14/07/07

Leading By Example

"And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out..."
Genesis 34:1 [KJV]

Was she not also the daughter of Jacob? Because of her going forth she was called the daughter of Leah, since Leah also "went out", as it is written, "And Leah went out to meet him." (Genesis 30:16) When Leah went out to greet Jacob, there was a tinge of immodesty in her "going out," which later reflected itself in her daughter's "going out." There is a lesson to be derived from this.

The actions of the parents, even when trivial, sometimes leave a lasting impression on their children. Parents who deviate from God's Word not only weaken their own faith but also cause confusion among their children. When children follow in the footsteps of their parents, they tend to 'outdo' their parents.

[Reference Scripture]

Genesis 34:1 [KJV]
1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Genesis 30:9-17 [KJV]
9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

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