Today was a joyous day of sleeping in and going swimming, laying out by the pool and going running with a friend.
What I ate... greek scramble, banana and peanut butter, salad, banana and peanut butter (banana's going bad again :(...) salad for dinner
What I read.... Genesis 30
So at the beginning of the chapter we have a sibling rivalry between Leah and Rachel and Bilhah(Rachel's maid servant) on who can have the most children. One thing I thought was interesting, because when Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to have children, Hagar began to disrespect Sarah, however, when Bilhah was given the Jacob to have children for Rachel, she seemed to do it quite willingly and maintained her maidservant status. Just an interesting side note. Perhaps Bilhah had a servant's heart as we should and did as she was told and still respected her mistress. I know most people could read this whole chapter and probably not glean that at all. However, I seemed to have gotten stuck upon it. Considering that we are to be as bond servants to the Lord. We are not paid, for what we do and we are not enslaved, but we do it willingly. We chose to serve, perhaps we too should have the same servant's heart that Bilhah had. What an amazing woman to be, to bear children for your mistress, and to not really truly be able to call them your own. For Rachel considers all of Bilhah's children her own that is until she has Joseph. What an amazing thing. Like women who carry another woman's baby... So crazy the thought to me, to carry a baby for 9 months, to get to know that baby to love them to carry them with you and then once they are born to give to someone else to raise. Like women who put their children up for adoption... I don't know if I could ever do that. I know most women do it because they knew their babies would be better cared for in a home that could take care of them, yet still it is so sad the children that never get to know their real mom's. What did Dan, Nephtali must have called Rachel or Bilhah? mom or step mom or woman or maidservant. Who truly knows.... but still the heart of Bilhah is truly outstanding to me... Granted Zilpah was used as well. However, it is Bilhah that I find really remarkable, because at that time Rachel had no children. It is just amazing the things that occurred in Bible times. Like polygamy, concubines, a harem. Today we laugh at Hugh Hefner, but how similar his life must have been to some of these men and most of all no one thought otherwise, or hey this is weird and wrong.... Didn't they eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Well, when is it planning to kick in? I guess it just comes back to man's inability to live without sin in their lives. Man's fleshly tendencies that obscure the truth and good. I guess most of all I just want you to see Bilhah as the amazing outstanding woman that I see her as, not deceptive, not vindictive, just willing to do whatever Rachel tells her and to do it willingly... just as well should be willing to do the work of the Lord, no questions asked and with a servants heart.
Good Night and God Bless!
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