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Written by Elesa Goad Mason, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Texas 

Have you ever loved something or someone so much that you knew in your soul God had a plan for your life with your greatest desire in it? Well, even if you don’t, Jacob did— at least when it came to love. In the beginning of Genesis 29, Jacob begins his journey to find a place to work and live, with his mother’s brother Laban. He needed to find a place to “hide out” to avoid his brother Esau’s anger and desire to kill him for pulling off the successful “deceit of the century” of his father, Isaac, for Esau’s birthright and blessing as the oldest son.

Fear took him there, but love at first sight kept him there in Harran. After staying with his uncle for a month, Laban approached Jacob about a paid position working for him.

Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” (Ge 29:18)

Laban readily agreed, and the beautiful wedding was set in motion. However, upon waking up after the wedding night, when the alcohol wore off and the veils were removed, to his dismay, Jacob realized that he had bedded Leah, the older sister, instead of his heart’s desire.

Therefore, he was tricked into an additional seven years. The next morning, Jacob’s ranting led Laban to agree to let Jacob marry Rachel after he completed Leah’s one-week marriage bed, but only with the guarantee of seven more years of labor. I often wonder why Jacob was so shocked at the whole plan. After all, wasn’t it his own deception and struggle for redemption that landed him there in the first place?

By marrying both daughters, he created a very complex, eclectic family of his own. Both women competed for his love and attention. In biblical times, the sign of a successful wife was a fertile woman who could bear many children for her husband, particularly males who would carry on the name as well as the bloodline of the father. Leah, the older daughter of Laban, was described as tender-eyed, while the younger, Rachel, was described as lovely in form and beautiful. It was well known that Jacob deeply loved Rachel and was silent about his feelings toward Leah.

This rivalry leads to the birth of twelve sons, who become the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. The birth of these sons symbolizes the continuation of Jacob's lineage and the fulfillment of God's promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars.

I often wonder how taking circumstances into our control, such as Laban deceiving Jacob with the “wife switch” wedding ordeal, shows the glory and compassion of the Lord in ways we could never imagine. Leah may have thought she was getting quite a catch, but in the end, she turned out to be unloved and unwanted. God showed Leah empathy by opening her womb to six sons for Jacob, who had no idea during his lifetime what she really did for him… More than 30 generations later (Mt 1), Jesus was born through the line of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son through Leah. Who knew!? God knew! 

God uses our unmet expectations to meet His needs— His plans for us. The smile across the grocery store, moving out of the way of an impatient driver, helping a stranger who appears to be in need are ways in which we may have no idea that we are meeting God’s expectations of us. And that’s just the little stuff. When children run away, when marriages fail, when dear friends pass away much sooner than we think they should, God has a purpose and a plan for everything in our lives and decisions. 

When we just can’t understand why our plans aren’t turning out the way we had hoped they would, we must believe that God may be changing the wedding ceremony from the dress rehearsal for a reason.

Find a way to encourage those in your lives, including yourself, to trust in the journey deviations that God places in our path to fulfill His desire for salvation for everyone (2Pe 3:9).

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By Wendy Neill, IRSM’s Partners Ambassador 

When we live our lives as wise women following our Savior, we will be invited to the biggest and greatest event in all of history: the Second Coming of Christ. I love to visualize that day. I think of it as three events in one:

1. The Ultimate Royal Wedding
2. The Master’s Feast
3. A Victorious Celebration

The Ultimate Royal Wedding

All royal weddings, celebrity weddings, and movie weddings pale in comparison to the wedding we await in heaven. We know the groom is our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Who is the bride? Your initial response might be “Me!” But let’s look in the Bible to get the bigger picture.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-27 NKJV)

Jesus washes His bride, the church, cleansing her of anything impure to “present her to Himself.” In Revelation 19, John tells us our good works are the clean linen that makes up the gown of the bride. 

“The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.) Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" (Rev 19:7-9 NIV)

I can’t wait to participate in this wedding of the ages and to enjoy the wedding supper of the Lamb.

The Master’s Feast 

See what you think of this vivid language in Isaiah regarding the feast God prepares: 

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. (Isa 25:6-8)

When I taught this lesson to our ladies’ class, I conspired with our seniors to surprise my class with a heavenly banquet. Some brought homemade treats, some gave me money to buy what I needed, and some came ahead for a few hours and decorated the table with fresh flowers, lovely place settings, and little goblets. With the money, I bought a chocolate fountain and set various fruits and other dippable foods around it. It was an evening to remember. We left a seat at the head of the table for Christ, anticipating feasting with Him in heaven.

A Victorious Celebration

In the United States, we have “March Madness,” a national college basketball tournament. “Underdogs” (teams that haven’t won as many games) often beat the favored teams. In 2021, the college I had attended managed to get into the tournament. Although they were serious underdogs, I still chose them to win out of loyalty. Sure enough, they beat the University of Texas by one point! You can imagine the celebration on that court. Everyone was bouncing like pogo sticks, hugging one another, and exchanging high fives.  

As Christians, we sometimes feel like we are the underdogs. Satan appears to be winning. But unlike sports teams, we know that we are going to win, and Satan will lose. 

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev 20:10)

We aren’t the only ones who will celebrate the victory. In Revelation 5:11-14, we see “thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand” angels and every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea singing to our worthy champion: the Lamb. Imagine all those angels and animals singing in a tidal wave of sound that doesn’t hurt your ears but is utterly thrilling.  

Are you eagerly anticipating the big event: The Ultimate Royal Wedding, the Master’s Feast, and a Victorious Celebration?