SEASONS LESSONS IN ELUL ON THE ART OF TURNING

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

In the literature of Jewish mystical thought it is explained that at the beginning of the Hebrew season of Elul we are "achor el achor" which means “back to back.” By the end of the season of Elul we are said to be "panim el panim," meaning “face to face.” This concept could be more beautifully explained in a dance, possibly a lovely ballet production, but since those resources are not readily available today,  I will try to use mere words.

First of all, one must ask the obvious question.  How can it be that we (us and God) are back to back? Wouldn’t this statement imply that God has His back turned to us and that we have our back turned to God? How can we say such a thing when this is the month in which it is said that "the King is in the field"?  

Many teachings and teachers have taught us that this is the very month when God is more accessible than ever, when He is waiting for us to come out to the harvest and greet Him in the field.  We have learned that this is a time when He is there for us in the "field" of our everyday lives.  So how could we possibly be "back to back?"

The concept is much easier to see if you think of it this way;  just recall all the old classic movies of love stories you have seen through the years where  a loving couple has to part for one reason or another.   We see them beginning to walk away from each another with their faces both turned in opposite directions.   Almost always, at some point the man turns around and looks back at the woman.  You can see in his face that he is wanting to call out her name, that he longs to ask for another chance, or beg for forgiveness, or make a way for them to still be together. In these scenes he is always just about to speak, just about to call out her name, but then he realizes that her back is turned and she is walking away from him. He tells himself that it is too late, that she just doesn’t care. That there is nothing that he can do.  So he turns back around.

Seconds later, it is the woman who turns to look back at the man. She knows she doesn’t want this relationship to end. She stalls for time, walking slowly.  More than anything she wants to say something to mend the situation, but doesn’t have the right words, can't muster up the courage, or doesn’t have the strength to speak up in her despair.  And after all, why should she when his back is turned away from her?   She looks at him longingly, wanting things to be different, but it just doesn’t matter.  She assumes he just doesn't care as she sees he continues to walk away from her.

And we, the viewers watch this touching scene, sitting on the edge of our seats, hoping against hope that they will both suddenly turn around in the same second and finally realize that the other does care enough to turn and step back into the other's embrace.  We keep watching to see if maybe one of them will suddenly realize that though they both appear to be back to back, they really and truly both want to be face to face.

Sometimes that happy ending does happen, other times they simply continue to walk in opposite directions right out of each other’s lives.

I think of the song "Turn, Turn, Turn"  that was sung by the Byrds sometime around the 70's which used the words of Solomon in the lyrics.  

The words ring so true during Elul.  

There is a time and season for everything.  This is the time and season to turn around and embrace the love of a God who was willing to die for you, a God who loved you enough to give His only begotten Son to ransom you.  it is a time of changing from "back-to-back" and turning to be "face-to-face" with The Creator of The Universe.   

I think it is this very aspect of the season of Elul that keeps the lyrics of the song, and the words of Solomon on my mind and in my spirit.  

Elul is the time that teaches us the necessity of being willing to turn. 

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 82 HOW GOD BLESSES JACOB AND PREPARES HIM TO MOVE ON

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

As we noted before, Jacob was growing restless.  He was tired of working for Laban.  He had labored long and hard and he was tired of making Laban a profit.  He wanted to go back to his original home and begin to raise his family there in the land of the birthright.

This thought took flight with him and moved him into action one day when he received a vision from God.  It was during the time when the flocks conceived and Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw in his dream that all the rams that leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.  After this he saw The Angel of God who called out his name.  When Jacob answered “Here I Am,” the angel said “Lift your eyes now and see all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.  I AM the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me.  Now, arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.”

Anytime anyone hears The Angel of The LORD call out their name and answers "Here I am" you can expect their life is about to change!  It is a repeated pattern throughout the scriptures.  Indeed, Jacob's life was about to take another turn.

This vision and this word from The Angel of The Lord sealed the thoughts in Jacob’s mind.  He knew he needed to prepare to leave.

So, he said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.  Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way.  You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

Laban did not want to see Jacob go.  Jacob had made him rich!  Laban had made a great living from doing nothing while Jacob had tended to his business for no wages, except a few wives and some maid servants who had many children.  They had eaten well, but Jacob wasn’t exactly getting wealthy working for Laban.

Laban wasn’t going to let Jacob go that easy!  He told Jacob:  “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay.  I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.  Name your wages and I will pay them.  
                                                   ”Well….that was a sudden change of heart!  Laban was offering wages for good labor!  Why had he not done this before?  

Jacob must have found his offer disgusting at this point.  Also, Jacob must have been appalled to know that Laban had learned something about him from divination.  Even if it was true, and the LORD was blessing Laban because of Jacob; divination was forbidden by God. 

So, Jacob said to Laban, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.  The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you where ever I have been.  But now, when may I do something for my own household?”

Laban would not be put off that easy.  “What can I give you?” he replied.

Like any business man who gets called and caught for being greedy to his best employee, Laban told Jacob just to name his price.  It seemed that Jacob had proven to be irreplaceable to Laban.  He was finally willing to pay him what he was worth in order keep him, only because it was forced upon him by Jacob’s desire to leave. 

However, by now Jacob detested Laban so much that he did not want to have anything that was tied to Laban.  Rest assured any time God gives you a vision of His will for your life, someone like Laban will come along and offer you the things you had wanted all along and try to bribe you into not doing what God has instructed. 

Jacob did not want Laban to GIVE him anything.  He probably figured anything that Laban offered as a gift had to have strings attached……Jacob had certainly learned that this applied to arrangements concerning marriage to his daughter!  Besides, Jacob had seen God’s will in the vision and he was probably pondering why God had specifically told him about the the rams which leap on the flocks that are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. He had probably concluded by now that God was telling him these would be the flocks that would multiply and reproduce well.  Jacob knew it was time for him to listen to God and show his faith.

 “Don’t GIVE me anything,” Jacob replied.   “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them; let me go through all of your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat.  They will be my wages.  And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me.  Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark colored, will be considered stolen.”

Now Jacob didn’t mean the original speckled and spotted sheep would be his.  He meant that he would separate the white ones out from the colored ones, and all the original animals would belong to Laban.  Jacob would tend to the white ones.  Whatever livestock was born to these that were speckled, spotted or stripped would belong to Jacob.  The white ones and the original spotted, speckled and stripped ones would still belong to Laban and would eventually go back to him. 

Whatever could have possessed Jacob to make such a deal as this?  

He had to believe in the vision from heaven and the word from The Angel Of The LORD!  

Some might tend to think it possible that he was as fed up with Laban as he had been with Esau, and maybe he was trying to trick him.   Could Jacob be up to his old trickery again?  Could he out-smart that trickster Laban this time?  That doesn’t seem to be the case!
 

It seems that after 14 years of serving under this Laban who was constantly outwitting him, Jacob had learned that God was prospering him no matter what his circumstances were.  Jacob had changed and matured to the point that he now relied on his righteous conduct to secure blessings from God.  He was simply acting on his directions from God in the vision.  This was a major turn for Jacob!  He had quit being a manipulator and he had begun to seek the will of God in all that he did!

The trickster Jacob had TURNED into a righteous man.  Not only that, he had become a righteous man who had FAITH that God would provide.  He not only THOUGHT it, but he LIVED it out.  This isn’t to say that Jacob had developed a perfect character yet, but it is to say that he was well on his way, and God was showing him and teaching him new things every day. 

Jacob had been listening and learning!  One new thing that Jacob had learned in all his years of handling livestock was the practice of animal husbandry.  He had not wasted his time.  He had been studious. 

Maybe Laban was not as observant as he thought he was.  He knew he was being blessed because of Jacob, but he had not caught on to the fact that Jacob had been prosperous because of The One True God of Heaven and Earth.  Laban had obtained his facts somewhere else.  They were true facts, but they came from the wrong sources for all the wrong reasons.  Laban was a victim of twisted truths.   Jacob’s truth was pure and it came directly from God.  Laban went blindly on down the path of destruction thinking he was so very smart in his own ways.    

“Agreed!” yelled Laban as fast as he could.  Silently he must have been thinking to himself that this was too good to be true!  How could he possibly lose? 

That very day the flocks were divided.  Jacob took out the unspotted, unspeckled and unstriped animals of Laban and tended to them.  The others (the spotted and speckled ones) were taken three days away and were tended by Laban’s sons.  Only those new born spotted and stripped that came from the flock of the white ones would become Jacob’s property and wages.  The flock Jacob tended would be examined later and then divided out again.  Jacob would receive all the spotted, striped and colored animals from HIS herds, and Laban would keep all the rest, including all the original white animals.   But how were those pure white flocks of Jacob’s going to produce spotted and speckled flocks so that his earnings would be increased?  Both of these men had bred flocks long enough to know that you usually could not create colored sheep from white ones.  How were the sheep left with Jacob going to produce the right colored offspring? 

Laban was probably thinking, easy money! This would be a “shoe in” win for him!  He would get even more use out of that not-so-smart son-in-law.  Life was good!  Laban just LOVED getting “something for nothing!”

Jacob, however, had been breeding sheep, goats and cattle for a long time now.  He knew a lot about animals and even more important, he knew about the background of these particular herds.  Not to mention the fact that and he knew a LOT about Laban. 

Simply by long continued observation of his flocks Jacob had picked up on a technique we now call Mendalian genetics.  In other words; Jacob knew that even though a species of animal may have certain ‘dominant’ traits (such as white coloring) a certain proportion of the solid-colored animals would be homozygous (with the same abnormative color genes) and, if mated with other homozygous animals would bear only solid-color offspring.  The heterozygous animals, which did contain, in some proportion, the genes for off-colored progeny, would be the ones which would have to supply his own future progeny.  

Jacob had a history of breeding these animals.  He knew which were which.  These that were heterozygous would be the ones to supply his own future flocks; so by selective breeding he could eventually develop a flock of predominantly spotted and speckled animals. Normally, this would be a slow, time consuming process. 

Okay, so Jacob had learned a lot more than Laban about animal DNA, which is VERY amazing, but why did he use the next methods he used?  The scriptures tell us that Jacob took branches from the poplar, almond and plane (chestnut) trees, peeled their bark in places (which would have given them a mixed-colored look of part bark and stripes of white) and placed them in the water troughs when the animals came to drink. 

Some people have the theory that Jacob thought by peeling the bark in a certain way the animals would see stripped wood as they mated and the visual image of “mixed colors” would send a message to their brains and they would (for some reason)  because of this produce speckled and spotted and stripped offspring. 

It is very unlikely that an external image, like many suspected as the cause, could be transmitted through the eyes to the brain and therefore in some way serve as a signal to the DNA structure to specify certain characteristics (such as color) to be triggered in an empryo. 

Still, it IS true that certain chemicals can and do have a significant prenatal influence if they can reach the embryo  prior to conception in the DNA in the germ cells.  Therefore, it IS possible that certain chemicals in the wood of these named trees – peeled rods of which were actually in the water where the flocks came to drink – were capable somehow of affecting the animals.  This is a possible yet doubtful theory.

It is more likely and highly possible that this “treated” water may have served as an aphrodisiac to promote fertility among the animals.  One of these same chemical substances HAS been used for such a purpose in both ancient and modern times.  Jacob seemed to know this. 

Did the fact that Jacob performed this act mean he doubted the vision of God.? Not at all!  It only meant that he was working side-by-side WITH God to perform the instructions he had been shown.  He needed to build up his herds and get his family away from Laban.

Another thing that Jacob did was to divide the stronger animals from the weaker animals.  He only used the peeled sticks when the stronger animals came to drink, thus; encouraging them to mate, and not encouraging the weaker animals to mate, hence stronger, healthier animals were being born to his flocks. 

Some theologians have seen this picture of Jacob breeding his herd as a symbolism of how God lets The Holy Spirit work in The Kingdom of God.  Jacob took stripped rods to entice the strong animals to breed.  Just seeing that word "stripe" brings to mind the lashes applied in the beating of Jesus Christ as he was about to be crucified for our sins.  The fact that the stripes were white symbolized the purity and innocence of Christ.   The scripture does say "by His stripes we are healed."   Because He was willing to suffer in our place, we now have life!   The rod bearing the white stripes is symbolic of Jesus in his suffering.  

One has to look upon this picture of what happened at the cross of Calvary in order to believe in God, and in order for God's Holy Spirit to lead them into repentance.  What does belief and repentance bring about?  One becomes "born again."  

That was exactly what Jacob was trying to achieve with his flocks - a new birthing method.  He was changing the herd from Laban's leadership to Jacob's leadership.  All of the new birth would belong to Jacob.  Some theologians have picked up on this picture as symbolic of how God gave men the right to choose The Kingdom of God through being "born again" or Satan and hell.  The more you look into this, the more the symbolism comes into play, but back to the real facts of the original story:

All of Jacobs knowledge, whether he understood the science of it or not; helped to produce the animals he desired.  The strange factor that played into it and the part that Jacob did not expect and could not control  was the exceedingly large number of animals born with color.  The amount of animals that were produced with specks or spots was very unusual, even with all the knowledge and techniques that Jacob had used.  He NEVER expected to get this LARGE a number of colored animals!

Usually, the numbers would be much smaller and take much longer to increase.  Jacob probably thought the most he could hope for were a few good animals that he could breed again and slowly grow the herds.  It seemed that God was adding His blessings to the knowledge that He had led Jacob to obtain.  Where Jacob’s efforts left off, God supplied the rest.

This is a little different than what most people seem to come up with about this passage; most just assume that EVERYTHING was of God and NOTHING was of Jacob.  That is basically and indirectly true; in that God gave Jacob the knowledge that he had.  I would also like to point out that Jacob had been listening and learning from God from the moment he arrived in the land, and his ways and his heart had changed enough to be doing his part and acting in faith to provide for his family.  He wasn’t just sitting back and expecting God to constantly produce for him like a genie in a bottle, but he was giving of himself too and trusting God to take over when and where MORE was needed.  God expects all of us to do our part.

From this combined teamwork of God first and Jacob following, the percentage of streaked and spotted animals was way out of proportion, even for someone who understood animal husbandry and who followed the laws of science to the letter.  There was still a huge miracle in Jacobs favor, and God is the ONLY reasonable explanation.

This act of listening and learning from God and developing the skills of a good shepherd made Jacob prosperous and very wealthy.  His success was abundant and his family was blessed from the outcome of the development of his herds.  

Laban was amazed and quite displeased with the results, but what could he say?

God had blessed Jacob tremendously and it was time for Jacob to move on!

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 81 TWO WIVES AND TWELVE KIDS PART TWO

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Leah, though not as loved as Rachel by Jacob, was accepted as a wife by him.  Eventually he showed her the love of a husband and eventually she became pregnant with his first son.  This son was called Reuben.  Leah named him that because Reuben means “to see” and she felt in giving her a son God had looked down and “seen” her broken heart and had mercy on her.  It is interesting to think of the name Reuben being similar to the name that Hagar called God when He looked down on her near the well as if He “saw” her in her troubles and she called him “the God Who Sees Me.”  I suppose Leah felt a lot the same as Hagar before the birth of Reuben.  He would have changed her status in life from “barren” to “fruitful.”

So when Reuben was born it was said “See – A Son!”  This was a prophetic shadow pointing to the fact that Jesus, The Son of God would one day come forth and a Messiah would come to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Like this first son of Jacob who was much anticipated and much expected, so too would come The Christ Child.

God was preaching the gospel to the people through the names of Jacob’s sons even before it happened!  He was telling the stories in ways they may not have fully understood until much later!  And Leah said when Reuben was born; “Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction!”

So Reuben became the first born son of Jacob.  He was destined to be the son who would inherit the family birthright, however, some things transpired that raised his two brothers above him.  This happened because Reuben was found to be rebellious and committed some pretty strong sins later in his life that cost him the first place in headship of the family and the tribes of Israel, but that is another story for another day.

Leah proved herself to be fruitful again, and she bore a second son whom she named Simeon.  When Simeon was born she said, “The Lord has “heard” that I am hated and given me a son.”  If you remember the story of Ishmael, Abraham’s son born to Hagar, these two names have similar meanings

The next son born to Leah was named Levi. When Levi was born Leah said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”  Levi’s name means “joined” and Leah suggests that this birth will “join” her closer to Jacob.

 Levi’s descendants became the holy priesthood of Israel, thus thy were used of God to “join” the will of God to the people of Israel.  It would be one of the sons of Levi who would eventually wear the breastplate of The High Priest which bore stones symbolizing all of the names of all of the sons of Jacob.

Leah’s next son was named Judah.  When he was born Leah gave praise to Jehovah.  The name Judah means “praise.”  From the tribe of Judah came the line of David and eventually the Messiah for whom all of God’s people continuously offer up praise!

Judah was said to be outstanding above all his brethren.  He was trustworthy and Jacob relied on him.  He became the head of the tribe of people who settled in the land in and around Jerusalem after the splitting of the Israelite people into the people of the Northern Tribes and the people of the Southern Tribes. 

For a little while Leah did not conceive again.  It was during this period of time that Rachel decided to give her handmaiden, Bilhah, to Jacob so that she could bear children for her.

Bilhah became pregnant and conceived Dan.  Rachel named him Dan meaning “he judged me.”  This was to indicate that God had looked down and judged her and found her worthy of having this son for Jacob.

Dan grew up to be a very evil and deceptive person.  He seems to mirror the hatred Rachel held in her heart for her sister during the time she was childless.  Dan has been mentioned to be the archetype of the antichrist in many writings of the sages.  Some believe the antichrist will come directly from the tribe of Dan and be one of his descendants.  When Jacob blessed his sons before he died, Dan was described as a “serpent.”

Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob again; and Bilhah conceived another son for Rachel.  Rachel named this son Naphtali.  Naptali means “mighty wrestling.”  Rachel exclaimed she had wrestled with God and won favor over her sister when Naphtali was born.

Leah became worried about being so barren for so long, and she gave Zilpah, her handmaiden, to Jacob.  Zilpah bore her a son and Leah named this son Gad.  Gad means “luck” or “fortunate.”  Leah felt lucky and fortunate to have been given yet another son of Jacob’s to raise.  Gad was known for his great strength.

Zilpah became pregnant again and gave birth to Asher for Leah.  Asher means “happy.”  The final blessing of Jacob to his sons said of Asher:  “out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” 

Later when Moses blessed the descendants of Asher in the tribe called Asher he said:  “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren and let him dip his foot in oil.  Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

So; it was widely known that mandrake plants were used for making women fertile.  Leah and Rachel both wanted all the mandrakes they could find!  Reuben went out in the field and found some mandrake plants and brought them to Leah.  Rachel asked Leah to share them with her.  Leah resented the request!  She said to Rachel, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband?  Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

Rachel really wanted the mandrakes, thinking she would give birth to another son if she had them.  So Rachel said she would allow Jacob to sleep with Leah that night if she would give her the mandrakes.  They made a deal and Leah went out to meet Jacob and told him he was hired from Rachel to sleep with her that night.  This must have been very amusing to Jacob. 

Because Leah had hired Jacob from Rachel that night, Leah became pregnant again and when her next son was born she said “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”  She named her son Issachar.  Issachar means “reward” or “wages.” 

Leah became pregnant again with another son for Jacob.  She said “God has presented me with a precious gift.  This time my husband will treat me with honor, and he will be honored to dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.”  So she named this son Zebulun.  Zebulun means:  “to dwell.”  The name could also mean “habitation.”

After the birth of Zebulon, Leah became pregnant again.  This time she gave birth to a girl.  Her name was Dinah.  The name Dinah is the feminine form of “Dan” and both names mean “to judge” or “to govern.”  We will hear Dinah’s sad tale later.  She is raped and her brothers seek revenge on the man who raped her as well as those who are associated with him; though it is said that this man who raped her actually loved Dinah and desired to marry Dinah through it all.  Yet another story for another day.

After Dinah was born God blessed Rachel with the birth of Joseph.  When Rachel gave birth to Joseph she said “God has taken away my disgrace.”  Joseph means “may He add.”  The story of Joseph’s life is quite amazing.  It is a story that will be told at a later time in these lessons. 

By this point in time Jacob was living a VERY busy life.  He had eleven sons and he longed to go back to the land of his birth.  First, he had to finish business with Laban.  (You can guess how business with Laban usually turns out.) 

Simply for the sake of naming all of Jacob’s children at this time, we will briefly skip ahead with this lesson then return to the proper sequence of the story in the next lesson.

Immediately after the miracle of Joseph’s birth, for Rachel had been unable to bear a child on her own before him; she begged God to give her ANOTHER son.  Once again we are presented with Rachel’s discontentment and the desire for MORE, no matter how many blessings she already had. 

The last son of Jacob was named Benjamin.  He was born to Rachel.  God heard her cry for another son and allowed her last request.  When Benjamin was born, Rachel’s labor was severe.  When the midwife told Rachel she had given birth to a son she gasped out his name with her last breath; “son of my sorrow.”  Jacob later changed this name to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.”

Ironically, the woman who had screamed “Give me children or I die” died giving birth to her second son.  We will tell more of this story later too, as we are getting ahead of ourselves, and want to return to the part of the story where Jacob was growing anxious to leave the land of labor for Laban and return to the land of Isaac and Rebecca.

Now we have discussed the whole list of all of Jacob’s children by his two wives, and his two concubines along with the meanings of all of their names.

Be listening for each of their names in upcoming stories.  Much later in the family history all of Jacob’s children became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Levi was head over the Levitical priesthood which evolved.  Each of the twelve tribes had their names represented by a stone for their tribe on the covering that The High Priest wore into the Holy of Holies.  Each stone represented a tribe and each stone and tribe name had a meaning which is comparable to the names of the children they originated from.

There is a message hidden inside the symbolism of all of the stones and the way they are arranged on the ephod (the priestly covering.)  When you think of the meaning of the names given to each son and/or tribe and you combine their meaning s together and in order of their birth, the message reads like this:

“ Now I will praise YHVH.  Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction.  What good fortune!  Happy am I!  With great wrestling  I have wrestled!  For Elohim has made me forget all my toil and because YHVH has heard that I was hated, now this time will my husband be joined unto me.  Elohim has given me my wages.  Elohim has endowed me with a good gift!  Now my husband will dwell with me.  YHVH will add to me.  You shall have this Son.”

How much of this hidden message is a coincidence?

Is this message not the whole meaning of the existence of the people of God throughout the Old Testament?  Does it not scream of God sending a Messiah to save us?

Is it possible that the minds of men could have somehow contrived these names and their order about 1800 years before the birth of Christ?  I hardly think so! 

God is in the details.  You can always count on the fact that God is in every little thing.  If you live with open eyes and pray for understanding you will see such things come to pass every day in your own life.

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 80 TWO WIVES AND TWELVE KIDS - PART 1

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

(PART ONE)

Well there they were, Jacob and Leah and Rachel; starting a marriage together.

 

Does that sound a bit weird to you?  It should!  This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.  God does give us free will, but sometimes our own free will can lead us into paths that are not so perfect.  God allows this.  He lets our hearts decide how to love.  Even when the odds are stacked against us and we are tricked into certain circumstances, still our hearts have choices.  Our choices prove out our lives.   

It was obvious that Jacob loved Rachel and not Leah.  Something tells me this home wasn’t the most peaceful home on earth!  No matter how Jacob turned one of his wives was going to have her feelings hurt.

In a way, this was Jacob’s fault.  He had been tricked into the marriage for sure; but he could have accepted what he knew of God as true after he found out he had been deceived.  It would have been a sad, hard decision, but he could have made the choice to live with Leah only and not be in a relationship with two sisters.  He knew this type of arrangement was never God’s plan.  Jacob KNEW God wanted every man to have only one wife; despite the cultural customs.   The patriarchs all carried God and His ways in their hearts, even before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses and made official to the rest of the world.  Jacob KNEW this type of relationship would have normally displeased God, yet he was in a strange situation.   Was there any right and true answer for doing the right thing?

He also KNEW he had promised himself to Rachel, and that was what he finally based his reactions on; that mixed with the fact that he wanted what he wanted and would have what he would have.  Jacob had always been this way.  That part of him had not changed even in all of the years of trials and test and troubles while working for Laban. 

Even though he had been tricked into marrying Leah, Jacob could have accepted it as “done” and followed what he knew to be God’s will for a man to have only one wife.  He could have chosen to not marry Rachel.  If that had happened, nothing about Jacob’s marriage would have been wrong; but that wasn’t what happened, and instead of seeing God’s power and might when His will is perfectly carried out in ALL situations; we get a glimpse of how graceful and merciful God can be to those He loves when this doesn’t happen and humans act in a human way.  God did not leave Jacob in all of this.  God still loved and blessed Jacob. God kept His promises to Jacob.   As a matter of fact,  God was right there for all three of them, Jacob, Leah and Rachel.

After such a great deception on his wedding night with Leah, and knowing and understanding that she willingly participated without telling him a word of the truth; Jacob didn’t much care how Leah felt about anything.  The Hebrew translations say Jacob “hated” her.  The word is used so strongly that it brings violence and abuse to mind.  Do you see this pattern that led to hate?  Jacob deceived Esau.  Esau hated Jacob.  Leah deceived Jacob.  Jacob hated Leah.   Laban deceived everyone and everyone detested Laban.  It seems that deception and lies lead to hate. 

What goes around comes around. 

When the wedding week of Jacob and Leah was over everyone was thinking “poor Rachel.” 

Now that both marriages had happened and Jacob loved Rachel more; the table turns and one begins to think, poor Leah! 

What man in her life had ever loved her?  Leah had been used by her father and brother for gain and forced into a marriage that would forever make her hated in her sister’s eyes as well as her husband’s eyes.  There was no chance of Jacob loving her under these circumstances.  She would spend the rest of her life just being tolerated, hated and ignored.  What wife wants that in her marriage?

Nobody was ecstatically happy here! 

Poor Leah though had to endure lasting hardship.  Her hopes of things getting better in life were probably non-existent at this point. 

When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.  

What strange words!  Can you imagine what Leah must have felt like to not be loved by her own new husband?  He had not chosen her.  He did not love her.  Her own father had made her deceive him.  How could a girl's father be so callous, so cold, and unloving?  Leah's father and brother had dreamed up the whole scheme, thinking only of themselves, never giving her feelings a second thought.  Now she must spend the rest of her life married to a man who didn't want her, who only had eyes for her sister.

I wonder how many Leah's are out there still?  How many women are feeling unloved by a father, husband, brother or son?  These countless women who live out their lives feeling unloved, unwanted and unnoticed; like someone whose existence does not matter at all.  How many women have to deal with the pain and the shame of unrealized expectations in life and keep going as if everything was okay?

But then God looks down into the broken hearts of such women, just as He looked down and saw Leah living out a hopeless life.  God will teach these women their worth.  He will show them who they are, who He created them to be.  Ladies, if you are having trouble with your man, the best help you will ever receive will come from God.  He knows the answers, just ask Him!  Never doubt this.  Just ask Leah!  She will tell you how many years can be wasted if you let them be so.

One of the greatest tests of love is to wait.  Jacob loved Rachel so much that he was willing to wait for her for seven years.  It wound up being seven years and one week and seven more years of work for him to have her.  Even after the great deception took place; he was willing to work seven more years for her!  Jacob’s love was willing to wait for Rachel.

 Now it was Leah’s turn for waiting.  Some believe that she had been in love with Jacob all along and that was why she had been willing to go along with the trickery of Laban.  It wasn’t a good workable plan though.  Tricking someone into marriage is never a good idea!  The consequences of deception are usually painful and distressing.  In spite of the horrible start of their marriage and the awful way that Jacob treated her, Leah probably still thought she was in love with Jacob.  She never said one word about leaving.  She wanted the marriage still.  She was willing to wait.  She thought eventually her love for him would shine through and capture his heart.  So a lot of Leah’s life was simply spent in waiting for her husband to change his mind and love her

As she was waiting patiently, God looked down and saw Leah’s broken heart.  He saw her lack of revenge in these circumstances.  He noticed her shame for her own actions and her shame for the rejection she was feeling both from her husband and her sister.    He saw that she had not reacted in a jealous way toward Rachel.  He saw how she sat patiently waiting as night after night Jacob courted Rachel and loved Rachel more and more. 

God knew the love of a child would bring comfort to Leah.  God began to bless her with sons from Jacob.   

 In these real life circumstances Rachel’s true character that had been veiled and hidden from Jacob’s eyes because of her great beauty became more prominent, apparent and open.  The ugly green-eyed monster called jealousy reared it’s head from the deep of Rachel’s heart.   She was so jealous of Leah bearing Jacob children that she said to him “Give me children, or else I die!” 

This one fact just shows us how much alike Jacob and Rachel really were.  They BOTH were self centered.  They BOTH would rather have their own way and if that could not happen they would chose to die rather than to live without their own way.  They both were stubborn and relentless when they wanted something. 

When Jacob saw that Rachel was becoming selfish, discontented, envious and demanding, he lost his temper and became angry with her.  Self-serving people are often quick to overlook the trait in their own hearts and point it out in others.  Jacob said to Rachel;  “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Let’s not leave this part of the story without discussing what happens when a person becomes discontent.  Discontentment is one of those sins that just sneaks up on you in the process of life.  You hardly ever notice it.  Discontentment doesn’t knock on the door and make an announcement of its presence or give you fair warning that it is about to approach and turn your joy to sorrow.  It enters quietly without warning and slinks in uninvited.  It causes chaos, confusion and disaster. 

Never, ever let discontentment open the door to your marriage or your personal relationships.  It is a sin that has the ability to destroy everything if left alone to function and grow.  Heed the word of God and find contentment with the circumstances in which He has placed you. 

Discontentment brings curses and trouble.  Contentment brings blessings and joy.  Try to stay on the joy side whenever possible!  Learn like the Apostle Paul to be content in whatever circumstances you find yourself living.  Oh that Rachel had heeded these words!

Rachel in her sin of discontent gave her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob in order that she and Jacob might have sons by her.  

Here we go again. 

 The miracle of conception always and only lies exclusively within the power of God.  Men should never tamper with this. 

Remember how Abraham and Sarah had to learn this the hard way?  

Well guess what.......................history always seems to repeat itself. 

FUN UNDER THE SUN - HOMESTEAD HOLLOW, SPRINGVILLE, ALABAMA

(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)


I've been going to the craft festivals at Homestead Hollow for years.  They started up when I was just out of high school and now I'm a grandmother!  I've never known a local community event to have such substance or last so long.  I've pondered why this is so; perhaps the quality of the wares the craftsmen have been selling here for years, perhaps the beauty of the recreated little pioneer town, perhaps the delicious food or simply the feeling that you have stepped into a time machine and gone back a few centuries.   All I can tell you is it is a special place and I enjoy it more each time I go. 

My daughters seem to share in this love for Homestead Hollow events.  I took them there when they were growing up, and now they call me up and invite me to go with them!  One daughter took me there as a present for Mother's Day about four years ago (remembering what fun she had enjoyed there while growing up) and she treated me to the delicious homemade food and some of the handmade jewelry.  We had a blast!   Not to be outdone, her twin took me for Mother's Day the next year!  We had so much fun, especially since we decided to take my Mother along with us, which along with my new granddaughter, gave us four generations of our family enjoying Homestead Hollow's treats in one day.  Homestead Hollow is a great place for your family to make memories.  Be sure to put their events down on your list of things to do this year.  There are festivals scheduled every May, October and November.

The next event will be in October of 2015.  You have plenty of time to fit it into your schedule if you write it on the calendar now.  Gates are open from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.  Why not arrive early and get your Christmas shopping done?  You will be amazed at the crafts on display.

You can also rent the area when the festival is closed for weddings and special events.  It is a great venue to enjoy!

There is a lovely, quaint, down-home beauty about this open air crafter's market.  Maybe it is the history associated with it all that fascinates me, or maybe it is the unique crafts that are displayed, or maybe it is a combination of a million sounds, smells and visions that come alive in this little dot on the map called Springville,  Alabama, but I love this festival held in the small town valley nicknamed "the hollow."

Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for those under 12 and those under 2 get in free.  Parking is free.  Expect to be delighted!  Every pioneer demonstration imaginable will be taking place. 

There will be whiskey making, quilting, gardening, blacksmithing, iron-working and carving in the pioneer village.  You can take a tour of an authentic log cabin and see how people lived in this valley years and years ago.  I especially enjoyed the doll making and the spinning.

You will find local bands and entertainment all along the banks of the winding little brook that runs through the lovely wooded land.  You might want to take the buggy ride offered, it is lots of fun. 

There are pony rides, a moonwalk and a petting zoo for the kids.  Even the grown up kids will enjoy the sweet little lambs in the petting zoo!  Use the setting as a live history lesson and they won't even notice that they are learning.  Teach them how honey is made by showing them the bee farm.  Teach them about how medicine was first made at the root cellar.

Don't waste a minute worrying about getting hungry.  No problem here.  The General Store is open with it's fried pies and homemade jellies and jams.  The peach fried pies are my favorite!  There are sandwiches, including smoked BBQ and corn on the cob.  How about a candied apple?  Or maybe some homemade fudge?  Why not taste some of the freshly churned homemade ice cream?  Whatever you are craving, you will more than likely find it on your journey through this hollow.

Can't make it in October?  It happens all over again in November!

Y'all come!