Questions:
3.
An act of servantude conducted at the well. A relative of Laban comes for water. In the first, Rebekah served the servant, in this Jacob serves the shepherd
4.
Leah did for sure. Rachel may have as well.
5.
a.
Posing as a substitution through trickery. The one who was lesser favored took something that was meant to be given to the one who was more favored. In this case the first was put before the second, with Jacob and Esau it was the other way
b.
God allows men to sin because of our free will. He uses all, including our sin, for His glory. There are lessons here about honesty, deception, favoritism, following customs, etc. All have moral lessons
c.
Every action and every decision we make reflects not only on who I am, but it also reflects on how people view my family, my church, my father, my grandfather and my God. The gain from a deception cannot outweigh those costs.
d.
Jer 5:1 – find one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth and I will forgive this city. Prov 24:26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Th 5:26; 1 Pe 5:14 – Greet one another with a holy kiss)
My Daily Journal:
What a good look at these scriptures. This is one of the things that I love most about BSF; when we take a story we have all read and heard hundreds of times and dive deeper into it for the underlying messages and lessons. I had never really thought about whether Leah and Rachel willingly joined in their father’s deception. Nor had I ever questioned why God allowed the deception.
It helped me think about what lessons God is teaching me about me in the wrongs of others. I have worked in a number of different jobs, companies and professions during my life, from sales to service, from development to management, from being an employee to an employer. I’ve seen people cut corners, lie, cheat, violate agreements, steal, pretty much every act of dishonesty I can think of. And, like something that is rotten, the aroma of that act or decision is never limited to the memory or opinion of that single act or decision. It is present in my opinion of that person, their education, their moral views, their religious beliefs, their family. I don’t mean this judgmentally, but truthfully – I have a hard time isolating an act of dishonesty to that single act.
Our churches are full of sinners – that is kind of the idea! So, I’m not trying to say that the argument of some that they can’t go to church because it is just a bunch of judgmental hypocrites holds water. I’m saying that instead of turning our judgment to those others, we should use that knowledge to help guide our own decision making and temptations.
When I am given too much change at the grocery store, instead of pocketing the money and thinking, their mistake, I need to stop and ask myself, am I willing to risk tarnishing the view that people have of my family, my father, my business, my church and my God over a few cents or dollars?
The Notes are Good 