God is Gracious. What does this mean?
Please open your Bibles to Genesis 21, verse 1…….
God was gracious to Sarah, the mother of God’s Chosen People! The word grace and gracious appear about 200 times in the Bible. Biblical grace means “undeserved favor”! Over and over again, God tells people He is gracious, giving even when not deserved! Many of you probably wondered; Abraham lied not only once but 2 times but God made him prosperous! Why? – God is gracious!
Today and next Sunday we will study this truth that God is Gracious from Genesis 29-31. We will also connect the New Testament to God’s Grace and conclude with our response through Communion next week.
Today we will see how God was gracious to Leah and Rachel. Turn with me to Genesis 29, starting with v31……..
Let’s first take a look at Leah.
In Genesis 29:32-34 we read that Leah was miserable and was not loved by her husband even after having 3 sons.
We read in Genesis 29:35; Leah praised God but then God made her barren. We noted last week that God was trying to teach Leah a lesson; the lesson of loving God first before anything else, even before a husband or a child. Did Leah learn her lesson? Look at Genesis 30:9……...
What was Leah thinking? Didn’t she have enough problems with her own kids and her rival Rachel? But, Leah allowed her husband to have another woman!
Why did Leah do that??
Leah thought that more children, even adopted ones, will make her happy and the world will see her happy!
Is it wrong to be happy? – Absolutely not!
Again, as we had discussed last week; God wants us to be happy but God wants us to be happy in Him first!
Now, what can we note about Leah from v15-16 of Genesis 30? Leah hated Rachel and she was manipulative, just to be with her own husband! Remember Esau who sold his birthright for soup? Here we read Leah selling herself for flowers! Can we note Leah consulting with God here?
At the end of Genesis 30, we can note Leah praising God and what’s interesting is that we won’t hear much more about Leah in Scriptures. Did Leah finally learn her lesson about loving God first? – Maybe, but what we can summarize is that Leah was a complainer, selfish, jealous, and manipulative! Would God do anything for such a person? What did God do for Leah?
Look again at Genesis 29:31……..
In spite of Leah being unlovable, God loved her!
And in Genesis 30:17, God actually listened to Leah.
Leah was a complainer, selfish, jealous, and manipulative but God loved her and rewarded her anyway! Why? – Because God is a Gracious God!
What about Rachel?
Did God bless Rachel because she was a “good” girl?
Rachel’s story starts in Genesis 29:31 which states she could not have a baby!
In v1 of Genesis 30, Rachel became jealous and demanded from her husband! Give me children!!
In v3-6 we read Rachel scheming and allowing her husband to have another woman for selfish reasons!
And look again at v8…………….
Rachel’s desire was to look down on Leah!
In v14-15, we read about mandrakes (we read in Song of Solomon 7:13, “The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.” Mandrakes were considered aphrodisiacs!). Rachel compromised herself for some love flowers.
Sadly, we will see in Genesis 31 that Rachel did not learn her lesson. Rachel was jealous, demanding, scheming, selfish, compromising, and sensual! Rachel was not a good girl! Would God do anything for such a person?
What did God do for Rachel? Look again at v22……..
In spite of Rachel’s sinfulness, God remembered, listened, and blessed her! Why would God do that?
God is a Gracious God!
Now of course we can ask, “Wasn’t God gracious to Leah and Rachel because God promised to bless them?” This may be true but, wasn’t the promise to Jacob? Jacob was the one for sure who will receive grace because God promised. God could have just skipped over Leah and Rachel!
God is gracious and God will always be gracious to those He makes a promise to. We will talk more about this next week. But you see, God can give grace to who He wants to! He is God!
God never promised to bless Leah and Rachel but there are at least 3 reasons why people receive grace from God:
1. Grace is part of God’s character. Please turn your Bibles to Exodus 34. Read along with me v4-7………….
God is self-sufficient; He didn’t need to create people!
God is omniscient! God knew people were going to sin against Him but He decided to create them anyway! Why, because God is gracious and He desires to share Himself!
Think about this for a moment. How many planets are there in the universe? Our galaxy alone has 6 billion planets and there are 80 billion known galaxies! Of all the planets man has found, none compares to earth! Human life only on earth, this earth with its perfect tilt and rotation, the universe around the earth, oxygen, water, and food, and so many other things to enjoy only on this planet earth are provided by God because He is a gracious God.
You see, because God is gracious, there is general grace to every person who ever lived on earth! No person can ever say that God is not gracious. Leah and Rachel and every person in the Bible received grace from God.
But God was also gracious to Leah and Rachel because God had a plan for them and through them. And so, this is the second reason why God gives grace to people.
2. God’s grace is a means for a purpose! And you know what is exciting about God? God’s purpose is to give more grace to people!
In spite of Leah’s and Rachel’s sinfulness, they were a blessing to their children, and through their children, a people, the Israelites, were blessed, and through the Israelites, all people can be blessed through Jesus Christ!
God’s grace to people is a means for a purpose!
God will be gracious to you and me because God wants to share grace to others through us!
And one more reason why God gave grace to Leah and Rachel; they were associated with God’s man Jacob.
3. God’s grace will overflow to people associated with blessed people.
Are we all convinced that God is a gracious God?
God gives grace because that’s who God is. God gives grace so that more grace can be given. God gives grace because it overflows! But God does not stop there! God gives people today, special grace!
Please turn to the Letter to the Romans Chapter 4.
Read along with me Romans 4:18-5:2……………….
You see, please listen very carefully, the Creator God has the power to give grace. But the Creator God also has power to judge sin; and all have sinned against God.
And so God gives the ultimate demonstration of grace through Jesus Christ.
God is gracious but He also has the right to judge!
Eternal righteousness and peace is available to anyone who receives God’s ultimate demonstration of grace, who is Jesus Christ! This is special grace to us today!
Jesus Christ is a gift from God which brings eternal life in heaven for anyone who believes and receives Christ.
Please be warned and warn your friends. Refusing the grace of God through Jesus Christ will bring disaster.
Eternal wickedness and chaos is the judgment for those who do not receive Jesus Christ!
Are you convinced about God’s grace being given to you?
How will you respond to this God?
Please take a moment now to pray about these things……
