Gen 29:31 - 30:24 - Jacob's Children and the Rivalry of Leah & Rachel - The Mysteries of God's Word

Discover the turbulent world of Genesis chapters 29 and 30, where love, rivalry, and divine intervention shape the lives of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. What happens when love is unrequited, and jealousy consumes those who desire what seems out of reach? Join us as we unravel Leah's emotional journey, bearing Jacob's first four sons despite his disdain. 

These ancient stories echo modern themes of love, competition, and faith, inviting you to explore the timeless complexities of human relationships. Tune in for an exploration of these rich narratives, offering insights into the intricate dynamics of love and rivalry.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Thank you again for joining me for the Mysteries of God's Word Today. We're at the end of Genesis, chapter 29, starting at verse 31, and we'll be going through chapter 30, verse 22. In these verses it describes the birth of Jacob's children and a heated feud that went on between Jacob's wives Leah and Rachel, and we begin at verse 31. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren and Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben. For she said Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction, for now my husband will love me. In our first two verses we see that the Lord saw that Leah was hated and he opened her womb. Here God acts on behalf of Leah because Jacob was not loving her as he should have. While we may be sympathetic and understanding as to how difficult it must have been for Jacob to love Leah, considering the circumstances that brought them together, it was wrong for Jacob not to love Leah as his wife once he committed to the marriage. Here we see God's action in opening Leah's womb, and it further illustrates how Jacob's desire and love for Rachel continued to cloud his judgment. Now as a husband, particularly as the husband for Leah, and while Jacob had demoted Leah in his mind as a lesser wife, god is about to exalt her by giving her Jacob's firstborn son. So Leah conceived and bore a son and she called him Reuben. Reuben is the firstborn son of Israel. And she called him Reuben. Reuben is the firstborn son of Israel. And she said For now, my husband will love me.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Leah was holding on to the hope that Jacob would one day love her, as a husband should love his wife. She believed that, because the Lord had seen her in her affliction and opened her womb, that Jacob will now recognize the hand of God on her and love her and care for her the way a husband should. However, jacob is not about to turn his heart towards Leah. In verse 33, we read she conceived again and bore a son and said Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also, and she called his name Simeon. Here in verse 33, we read that Leah says she's hated. The word hated here in the Hebrew means a strong dislike or scorn towards someone. Sometimes the word is even translated enemy. From this context, it would appear that even though Jacob was having intimate physical relations with Leah, he harbored strong feelings of contempt and bitterness towards her. Verse 34, and again she conceived and bore a son and said Now, this time my husband will be attached to me because I have borne him three sons. Therefore she called his name Levi. After having Jacob's third son, she says this time my husband will be attached. Leah continues to hold out hope that Jacob will love her and care for her properly as his wife. She believes perhaps now, after having three children with her, he'll recognize that she and these three children need the father close. Perhaps now Jacob will feel attached to them and he'll turn his affection towards them. Verse 35, at this point Leah has born Jacob four children and she calls the fourth child Judah. After having Judah, she praises God. She says this time I'll praise the Lord, implying that she's starting to feel better about her position and relationship with her husband, jacob. Then she ceased bearing children, picking up in Genesis, chapter 30, verse 1,.

Speaker 1: 5:04

When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children she envied her sister. She said to Jacob Give me children or I shall die. And 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. In these first two verses of chapter 30, we see that Rachel envied her sister Leah. This word for envied in the Hebrew is most often translated jealous, and it actually means a very heated or zealous jealousy. Rachel was deeply jealous of her sister Leah and she was stirred up in her spirit because of the children her sister was having. She says to Jacob Give me children or I shall die. Rachel saying this shows how distraught she is that her sister is having children and she is not. Even though Jacob's heart was with Rachel, certainly his attention must have shifted to spend some time with his four children from Leah. Furthermore, being barren in this culture was a severe embarrassment to any husband, and the irony of these circumstances that we now find Rachel in is that there's a sharp contrast to how Jacob had been treating Leah and Rachel. Jacob had elevated Rachel in his heart and had lowered Leah in his heart. But the Lord had elevated Leah through the circumstances of bearing children and now lowered Rachel as a wife being barren.

Speaker 1: 6:55

We pick up in verse 3. Then she said here is my servant Bilhah. Go into 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 into her. In verses 3 and 4, we see Rachel's desperation turning into destruction. She tells Jacob here's my servant Bilhah. Go into her. In a very similar fashion to how Sarai, jacob's grandmother had told Abram to go into her servant. Now Rachel commands her husband, jacob, to have sexual relations with her servant so that she might have children through her, while the laws at the time of the patriarchs recognized that the sons of servants were the same as the sons of the owner of the servant.

Speaker 1: 7:56

Rachel should have realized the foolishness of this plan from the outset, because of what happened with Abram and Hagar. However, in her desperation and in her selfishness, she goes down the same path of manipulation and destruction to obtain children outside of God's ordered design. And then we read Jacob went into her. Following in the sin of his grandfather, abram, jacob listens to his wife Rachel and he sleeps with his wife's servant Bilhah. We should be reminded here that a man of God is to lead his family, particularly his wife, in the way of the Lord, in the way of righteousness and godliness, rather than following them when they ask you to join them in a path of sin. Here. Jacob fails to guide his wife out of her jealousy and out of her bitterness. Jacob fails to guide his wife into the forgiveness and contentment of the Lord and instead he listens to her going down a path of sexual immorality that will set a poor example in marriage for all of Israel in the future.

Speaker 1: 9:12

Picking up in verse 5, and Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob, a son. Then Rachel said God has judged me and also heard my voice and given me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan. The fifth son of Israel is Dan. Through Bilhah, rachel says God has judged me and heard my voice. Unfortunately, we see Rachel using the name of the Lord after giving her husband to another woman. This shows the depths of Rachel's self-deception. While Rachel's statement does recognize that it is God who opens the womb of a woman, it is not her womb. The womb of a woman, it is not her womb. Rachel is sadly claiming victory and celebrating really only in her own ability to manipulate circumstances after she's convinced her husband to sleep with another woman for her own purposes.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Verse 7 reads Rachel's servant, bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob, a second son. Then Rachel said With mighty wrestlings, I have wrestled with my sister and prevailed, so she called his name Naphtali. Once again, we see Rachel claiming to have victory over her sister, after Jacob has now had two children with her servant. This reveals how Rachel has allowed this bitter rival with her sister to overwhelm her thinking in her marriage and bring about sinful behavior. Rather than continue to try and have children with Jacob as his wife, rachel has given her husband once again to another woman, this time under her control. Rachel, again, for the second time, is sadly claiming victory, but her claim is not based in God's design or on any kind of godly living. It's only based on her ability to manipulate people and circumstances.

Speaker 1: 11:19

In verse 9, we read when Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son, and Leah said Good fortune has come, so she called his name Gad. In verses 9 and 10, we see that Leah too has been consumed by the bitter rival with her sister Rachel, and now she too is claiming good fortune and happiness when Jacob sleeps with her servant Zilpah. This too shows the deception in the mind of Leah towards God's design for marriage. While we have seen from Scripture that God recognizes Leah as Jacob's first and primary wife. It is ironic that she somehow believes Jacob having children with yet another woman is going to bring about her happiness and good fortune. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can take away from this mess of a marriage is that during the years after Jacob was manipulated and deceived by Laban into marrying both Leah and Rachel, that Jacob continued to live in shame. Rather than stand up for what was right in the Lord, he continued allowing others, including his wives, to manipulate him, particularly in the areas of sexual sin.

Speaker 1: 12:56

Picking up in verse 14, in the days of the wheat harvest, reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother, leah. Then Rachel said to Leah please give me some of your son's mandrakes. But she said to her it is a small matter that you've taken away my husband. Would you take away my mandrakes also? Rachel said Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for some of your son's mandrakes. When Jacob came from the field in the evening, leah went out to meet him and said you must come in into me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes. So he lay with her that night here. In verses 14 through 16, we read about how Reuben went out and found some mandrakes.

Speaker 1: 13:48

Mandrakes during the time of the patriarchs were believed superstitiously to bring about fertility in women. Mandrakes were known as love apples or an aphrodisiac to have before time together. We see that Leah says is it a small matter that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also? By this statement we see that Jacob's attention has very likely shifted back to Rachel. After Rachel's servant, bilhah, had borne Dan and Naphtali to Rachel's home and Rachel, in another desperate attempt to have a child, bargains away Jacob for the night for the mandrakes. So when Jacob comes in from working that day, Leah goes out to meet him. Leah takes charge, she goes out and she tells Jacob whom he is going to sleep with tonight.

Speaker 1: 14:49

We begin to see here the depths of how Jacob is living in shame even in his own home. Here Leah, his wife, is telling Jacob that she hired him with mandrakes. The lack of respect that the women in Jacob's family have for him at this time as a spiritual leader is staggering. Leah, his first wife, is treating him as if he can be purchased like a male prostitute, picking up in verse 17,. And God listened to Leah and she conceived and bore Jacob, a fifth son. Again, we see that God acts on behalf of Leah when Jacob is not properly caring for Leah as a wife. Verse 18 says Leah said God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband, so she called his name Issachar. Leah's claim here that God has given her another child because she yielded her servant to Jacob continues to reveal Leah's confused mind about marriage. God opening the womb of Leah is certainly based on his divine providence and his divine plan, but it also very likely has to do with Jacob not treating her properly as a wife, as we saw in Genesis 29, 31.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Verse 19 reads and Leah conceived again and she bore Jacob, a sixth son. And Leah said God has endowed me with a good endowment. Now my husband will honor me because I have born him six sons. So she called his name Zebulun. Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. Israel's tenth son, or sixth son through Leah, was Zebulun. Finally, in verse 22, we read Then God remembered Rachel and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said God has taken away my reproach. And she called his name Joseph, saying May the Lord add to me another son. Israel's eleventh son, through Rachel, is Joseph. After the Lord had given Jacob ten other sons, rachel bears him a son whom would be loved by Jacob more than any of his brothers. We won't see Jacob's twelfth son, benjamin, born for a while yet. Join me next week as we see Jacob ask Laban to be released so that he may go home to his own home and country. Thank you for joining me and God bless you this week.