Sibling Rivalry – Genesis 29:31 – 30:24

1.    Life is often filled with…

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain…” (Genesis 4:1)

“Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;
an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.” (Proverbs 30:21-23)

“It is painful and humiliating. I am nothing but a useless creature with morning sickness, and a big belly, two rotten teeth, a bad temper, a battered sense of dignity, and a love which nobody wants and which nearly drives me insane.” (Sophia Tolstoy)

2.    Hurt people…

3.    Our attempts to solve our…

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” (Genesis 16:1-2)

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

4.    God hears and sees our…

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:23-25)

“Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.” (Ruth 4:11)

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10)

“How much of life, our life, is like this: we simply don’t know. In our experiences of suffering and affliction, we are often in the position Job was in, where we don’t even know that we don’t know, and we certainly don’t know what the bigger picture is that would explain and make sense of our confusion and bewilderment. Behind the scenes, backstage, discussions are brewing and the Director is carefully regulating intricacies that relate to our lives, all the while whispering to those have ears to hear, “Don’t be afraid. Place your trust and confidence in me.” (Bruce Ware)