#Goals - Part 1 - Se StudentsSample

Families today come in all shapes and sizes. Some people have more than two parents, some have lots of siblings, some have half and step siblings, and some have no siblings or only one parent. Families were complex in Biblical times too. We left off looking at Jacob and Esau’s relationship. Esau got very angry that Jacob stole his birthright and blessing and swore to kill him once he mourned his father Isaac, who had just died. So Jacob ran away to his Uncle Laban’s house. This could be a reality show; the drama is real, and we are just getting started. 

While with Laban, Jacob married two, yes TWO, of Laban’s daughters, Rachel and Leah. Rachel was unable to conceive children and Leah was unloved by her husband. This family story repeats itself because Jacob tried to go around God just like his grandfather Abraham, he has children with his wives AND his wives’ servants. When we add it all up, Jacob had 12 sons with four different women. Sounds pretty messy, right?  

But God shows up again. You see, God was working like He always is, in the background, using the mistakes we make for His glory. You may be wondering what the glory is in this story. Jacob’s messy, broken family is the foundation of the nation of Israel. His 12 sons go on to become the 12 tribes of Israel. Pieces of the puzzle begin to align and we see that God never forsakes this family because of their brokenness. Not once.