COME TO JESUS AND DON'T DELAY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then they moved on from Bethel.

While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.

Genesis 35:16-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There will come a day when we all will pass away and although we live in an uncertain world, this is one certainty we can all count on.

But although we all know death is going to happen, none of us can be sure when, not the day or the means. It could happen at any time, at any place, and in any way.

Now, as Christians this truth might leave us distraught and overcome by perpetual worry but we have a blessed assurance that an eternal future awaits us when this finite earthly life is over. In other words, because of belief in Jesus, salvation is secure for all Jesus followers and so there is no need to be concerned about death being the end because it isn’t. Rather, it’s the glorious beginning of life forever with God, our Father, and His Son Jesus, our Savior.

As we focus on Heaven here, let’s keep in mind that no person outside of Jesus has lived perfectly. This serves to remind of that the Lord welcomes the imperfect, the sin-stained yet redeemed, the battered and bruised, the diseased, the forlorn, and those alone and unloved. In other words, all people heading toward Heaven will be broken in some way and this is why our God promises to make all things new, a promise that includes all the saints coming to abide everlastingly with Him.

Friends, what an awesome assurance God has given the world and all its people. For all someone needs to do is simply believe and trust in Jesus as Savior in order to be guaranteed a place in Heaven. This is the good news of the Gospel and if you’re reading this today and aren’t in Christ, I urge you to make your commitment to believe in Him this very moment. Delaying could lead to you missing your chance for salvation and if that happens, you’ll instead live forever in the torment and damnation of Hell.

With all this, we now turn our attention to the scripture passage for today. Look again at those words here:

Then they moved on from Bethel.

While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb. Genesis 35:16-20

Here we find great tragedy in these mere five verses as Rachel, the woman Jacob loved so dearly, dies after delivering his twelfth and final son, a son who would bear the name Benjamin. As we see later in the Israel story, Benjamin will end up being his father’s favorite child, and we can see how this would be since his birth and subsequent life would always be connected to his mother’s death.

As for that loss of life, I’m sure pretty sure that Rachel never thought for a moment that her life would end while delivering her son.

And yet, she did.

The new life that emerged from her womb ended up replacing the life she left behind.  It was a classic case of out with the old and in with the new, a snapshot of how God has perpetually renewed and rejuvenated His kingdom here on earth.

In a twist of irony, you may remember these words from Rachel as she spoke angrily to Jacob, jealous because her sister Leah was bearing children while she could not:

"Give me children, or I'll die!" Genesis 30:1

Unfortunately, later she would die giving birth to Benjamin.

You may also recall Rachel saying this after her son, Joseph, was born:

"May the Lord add to me another son." Genesis 30:24

Indeed, God honored Rachel’s request with one last son, a son who was initially named Ben-Oni by her, meaning "son of my sorrow". Such was the depth of her sadness over knowing she would not get to nurse or raise her new son.

After her death, we find Jacob renaming his son, Benjamin, which meant "my good fortune." As mentioned prior, Benjamin would be the twelfth son of Jacob, rounding out the heads of what would become the twelve tribes of Israel.

As this passage ends, we find Jacob setting up yet another pillar, this one in honor of Rachel, the woman he loved so much, the shepherd girl who stole his heart away when they met by the well, the woman he would labor an additional seven years to marry.

So what can we take away from this tragic story?

I think the main thing is that no one knows when their earthly life will be over. Like Rachel, there are countless people that die daily who certainly didn’t plan on it happening when they woke up. We can add a lot of others who may have gone to bed but then never awoke again.

Death is certain but so is eternal life after death. For as a savvy pastor once proclaimed, “Everybody lives forever. Their final destination will either be Heaven or Hell.”

When it comes down to it, belief in Jesus or the failure to believe in Him is the ultimate determining factor. And if you haven’t placed your belief in Him, come to Him now and do so without any further delay. For if you do, there’s absolutely no need to worry whether today is your last day or not as your future in Heaven forever is certain.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.