Bible Wonders - The 4 Mothers - Rachel

So if you're listening on the day we release this it is Mother's Day, how wonderful and we are on the fourth mother in our Bible wonders in the fourth of the matriarchs that are better considered the foremothers of Israel with Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, last time, and today we get to Rachel and oh what a spectacular picture we have with Rachel. As I have studied this and the more I thought about this the more that of all of them.

This is my favorite story I love all the mothers minimum.

I'm very excited to meet them all in heaven.

But this story gives me hope this just beyond the exhibit is just exactly what my heart needs and so you know Rachel story is unique amongst good ones, but that she is not. She's the only one who is not buried in the cave of Michael Bob because she died in Bethlehem right there on the road and she's buried by the roadside bear and that is a very significant issue and when we go back to the story and Rachel was very much involved in all the shenanigans which again I II hate that that happened for her and I hate that all the consequences for the sin, but I really love the fact that in my own life I can quickly relate and I can see that God is the hero of the story. There is no doubt in my mouth when it comes to the foremothers. You can see their love. You can see the righteousness but you can also see the mistakes they made and the way that God continued to run with the ball in spite of what all happened in the hope that that brings to know that wow is really not up to me and and I think moms everywhere need to know that that you know you love with all your heart and with all your soul and all y'all. But and you love your neighbor as yourself. But at the end of the day it's God that that that is that is doing this stuff so Rachel's case, she you know certainly was madly in love with Jacob. He knows a lot at first sight thing there. And in a very significantly we see the beginning of their meaning there in Genesis 27 that when Jacob met her.

After which, that's just a beautiful story.

He rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, okay, evidence unfamiliar, but God is still always painting this picture of Jesus right and so that you know that whole idea of rolling away a stone and then all the sheep get watered and oh my goodness is that not what his great great great great. I really want to say that Jesus would come on, they would roll away the stone and we would all be watered and so it's it's really cool at that moment. Obviously, he meets Rachel and when he does in spite of negative falls madly in love with her.

He weeps uncontrollably, and what the Jews teach about this is Jacob had a vision right there from God and again you know it. I'm not saying it's necessarily true, but is helpful for me to see that would Jacob's all right, then, was how Rachel would be weeping for her children and and actually it was the scene of what would happen as was quoted in Matthew you know when it said Rachel weeping for her children and that really becomes the main line of the story and Rachel story from my perspective is is what happens at the end right sheet she dies in childbirth. She names her son Ben of Ben-Ami which is son of my sorrow just like Mary had a son of her sorrow, but it would be God's son of his right hand and as she's buried there in Bethlehem and is the Jews teach that Jacob and Rachel have this agreement that this needed to happen based on the vision that he had had of of what Rachel would end up doing and what they teach about the passage in Jeremiah 31 which I want to read that now because it's just critical to the story, if you're like me, but I would based on how I feel about my kids and all that that's going on with my grandkids.

Whatever you know I'm I'm mentally highlighted these passages, but you know I've I'm I'm thinking strongly about memorizing them because the hope that is in these these verses right here. These three verses is unbelievable but when we read the whole story that that the first line is quoted in Matthew two but let's read the whole thing. That's actually in Jeremiah 31 and he says thus saith the Lord of voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation in the bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children refuse to be comforted for comforted for her children that they were not thus says the Lord.

Refrain refrain by voice from weeping and nine eyes from tears for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of their enemy, and there is hope in mine, and saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. So this this was this was something that according to the Jews was prophesied know that it was something that Jacob saw and what they teach in, and clearly Jeremiah here is talking about the Babylonian exile right that all these children were coming out of Jerusalem and they were marching now to Babylon and there on this road but that goes from Bethlehem to Ramah and and this is the road that Rachel was weeping on now Rachel is been dead at this point in Jeremiah 31 for a couple thousand years amid a long time ride, and yet God is saying stop weeping God is saying, you know that that here we see that her work is and it is very says he specifically says that when we look carefully in the passage you there so many things are quoted that have to do with Jacob story right because what it says is that Rachel is crying, weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted by those are exactly exactly the same words that Jacob refused to be comforted when they came to comfort him about the loss of his son Joseph, and Joseph was not dead he wasn't.

All was not as it appears just like the whole theme of Genesis is all this not what it appears to be.

And so here, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted.

While this is a reminder the story of Jacob who refused to be comforted about a son who was not dead right and then it says because they were not well that again if you look in that same passage in Genesis. Who was it that was refusing to be comforted because his son was not well that that very they were not had to do with Ken with Joseph and Benjamin. Actually, in an 1/8 it's it's quoted in two different places were, Jacob says that and so again it's just really cool that the Bible is showing is something here in Jeremiah 31, of why Rachel is saying these very words because everything is not as it appears, and clearly you know it just is really neat for me to know that mothers are forever.

In other words, Rachel is still the mother of all these children that are leaving Jerusalem because right, she's a great great great great grandmother and and she is weeping and she still you know.

Clearly, he revisits quoted in Matthew at the point in time the children are all killed in Bethlehem.

Again we find Rachel weeping for these children. And like all my goodness.

She is a mother and is pretty nice to know from my standpoint and my mother still up there weeping over the choices I make a banner but God is saying he's gonna fix it. I mean, is this so clear it says here were your work is going to be rewarded, then I think here is talking about the work that Rachel actually did loving on her sons while she was alive and and so in praying for her sons while she's alive, and clearly weeping for them at this point in time.

In other words, if you if you look in this part of this story. The hope that's here is just absolutely miraculous like really think that that this is like a picture to me like in Job where we see what's going on in heaven and God is talking about what's going on in heaven with Rachel weeping for her children. What is that tell us that we didn't know our children are in heaven and it tells us that week we we are involved in what's actually going on down here in some way shape or form and that God is going to be continually in relationship with us as he is here with Rachel and and clearly Jacob in his own way. If you read the whole passage in the not to mention that this is the patching passage that talks very clearly of Jesus's go down a few verses and you find that the Lord is good to do a new thing. The bride encircles the groom with this. We are the bride of Christ, and we are the new thing okay and we are going and if you ever go to a Jewish wedding and encircle the groom seven times, like they went seven times around the city of Jericho to drop the walls where we get a chance to do that with Jesus. As a result of our mothers and their prayers and their work in our work right when her own children. How hopeful is that. Thank you for listening, and happy Mother's Day to