Day 9 | Rachel

Read Genesis 31:4-35

Rachel was the wife of Jacob, daughter of Laban, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was known for her great beauty, and that Jacob worked many years to marry her. When the Lord told Jacob to return to his father’s land, Rachel stole her father’s household gods (idols). These were probably small figurines. We don’t know why Rachel stole them. We only know that she thought they were important enough to be worth risking her relationship with her father and husband. When her father Laban came looking for them, Rachel hid them from him.

See how much these small figurines nearly cost her and those around her! At that time, Rachel had not yet given birth to Benjamin. Benjamin was one of the twelve “patriarchs” of Israel, a leader of one of the 12 tribes. The tribe of Benjamin was one of the smallest, but significant people came from it, like Saul, the first king of Israel, and the apostle Paul, who wrote 13 books of the New Testament! All this would’ve been lost if she had been discovered, all for a few wooden figurines. Her idols gave her nothing, and she nearly gave everything for them.

What idols do we carry with us? Maybe our cell phones have become idols to us, or social media, exercise, perhaps even our children. Our God is abundantly clear that He is to be first in our lives and that we should have no idols; that is, we should worship nothing other than Him. An excellent way to decide if you have idols is to look at where you spend your time and money. Do you spend as much time in prayer and reading the Bible as you do on social media or TV or whatever could become an idol in your life? What things in your life have become an idol? Spend time in prayer asking God to point out to you any idols in your life.

Pray for 10 minutes