Zilpah's Children

01/01/2007

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                  Focus: Zilpah’s Children

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 30:9-13

            Message of the verses:  “9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.  10 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.  11 Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.  12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.  13 Then Leah said, "Happy am I! For women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.”

            Gad means “luck has come” and Asher means “blessed, happy”  It seems like the competition has continued, for after Leah stopped having children and then Rachel gave her maid to Jacob for a wife to have children for her, now Leah does the same thing and gives her maid to Jacob to have children for her.  God continues to work out His plan even though He does it through the sin or His children; He still works all things out to the counsel of His will.  I still believe that it was hardest on the maids of Rachel and Leah because these children that the bore were actually not their own, but belonged to their mistresses, and so they must have been strong about all of this.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that the best thing that I can do to take something from this is to learn from the mistakes that were made in this story and not repeat them in my life.  The OT stories were written for the believer’s in the NT era to learn from so that they will see the sins that were committed and not repeat them in their lives.

The Word of God has been a challenge and a conviction to my heart as I read and studied it this morning, this first day of the year of our Lord 2007.

My Steps of Faith Today:  Godliness with contentment is of great gain, this is the verse that I have chosen to learn about this year and to have the Lord teach me how that I can apply this verse to my life this year, along with the verse from last year where I have asked the Lord to teach me contentment, as I am certainly still learning what contentment is all about and pray that the Lord will continue to teach me contentment.  The other verse that is a part of my life from last year is still a part of it for this year and that is that the Lord would direct my path each and everyday, and that I would as the Lord to in all ways direct my path.  (Verses are 1Tim. 6:6 “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”  Phil. 4: 11 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 “5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”