sons: Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. They were named to describe Leah’s emotions at the time but they also describe the history of the world and mankind.
In Matthew, Jesus had just explained the new wine in new wine skins when an official came in and bowed before him begging Jesus to come and raise his daughter from he dead. A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up behind Jesus hoping to touch the hem of his garment and be healed. She did and was instantly healed. Jesus turned and asked who had touched him. Usually, the touch of an unclean person would make the one touched unclean so she was afraid when she admitted what she had done. Jesus made the point to call her out and proclaim over her that it was not the touching of his robe that made her whole but her faith. He wanted everyone to know that she was no longer unclean.
Jesus continued to the official’s house and raised a non-Jewish girl from death. Then he healed two blind men and cast the demon out of a dumb man and he was able to speak. Jesus came to bring life from death, open our eyes and give us a voice…these are all pictures of new wine being poured into new wine skins.
Lord, may we bring life to the dying, open the eyes of the blind and give voice to the ones who have been silenced.