We need to continuously pray GOD to help us protect and control 7 important things/ factors in our lives as these are vital in influencing our relationship with God, and for receiving blessings from GOD. These same factors are used by Satan as devices/ instruments to attack a believer and destroy blissful relationship with GOD.
They are
(1) Eye
(2) Tongue
(3) Ear
(4) Place
(5) Thought
(6) Anger
(7) Heart
In these, we will see how the first and foremost factor ‘Eye’ is more important than others and need to be used with utmost caution. This is also a very important and powerful message for all youngsters and Christians in aspects of choosing their life partners. So I encourage everyone whoever is reading this message to share this message with as many believers/ non-believers as possible.
We often hear that Eye is the light of the body and if the eye is proper and protected, the whole body gets light and functions properly. Let’s see what happened to our forefathers (and foremothers) Adam and Eve, because of whose sin, we all have lost the joy and blessing of living in a heavenly garden designed by GOD HIMSELF.
When satan entered Garden of Eden through a serpent and told Eve that they will not die and will become like Gods to know good and evil when they eat the fruit that God has forbidden, Eve starts looking at the fruit with more interest.
From the beginning Satan is a liar, murderer and a thief, cunning and devious in all his ways, tricking mankind in all possible ways. After they ate the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve had to see death one day; their hardships started on Earth and they realized how foolish they were to listen words of satan and commit sin against their ever loving GOD.
Now we will see what happened when Eve started looking at the forbidden fruit with interest, the first instance of sinning through ‘Eye’.
Genesis 3:6
6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.The fruit looked pleasant and Eve developed desire for it. After she desired, Eve did not delay eating it, unmindful / suppressing GOD’s commandment and hastened to complete her heart’s desire.
If ‘Eye’ is not disciplined/ controlled properly, even the most holy people tend to sin and will have to bear the consequences of losing many good things because of GOD’s punishment. They will suddenly plunge into murky places which mean they will lose their holiness and have to face problems and gloom in their lives. Look what happened to even sons of God when they saw …
Genesis 6: 2
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.When sons of GOD married daughters of man, giants were born to them. This made GOD repent for having made man on earth, because he found that always man imagines and thinks evil only in his heart. Till then Man was living up to an age of around 800 to 900 years.
Genesis 5: 5, 8, 11, …
5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
God reduced the age of man to 100 years.
Genesis 6: 3
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.GOD plans to end all flesh, after repenting.
Genesis 6: 5, 6
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD as he walked with GOD.
Genesis 6: 11 – 14
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
If we see Abraham’s life, GOD calls Abraham alone, but he comes with Lot.
Isaiah 51: 2
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah [that] bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
GOD blessed Abraham very rich and because Lot was with Abraham, Lot also gets blessed. Their wealth increases such that the Land was not able to bear them.
Genesis 13: 1
1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Because of the huge cattle they had, strife began between Abraham and lot’s herdsmen. Then Abraham asks Lot to separate to avoid strife. He leaves it to Lot to choose the land in front of his eyes so that he can go the other way, away from Lot’s chosen land. Lot must have felt very happy in his heart that Abraham left it to his choice to choose land, further thinking that he can choose the best land first. Lot sees with his own eyes the land of Jordan and perceives it to be well watered and imagines it to be like Garden of the LORD and chooses to go towards this land, which was destroyed by the LORD in latter days because of the extreme sinful lives of people of that land.
Genesis 13: 7 - 10
7 And there was strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.
9 [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
But Abraham did not physically see with his own eyes. He ‘saw’ the land that the LORD told him to see spiritually and proceeds to go and live in it.
Genesis 13: 13 - 1813 But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Now we will see the life of Jacob and Esau – sons of Isaac and grandsons of Abraham.
Genesis 25: 27
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob [was] a plain man, dwelling in tents.Esau desires daughters from other land who are idolatrous and this grieved Isaac and Rebekah. He could not please GOD also because of his works.
Genesis 26: 34
34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
35 Which was a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
Unaware of the importance of his birthright, he sells it to Jacob for bread and pottage of lentils.
Genesis 25: 29 - 34
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he [was] faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.
He lost the promised inheritance to Jacob. The word “fornication” is sometimes used in a symbolic sense in the Bible, for example, meaning forsaking of God or following after idols.
Hebrews 12: 15-17
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Now, we will see the life of Jacob and Rachel. Has Rachel pleased GOD in her ways? When did GOD start blessing Jacob? Has Jacob behaved wisely when he served 14 years for making Rachel his wife?
Jacob saw Rachel and loved her as he found her desirable in her form. He first served 7 years and these 7 years seemed to Jacob as a few days. He was given Leah in the evening of marriage day, as she is the elder daughter and elder daughter has to be first married as per the custom of the country. When Laban asked Jacob to serve yet another 7 years for his younger daughter Rachel, Jacob agreed for Rachel’s sake.
Genesis 29: 16-30
16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder [was] Leah, and the name of the younger [was] Rachel.
17 Leah [was] tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
19 And Laban said, [It is] better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him [but] a few days, for the love he had to her.
21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid [for] an handmaid.
25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah: and he said to Laban, What [is] this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
And Laban finds that GOD is blessing him because of Jacob. When Jacob asks Laban to let him go to his father’s land and to let him provide for his own house, Laban requests him to stay back saying that he will pay the wages as asked by Jacob.
Genesis 30: 27-30
27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, [tarry: for] I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give [it].
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30 For [it was] little which thou hadst before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
After Joseph is born to Rachel, then Jacob requests Laban to send him away to his father’s place
Genesis 30: 22-26
22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
26 Give [me] my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
Jacob served Laban for 20 years, and all his strength was consumed for Laban’s sake. Laban was greatly blessed. So Jacob presumes that Laban wouldn’t allow him to leave. So he steals away with his wives Leah and Rachel, and with all sheep that he earned.
Genesis 31: 38-48
38 This twenty years [have] I [been] with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
39 That which was torn [of beasts] I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, [whether] stolen by day, or stolen by night.
40 [Thus] I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked [thee] yesternight.
43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, [These] daughters [are] my daughters, and [these] children [are] my children, and [these] cattle [are] my cattle, and all that thou seest [is] mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up [for] a pillar.
46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 And Laban said, This heap [is] a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
But Rachel steals the idols of her father’s house. She could not leave them in her father’s place. By this we can understand that she loved the Gods of her father’s house, her heart is still desirous of those images. She committed idolatry in GOD’s sight, a serious sin. She carried idols and riches in her heart. We find that Leah finds favor in GOD’s sight; she perhaps accepted Jacob’s GOD and left idolatry in her father’s place only.
Genesis 31: 19
19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that [were] her father's.
Jacob curses the person whoever is carrying Laban’s house idols, not knowing that Rachel has stolen them. He cursed Rachel and pronounced death on Rachel unknowingly.
Genesis 31: 32
32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what [is] thine with me, and take [it] to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
GOD talks to Jacob to enter Bethel and live there. So he tells all his people to put away all the strange idols. All his people listen to Jacob and give away their Gods and earrings.
Genesis 35: 1-4
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that [are] among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] earrings which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem.
Jacob must have longed to live happily with Rachel after entering Bethel. After working for 14 years, he could marry Rachel. Now he is going to enter the land ‘Bethel’ showed by GOD after serving Laban for 20 years. He is going to enter Bethel with his wife Rachel (for he loved her so much) and all the wealth that he gained. So Jacob must have dreamt to live happily with Rachel. Before they reached Bethel, Rachel died in hard labour. Jacob worked for 14 years for Rachel, but he could not live with her till end, hardly has he lived with her for 6 years.
Genesis 35: 16-19
16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem.
Jacob realizes that he labored in vain and wasted many years without realizing GOD’s plan for HIM.
Isaiah 49: 1-7
God is saying to Jacob, whom he called ‘Israel’, that Israel is chosen to be light to Gentiles. God promised that kings will rise and officials will salute Jacob.
Isaiah 49: 7
7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, [and] the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.If we see, Jacob worked hard for getting his desired wife unaware of GOD’s plan.
Hosea 12: 1212 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].
Whoever believes GOD, GOD is saying that they are offspring of Abraham, because Abraham lived by faith.
Galatians 3: 26-28
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So we should be careful while seeing with our eyes. We should continuously ask GOD to protect/ control this vital organ not to put us in such a circumstance to proceed to sin because of this ‘Eye’, and help us to discern what to see and what not to see, give us wisdom to help us understand what to desire and what not to desire.
May this Word help each one of us to examine ourselves, and change our way of living and way of seeing/ looking at others/ things. May the good LORD always protect our eyes and help us not to sin.
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