Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Where's Jesus? The story of Jacob's children (Genesis 29:31-30:24)

In Genesis 29:31-30:24, there is a fascinating story about Jacob's wives and the children they bear.  In it Leah conceives and gives birth to six sons; Rachel has one son and the two servants have two sons apiece for their mistresses.  Thus Leah is the most prolific both directly and by Zilpah, her servant eight sons to four.  Where is Jesus in this story?  If my earlier premise is right that Jesus is in the bigamous marriage as the one who brings Jew and gentile together under his tent, then this story seems to imply that the Jews and the Gentiles will each bear fruit in the family of God.  While the Gentiles, represented by Leah, will be great in number, there will come a time when God turns his grace back upon the Jewish people and they too will bear children of the covenant.



It was Paul who said in Romans 11:25-26,
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
The Jews, like Rachel's womb, were hardened and closed, but Christ didn't forget them, just like he didn't forget Rachel, in fact, Genesis 30:22 tells us,
Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.
And she bore children.  Just as Israel will one day again bear children of the covenant and be saved like the children of Leah.  Christ is in the story as the husband and father of both believing Jew and believing gentile, and like Jacob, he loves each and every one of his children.  Now this is grace.

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