Merry Christmas all!
Starting today, I will be doing a special Christmas meditation for the 12 days of Christmas. These are based on a message I gave at my church recently, which you can hear here.
In it, I basically took the names of Jacob’s 12 sons, names born largely out of the pain of Rachel and Leah, and reinterpreted their meanings in light of Christmas, and God’s message toward us.
Today, Reuben.
When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive. Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.” (Genesis 29:31-32)
The name Reuben means, “See, a son.”
It seems Leah was crying out to Jacob, “See, I’ve given you a son. Love me!”
But now God looks down at us, and says, “See, my Son! I do love you.”
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 