- Jacob was in love
with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for
your younger daughter Rachel."
- Laban said,
"It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay
here with me."
- So Jacob served seven
years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because
of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban,
- "Give me my
wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
- So Laban brought
together all the people of the place and gave a feast.
- But when evening
came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay
with her.
- And Laban gave his
servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.
- When morning came,
there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done
to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived
me?"
- Laban replied,
"It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage
before the older one.
- Finish this
daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in
return for another seven years of work."
- And Jacob did so. He
finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel
to be his wife.
Laban
is
the brother of Jacob’s mother, uncle Laban has two daughter, Jacob
loved the younger cousin, Rachel, but Laban gave Leah who is
older and married first, because there was a custom of the land that Laban
did not tell Jacob. The older daughter had to be married first. By
giving Jacob Leah and not Rachel, Laban tricked Jacob into promising
another seven years of hard work.
The
reason for that was the custom of the day for a man to present a dowry, or
substantial gift to the family of his future wife. This was to compensate the
family for the loss of the girl. Jacob’s dowry was not a material possession,
becuase he had none to offer, instead he agreed to work seven years for his
uncle Laban.
B. Jacob Marries Rachel
Scriptures Reading: Genesis 29:28b-31
28b Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
- Laban gave his
servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.
- Jacob lay with Rachel
also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban
another seven years.
- When the LORD saw
that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
Jacob Kept the Promise with His Uncle
Although Jacob was tricked by his uncle Laban, he
kept his part of the bargain. There was more at stake than just Jacob’s hurt.
There was Rachel to think about, as well as God’s plan for his life. When we are tricked by others,
keeping out part of the bargain may still be wise. Nursing our wounds or plotting
revenge makes us unable to see from God’s perspective.
C. A Substitute Blessing
Scriptures Reading: Genesis 29:31-35
- When the LORD saw
that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
- Leah became pregnant
and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is
because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me
now."
- She conceived again, and
when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that
I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon.
- Again she conceived,
and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband
will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons."
So he was named Levi.
- She conceived again,
and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise
the LORD." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having
children.
Name’s
Meaningful: Today
parents usually give their children name that sound good or have sentimental
appeal. But the Old Testament portrays
a more dynamic use of names. Parents often chose names that reflected the
situation at the time of the birth. They sometimes hoped their children would
fulfill the meaning of the names given them. Later the parents could book
back and see if their grown children had lived up to their names.
Sometimes
a person’s name was changed because his or her character and name did not
match. This happened to Jacob “he grasps the heel, “fiquratively, he deceives”,
whose name was changed to Israel (“he struggles with God”).
Jacob’s character had changed to the point that he was no longer seen as a
deceiver, but as a God-honoring man.
POINT: We must
remember, like Leah, that our worth is not based on how someone else feels about
us, but on God’s love for us, because God’s love and comfort will sustain us
through hurt and loneliness.
God loved us enough to send His only
Son to die for our sins. His perfect love is enough.
Today, let us remember this week that “love
covers a multitude of sins”.
Out Reaching:
Think about how you can reach out to those who feel lonely and rejected?
Someone we know who is lonely, unloved, and unlovely is hungry for a kind
word or deed.
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18. 雅各愛拉結、就說、我願為你小女兒拉結服事你七年。
- 班說、我把他給你、勝似給別人、你與我同住罷。
- 雅各就為拉結服事了七年．他因為深愛拉結、就看這七年如同幾天
- 雅各對拉班說、日期已經滿了、求你把我的妻子給我、我好與他同房。
- 拉班就擺設筵席、請齊了那地方的眾人。
- 到晚上、拉班將女兒利亞送來給雅各、雅各就與他同房。
- 拉班又將婢女悉帕給女兒利亞作使女。
- 到了早晨、雅各一看是利亞、就對拉班說、你向我作的是甚麼事呢．我服事你、不是為拉結麼．你為甚麼欺哄我呢。
- 拉班說、大女兒還沒有給人、先把小女兒給人、在我們這地方沒有這規矩。
- 你為這個滿了七日、我就把那個也給你、你再為他服事我七年。
- 雅各就如此行．滿了利亞的七日、拉班便將女兒拉結給雅各為妻。
拉班是雅各的舅父有兩個女兒，雅各愛那小表妹拉結(Rachel) ，但其舅拉班 給了大女兒利亞為妻，因當地風俗是老大必須先婚，拉班舅沒說清楚，故雅各必再為舅舅作工七年才能得他所愛的那小表妹拉結(Rachel)為妻子。
原因是當時的風俗，是男人將聘禮給予未來妻子的家人，以補償女兒的離開。雅各所能付出的是為舊舊拉班工作七年，可是拉班沒有告訴他，當地的風俗是老大必先出嫁，拉班將利亞而非拉結許配給雅各，欺騙雅各應承了另外七年的工作。
B. 雅各與拉結結婚 讀經文: 創世記29:28b-31
28b 拉班便將女兒拉結給雅各為妻。
- 拉班又將婢女辟拉給女兒拉結作使女.
- 雅各也與拉結同房、並且愛拉結勝似愛利亞．於是又服事了拉班七年。
- 耶和華見利亞失寵、〔原文作被恨下同〕就使他生育．拉結卻不生育。
雅各謹守諾言，不管拉班舅的欺騙
雖然雅各中了舅舅拉班之詭計，仍然負擔自己的責任。雅各自己所受的傷害固然不小，但他有更要緊的事要考慮：就是拉結，還有上帝在他生命中的計劃。當我們跌入了別人的圈套時，仍然負責自己的承諾是明智之舉。可憐自己或圖謀報復都會令我們看不見上帝的計劃。
C. 取代的祝福 讀經文: 創世記29:31-35
- 耶和華見利亞失寵、〔原文作被恨下同〕就使他生育．拉結卻不生育。
- 利亞懷孕生子、就給他起名叫流便、〔就是有兒子的意思〕因而說、耶和華看見我的苦情、如今我的丈夫必愛我。
- 他又懷孕生子、就說、耶和華因為聽見我失寵、所以又賜給我這個兒子．於是給他起名叫西緬。〔就是聽見的意思〕
- 他又懷孕生子、起名叫利未、〔就是聯合的意思〕說、我給丈夫生了三個兒子、他必與我聯合。
- 他又懷孕生子、說、這回我要讚美耶和華、因此給他起名叫猶大．〔就是讚美的意思〕這纔停了生育。
名字的意識: 父母通常給孩子取動聽或感人的名字。但在舊約中取名有更生動的一面：父母常常按孩子出生時的情況而給他們取名，有時他們會盼望孩子將來能實現名字的取意。日後回望孩子的成長，看看他們是否人如其名。
有時人們會因性格和名字不合而改變名字，雅各就是這樣：雅各原意為 “抓住腳跟”、寓意 “欺騙”
，後來他的名字改為以色列，就是
“與上帝角力”
的意思。他的性格也改變了，他不再被看成騙子，而是尊敬上帝的人。
總之: 我們要記住, 就像Leah(利亞), 我們的價值不在於別人對我們的看待 , 但在乎於神的愛我們, 就因上帝的關愛將支援 (除去)我們的傷心和寂寞.
上帝愛我們至使其子耶穌，為我們贖罪而死.
祂那完全的愛已夠了。
今天, 讓我們記得這週所學的 “愛能擦去許多罪孽”.
外展:
想一想那些是孤獨或寂寞的人呢？
某些您認識的人中誰是寂寞,
失愛, 這些人深需您說說慰心的話或行動之關懷.
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上帝關愛那被丈夫失寵的人 The Unloved Wife found Comfort in God’s Love
