01/28/2020
“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.’” (Genesis29:35)
Jacob had promise Laban to work for his daughter Rachel, but then Laban gave him Leah, his younger daughter saying, “It is not our custom to give the younger daughter before to older one. So he agree to another 7 years of working for Laban for Rachel. Rachel could not conceive, but Leah gave him 4 sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah). Then Leah had no more children, but praised the Lord. The name “Judah” (Hebrew – yehudah) was intended to suggest the Hebrew word for “praise” (Hebrew – yehodeh).
The promise of a large family began to be realized. Human intrigue, physical barrenness, and family relationship problems appear to be the immediate factors involved. The Bible’s inspired narrative points to God’s work as the guiding factor. In so doing the Bible does not hole the actions up as a moral example but shows hos God can accomplish His purposes despite the weaknesses of His people!
PRAYER FOR THE DAY:
Precious Abba, through the story of Jacob’s wives, we see that You do not always point out exemplary moral acts by Your people, but that in spited of the weaknesses that we has human beings all have, You can accomplish Your will no matter how people act. Let this story be a lesson to us all, that God can and does use us all, to achieve His goals and purposes, even when we don’t exactly measure up. All this we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
“It is not our culture to sin, it is our nature to sin; and only GOD will change that nature.”
KNOWING GOD:
“Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The Lord with you!’ ‘The Lord bless you!’ They called back. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth2:4, 12)
Boaz brought the Lord into his daily life. His greeting to his employees took the form of prayer. Such personal prayer habits will be a witness to other people. Ruth had chose God. Boaz invoked His blessing on her. Intercession is not limited to desperate situations. It includes seeking God’s blessing on His faithful people
I AM:
“Prayer, Personal”: (1st Samuel 1:10-17)
Hannah’s prayer is one of the most effective prayers in the Bible. She began with an appeal to the mighty power of God. She prayed with earnestness, reverence, and humility. Her prayer for a son went beyond the Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21), for she relinquished her parental rights. She prayed silently. Elkanah affirmed her vow, for she was allowed to carry it out fully. Any matter we care enough to cry about, we should care enough to pray about. At times only the heart can pray. Words do not truly express our feelings and desires (Romans 8:26). We can trust God with the deepest feelings of our soul. Eli eventually added his prayer to Hannah’s. In times of need, the prayers of other people encourage and strengthen us.
Second Thought of the Day:
“May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely. If I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba. I sh-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.” (2nd Samuel3:9-11)
I sh-Bosheth had accused Abner of sleeping with his father’s concubine. Abner responded in anger, that he had been loyal to the house of Saul and had not done anything to stain that relationship.
This is a vow that Abner attempted to carry out. A vow made to accomplish God’s will is admirable. A vow made in anger and jealousy can be sinful.
Daily Meditation by Rev. Jerry 