Last week in my devotions, I came across this passage :
"Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."" (Genesis 30:22-23)
That phrase - "Then God remembered Rachel . . ." really struck a chord with me. I don't know why it stuck out so much, but it was just the wording I suppose. God didn't really forget about Rachel - did he? He obviously didn't - but why would he suddenly "remember" her? Is there something lost in the translation? Or am I just not seeing the whole picture??
And this week, i was reading exodus, and the same words came up again - "And God remembered the Israelites."
There's got to be more to this than what I'm getting! Right?
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3 comments:
hmmm... first of all I appreciate the honesty of your question. Sometimes I ask questions like that and I feel silly... like everyone else must know something I don't. But it's important, because even little things like a couple words can reveal a side of God's character we never knew before.
Quite honestly, I don't know what it means "Then God remembered"... The whole story of Rachel and Leah is kind of bizarre to me. I wonder, how godly were these women? I don't know. I think finding a couple good Bible commentaries or a Bible dictionary could help. Sometimes knowing the background and the context of the wording can explain a lot.
I'm pretty sure it's just the wording - afterall, Israel is God's chosen people...many times I'm sure he wanted to forget them, but he never. Rachel - yeah not sure on that...Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah - but when you read through it is Leah's son Judah that Jesus comes through - I don't understand it either, seems strange.
Good to see things like that jumping out at you. Frankly, I miss things like that. I agree with Justine, take a look at some commentaries and compare it with the other instances. Noah, Abraham, the Israelites like Karen said.
Personally, I see in it an element of reassurance. It is not that God forgot them, God did remember each and everyone of them and he reminds them. Like Karen said though, it is interesting to note Jesus comes from Leah's line. However, Joseph comes from Rachel's and he sure plays an important role later doesn't he? God was in the whole process, he didn't forget. My two cents if it is worth anything.
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