2024_07_10 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- Genesis 29, Genesis 30, Genesis 31, Genesis 33:1, 2, & 7, Genesis 35:16-26, Genesis 46:19, 22, & 25, Genesis 48:7, Ruth 4:11, 1 Samuel 10:2, Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:18
Sometimes, when I read the Bible, instead of one main thought, I get several. As I have read and thought about Rachel’s life and story, here are a few things that stand out to me.
First, polygamy and polyamory do not appeal to me at all! Rachel and Leah had a poor relationship, sharing Jacob, not to mention the servant girls! I firmly believe that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. Among the many reasons is because relationships are not simple, and to add extra complexity isn’t smart.
Next, I am intrigued by how Rachel is described as having “a beautiful figure and a lovely face” (Genesis 29:17 NLT). While nothing is mentioned about her character, along the way, we see that she is deceptive and jealous. Physical beauty is good, but an attractive character is significantly more valuable. In our country, we spend inordinate amounts of time, energy, and money chasing physical beauty, but imagine if we spent that effort on building God-honoring character?
Finally, we should be cautious in assuming that the family environment dictates how someone will turn out. Both Rachel and Jacob grew up in homes where the parents were not paragons of virtue (Laban was a deceiver and liar, and Rebekah urged Jacob to deceive Isaac). It is easy to see where the lack of character was developed. We see that in Jacob’s family, especially his older sons, jealousy and deception as a continuation of the negative generational traits. But then along comes the second youngest son, Joseph. It would have been natural to assume that he would be like the others, but instead, he became a man of great integrity, honesty, faithfulness, wisdom, and courage. Family environment is influential, but it does not determine anyone’s outcome.
Just some thoughts at large…
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor