The Scourge Of Racism
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Memorial Day causes us to look to the graveyard or if you will, the fields of the dead to remember with esteem those of the military who gave their lives serving our nation. So, I do with all others again this year. The ‘“cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre’” in Israel is the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their respective wives Jews look to remembering the progenitors of their ethnic heritage (Genesis 49:29-33, NKJV). Jacob, God named Israel, fathered twelve sons by four wives, six of them borne by Leah who is buried with him. How this came about and on this Pentecost, the body of Leah’s greatest Descendant not in a tomb concerns this post.
Leah, daughter of Laban and sister of Rachel examined in last week’s post,1 was honored with burial in the patriarchal cave by her husband, Jacob. She had been his first wife through the deceit of her father when he switched her out for Rachel on what was supposed to be her younger sister’s wedding night (Genesis 29:15-30). For whatever all of the reasons including perhaps, the physical issue with her eyes noted in the referenced passage, Leah as the older of the two sisters had not yet married when Jacob arrived on scene. As with most women of her time, marriage and family were the twin aims of her life and surely the reason in part she cooperated with her father’s treachery.2
In the polygamous marriage to Jacob as his first wife, but second to Rachel because he loved her more, Leah found herself “unloved;” literally hated by her husband. Fortunately for Leah and all women in marriages where their husbands do not love them, God was watching and on the case for her. “He opened her womb” out of mercy, but kept Rachel’s shut (Genesis 29:31, NKJV). While His observation of women in marriages where they are unloved by their husbands is a universal reality that should spur them to prayer for help, God’s specific actions for Leah are not. He acts in accord with His sovereign will, wisdom, unique purposes for all who call upon Him and His glory!3
Leah rightly concluded that the Lord had seen her “affliction” of being unloved by Jacob when she bore him a son she named, Reuben, for that reason (Genesis 29:32, NKJV). However, her hopes Jacob would love her because of this son and the next two that followed were dashed (Genesis 29:33-34). From the seed of her third son, Levi, would come her descendants Aaron, father of Israel’s priesthood and God’s great lawgiver, Moses (Exodus 6:16-27). On her fourth son, Leah seemed to get that God should be praised for her fruitful motherhood and declared: ‘“Now I will praise the Lord.’” So, she named him, Judah, which means praise (Genesis 29:35, NKJV).
From the seed of Judah came Israel’s second king, David, and an eternal, royal dynasty terminating in “Shiloh” God foretold first through Jacob and promised several centuries later by the prophet, Nathan, to the king (Genesis 49:8-12; 2 Samuel 7:1-17, NKJV). This Shiloh, is none other than He Jacob had wrestled with and who came to earth to begin to fulfill all that was written of Him forty-two generations after Abraham (Genesis 32:22-32; Matthew 1:1-17). Of the things written of Him were His birth to a virgin also a descendant of Leah through David and the first priority of His work as Israel’s final King embodied in His name, “JESUS,” (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 3:23-31, NKJV).
Indeed, Jesus Christ, King of the Jews, completed His work to save His people from their sins as foretold (Psalm 22:1-21a; Matthew 27:32-50; John 19:17-30). On the same day before sunset, He was buried in a rich man’s tomb and on the third day after God resurrected Him (Psalm 22:21b; John 19:38-20:18).4 Following that on the fortieth day, “He was taken up” and glorified; seated at God’s right hand to await His return to rule not only Israel, but the whole earth! On the fiftieth day, “Pentecost,” He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe and enable His apostles to preach the Gospel about as well as “be witnesses to” Him “to the end of the earth,” (Psalm 22:22-31; Isaiah 53; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:36-53; John 20:19-29; Acts 1:4-2:40, 3:11-26, NKJV).
Leah continued to compete with Rachel for Jacob’s love through childbearing; making the same mistake as her sister in giving him her maid for a wife, but to no avail (Genesis 30:1-21). He did honor her above all at her death. Also, not only did Leah prevail in the fruitful bearing of six to Rachel’s two sons, but unknown to her God’s favor ran much deeper. She bore one from who would come Israel and history’s greatest King; even He who is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,” (Revelation 5:5, NKJV)! From what God did through unloved Leah, both His aspiring strong men and great women in the image of Christ are reminded He has worked and wills to work in us far beyond what we could have ever imagined to His glory (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)!5 Let Him have you!
1 Read the May 21, 2023 post, Lessons From Rachel For Aspiring Great Women, under the category, The Cause.
2 Another reason was the universal reverence given to fathers and modeled by God as the heads over their daughters until marriage only rebelled against in this latter days generation (Genesis 2:18, 21-22, 24:47-51; Numbers 12:14-16) though, Leah out of greater reverence for God and as a matter of character could have objected to being a party to deceit.
3 Christian women please note how the Holy Spirit led me to write broadly of women in marriages with husbands that do not love them. In His perfect will and your obedience to marry “only in the Lord,” such a situation should not exist for you. However, if for whatever reasons you are in a situation like this, you all the more know seeking God in prayer is the first right step followed by doing what His Word teaches in longsuffering while you wait on Him to act as He wills. And yes, the same goes for any Christian man in similar circumstances as it is written (1 Corinthians 7:10-16, 39; 1 Peter 3:1-2, NKJV).
4 Because Christ is risen from the dead, we Christians do not look to tombs or graveyards to remember and honor Him as One still slain in battle. But we exalt and magnify Christ within our hearts as our living Savior, Warrior-King and Lord; fellowshipping with and serving Him who is “alive forevermore” as He promised (John 14:18-24; Revela- tion 1:17-18, NKJV). If as a professed Christian you are not inwardly enjoying the resurrection life of Christ, disobedience in sin may be the reason. Watch our latest Strong Man Of God Online Rally on YouTube, Return To The Lord, to hear His summons!
5 Learn more about this by reading my book, The Strong Man Of God; Back To Basics! Get your Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition of the book as well as companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar book- stores.
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