Wednesday, January 12, 2011

What's it really mean to be blessed?

Scripture Verses that Caught My Attention Today: Genesis 29:31-35 hen the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, “Because the LORD has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also”; and she named him Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi.She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD”; therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.

Observation: This reminds me of a Bible study I attended that I thought was good but now I think might have left out an important point.

Application: Years ago I attended a Promise Keeper’s Gathering in the Detroit Superdome. I went with some skepticism and took a ton of notes. Although the messages were a little less grace-oriented than I might have hoped, they were nevertheless entertaining and, on the whole, made for a decent event.

One of the speakers focused on this passage from Genesis. The speaker noted that Leah, as an “unloved” woman, was blessed by the Lord with children. Nevertheless, what she really wanted was the love of her husband and she saw each of her first three children as means to that end, though to no avail. Finally, upon the birth of her fourth child, she quit her life of self-pity and simply gave thanks for the life she had by praising the Lord. The speaker’s main point was that once Leah stopped feeling sorry for herself and started praising the Lord, things got better.

I like that point, but the question is, “does this passage of scripture bear that view out?” Answer, I’m not sure. After the birth of the fourth child and praising the Lord, she ceased bearing children. In the Old Testament, generally speaking, the ability to bear children is considered a blessing of God. So if things got better for Leah, it’s because she was ahead of her Old Testament times and realized that she was valuable to God in her own right whether or not she could bear children. Yet if that’s true, she slipped back from a faith perspective some time later when she felt the need to offer her maid to Jacob to have children in her stead since she could no longer do so. Why, exactly, did she cease bearing children?

We may never know the answer…and maybe that’s okay. Maybe the whole point of a story like this is to invite us to reconsider what it means to be blessed in the first place.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for putting up with the silly games of personal value we play…and for reminding us ever so subtly that our entire value is ultimately found only in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: Genesis 29-30 and Luke 12)

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