7.31.2009

Genesis 27-30

I love reading about Jacob. He's one of the most colorful characters in the Bible. Deception, birthrights, blessings, dreams, romance, polygamy, lots of kids, baby-mama drama... His story has it all. But every time I read his story, I'm reminded of this Rich Mullins song called "Jacob and 2 Women" from his incredible album The World As Best As I Remember It, Vol. 1. Look it up and download it sometime. It's really nice. Here's the lyrics.

Jacob, he loved Rachel and Rachel, she loved him
And Leah was just there for dramatic effect
Well it's right there in the Bible, so it must not be a sin
But it sure does seem like an awful dirty trick
And her sky is just a petal pressed in a book of a memory
Of the time he thought he loved her and they kissed
And her friends say, "Ah, he's a devil"
But she says, "No, he is a dream"
This is the world as best as I can remember it

Now Jacob got two women and a whole house full of kids
And he schemed his way back to the promised land
And he finds it's one thing to win 'em
And it's another to keep 'em content
When he knows that he is only just one man
And his sky's an empty bottle and when he's drunk the ocean dry
Well he sails off three sheets to some reckless wind
And his friends say, "Ain't it awful"
And he says, "No, I think it's fine"
And this is the world as best as I can remember it

Now Rachel's weeping for the children
That she thought she could not bear
And she bears a sorrow that she cannot hide
And she wishes she was with them
But she just looks and they're not there
Seems that love comes for just a moment
And then it passes on by

And her sky is just a bandit
Swinging at the end of a hangman's noose
'Cause he stole the moon and must be made to pay for it
And her friends say, "My, that's tragic"
She says, "Especially for the moon"
And this is the world as best as I can remember it
And this is the world as best as I can remember it

1 comment:

Kim said...

Jeff, any ideas on the meaning of that last stanza? My husband and I are going around in circles about it, trying to puzzle it out tonight.