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DINAH’S DECISION: THE WEAK LINK

“And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so, Jacob held his peace until they returned.” ~ Genesis 34:5 REFERENCE:  Genesis 34:1-7 & 25-27 We saw how Dinah’s curiosity led her into the hands of a vile man; what she called ‘seeing life’ turned to ‘tasting trouble.’ In life, we can choose our sins, but we often cannot choose the consequence; sometimes, it is more than we bargain for, or are willing to pay. Jacob was a man greatly favored by God; he had the assurance that God would...
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DINAH’S DECISION: CUTE & CURIOUS

“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.” ~ Genesis 34:1   REFERENCE: Genesis 34:1-7   We rarely hear about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. Imagine the love and attention she enjoyed in the family as the only daughter with twelve brothers. They would dote on her, protect her, and shower her with good things and gifts. She must have been Daddy’s girl. Dinah grew up in a godly home with godly values. Her father was a patriarch and a prophet who had encounters with God...
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BETRAYAL

BOUNCING BACK FROM BETRAYAL

“He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.” ~ Psalm 55:18 REFERENCE: Psalm 55:16-23 Betrayal by a trusted ally or family member is one of the most painful experiences you could ever have. The physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional trauma and shock. You wonder, “How did I get here? What did I miss? What did I do to deserve this? Why did s/he do this?” Our last episode revealed bible characters that got betrayed: Jesus, Job, Joseph, and David, our main character. The good thing with these...
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BETRAYAL

THE BITTERNESS OF BETRAYAL

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it...but it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance.” ~ Psalm 55:12-13 REFERENCE: Psalm 55:4-8 & 12-14 Here, we find David, a man after God’s heart, not worshipping or composing praise songs but in bitter lamentation, dealing with fear, and on the border of depression. He said, “My heart is severely pained within me.” He was so horrified by his recent experience that he wished he had wings like a bird and could fly away from the pain and the horrors of his suicidal thoughts. David...
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GET STARTED

GET STARTED

The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it...” – Zechariah 4:9   REFERENCE: Zechariah 4:6-10 August is the eighth month, and eight is the number of new beginnings. Everything on earth has an origin; Genesis is the book of beginnings because it chronicles the beginning of all things. God is the author (or beginner) of all things; He loves it when we begin or start new things; things we have always wanted to do. Zechariah 4:10 says, “…these seven rejoice to see the plumbline in the hands of Zerubbabel.” God rejoiced when Zerubbabel started the work....
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GOD

THE GOD-ADVANTAGE

“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” – John 5:6    REFERENCE: John 5:1-9   Life can sometimes be ruthlessly mean. How do you explain that life detained this man in one spot for 38 years? This situation can break the stoutest hearts and wear out the strongest of men. The race of life left this lame man behind for 38 years. Someone always outsmarted him, outran him, outperformed him, and outwitted him. He lacked the network of...
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GRACE OF GOD

THE GRACE OF GOD

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” ~ Ephesians 2:8   REFERENCE Ephesians 2:8-9   Grace is unmerited favor, goodness, and kindness. It is God’s unusual help, as witnessed in King Uzziah, II Chronicles 26:15b, “…who made devices invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones…he was marvelously helped till he became strong.” The Grace of God ignores your natural history and rewrites your glorious destiny. By grace, the worst can become the best, the rotten can suddenly blossom, and the...
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LEAH’S LONGING: IRONIES OF LIFE

“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” ~ Genesis 30:31 REFERENCE Genesis 29:31-30:2 Humans are mostly needing beings, preoccupied with things they desire, and spend time praying about things they lack. Leah desperately wanted her husband’s affection; she longed to hear him say, “I love you,” and if it meant bearing several sons to get it, so be it. However, it was not on record that Jacob loved her. It seems the more sons she birthed; the more aloof Jacob was from her. She finally...
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LEAH’S LONGING: PERFORMANCE TRAP

“She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, his name was called Levi.” ~ Genesis 29:34   REFERENCE: Genesis 29:30-35   Leah was a woman unloved by her husband; this created a great gap (her husband’s attention and affection) that she needed to fill. Although God compensated her by making her prolific in child-bearing, she lived her life trying to gain her husband’s love, as we can see in our main text. Leah saw child-bearing as a way of getting her husband to love...
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LEAH

LEAH’S LONGING: GREAT GAP

“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.” ~ Genesis 29:31   REFERENCE: Genesis 29:30-35   Leah was a wife of fraudulence forced on Jacob by Laban, her father. Jacob loved her younger sister Rachel instead, and worked to pay for her dowry. But Laban tricked him into marrying Leah because he said it was improper for the younger sister to marry before the older. Jacob had to work for a second seven years for the dowry and still married Rachel. Hence, Jacob loved Rachel and ‘tolerated’ Leah. How emotionally crushing would this have...
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