Monday, February 3, 2014

Greatness Requires Much Training



Genesis 29:26-30        Laban replied [to Jacob], “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter [Rachel] in marriage before the older one [Leah]. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife…. And he worked for Laban another seven years.


Training for greatness is common in the Bible. A lengthy period of preparation in the wilderness, far from the eyes of others, often precedes a leadership role over God’s people. This pattern can be seen in the lives of people like Abraham, Moses and David. Abraham was seventy-five years young when God instructed him to leave his homeland. Moses was forty when God called him to lead the people from Egypt. David spent years as a fugitive to King Saul before God set him on the throne. For each of these men the role as God’s chosen leader passed through the valley of darkness and humiliation.

In the above passage we have Jacob moving into the worldly home of his uncle Laban. Laban was a shrewd and unscrupulous individual. His motives were never clear nor were they honest. Jacob, also a conniving individual, has met his match. It took fourteen years, seven more than Jacob anticipated to get what he wanted. In the end Jacob marries his first love Rachel, but only after having been duped into marrying Leah. We see that his worldly approach has not brought him peace and harmony. In the end he finds strife, jealousy and spoiled relationships within his household.

The lesson for us is evident. The temptation is often to abandon our faith walk with God because it does not seem likely to work. It would seem that honesty would not get us what we want. As a result, we give up faith, choosing deception and manipulation. Honesty, God’s way, may not seem to be the best policy. But dishonesty is always a terrible policy, even when it succeeds.

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