Identity theft 2…

 

Identity theft…2

As I am re-reading through my “grief book” published in 2016, accumulated grief blogs written starting in 2013…9 years ago….some areas still seem fresh…this in one…

I see around me others who have started this journey…the “who am I now” question…those whose loved ones have left either in death  or other circumstances….those who are left picking up the pieces of life and are moving forward….

Am I still a mother/father when my child has died…

Am I still a wife/husband when my spouse has gone…

Where do I fit in groups …

What/who am I ….

What do I like, really like,  without the compromise of a partner…

What is on my “bucket list”….

In big picture as a believer in Christ, our first and foremost identity is found in Him, but it’s the everyday things that we have to find a place, a purpose, a path again and how that all fits together…where do I fit in the Body of believers, my “vocation”- has it changed, my “purpose/path” has it taken a new direction…

Time, prayer and counsel seem to work that out…it isn’t an easy one…and answers may or may not come  easily …but they do come….and with it peace, if we are seeking God’s will…

For me personally, it was some hard choices, but it brought me closer in my walk with the Lord…who is the perfect guide…and our peace giver…thank YOU….

“Identity  theft...



There are lots of advertisements on TV about various products ito prevent identity theft...but none really hit the mark for losing your identity like big changes in life...all of the sudden the things you felt identified you are gone and you are left standing alone, feeling naked before the world...change can do that…you have to build trust in a new community, sign papers a new way, make decisions differently...



I remember going to the doctor with my mother when she was eighty, for whatever the reason. She saw her description written in the doctor’s notes, "white haired elderly woman"....she was insulted...that wasn't her!  She wasn't elderly! White haired, yes, but elderly?  We halfheartedly laughed....she was an artist, a mother, a wife, sister, a grandmother...those were her own identities...

.

It hit me in the face this weekend, out of the blue....over two rather insignificant items. 

First, for over 40 years, my husband and I were in leadership roles in the churches we were involved...elder, teacher, staff, etc., etc...like the list Paul has in the epistles...and the pastor of the church I am attending, introduced a younger pastor/speaker, saying "he is here checking us out".  Innocuous, but it hit me, "I don't know anything about this and I am not part of the leadership anymore"....and my "identity" shifted...it had already done that…I know...



Then we were talking again in our grief group, about what we want our identity to be....do we want to known as a "griever", broken, downcast,   shrouded by grief ....
Or is grief a chapter of our book, one to be written and going on into a new chapter or identity?

But, what is our overall identity?  What do we want to known by?  

Does a “mantle of praise” cover us or the burial wrappings...a robe of righteousness or unbelief ....
Is our identity stolen with the winds of change or are we stable in the storm....
Questions, I ask everyday...am I identified with the Lover of my soul?  Do I find my identity in the things, events around me?  

Thank YOU for being my identity, that cannot be stolen.   Help me to wear the mantle of praise rather than a shroud of change, grief....not forgetting, but working on that new chapter...of life...thank YOU, also the robe of righteousness, to be given ...not earned  by anything I do, but for who I am in Christ...a believer ..

..


"Shroud” Definition
 dictionary.search.yahoo.com
n. noun


A cloth used to wrap a body for burial; a winding sheet.
Something that conceals, protects, or screens.
under a shroud of fog.
One of a set of ropes or wire cables stretched from the masthead to the sides of a vessel to support the mast.
v. verb
To wrap (a corpse) in burial clothing.
To shut off from sight; screen.
To shelter; protect.

"

Psalm 42:11
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.



Hebrews 1:12
Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.”



Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.“

Simple tasks…

 Simple tasks….

It all started when I wanted one pancake for breakfast…it went downhill from there…

The flax seed spilled, the tiny vac came out to clean, it popped open dumping all of its accumulated dust, next vac came out, then three floor moppings to get the fine dust,…I didn’t know that my floor needed mopped before breakfast or that my tiny vac could hold so much dust…

I finally got my pancake quite awhile after the initial start…

  Those simple tasks which change to multiple jobs in a different direction…

one broken sprinkler head which snaps and requires at least one trip to the hardware store or the whole area dug up to repair a broken pipe…

spilt milk…

one question that leads to whole library search…

a small homemade lunch for a boy, feeding the five thousand…

a lost coin leading to a thorough housecleaning to find it…

making mud out of a handful of dirt, giving sight to a blind person…

a smile to strangers, lightening their day…

An act of kindness to care for the weary…

A cup of water given in Jesus’ name…

A listening ear…

An apology….

Seven dips in a river…

A prayer…

A thank you…

Simple tasks, all, oh, but the ramifications may be large, may change one’s eternity…

Both Nicodemus and the jailer asked a simple question…basically “how can I be saved?”  Simple answer…believe on the Lord Jesus Christ… a simple task/question with long term effects…

Thank YOU….

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:5-7,16

And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:29-31

Poem…for the want of a nail…

For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost. 

For the want of a shoe, a horse was lost…

For the want of a horse a rider was lost,

For the want of a rider, a battle was lost,

For the want of a battle a kingdom was lost, 

And All for the want of a horseshoe nail…

At the well…

 At the well…

Over the ages, water wells have been cherished, sought out, fought for, blessed….we need water to survive. We dig for, we seek ways to save it…it feeds our crops, our livestock, us…and the Water of Life feeds our souls….

I just simply looked up “at the well” and these came up…times in the Bible which events took place at a well…each with a lesson, a direction, a provision, an answer from God…with the last one where Jesus declares himself….

 We have that same “well” …where God provides, where He answers prayers, where He speaks to our needs-emotional, physical and spiritual…we can draw from that well…thank YOU…

Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Genesis 21:18-21 

And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.” Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?” She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord  has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen.”

Genesis 24:11-27

From there he went up to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Genesis 26:23-25 

But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

Genesis 29:8-12

And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah,

Numbers 21:16-18 

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord  God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:2-3 

Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:6-26,39-42

Spring up oh well…by Paul Wickham

“I′ve got a river of life flowing out of me

Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see,

Opens prison doors, sets the captives free.

I've got a river of life flowing out of me.

Spring up, O well, within my soul.

Spring up, O well, and make me whole

Spring up, O well, and give to me

That life abundantly”



12 Sons of Jacob….Judah…

 Sons of Jacob…Judah…

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 35:22b-26

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; 

your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; 

your father's sons shall bow down before you. 

Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. 

He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 

Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 

His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Genesis 49:8-12 

Judah repented of his wrong doings  with his family…

“Judah =(praised, celebrated ), 

the fourth son of Jacob and the fourth of Leah. (B.C. after 1753.) Of Judahs personal character more traits are preserved than of any other of the patriarchs, with the exception of Joseph, whose life he in conjunction with Reuben saved. ( Genesis 37:26-28 ) During the second visit to Egypt for corn it was Judah who understood to be responsible for the safety of Benjamin, ch. ( Genesis 43:3-10 ) and when, through Josephs artifice, the brothers were brought back to the palace, he is again the leader and spokesman of the band. So too it is Judah who is sent before Jacob to smooth the way for him in the land of Goshen. ch. ( Genesis 46:28 ) This ascendancy over his brethren is reflected in the last words addressed to him by his father. The families of Judah occupy a position among the tribes similar to that which their progenitor had taken among the patriarchs. The numbers of the tribe at the census at Sinai were 74,600. ( Numbers 1:26 Numbers 1:27 ) On the borders of the promised land they were 76,500. ( Genesis 26:22 ) The boundaries and contents of the territory allotted to Judah are narrated at great length, and with greater minuteness than the others, in ( Joshua 15:20-63 ) The north boundary, for the most part coincident with the south boundary of Benjamin, began at the embouchure of the Jordan and ended on the west at Jabneel on the coast of the Mediterranean, four miles south of Joppa. On the east the Dead Sea, and on the west the Mediterranean, formed the boundaries. The southern line is hard to determine, since it is denoted by places many of which have not been identified. It left the Dead Sea at its extreme south end, and joined the Mediterranean at the Wady el-Arish. This territory is in average length about 45 miles, and in average breadth about 50.” From Bible study tools.

The tribe of Judah was the first to set out from camping, followed by the tribes…during the wilderness wanderings…

https://www.israel-a-history-of.com/tribe-of-judah.html

I am realizing that there is sooooo much written about each son of  Jacob….the blessings of each, how their lives went…

Each had their downfalls and each their triumphs…how descendants were taken captive, how they fared in the ensuing generations….how important they were in the history of Israel…one could keep on writing and writing… 

King David came from the line of Judah and hence Jesus was from the same line…just going through the blessing bestowed by Jacob, we find the scepter, the wine, the rule, the lion, the obedience of all peoples…such pictures foretelling Jesus…

It is just breathtaking, awe inspiring how the Word is whole…worthy of praise…and the Word is with us…

Thank YOU….

12 sons…Simeon …Levi…1

 12 sons…Simeon…Levi ….1

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 35:22b-26

I put these together because Jacob put them together in his final words to them…as the article relates…there are over 200 references to the Levites throughout scriptures…over 345 listings of Levi…

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

Simeon=he who hears..

Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

Genesis 29:33-34

Levi=joined, joiner

“Simeon and his brother Levi forfeit their prominence by revenging the rape of their sister Dinah by Shechem the Hivite (Genesis 34). Because of this revenge, Jacob decrees that Levi and Simeon's progeny, the tribes of Simeon and Levi, are not to be assigned territory of their own but will forever live within the borders of the other tribes (Genesis 49:7). The Levites regain their prominence by becoming the kohanim, the nation's priests and the Simeonites (שמעוני or שמעני) survive by living among the people of Judah (Joshua 19:1). When the other tribes are taken to Assyria and virtually vanish, Simeon goes with Judah to Babylon and, we may assume, return. This Simeon is referred to in the New Testament only in REVELATION 7:7.” Abarim Publications 

Jacob’s “ blessing” on these two brothers…who go hand in hand.. 

Genesis 29:33



5  Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons of violence are their swords.

6  Let my soul come not into their council;

             my glory, be not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.

7  Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel. Genesis 49:5-7

After such a blessing, the Levites were assigned a very prominent task of the responsibility of taking care of the tabernacle in the wilderness wanderings…

“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 

But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. 

They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. 

When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. 

And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. 

And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Numbers 1:49-51,53 

“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine,

Numbers 3:1

For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”

Numbers 18:24 

The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

Joshua 18:7 

The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.

Joshua 21:41-42

Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.

1 Chronicles 15:2

They were spoken of when Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, their priestly duties to perform…

Ezekiel speaks of their defilement…

But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.

Ezekiel 44:10

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.

Malachi 3:3 

One of their  listings is when John the Baptist is alive…

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

John 1:19 

Finally, they listed with other tribes in the book of Revelations…

Notes…

Barnabas, was from the tribe of the Levites…

The Levite did not help the injured man that the “good Samaritan” helped.

For having such a poor blessing from Jacob, the line of Levi played a prominent role in history….they were the priestly line…

Takeaway ….

“Finally, the ultimate lesson in the tribe of Levi, for Christians, is that of restoration of the sinner to the privileged position of children of God. Through the high priestly intercession of Christ, who exchanged His righteousness for our sins on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21), we become a nation of priests in our own right. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).” Got questions, a website.

Thank YOU…that you have given us Jesus, our restorer…our redeemer…

Pile of rocks….2

 A pile of rocks…2

We revisit this class soon, carrying burdens in grief and in everyday life…the heaviness of life on our shoulders…emotions that weigh us down…frustrations with others, ourselves….false expectations…

And these last two years of daily flexibility in our lives, reports of one way or another, growing tensions of all kinds…these can be burdens as well…things we don’t need to carry…

There is an old, old song written by Isaac Watts in 1707…that fits this “pile of rock” that we may carry…

“Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
Refrain 
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!”


A pile of rocks......



This was a suggested visual for a class....each rock had a written emotion; anger, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, fear, idolatry, etc...then you start adding these to a backpack .....one after another...until it is full...or until you have picked up the ones you "want " to carry....or do you?..

,a picture of the negative we emotions and feelings we can carry around...the weight just pulls us down...we can choose to unburden ourselves or not...

It reminded me of the book "Pilgrims Progress", where Christian carries this burden until he finally releases it and puts it at the foot of the cross, handing it over Christ....



Or a written letter with all of our problems spread out before the Lord as Hezakiah did in the Old Testament .....asking what to do with the threats...

I personally don't want to carry a bunch of burdens or problems around, weighing me down...but I do...with these visuals, I was reminded how much I can be weighed down by negative emotions and may not even realize it...it is such a habit...

We are invited to leave these burdens with Christ, He lightens our load, giving us one which is light....he can take away our feelings of anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, fear,.....and I for one need to give mine over....



Thank YOU for the option for getting rid of my load of negative emotions, those which weigh me down, hindering my journey...YOU are the burden bearer...in You there is peace of mind....



Moses speaking....."Numbers 11:14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. "



Psalm 38:4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. 



Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,who daily bears our burdens.

 

Psalm 81:6a "I removed the burden from their shoulders;"



Proverbs 27:3a Stone is heavy and sand a burden,



Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

 

12 son…. Reuben…

 12 sons….Reuben…

….Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 35:22b-26 

Year ago when my children were young and still at home, I read a book that was popular at the time by Dr. Kevin Leman about birth order…some of the ideas fit and some didn’t.  My children, by God’s design, were 4 years apart. So in some instances, it felt like they were all first born. But in  other areas, they followed the traits of their birth order pretty closely…

So with this in mind, and reading about Jacob and his 12 sons, the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel, I thought it would be interesting to follow each son and their mention through the Bible…so beginning with Reuben, who was Jacob’s first born by Leah, his first wife…

“Firstborns bask in their parents' presence, which may explain why they sometimes act like mini-adults. They're also diligent and want to excel at everything they do. As the leader of the pack, firstborns often tend to be:

• Reliable

• Conscientious

• Structured

• Cautious

• Controlling

• Achievers”.   From parents.com

 Reuben =“Means "behold, a son" in Hebrew. “Son of vision” In the Old Testament “  behindthename.com

1. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord  has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”

       Genesis 29:32 

The next mention of Reuben..

2. In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

       Genesis 30:14

I didn’t know what mandrakes were…

“Mandrakes have unusually large, forked roots that sometimes resemble a human body with open arms and legs. In the ancient world, mandrake roots were considered an aphrodisiac and were commonly prepared and eaten as a fertility drug. There are many references to mandrakes in folklore and superstitions in various cultures. Talked about in the Song of Solomon.

The one other biblical account to speak of mandrakes is found in Genesis 30. There, Jacob’s two wives, Rachel and Leah, vie for Jacob’s attention. Rachel wants a child, and Leah wants more children. Leah’s son Reuben finds some mandrakes in the field and gives them to his mother. Leah then trades the mandrakes to Rachel in exchange for the opportunity to sleep with Jacob that night (Genesis 30:14–16). Rachel, who was as yet childless, accepts the trade, believing that the mandrakes would help her conceive at a later time. Leah sleeps with Jacob that night and becomes pregnant with her fifth son (verse 17). “Gotquestions.org

3. While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Genesis 35:22.   Reuben lost a blessing because of this act…

4. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”— that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”  Genesis 37:21-22,29-30….Reuben was the only brother who stood up for Joseph before he was sold into slavery… 

Later, when Jacob’s sons went to Egypt, Reuben still must have felt the guilt and responsibility of Joseph’s earlier disappearance  as he bargained with his own sons with Jacob to take Benjamin back to Egypt to Joseph..

5. And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

Genesis 42:22,37 

6. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 

       Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because      you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

Genesis 49:3-4

He lost his blessing by his taking of Rachael’s servant…one author suggested he did it to show his retaliation for Joseph being a favorite son over Reuben’s firstborn status…

Going on, Reuben  was mentioned 89 times in the Bible, from Genesis through the historical books, a bit in Ezekiel and lastly in Revelations. 

In the travels through the wilderness with Moses, they 

( the Reubenites) were placed on the south side of the camp and when traveling, they set out second after the tribe of Judah…

7. On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.

Numbers 2:10,16

The Reubenites fought to take the promised land with the other tribes but asked to live in Gilead as they found the land more suitable for their abundance of livestock..

8. We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord . Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead,

       Numbers 32:18-22,26

“Following a similar trajectory to their namesake, the tribe of Reuben started off in a position of honor and strength, always listed first among the twelve tribes of Israel. But, just as Jacob prophesied, the tribe did not maintain an honored position as a consequence of Reuben's incestual relations with Bilhah. Moses had said of the tribe, "Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few" (Deuteronomy 33:6). No prominent leader of any kind emerged from the tribe of Reuben, and aside from being referenced in a list including the other tribes in Revelation 7:5, the tribe is not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament. “

From compellingtruth.com, Reuben in the Bible

It was interesting to follow Reuben….the take away for me…was a  reminder of the verse…spoken by Moses to the tribes…it was in reference to tribes not going over the Jordan…

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Numbers 32:23

But, because Reuben had taken Rachael’s servant, he lost a blessing…

God in just and forgiving, but, there may be long term consequences of our actions…which Reuben experienced….

Blessings and thank YOU…for lessons to be gleaned from Your Word…