*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*
*WHEN LOVE IS LOST.. (4).*
*Scripture Treasure.*
Gen 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
*Insight and Highlight.*
Where lust is present, virtue is lost.
*Scripture Commentaries.*
Lust is lost when virtue is present. When lust is present, honor and dignity are lost.
Prov 6:29, 32-33 *"....he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.*
*.....whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.*
*A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.*
In Gen 35: 22, Rueben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine.
Bilhah was Rachael's handmaid. Jacob heard at the time but did not say anything. Though it was not recorded in the Scriptures that when Israel (Jacob) heard he said something, it would be right to say he was displeased of Reuben's action.
What followed in Gen 49: 4 showed his displeasure.
From the day Reuben laid with Bilhah,
Rueben lost the respect of his father.
Though his father said he was the beginning of his strength, there was no good virtue in Rueben again but loss of virtue of good standing, purity, and honor.
In Gen 49:4, his father cursed him; *Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.*
Leviticus 18:8 *The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.*
His disgrace and dishonour did not end. It began in Gen 35:22. This was the brainchild of Gen 49:4.
Reuben's reproach was not limited to this. His reproach was not wiped away.
It continued in 1 Chr 5:1. His incestuous act dislodged him from his firstborn inheritance.
This act of Reuben was an insult to his father. It must have been one of the reasons for Jacob's lamentation to Pharaoh when he spoke so sorrowfully to the king that *.....few and evil have the days of the years of my life been...*, Gen 47:9.
Rueben's lust after Bilhah could not have started from the moment he committed adultery with Bilhah. What happened that day was a state of lack of self-control, which is explained that when a man is tempted *.....he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.*
*Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.*
He must have been nursing or conceiving his lust and gave in to it when the opportunity arose (ref Matt 5:28).
What are you nursing in your heart? Lust?
*Remorse corner.*
Rueben's glory 'died' the moment he went into Bilhah. By Gen 49:4, though he was living but was 'dead'
*Call to Word action.*
Lust and death are intertwined.
Jam 1:15 *Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.*
*The Christian clarion duty.*
If you have lust in your heart, you are a disaster about to happen.
*Prayer.*
Lord, help me to live. Do not let me be a living dead, in Jesus name.
Good morning all, and have a blessed day today.
God bless you.