Bibledoorajar looks at Happiness

"I'm Happy today, oh yes I'm happy today

In Jesus Christ I'm happy today

Because He's taken all my sins away

And that's why I'm happy today."

Unknown

     Zilpah's second son with Jacob is linked to her first. Leah named him Asher because she said she was "happy". Asher was the eighth son of Jacob.  This made perfect sense to Leah because happiness depends on good fortune, something that she thought she possessed through the birth of her Zilpah's sons.  Happiness in one's life depends on chance and with the coming of two sons through Zilpah Leah thought she had found happiness. If I chance to find a buried treasure, it will indeed make me happy. But my happiness is not dependent on finding buried treasure. Rather, I look to Jesus who never assured me of happiness unless I made sure I was bouncing off His term--blessedness. It is far different because He does not promise good fortune, He promises a condition within that has peace of soul no matter what our life fortune is. Good or bad fortune matters not if Jesus lives in my heart even though it is human nature to want only good fortune. You might take a moment to read the Beatitudes of Jesus again this week. They can be found In Matthew 5 and Luke 6. Jesus consistently uses the term blessed. So, our little song above is accurate if, and only if, we know our happiness does not come by chance, but by the wonderful involvement of our Heavenly Father in our lives. Are you including Him? Can you be assured of a happy (blessed) week?

"Blessed are the hearts that can bend

They will never be broken."

Camus

Today we have an opportunity to be at peace within, able to bend with what life brings because He lives. Could there be a greater blessing? Have a great week walking in peace and happiness.

Bibledoorajar Salutes Fathers In the Struggle to Provide

      With the score four to two and with Rachel having declared she had prevailed against her sister, Leah took action. She thrust her handmade Zilpah forward to Jacob and encouraged him to bring another child into the world with the maid. Jacob complied and soon Gad arrived. Gad was Jacob's seventh son and at his birth Leah observed, "a troop cometh " and she called him Gad which means "in fortune".
     On yesterday, I was privileged to share a meal with four fathers. As we sat and ate and visited together there was much laughter and joy. Big children and little children were everywhere. But as I sat there and looked at each father, I realized that I knew a lot about the oppositions and struggles each man had faced in the life time of his children. One had endured the "troops coming" against him and his children and had reached older age having six children who had given him grandchildren who were now giving him great grands. I had personal knowledge of some of the agonies that he had had to endure. Though not a perfect man, he had certainly been patient in the face of adverse times within his family. He had not left; he endured. Another had faced life's difficulties and had considered ending his difficulty through death. However, he overcame those thoughts and continued his struggle finding joy in his progeny and their children. Next was a young father, virile and capable. A hard worker, he sees a bright future and is yet to see the many "troops coming".  The last was a man I do not know too well, but I know the "troops" came and he lost his children to be raised by others. Now he lives alone, seeking to find happiness through the children and family of another man.
     The Bible declares that in this world we will have tribulation. The spirit of God moved through Leah to declare this with the birth of Jacob's seventh child. With things coming at them from all directions, people have to find that last direction, the one where from deep within ourselves we look up and find good fortune in believing that God will sustain us and shape us. He will bring us to a place of peace and joy if we let Him prevail in our lives. Remember, God sees the end of our lives and He knows the plans He has for us. Center down and endure the storms with Him at the helm.

 "The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!"
                                           Mary Baker

Bibledoorajar Looks at Wrestling for Power

I've got the power hey yeah heh
I've got the power
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah
I've got the power
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah
Gettin' kinda heavy

The Power by Snap

     When Bilhah had a second son for Jacob, Rachel commented: "With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed." (Genesis 30:8). Rachel exalts in the power she is feeling with the birth of Naphthali ("wrestling"). How common is wrestling for power and authority in our relationships? How much are we empowered by our passion to succeed? Rachel refused to suffer defeat at the hands of her sister. After two children to Leah's four, she declared that she had prevailed. It was as if after experiencing success with the first child by Bilhah (which spoke of God's judgement and His dealings with her), she takes that experience of having been dealt with by the Lord as a great spiritual accomplishment. Now she speaks of prevailing and she takes great pride in it. But be wary Rachel, having the power all by yourself can "get kinda heavy." We all have the capacity to wriggle and squirm and bring to bear every resource we can muster to accomplish what we want, can we not? We all have our "ways".
     Have you ever been around someone who spoke of their prevailing  over a difficulty repeatedly and with great pride? Sometimes you just want to say, "do you ever suffer defeat?" Have you ever just reached a point where you had to let God prevail? Careful. We will see this word prevailing again both in the life of Jacob and the history of Israel. Remember, as long as Moses held his hands up, Israel prevailed against the enemy?
     True spiritual prevailing is not that done in one's own power, but rather in submitting to God to give the power and to render to Himself the glory. When living in Alabama, I would often compliment the preacher on a fine sermon delivery. He was usually careful to say, "may God get the glory." I always liked that because he was really saying, "I did not prevail (do not have the power), God did (has the power)."  This week evaluate what you are doing in your own strength and how much you have let God have the power in your life. Continue to realize what it means to know the God of Jacob intimately and to allow His life changing power through work of the Spirit into your daily life.

Bibledoorajar looks at God and Envy

     "When Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Jacob, she ENVIED her sister and said to Jacob, 'Give me children or I will die!' this made Jacob ANGRY at Rachel; he answered, "Am I in God's place? He's the one who is denying you children." She said, "here is my maid, Bilhah. Go, sleep with her, and let her give birth to a child that will be laid on my knees, so that through her I too can BUILD a family." So she gave him Bilhah her slave-girl as his wife, and Jacob went in and slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, "God has JUDGED in my favor; indeed he has heard me and has given me a son. Therefore she called him Dan which means He judged."
                         Genesis 30: 1-6

     The theme in the birth of Jacob's first four sons was one of mercy toward the unloved Leah. Now, in this scene, we see Rachel becoming envious of her to the point that she railed at her husband to give her children or she was going to die! John Michael Montgomery wrote a song about marriage until death and giving his spouse everything he could (I Swear). I'm sure when Jacob married Rachel, whom he loved so much, he wanted to give her everything he could. Seeing her so upset with his inadequacies to do so must have been very difficult to deal with. However, he turned her wrath from him by rightly pointing out that he could not be put in the place of God. He further was willing to say that God might be judging her because he, Jacob, did not mind participating in the production of a son with the woman he loved. So, considering the facts, which included God's involvement in the matter, she gave her slave-girl to Jacob with the intent of producing a lap child via her. So Jacob had intercourse with the girl and she produced a son. When it came to naming the child, Rachel chose Dan, citing that God had judged in her favor.
     We can now see a pattern forming that we will see over and over again in the history of Israel and of you, me, and the church. God is merciful to the sinful unlovable person, the sinful unlovable nation, the sinful unlovable church. But He also moves in judgement at times of envy and bad behavior. However,  he is always about His creative work of forming a person, a body, suitable to serve the One True Holy God.
     Scripture lists envy right up there with murder and adultery. It also declares that it is love that can drive these things from the heart of a person or a nation. Perhaps God saw Rachel's motives as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 13:1:

                   "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels and have not love, I am but a
                    clanging cymbal".

      Thank God for his great love that overwhelms our negative emotions that can lead to negative words!  Even in these early roots of God's dealings with people,  we see a wonderful, holy shaping taking place.  Everything, in the fulness of time, will be accomplished through His mercy and judgement. Today, I am thinking of how through Leah's sons we see the beginnings of the priesthood and Messianic tribes of Israel and we also become aware of God's judgement with the birth of Dan. Consider Romans 11:22ff.  this week and if you are pregnant think about not naming your baby girl Bilhah ("trouble, terror, worthlessness").God bless!