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Day Two: Remembered

Read Genesis 29:16–30:24.

In ancient Hebrew culture, a woman’s worth was bound up in her family. Her legacy was based on her ability to bear children, especially sons, who would carry on the family name. Given this cultural insight, how do you think Rachel might have felt when she held Joseph in her arms, knowing that God Himself had reached down and taken away her disgrace by providing her a son? 

Remembered is an important word in 30:22, “Then God remembered Rachel” (emphasis mine). By using the word, remembered, the narrator is signaling to us that God’s upcoming work in Rachel’s life is significant to His covenant with Abraham and the future nation of Israel. Rachel is part of a grander story. 

The word remember in the Old Testament also indicates God’s action. This might be confusing for us because our modern usage of remember gives the impression that for all these years God had forgotten Rachel. It sounds almost as if after having divinely arranged Rachel and Jacob’s meeting and after a lovely wedding reception, God plumb forgot to put her pregnancy on His calendar. Fortunately, this is not what the word means here at all. 

God’s remembering us will never be separated from His divine activity and His perfect timing in our lives. While Rachel was waiting on the Lord for a child, He was preparing to give her a son who would have a profound effect on the future of God’s chosen people. Though Rachel had prayed for many years, seemingly to no avail, God heard her prayers and had a far greater plan than she could have imagined. 

While it’s good to wait on God for the things we long for, how we wait on Him is just as important. In your waiting, tell the Lord you trust His timing and believe in His power to achieve your heart’s desire. Surrender your agenda to Him. And where your faith lacks, pray these words from Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (CSB).

Today we welcomed our study’s main character, Joseph, into the world. We learned that his birth was a profound joy to Rachel and that through it, Almighty God had taken away her disgrace. We also discovered that Joseph’s birth came about because God keeps His promises. He was faithful to remember Rachel because He remembered His covenant with Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his family.