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Stolen Statues - The Word About Women

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The Ministry of Motherhood

  • Feb 25, 2021

The Ministry of Motherhood

Women’s Work

  • Feb 23, 2021

Women’s Work

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

  • Feb 18, 2021

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

The Good News Girls

  • Feb 16, 2021

The Good News Girls

Compassion for Women

  • Feb 11, 2021

Compassion for Women

Distracted with Much Serving

  • Feb 9, 2021

Distracted with Much Serving

No Throwing Stones

  • Feb 4, 2021

No Throwing Stones

She Was a Sinner

  • Feb 2, 2021

She Was a Sinner

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

  • Jan 28, 2021

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

The Laws of Love

  • Jan 26, 2021

The Laws of Love

Follow Him

  • Jan 21, 2021

Follow Him

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

  • Jan 19, 2021

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

In His Service

  • Jan 14, 2021

In His Service

Share in Their Joy

  • Jan 12, 2021

Share in Their Joy

Highly Favored One

  • Jan 7, 2021

Highly Favored One

The Value of a Woman

  • Jan 5, 2021

The Value of a Woman

See You in 2021

  • Nov 20, 2020

See You in 2021

In God’s Hands

  • Nov 19, 2020

In God’s Hands

A Disposable Woman?

  • Nov 17, 2020

A Disposable Woman?

A Bearer of Bad News

  • Nov 12, 2020

A Bearer of Bad News

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

  • Nov 10, 2020

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

A Heart for Hospitality

  • Nov 6, 2020

A Heart for Hospitality

The Willing Widow

  • Nov 4, 2020

The Willing Widow

A Wretched Woman

  • Nov 2, 2020

A Wretched Woman

Wicked Women

  • Oct 30, 2020

Wicked Women

Missed Opportunity

  • Oct 28, 2020

Missed Opportunity

How To Spot A Mother

  • Oct 26, 2020

How To Spot A Mother

A Wicked Thing

  • Oct 23, 2020

A Wicked Thing

Grace in the Genealogy

  • Oct 21, 2020

Grace in the Genealogy

Victim or Adulteress?

  • Oct 19, 2020

Victim or Adulteress?

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

  • Oct 16, 2020

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

  • Oct 14, 2020

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

Giving Back To God

  • Oct 12, 2020

Giving Back To God

Crimes Against Women

  • Oct 9, 2020

Crimes Against Women

When Women Are His Weakness

  • Oct 7, 2020

When Women Are His Weakness

Raising A Leader

  • Oct 5, 2020

Raising A Leader

A Redeemer

  • Oct 2, 2020

A Redeemer

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

  • Sep 30, 2020

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

A Woman With a Weapon

  • Sep 28, 2020

A Woman With a Weapon

The Leader of a Nation

  • Sep 25, 2020

The Leader of a Nation

The Faith of an Outsider

  • Sep 23, 2020

The Faith of an Outsider

The Daughters of Zelophehad

  • Sep 21, 2020

The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Prophetess

  • Sep 18, 2020

The Prophetess

A River Rescue

  • Sep 16, 2020

A River Rescue

The Temptress

  • Sep 14, 2020

The Temptress

The Double Standard

  • Sep 11, 2020

The Double Standard

A Daughter Defiled

  • Sep 9, 2020

A Daughter Defiled

Stolen Statues

  • Sep 7, 2020

Stolen Statues

The Unloved Wife

  • Sep 4, 2020

The Unloved Wife

A Meddling Matriarch

  • Sep 2, 2020

A Meddling Matriarch

Beyond Redemption?

  • Aug 31, 2020

Beyond Redemption?

A Salty Warning

  • Aug 28, 2020

A Salty Warning

Oppressed Yet Blessed

  • Aug 26, 2020

Oppressed Yet Blessed

The Mother of a Nation

  • Aug 24, 2020

The Mother of a Nation

The God Who Sees

  • Aug 21, 2020

The God Who Sees

Beautiful but Barren

  • Aug 19, 2020

Beautiful but Barren

Past Messages
BTBAplatform+ShannonLenz
ShannonSep 7, 2020 1:00 pm GMT

Stolen Statues


Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I am having my period.” So he searched but couldn’t not find the household gods.


Genesis 31:34-35


For context, read all of Genesis 31

 

Today we have come to a story about Jacob’s wife, Rachel, that leaves us with more questions than answers. When we left Rachel, she was locked in a childbearing competition with her sister, Leah. We know from Genesis 30 that Rachel was jealous of Leah because Leah had been able to bear 4 sons to Jacob but Rachel was barren. She gave Jacob her servant to have 2 surrogate sons. Eventually, God did remember Rachel and she gave birth to a son, Joseph.

 

It doesn’t appear that the sister wives were in agreement of much. But when Jacob tells them that God has commanded him to leave and go back to his homeland, the sisters are united in their decision to leave their father. In Genesis 31:14, the sisters said,  “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

 

Laban’s daughters knew they were entitled to their share of the inheritance but doubted they’d get it. It is clear from their statement that they felt as if they were treated as property by their father. He sold them to Jacob for labor and then squandered what he’d earned from the sale. They didn’t have any problem sneaking away with what Jacob had been able to glean from Laban.

 

But Rachel snuck away with more than what God had given them. She stole the household gods, too. Why did she do this? Was she an idol worshiper? Did she think that taking these man made gods would offer them protection, grant her fertility, or ensure her inheritance? Did she take them in retaliation over the way she’d be treated and her family cheated? We don’t know. But we do know these gods must have been important to Laban because when he pursued Jacob’s family, he accused Jacob of the theft and desperately searched his possessions for the idols.

 

Now, Jacob was completely unaware that Rachel had done this so he vowed to Laban that the one who was discovered with the gods would be put to death. Thankfully for Rachel, she was clever. The statues were small enough to hide in her saddle bag and she sat on it. She claimed to be having her period so she did not have to stand in his presence. She knew that no man would rummage under her seat while she was unclean. It worked. Laban never found the gods.

 

Later, in Genesis 35, Jacob commands his household to get rid of the foreign gods they have with them. Does Rachel dispose of the family gods at that time? We will never know. Unfortunately, Rachel later dies during the birth of her son, Benjamin.

 

The WORD about women in Rachel’s story is that sometimes, for various reasons only known to us, we cling to false gods. These gods can not deliver what is claimed but our God can and does keep His promises. Don’t sit on your false gods to hide them. Give them up today.

 

Reflect

What false gods do you cling to? What are you hoping that they will do for you that the LORD cannot?

 

Pray

LORD, You are the One True God. All other gods are worthless. Help me to let them go of them and cling only to You. Amen.

We look forward to your comments and questions below!

If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://bttb.org/word-about-women

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