And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Genesis 31:14
Smart ladies, these sisters! When faced with a decision regarding their future, these two matriarchs understood where their best prospects lay. Jacob had just explained to them how their father had cheated and misrepresented him. Then he explained how God had called him to return to the land of promise, and had promised to be with him and bless him and all that was his. These two facts convinced Rachel and Leah to accompany Jacob and to trust in all that God had promised for him. Today, the Lord Jesus calls to Christians to leave behind the false world and to cast our lot with Him and all that is His.
Rachel and Leah could have remained behind with their father. But they understood that the source of true blessings lay with Jacob and God’s promises. Do we understand that today? Do we understand how the world will use us and take advantage of us just like they used and tried to take advantage of the Lord Jesus. Just as Laban had sold out on his daughters, the world sells out on the Christian. Jacob wanted his wives to share in his prospects as God had promised him. And they were wonderful prospects. The Lord Jesus wants us to share in His prospects, which are far more glorious than those of Jacob.
Jacob could not fully explain all that God had in mind for him. But he knew the faithfulness of God’s promises. And he knew how God had blessed his father and grandfather. He presented his case to his wives, and they responded with wisdom and faith. In many ways, we don’t know all that lies before us in a path of obedience and faithful service for our Lord. But we have His Word that outlines exceeding rich and precious promises. We have the big picture, how the road before us ends in the Glory, how the Rapture of the saints is rapidly drawing near, how the promise of rewards for faithful service is sure, how the pleasures forevermore are ours. It’s the little details of the immediate journey that we don’t have laid out before us. Just as Jacob urged his wives to trust him for the trip back to Canaan, so we must trust the Lord Jesus to guide and supply on our daily travel home.
What would you have said to Jacob that day; would you have responded with the wisdom and faith of Rachel and Leah? Will you respond with wisdom and faith to Jesus’ call to accompany Him and to abandon the world’s fleeting claim? -Jim MacIntosh