Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

22 January 2026

Reading From Genesis 30-31

“When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.”

—Genesis 30:1-5

     It is important to remember that the Bible is the Word of God, but that does not mean that the human beings in its stories were perfect.  They said and did many things that were sinful.  We should not follow their bad examples, but rather search for the good, godly principles and ask for the discernment of the Holy Spirit within us.

     Polygamy was never God’s plan for humanity.  He created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and a bunch of other wives to share life in the Garden of Eden.  He intended for marriage to be a holy covenant between one man and one woman.  Polygamy began with Lamech who married Adah and Zillah.  He was insolent and murderous.  For Abraham, it was his wife Sarah who suggested that he take her servant Hagar as a wife with disastrous results. 

     Whenever we see polygamy in the Scriptures, chaos ensues and it is just not a good or healthy situation.  And yet God has a way of continuing to work in the lives of these people to bring about His purposes and plan upon the Earth.  But this is true for the life of every fallen human and so just because things sometimes work out and other times they don’t should not be the litmus test for righteousness. 

     The fallen state of the world is not how God intended it to be.  This is why we need to seek God’s will for ourselves, our families and our world.  We are able to find our identity and purpose, belonging and destiny when we give our lives to Jesus.  This begins a lifelong process of God renewing our minds as we learn and grow and His Presence moves into every area of our lives.  The Presence of Christ and His Word in our lives is essential to knowing what God wants us to do. 

“Lord God, thank You for providing us with wisdom and direction from Your Word.  We cannot live without You, must less know who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do in this life.  Show us the way forward and bless us with the love and strength we need to follow You.  In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray these things.  Amen.”

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

—John 17:17

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

—Titus 3:4-7

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

—Romans 12:1-2