January 14- Sister Wives

January 14, 2011

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 30:1-31:16; Matthew 10:1-23
Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 3:13-15

Genesis 30:1-30:16

Reality TV in America has created a show called Sister Wives. The show follows a Mormon family that practices polygamy. Yep, that's right.  One man is married to three women and as the story unfolds, he is courting another woman to become his fourth wife. I watched the show a couple of times, but I can't remember how many children he has.  I think it is eighteen.

His wives appear to get along like sisters until the man begins to court the fourth gal.  Her presence creates jealousy and as it rears its ugly head, conflicts abound.

In today's reading we have real-life sister wives.  Jacob is married to two sisters named Leah and Rachel, but he only really loves Rachel.  We learn that Rachel directs Jacob's sex life, because we see her telling him to sleep with her servant, Bilah, and we also see Rachel bargaining with Leah to allow Leah to have sex with Jacob.

This is not what we would consider to be normal family relations.  Jacob flies into a rage when Rachel blames him for her infertility.  Have you seen this plot line before in the Bible?  What's up? We know by now what God is up to.

Rachel uses her servant as a surrogate and Bilah, the servant, has two sons.  Rachel, who is very competitive with her sister, Leah, feels vindicated.  Leah, meanwhile, sleeps with Jacob and has her sixth son.  I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted just thinking about all of this! 

God finally opens Rachel's womb and she has a son named Joseph.  He is the last son, and following the pattern set in the Bible, he is the favored child.

Genesis 31

After Joseph's birth, Jacob wants to go back to his home land.  His skill as a livestock breeder/herder has made his father-in-law, Laban, a very wealthy man.  Laban and Jacob cut a deal that Jacob will be paid for his work by taking all of the spotted or streaked goats and all of the black sheep. Through mating techniques and the supernatural blessings of God, Jacob increases in wealth. (Vs. 8-13)

Laban has been deceiving Jacob the whole time and Jacob has been deceiving Laban. This is a deceptive family.  In the end, Jacob has a dream where the Lord tells him that He (God) is with Jacob, has been blessing him, and wants Jacob to return to the Promised Land.

The sister wives have no problem leaving their character-impaired father.

This is the complicated story of how the twelve tribes of Israel came to be.  This is how God fulfilled that prophecy given to Isaac.  Are you surprised at how messy and dysfunctional it all was?

Lesson:  God uses flawed people and dysfunctional families to bring about His beautiful purposes on earth.  Our sinfulness cannot thwart His plans to redeem the world.

Matthew 10:1-23

Posse- (A Noun) Your hommies, your peeps, the gang of friends you hang out with that make you powerful.  ~Urban Dictionary

In our Old Testament reading we saw how the twelve tribes of Israel came to be.  Jacob's sons fulfilled a prophecy given by the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament.  Those twelve sons were a shadow and picture of things to come.  The twelve sons of Israel were a picture of  the twelve apostles who Christ calls to be the foundation of his Church.

Today we see these twelve apostles get their first instructions from their leader.  Let's just say that Jesus gives his posse their power.  Jesus tells them that he wants them to go to the nation of Israel to cast out demons and heal every kind of disease. He intends to fulfill all that the Scriptures have predicted by using these completely ordinary men.  From a management standpoint and team leadership standpoint, Christ shows wisdom in having others share the load. His first command is that they go only to the nation of Israel.  Why does he say this?

Can you guess a reason based on principles we have learned so far?  Well, many of you probably said it out loud, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."  Yes, the descendants of Abraham must receive the opportunity to accept the world's promised Redeemer Child first. You can probably guess that since they are the first to receive the message, they may end up being last to enter the kingdom (spoiler alert).  They are the people who wrote down the story, received the prophecies, and produced the child.  They get first dibs.

Jesus already knows that the majority of his people will not take too kindly to his message.  How does he know?  He's read the Scriptures and they predict that he will be rejected by his own people. Notice how he instructs his apostles as they consider approaching the Jews:

• Don't take money or possessions with you. Vs. 9
• Accept hospitality. Vs. 10
• Stay with people who are worthy of you and my message. Vs. 11-13
• If a town rejects the message, leave without incident. Vs. 14-15
• Jesus calls the nation of Israel "wolves." Vs. 16
• Jesus prophesies that the Jews will persecute the Apostles. Vs. 17-18
• God will provide the Apostles with the proper words for their defense when they are arrested and taken before government officials and kings. Vs. 17-20
• Jesus says that their families will betray them and everyone will hate them because of him. Vs. 21
• Jesus assures them that if they endure, they will be saved. Vs. 22

Wow.  Do you think his posse realized what they were getting into when they signed up to follow him?  Does this sound like a fun assignment to you? Part of what Jesus says here is a prophecy about the future. Jesus is quoting from Micah, the prophet, and predicting a time in the future when witnessing about Christ on earth will become even more difficult during the end of the age. This particular prophecy applies specifically to the nation of Israel, as they once again become the primary evangelists on earth after the Church is raptured to heaven prior to the Great Tribulation. This passage is a double reference to the apostles evangelizing and to the future group of witnesses who will evangelize across the earth during the Great Tribulation.

Jesus realizes that God's plan, as explained in Romans 11, allows for the nation of Israel to reject their Messiah at his first coming (not all, but most), so that the gospel message will be spread throughout the whole world to every tribe, language, and culture to all of the Gentile nations. Israel's corporate rejection results in their being cut off from the olive tree, but they (the nation of Israel) are grafted back into the olive tree and resume their ministry as a kingdom of priests at the close of the story prior to Jesus' Second Coming.

Remember Christ's prophecy in Matthew 8:11-12 when he says, "And I tell you this, many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites-those for whom the Kingdom was prepared, will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  (NLT) During Christ's first coming, the Gentiles are graphed in after Jesus' disciples go first to the nation of Israel and receive rejections from the Jews for the most part. Although most of the nation of Israel rejects their Messiah, there is always a remnant of Israel that believes.

Jesus is methodically following God's plan for history or shall we say the plan for His Story.

From their perspective, the Apostles probably didn't really understand what was happening at the time. You and I have the benefit of being able to read and analyze the story after the fact.

Lesson:  Jesus is not surprised by those who reject him.  He sees it as part of the plan. Not all people will accept Christ.

What have you learned?  Do you feel that your learning new aspects of how God works and thinks? Does anything surprise you?

Psalm 12:1-8

Notice how this psalm could be talking about both our Old and New Testament passages today.  Do you see the overlap?  This is truth about humanity.  People lie and are evil.

Proverbs 3:13-15

Wisdom is better than money and jewels.  It is as valuable as silver and gold. Do you believe that?  Do you act upon that?

What did you notice today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton