Week 7 LEAH

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE – 52 WEEK STUDY

Week 7 LEAH: Leah had a full life with many sons and wealth. However, she is best known for what she didn’t have: the love of her husband.
 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:

1.       Genesis 29-25, 30, 49:31

      2.       Ruth 4:11

REFERENCE MATERIAL:

1.       The Holy Bible
2.       All the Women of the Bible -Herbert Lockyer
3.       Women of The Bible: 52 Bible Studies –Jean E. Syswerda (Available at Rhema World)
4.       www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
 

SYNOPSIS:

Capable of both strong and enduring love, she was a faithful mother and wife. Manipulated by her father, she became jealous of her sister, with who, it seems, she never reconciled.

More About Her:

The Biblical matriarch Leah was the wife of Jacob and the mother of six of the twelve tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun

Leah was the oldest daughter of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. The only physical description of her is that she had "weak eyes" (Genesis 29:17) Jacob married Leah because of a trick of Laban. Jacob ran to Haran to escape from his brother Esau. In Haran, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, Leah’s younger sister. He reached a deal with Laban that he would work for Laban seven years to marry Rachel. Jacob worked seven years and, at the end of that time, Laban made a feast at which he was to give his daughter to Jacob. Instead of giving him Rachel, however, Laban tricked Jacob and gave him Leah.

Jacob confronted Laban about the trickery and Laban agreed to give him Rachel one week later, provided Jacob would work for him an additional seven years. Jacob agreed, married Rachel, and loved Rachel more than Leah. This hurt Leah and God consoled her with children. Leah was not comforted, however, and named her sons accordingly.

Her firstborn was Reuben because "the Lord has seen (in Hebrew ra’ah) my affliction" and "now my husband will love me (ye’ehabani)"(Genesis 29:32). Her second son was Simeon because "the Lord heard (shama) that I was unloved"(Genesis 29:33). Her third she named Levi in the hope that "this time my husband will become attached (yillaweh) to me"(Genesis 29:34). Only her fourth son’s name was not directly connected to Leah’s relationship with her husband. She named him Judah because "this time I will praise (odeh) the Lord"(Genesis 29:35).
 

After Leah had four children, Jacob’s next two sons were born to Rachel’s maid Bilhah. Leah then gave Jacob her own maid, Zilpah, as a concubine. Zilpah gave birth to two sons, Gad and Asher.

One time, during a harvest, Reuben brought Leah some mandrakes. Rachel asked for them and gave Leah the right to sleep with Jacob that night in exchange. Leah subsequently conceived her fifth son, Issachar. She had another son, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah, before Rachel gave birth to her first child.

After Rachel’s son, Joseph, was born, Jacob told Leah and Rachel that God had commanded him to return to his homeland of Canaan. They responded that he should do what God told him and they would follow.

The next time Leah is mentioned occurs when Jacob met with his estranged brother Esau. Jacob formed a receiving line of his wives and children, putting the maids and their children first, Leah and her children in the middle, and Rachel and her son at the end.

It is not written when Leah died, but only that she was buried in the Cave of Machpelah. Leah left as her legacy half of the 12 tribes, including Judah, father of the monarchy, and Levi, father of the priesthood. (Taken from www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

LESSONS

1.            God’s can use our pain to birth His divine plans (Leah left as her legacy half of the 12 tribes, including Judah, father of the monarchy, and Levi, father of the priesthood.)

      2.            We might not be man’s “first choice” but we are the apple of God’s eye ALWAYS

3.            Don’t under estimate our impact on history – YOU MATTER

LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE: (FROM WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: 52 BIBLE STUDIES –JEAN E. SYSWERDA)

READ GENESIS 29:30-34

1.            Pick one word you think best describes how Leah felt about this marriage to Jacob

2.            Many women today have husbands who love something more than their wives: job, position, money, sports. Many things other than another woman can put a wife in Leah’s position. If you know someone who is a “Leah,” pray daily for her and be an encouragement to her when given the opportunity. What can help a woman in Leah’s position?

3.            Leah is an unparalleled example of God’s willingness to give “beauty” for “ashes” (see Isaiah 61:1-3). How has God worked this way in your life? How has he worked this way in the lives of your friends or relatives?

4.            In Genesis 29:32-34, Leah expresses her desire for Jacob’s affection, an affection she knew she didn’t have. In your own words, describe how Leah probably felt and acted toward Jacbob. What do you think Jacob’s reaction was?

5.            Have you ever felt unloved by your husband, your parents, or someone else? How did you feel and act? What is your only possible source of comfort when you desperately want a love you don’t have?

READ GENESIS 49:29-31

6.            Jacob was buried next to the wife he loved less rather than next to the wife he loved more. What does this say no only about Leah’s position as a wife, but also as a mother of the Israelites?

7.            Although Leah was, of course, unaware of the position she was awarded in death, what do these verses continue to reveal about God’s involvement in her life?

8.            Leah had a full life with many sons and wealth. However, she is best known for what she didn’t have: the love of her husband. God noticed what she did not have but also what she lacked. What one thing do you want to learn from Leah and from her God?

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Week 6 RACHEL

 

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE – 52 WEEK STUDY

Week 6 Focus: RACHEL: The Woman In Whom Romance And Tragedy Were Blended

Scripture Reference:

1.       Genesis 29; 30; 31; 33:1,2,7; 35:16-26; 46:19,22,25; 48:7;15

2.       Ruth 4:11

3.       1 Samuel 10:2

4.       Jeremiah 31:15

5.       Matthew 2:18

Reference Material:

1.       The Holy Bible

2.       All the Women of the Bible -Herbert Lockyer

3.       Women of The Bible: 52 Bible Studies –Jean E. Syswerda

4.       Women Who Gave Birth to a Nation - Kathryn Capoccia (online)

Synopsis:

Manipulated by her father, she had little say over her own life circumstances and relationships. But rather than dealing creatively with a difficult situation, she behaved like a perpetual victim, responding to sin with yet more sin, making things worse by competing with her sister and deceiving her father in return

More About Her:

Rachel name means “ewe”, a title of endearment like lamb. Laban (Rachel’s father), accustomed to tenderly nursing the weak ewes as they were born, thought “ewe” to be a fitting name for his second daughter.

Rachel was the daughter of Laban, the son of Bethuel and Rebekah’s brother. Rachel became the 2^nd wife of her cousin Jacob and the mother of his two sons, Joseph and Benjamin

Rachel was the much loved wife of Jacob, the mother of Joseph, Israel’s savior and also Benjamin

She was no ordinary woman even though she shone with reflected glory.

She was naturally beautiful

She was divinely guided – the meeting between Jacob and Rachel was of God, and it was His providence that ordered the first glimpse of each other at the well

She loved deeply. While Leah had the keys to Jacob’s house, Rachel had the keys to Jacob’s heart. Leah influenced his judgement but Rachel never ceased to hold his love.

She was cruelly deceived by her father (marriage to her sister instead of her)

She was lamentably but not finally barren –Rachel’s whole being was bound up in the desire to become a mother

She birth one of the most godliest, greatest and renowned of the Bible, Joseph

She was tragically taken –hers is the first recorded instance in the Bible of death in childbirth.

Lessons

1.       The battle is the Lords, not ours to “do” in our flesh. When Rachel was barren she demanded that Jacob give her children (GEN 30:1) and resorted to using mandrake plants as a fertility drug (GEN 30:14,15).

2.       Stay away from IDOLS: Rachel stole idols from her father's house and brought them with her when the family left Laban's camp (GEN 31:19,34).

3.       Sin births Sin:  Rachel she lied to and deceived her father to conceal her theft (GEN 31:34,35).

4.       God answers pray: Rachel prayed for a son and God answered her (GEN 30:22).

5.       Bless God at all times! When Rachel became pregnant she acknowledged that God had done               it and she named her fist son "God shall add" saying, "May  the LORD add to me another son" (GEN 30:22-24).

6.       The most seemingly ordinary incidents in life are as much of the divine plan as the smallest parts of the a watch, and upon these smallest parts of the plan all the others depend –Our steps when ordered by the Lord lead to great issue (Herbert Lockyer)

7.       True love can be pass the test of time and hard work (Jacob for long labour for Rachel)

8.       “Barrenness” (struggles, disappointment) is only for a season – God has not forgotten us

9.       God still blesses us despite our mistakes

Legacy In Scripture: (From Women of The Bible: 52 Bible Studies –Jean E. Syswerda)

READ GENESIS 29:30; 30:1

1.       How do you think most women would respond to the situation in which Rachel found herself (29:30)? With love and concern for her unloved sister? Or with a spirit of superiority and pride?

2.       The agony expressed by Rachel’s words in Genesis 30:1 has been experienced by many women over the centuries. How did Rachel’s close relationship with Leah increase her pain? Is there any way their relationship could have eased her pain instead?

COMPARE GENESIS 29:30-31 and 30:1

3.       These two sisters each had something the other wanted. What did Rachel have that Leah wanted? What did Leah have that Rachel wanted?

4.       Discontentment is an insidious thing, trapping us into thinking that which was enough is no longer enough, and that which was satisfying is no longer satisfying. Do you ever feel discontent because you don’t “have it all”? What can you do to resist such sentiments?

READ GENESIS 31:19, 30-34

5.       Why would Rachel even have such idols? Why do you think she hid them from her father?

6.       When have you been in a situation that caused you to lie or cheat to protect yourself or someone else?

READ GENESIS 35:16-20

7.       Given the fact that they were on a journey, describe in your own words the situation under which Rachel likely gave birth.

8.       It’s one of the paradoxes of life, revealed here in this tragic story of Rachel’s death, that what we most want from life we often can only gain by giving up something else that’s equally important to us. Can you think of an instance in your own life in which gaining something you wanted required giving up something else?

9.       Jacob renamed his new son Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” What does this new name reveal about Jacob’s hope for the future?

Week 5 - REBEKAH

REBEKAH

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE – 52 WEEK STUDY

Week 5 Focus: REBEKAH: The woman whose favouritism brought sorrow

Scripture Reference:

1.       Genesis 22:23, 24, 25:19-34, 26:1-35, 27, 28:5, 29:12, 35:8, 49:31

2.       Romans 9:6-18

Her Character:

Hardworking and generous, her faith was so great that she left her home forever to marry a man she had never seen or met. Yet she played favorites with her sons and failed to trust God fully for the promise He had made

Reflection:

In reviewing Rebekah’s life and character what are some of the warnings to heed? Are we not forcibly reminded that love which seeks success at the cost of truth and righteousness is of the earth, earthy? The devil’s maxim is “Nothing succeeds like success” But from God’s standpoint nothing succeeds which does not follow the way of truth and honesty.  Then, while she had physical beauty, her domination of Jacob and her schemes to deceive her husband revealed the lack of beauty of a godly character.

Further, Rebekah is a warning to all parents that there should be no favorites in the family; that all alike should be dear to them. If there is partiality for any in a family, it should only be for those who are weak and helpless.

Another warning bell is that when a wife conspires against her husband, or vice versa, they are guilty of a baseness which language cannot describe. When one partner finds that he has been betrayed by the other, the world becomes a blank.

There is one beneficial application we can make of Rebekah’s prompt decision to follow Eliezer to meet her future bridegroom, Isaac – I will go! In connection with higher betrothal of the soul to the Heavenly Bridegroom, He comes to the sinner saying as Eliezer did to Rebekah, “Will you go with Me? Will you follow Me into that country where saints immortal reign?” When hearts respond to such an appeal, “Yea, Lord I will go. I will follow Thee, whithersoever Thou goest!” they are twice blessed. (From “All the Women of the Bible” By Herbert Lockyer)

Rebekah’s Legacy In Scripture: (From Women of The Bible: 52 Bible Studies –Jean E. Syswerda)

READ GENESIS 24:12-27

1.       What does the first information about young Rebekah tell you about her looks and her character?

2.       How are you like Rebekah? How are you different from her?

READ GENESIS 24:28-58

3.       In these verses Abraham’s servant tells Rebekah’s family how he met her, emphasizing the Lord’s blessing and involvement throughout. How does Rebekah’s family respond?

4.       Three simple words (24:58) changed Rebekah’s life forever. Who was she like in her willingness to go where she had never been before?

5.       How would you react if God called you away from home and family? What would have to happen to make you obey?

READ GENESIS 24:67, 25:28

6.       These are some of the sweetest words about marriage found in the Bible. In your own words, describe what you think Isaac and Rebekah’s marriage was like in these early days.

7.       Verse 28 expresses one of the saddest thoughts about parenting found in the Bible. Describe how you think their parents’ favouritism affected Jacob and Esau and their relationship.

8.       Many children grow up thinking their parents favored one sibling or another. If you have children, how can you avoid such thinking in them?

READ GENESIS 27:1-28:9

9.       Why do you think Rebekah resorted to trickery to gain the promise given to her when she was pregnant?

10.   Describe how you think Rebekah might have felt ten years later. Do you think she regretted her actions?

11.   How are Rebekah’s actions like those of her mother-in-law, Sarah?

12.   The story of Rebekah is rich and colourful. In one sentence summarize what you would like to learn from her life.