Rachel~The Beloved

How hard would it be to share your husband with someone else? Namely, your sister, whom your father betrothed to him in your place? How would it make you feel if she continually bore him sons, while you had no children to give him, in a culture where children were regarded as your wealth?

Genesis 29:6-9

When Jacob met Rachel she was bringing the sheep to the well to be watered. She was their keeper, taking care of the sheep for her father.

How many of us, as Christians, are responsible for the well-being, safety and growth of other Christians? Do we do what is called of us willingly and responsibly?

Genesis 29:25

Rachel became Jacob's wife, but only after he had been tricked by her father into marrying her older sister first.

How many times have traditions and ceremony stood in the way of a Godly union?

Genesis 29:31

Even though Jacob loved Rachel, he still fulfilled his husbandly obligation to Leah. Out of this union came four sons, but Rachel was still childless. Because Leah was hated in Jacob's eyes, the Lord gave her children, but not Rachel.

Can we justify our love for someone by hating another? The answer is 'NO'-hate is wrong in the eyes of God, even if it seems right to us.

Genesis 30:22-24

When Rachel finally conceived, many years had passed since she and Jacob were married. God had taken away her reproach-or in today's terminology-her shame.

Has God moved you into a place where you're fully qualified, yet someone else who does not have the training hold the position? When God moves us into another position in life, and we're fully trained and ready, He might postpone our responsibility to give someone else the chance who will not have any other glory in their life.

Genesis 31:14-16

All scriptural accounts show Rachel and Leah envious and jealous toward one another, in competition. But when Jacob decides to leave his father-in-law, to go back to his home country, they are in full agreement and supportive of his decision.

Even though we might disagree with one another over what seems important issues, such as doctrine and procedure, can we put those aside to do what needs to be done for the greater good?

Genesis 31:19

Rachel stole the images that belonged to her father.

{The word images here translates to the word 'teraphim' in Hebrew, which were graven images set up in houses to represent the gods they worshiped. In stealing these, Rachel repaid her father for stealing her husband and giving him to Leah, as well as their inheritance that he withheld from both of them. (v.14-16)}

How many of us, for spite, would do something against someone who had wronged us, instead of forgiving them and moving on with our life? When our life is changing for the better, we should not drag into it any baggage from the past, because it will do nothing but weigh us down.

Genesis 31:30-32

When Laban accuses Jacob of stealing his gods, he denies it because he has no knowledge of what Rachel has done. He speaks out a prophecy of death to perpetrator, and later it is fulfilled when Rachel dies in childbirth. (35:18)

How many of us think that we have to have some worldly influence in our marriage to prove a spouse's love, instead of relying on the evidence of the past? (In Rachel's case, it had been 20 years since she and Jacob had met, and he had resided with her the whole of their married life. Surely that was enough to prove his love.) Is there anything in our life that is there 'just for show", to prove to others our love to one another? Or does the evidence come from the heart and actions of the past?



Abigail~The Peacemaker

1 Samuel 25

The first thing we see about Abigail is the striking difference between her and her husband, Nabal. (v.33) Even the meanings of their names represent their characters. Abigail: her Father’s joy, Nabal: fool.

How would a virtuous woman conduct herself when married to an irreverent and disrespectful man such as her husband? A man who was so utterly selfish and hateful that he responded to those in need without any compassion. (v.3, 14) How many years had she lived with this man who was so blatantly evil to those around him? How many times had she ‘made amends’ for his behavior, taking on the righteous responsibilities herself? How many times had she put herself in jeopardy, seeing that she lived in a time when women were the possessions of their husbands, and risked divorce or death if she was found going against his authority?

Even though she had no authority as the wife, the servant came to tell Abigail about her husband’s actions toward David’s men. He knew she would do SOMETHING to correct the situation. He recognized Nabal as a ‘son of Belial’—that is, a man who follows another god. (v.14-17) Abigail used the ‘good understanding’ attributed to her (v.3) to put together a bountiful amount of food for David and his men. Unlike her husband, she recognized David as God’s favored, not the man sitting on the throne-Saul. (v.10)

She spoke to David prophetically, not only about the current situation, but about the future concerning him and Israel. (v.28-30) She also spoke prophetically concerning her husband, (v.31) knowing that the Lord would punish him in His own time. She asked David to remember her when that had taken place. At this point we can see that David and Abigail were actually of the same character: they were both fighting for the Lord while under the subjection of a higher earthly authority. Neither were afraid to take the risks necessary to do the right thing in the name of the Lord. David recognized this in her, and blessed her for coming to him. (v.32-35)

Upon returning home, she found Nabal too drunk to speak to, having a feast ‘like the feast of a king.’ When she tells him the next morning how close he and the household came to dying by David’s hand, his heart ‘died within him, and became as a stone.’ Ten days later, the Lord ‘smote’ him ‘that he died.’ (v.36-38) What kind of thoughts went through his head in the ten days that he lived? Did he have any regrets? Did he yearn to go back so he could treat people differently?

At that moment, Abigail was no longer trapped in an ungodly marriage to an ungodly man. As a reward for her support and righteous thinking, David married her, (v.39-42) and she saw him become king of Judah, then Israel, as she had prophesied .

So, based on these characters, are you an Abigail? Are you the delight of your heavenly Father? Do you do what’s right as determined by God, even if it flies in the face of tradition or the current authority? Are you in a place, spiritually, where the Holy Spirit can give you prophecies and reveal to you things not acknowledged by others? Or are you a Nabal? Do you deal foolishly and harshly with others, not recognizing God’s chosen?

As an Abigail, you will reap blessings, have evil removed, and be rewarded with something that you could never attain on your own. As a Nabal, you will wake up to find out how narrowly you escaped with your life, your heart will stop beating, and you’ll die a slow, miserable death, either spiritually or literally.