.:: WHO's WHO ::.
The people in the story are {a type or foreshadowing of} ...
Jacob {= God and/or Jesus, Yeshua}
Rachel {= Israel}
Leah {= the church during the "times of the Gentiles"}
God {= Himself}
Jesus {= Yeshua, Himself}
If you study the story of the sisters, Rachel & Leah, whom Jacob married, you will see a type and shadow of the two brides of God/Christ: Israel {Rachel} and the church {Leah}. I am not speaking to the life of either of these women specifically, only of their marriage to Jacob and what those represent in relation to Israel and the church. For instance, Israel's harlotry (idolatry against God) is not a reflection in any way of Rachel, although she did carry her father's idols around for some time before Jacob found them and buried them, but that's another story. Nor is this page a reflection of the person of Leah, who was the lesser wife (so to speak), the wife Jacob got instead of the one he expected to get. But in a sense perhaps their lives do reflect Israel and the church to some degree ... we'll not get into that now tho. You can read the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah in Genesis 29-49.
I believe that when God met with Israel at Mount Sinai (after Moses led them out of Egypt), they (Israel) were at that time betrothed to Him (God). Being betrothed in the bible is to be married, but living separately. You were to live a pure, chaste life in preparation for your husband to come for you and bring you to his father's house whereby he (the husband) had spent the time of your separation building a home for you and he to begin your family life together. When your husband came to take you home, then the marriage would be consummated at your new place in his father's house.
So, in the story, Jacob {a type or foreshadowing of God} married Rachel {a type or foreshadowing of Israel} at that time {covenant at Mount Sinai}, which, by the way, was at the time of Pentecost/Shavuot! Israel was married to God at that time and expected to keep covenant (marriage contract) with Him while He was away building a place for them in his father's house. Yes, God {Jesus, Yeshua} went away to build a place for His intended bride {Israel} in His Father's house, see Matthew 22 KJV {quoted below}. You can also read the story of Israel meeting with God at Mount Sinai here in Exodus 19.
In Exodus 19:8, we see that Israel verbally accepts the contract/covenant by collectively saying ...
"And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD." To this day we accept our marriage contract by saying "I do."
The contract (covenant) that God made with Israel was the ten commandments, you can read those in Exodus 20. And then the LORD spends the next few chapters expounding on what the ten commandments mean to the people and what will happen should they choose to accept, and what will happen should they accept but then turn from His contract/covenant and serve idols (false gods). Exodus 24 goes on to have Moses go up to Mount Sinai to meet with God and to receive the written copy of the contract (the two tablets of stone for which the ten commandments were written by the finger of God). And the people of Israel once again confirm their contract/covenant when, after forty days/nights, Moses comes down to them with the written contract/covenant as we see here "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do." {Exodus 24:3 KJV}
*Rabbit Trail* ... I believe the forty days/nights are significant and relate to jubilees, whereby the 40 days represent 40 years and the jubilee of 50 years represents 50 jubilees, 40 x 50 = 2000 years. I've *gone there* (done the math) in other posts so I'll not go there in this post.
So, Israel (as like Rachel) becomes God's wife and that's how God identifies her, and as Jeremiah confirms, Israel also backslid and became idolatrous with the surrounding nations, in other words, she broke the contract/covenant of marriage to God and went a-whoring among the nations ...
"And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." {Jeremiah 3:11-15 KJV}
"Surely [as] a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD." {Jeremiah 3:20 KJV}
Think this through folks. How would you feel ... and perhaps some of you know this first hand ... if your wife or husband went a-whoring after another? Would you not be righteously and properly angry with your spouse? This is why Israel (9 & a 1/2 of the 12 tribes/sons of Israel/Jacob), and later Judah (2 & a 1/2 of the 12 tribes/sons of Israel/Jacob) were dispersed among the nations. Israel went after *other gods* and left her first Love. Would this not provoke you to anger? Would you not *put away* the evil from you? Of course you would!
Even so, God loves His bride Israel and He will bring her back to Himself, yet future, as He's promised. But first she must go through many troubles and tribulations in order to see and understand why He's put her out. At some point she will realize that she rejected her Husband when He came to consummate their marriage in (approximately) 33AD! Oh the whaling and weeping that is to come, the mourning! when the whole of Israel realizes that the last 2,000 years didn't have to happen as they have! Read Zechariah 12-14 if you want to understand how the fulfillment of the "times of the Gentiles" and the saving of Israel will unfold!
*Rabbit Trail* ... Another interesting thing about contracts/covenants, it takes the death of one of the parties to nullify that contract. Thus to this day when a marriage takes place, we say ... "until death us do part." ... whereby, the contract of marriage ends at the death of one of the spouses. Some people believe that this is one of the reasons Jesus had to die, to *officially* release Israel from her marriage contract.
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~ BEGIN BRIEF INTERLUDE ~
Many people try to separate God & Christ as two different beings. I believe Christ is the physical manifestation of the ONE true God. Jesus is how we *see* God, in the flesh; just like we have a body and that's how we *see* each other. God says He made man(kind) in His own image and likeness. He is three-in-One: Spirit, Soul, Body = Father, Holy Spirit, Son (not necessarily in that order). Jesus is God with us, which is what Emmanuel or Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) means. Likewise, man(kind) being made in God's image and likeness are body, soul & spirit ... three-in-one. So, Jesus came as the physical aspect of God. This is why Jesus said the following:
"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." {John 14:7 KJV}
Jesus saith unto him, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?" {John 14:9 KJV}
"I and [my] Father are one." {John 10:30 KJV}
It took doubting Thomas' seeing Jesus AFTER His resurrection before he understood that he had spent time with God in the flesh! "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed." {John 20:24-29 KJV}
~ END BRIEF INTERLUDE ~
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OK, so ... understanding that God & Jesus are One and the same, but shown as different aspects, we move on. To be *betrothed*, in God's eyes, is to be married. It's a commitment for which both parties sign ...OR... verbally agree to a contract/covenant. And from that signing, and a bride price being paid, they are considered as one. The bride price Jesus paid was His own life's blood. Then the groom takes leave of his bride and goes to build a home for her at his father's house. This is a type and shadow of what Jesus did with: 1) Israel at Mount Sinai at Shavuot in the days of Moses, and 2) the church at Pentecost/Shavuot in (approximately) 33AD.
I believe that Jesus' FIRST COMING was Him coming to consummate the marriage with Israel, but they were asleep; they totally missed their own consummation because they'd gone into harlotry chasing after worldly goods and idols (other gods)! So then the Lord began to receive the church, for whom we are willing and readily waiting for His return. Even so, many of us are asleep and will miss Him when He comes a SECOND TIME to consummate our marriage. We are married to Him NOW, but when He comes for us, just before Jacob's trouble begins, He will take those of us that are ready to His Father's house to consummate the marriage contract we've signed. How did we sign that contract/covenant? By believing that God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, to be the sacrificial Lamb once and for all. Salvation is what Jesus' Hebrew name, Yeshua, means. He is coming for His church/bride. I pray you are ready having nothing in this world more important to you than His soon appearing!
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." {Hebrews 9:28 KJV} See also the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
Jesus relates the entire story in a parable in Matthew 22 ...
"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and [my] fatlings [are] killed, and all things [are] ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of [it], and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated [them] spitefully, and slew [them]. But when the king heard [thereof], he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few [are] chosen." {Matthew 22:1-14 KJV}
In the parable above we see that the King is God, His Son is Jesus, the bride that the Son came for was Israel, but she was not worthy/ready. So He sends out into the world for those that are ready & willing, the church throughout the "times of the Gentiles", to come to the marriage. His servants were the prophets of the old covenant through whom God spoke to stiffnecked Israel; but in the new covenant era they were the apostles and disciples, and to this day are the followers of Jesus who proclaim the Good News of salvation into all the world as a witness. I believe, that the man without a wedding garment is satan and he will be thrown into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years while Christ and His bride rule & reign on earth from Jerusalem, Israel. Notice that 1) all things were *ready* when Jesus came the FIRST time; 2) He said, "The wedding is ready." ... when the Son came the FIRST time for His intended bride, Israel, they would not come, they weren't awake nor ready, and for the most part they'll miss Him when He comes again for His ready, wise church bride. Matthew 25:1-13 is not only for the sleeping, foolish virgins of the church but it's also yet another warning *sign* to Israel!
"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD." {Jeremiah 8:12 KJV, read the whole chapter!}
Speaking of Jesus as He entered into Jerusalem for what would turn out to be His crucifixion instead of His marriage ... "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." {Luke 19:41-44 KJV}
The church {a type of Leah} is also the bride of Christ ...
"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ." -Paul {2 Corinthians 11:2 KJV}
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also." {John 14:1-3 KJV}
This IS the "times of the Gentiles", and at the "fulness of the Gentiles" God will again turn His attention back to His first bride, Israel.
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." -Jesus {"they" = Israel, Luke 21:24 KJV}
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." -Paul {Romans 11:25 KJV}
Make NO mistake, we are very near the fulfillment of the "times of the Gentiles" right NOW!
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen [doth gather] her brood under [her] wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until [the time] come when ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord." -Jesus {Luke 13:34-35 KJV}
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn." {Zechariah 12:10 KJV}
.:: SUMMARY ::.
Jacob {Jesus, Yeshua} is betrothed to Rachel {Israel} but, he gets Leah {the church} instead.
After consummating his bridal *week* with Leah {the church}; he gets his intended bride, Rachel {Israel}.
After Jesus and His (ready church) bride are in heaven for one week (7 years)
during which, a time called Jacob's trouble will befall Israel,
and at the conclusion of that trouble, Israel will call on her Messiah, Jesus.
Only THEN will He return for His intended bride Rachel {Israel}.
At that time, Jesus will be King over all the earth
and His bride will rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years
{Curly bracket comments are mine. Red letter text is Jesus speaking. This article is Firefox's "Reader View" friendly as of the date of its posting.}
