00:04WEEK 2
00:05Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ
00:11is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on
00:17earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
00:22Into the text
00:23A consistent theme throughout the latter half of Genesis is the difference between a life
00:29that seeks the things of God and one that seeks the things of the world. Jacob and his family
00:35members were constantly faced with choices, forcing them to decide whether or not they
00:40would choose the things of God. In today's reading, we see how a life that chooses the
00:46things of God may include the surrender of our heart's greatest desires. Leah and Rachel were
00:52in constant competition. Rachel was loved by Jacob, Leah was able to have many children,
00:59They even used their maidservants to produce more children as a way of winning against
01:04the other.
01:05The rivalry between the sisters was a symptom of their weak faith. It showed that their
01:11greatest desires were things of the world, the love of a husband and bearing children.
01:16Desiring children or a husband's affection is not in itself sinful. However, when these
01:22desires caused Leah and Rachel to compete against one another, use others as objects,
01:28and create strife in their family, it led them away from the things of God. While this rivalry
01:34displayed the sisters' weak faith, their confidence in God's character is nevertheless shown by the
01:40way they named their children. The children of Israel display the character of God through the
01:46names they were given. He remembers and pays attention to the needy, he blesses the oppressed,
01:52and he removes the reproach of his people, even if they make a mess along the way.
01:57The narrative of Jacob's family is meant to display how God blessed the family of promise.
02:03Jacob's many children show the beginnings of God's promise to make Abraham's descendants as numerous
02:09as the stars in the sky. Yet, throughout the narrative, we are distracted by the competition
02:15between the sisters. The rivalry distracted the sisters from appreciating the blessing of the
02:21many children whom God was giving to Jacob. Even though Leah and Rachel were often distracted by
02:27jealousy and competition, God still poured out his blessings on them. We do nothing to earn any of
02:34the gifts he gives us, but he indeed blesses our obedience. The things we desire should not keep
02:40us from praising and obeying God. They should drive us closer to him, either through fervent and desperate
02:46cries for help or through glad and thankful worship.
