Reuben’s birth was full of
promise. At his birth, his mother, Leah, cried out with delight, “See, a son!”
No doubt, Jacob was full of delight as well. He wanted sons, he needed sons. In
his day, a man with many sons was considered a wealthy man. His sons carried
his name, and they carried on his business.
Reuben, being a firstborn son,
would have been his father’s pride and joy. In the patriarchal family, the
firstborn stood to inherit three things: the right to the family priesthood,
the right to a double portion of the property, and the right to be in the line
to the Messiah. But, because of Reuben’s sin of adultery with Bilhah, he threw
all his blessings away- all for a few minutes of carnal indulgence.
Let me caution you. You can play
with sin, but it is a dangerous “game” of self-destruction.
I read the following that is
applicable to us today: “When
a small boy, we were out on the hillside one warm spring day. We heard a
strange, excited chirp of a bird. We looked down the hillside a little ways and
saw a large snake coiled up with its head lifted up probably a foot and a half
above the ground. We then saw the chirping bird as it nervously circled around
the snake. We will not soon forget the eyes of that snake. As the bird flitted
around the snake, the head of the snake moved round and round, and the fearful
eyes of the snake seemed to pierce and hold the bird. The bird was nervous and
excited and seemed to be charmed and held.
What to do:
✞ Stay away from sin!!
