This week’s reading: Genesis 29:31—31:55
Hi Friends,
God continues to bring about the promise He gave to Abraham through his grandson, Jacob. We will read how the flock increases, as God blesses Jacob with both sons and his own herd of animals, in this story filled with brokenness, rivalry and deception. We hear the broken hearts of both of Jacob’s wives as they struggle to find love and significance. We see competition between these sisters who vie for first place in their husband’s life. And we note the lies of Jacob’s father-in-law, trying to cheat Jacob out of his own deserved wages. God, of course, will not allow His Plan to be hindered by anyone, or anything. Please let this be a big lesson we learn from the entire Bible. God is Sovereign and knows what is best for every single human being…and because of that, and the fact that He loves us, we can trust Him. We are finishing up Genesis chapter 29, starting with verse 31 and going all the way through to Genesis 31, ending with verse 55. It’s a big read but it all falls into this truth that God is Sovereign. Listen to how God continues to bless Jacob and bring him justice:
“‘The angel of God said to me in the dream, “Jacob.” I answered, “Here I am.” And he said, “Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.” Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.’” Gen 31:11-16 NIV
God increases our worth. We first read about how God blesses Jacob with 11 boys and at least one girl. Of course, the road to those blessings were not smooth and without their problems. It is here that we clearly see the contention between Jacob’s two wives, the two sisters he was tricked into marrying. Jacob’s heart was bound to Rachel, the younger daughter of his uncle Laban, yet he was fooled into wedding the older one, Leah, first. We talked about this last week: what goes around often comes around. Just like Jacob was a Deceiver, so too he was deceived. Yet it would seem Jacob was repentant and humbled by the events in his life, and by all the problems that came his way. He is faithful to honor both women, as well as all his obligations to his new father-in-law, and he works diligently to prosper Laban. Yet, even when we begin to get our heart right with God, we still encounter challenges throughout life. Here Jacob has to deal with the back and forth of these wives who are vying for his love and affection. Leah is a broken woman who knows Jacob had no intention of ever marrying her, but only fulfills his responsibility towards her. She clearly desires him to love her the way he loves Rachel, and falsely thinks that giving Jacob sons is the way to his heart. First comes Reuben. From the meaning of his name, we can see that Leah is focused on her misery even though she thanks God for this son. (check out my chart below with the names of these sons and their meaning plus other info) Jacob doesn’t seem to change his feelings toward her though, so she longs for another son. Second comes Simeon. Again from the meaning of his name, we can see that Leah notes that God hears her complaints about this unhappy marriage. Yet the focus is how unhappy she is and how she complains about her heartache. Again, no mention of Jacob changing his feelings towards her. So another son would surely do the trick, right? Third comes Levi. Once again, the name’s meaning here shows that Leah still hopes to be attached to Jacob through this son. Nope. Fourth comes Judah… and I love what Leah finally says, “This time I will praise the Lord.” (see Gen 29:35) She does not mention her husband or her suffering, at all! Has she finally seen something that would change her own heart? You see, the truth is, we cannot control where people place their affections. Here Jacob had already given his heart to Rachel, and Leah seems to be insignificant to him. She thinks she is a necessary liability, but probably not more than that. Yet she kept trying to earn Jacob’s love. And to be honest, seems to be obsessing a bit about it too. Even though Jacob obviously did not neglect his husbandly duties towards her, Leah was still missing something from their relationship. Could it be that God is teaching her to center her heart on Himself, not on others? God continues to draw her to His side as He compassionately interacts with Leah, by opening her womb to conceive. (see Gen 29:31) And just like God was merciful towards Hagar, this should be a beautiful reminder that our Sovereign God does see us, even when others might seem to reject us. (see Gen 16:1-16, especially Gen 16:13) This shows us that God cares about us, even if it seems like no one else does. And that God desires to bless our lives with what our hearts really long for… but if the first thing our hearts desire is not God, Himself? (see Mt 6:33) We will miss the full impact of any blessings. Given her continued struggles, I am not sure if Leah ever understands this, yet again, I love how, with Judah, she seems to be letting go of that MMI mentality and lifting her eyes to this God, who she might not have known as she was growing up. She may have heard stories of her aunt, Rebekah’s marriage to a man who followed the God of Abraham, who was her great-uncle by the way. Sorry, I love genealogies and how God connects all people together. Anyhow. My point is, Leah may not have had any tangible understanding of who God is, much less a personal relationship with Him. Her family served many gods. The God of Abraham was only one among many others. Recall, this is why God had Abraham separate himself from his family, so that he would be devoted to and only follow Him. (see Gen 12:1) Like for too many people, God is simply someone who is just there to grant their wishes. But just to choose to praise Him because He is so Good? Just to follow Him because He is completely Sovereign? Just to trust Him because He so loves us? I like to think the birth of Judah, through whom Jesus eventually comes into this world, touches Leah’s heart so deeply that she begins to grow in true gratitude for God’s compassion, love and affection which she could not get from her husband. Sometimes we have to get to the place where we have no one else to count on, other than God, before we are set free from trying to please people all the time, in order to find our worth through them. Our worth comes only from the God who so loves us. People are fickle. They can celebrate you today, then crucify you a week later…this is exactly what happened to Jesus, is it not? If we can learn nothing else from this portion of Scripture, let’s understand that God is the one who gives us worth…and often the blessings He bestows on us are the evidence of this truth. I hope Leah saw it, and I hope we see it too.
God increases Jacob’s family. Of course, when Rachel’s sister, Leah, begins to bear sons for Jacob, their husband, instead of celebrating with her, she gets jealous. (See Gen 30:1) As we often do, when frustration sets in, we turn to the one closest to us and yell at them because of our perceived injustice. Rachel turns to Jacob and demands he give her sons, to which he rightly responds, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” (see Gen 30:2) Rachel too may not understand the power of God, so it is good, in a sense, that Jacob turns her eyes upward, instead of trying to fix something he simply cannot fix. But people do that, right? I know I have. We see a problem, that is way above our pay grade, yet we want to fix it for the other person by helping them out, so we take the responsibility on ourselves. Wrong! We can only do what we can do. And opening up Rachel’s womb, was something Jacob knew was out of his control. It is interesting that, like Sarah and Abraham, Rachel turns to the old custom of giving her husband her maid when she cannot bear children. And so Bilhah does conceive, and ends up adding two more sons to Jacob’s tribe: Dan, whose name means vindicated, and Naphtali, meaning my struggle. (see Gen 30:11-13) Rachel seems pleased…until that is Leah amps up the contest. Leah had stopped having children after Judah, so she figures she will give her maid to Jacob as well. In comes Zilpah and two more boys: Gad, whose name means good fortune, and Asher, meaning happy. Yet I don’t think anyone was happy. What happens next is a bit strange, but it shows that neither sister was about to stop competing for Jacob’s love. They turn to mandrakes…not God… as their fertility solution. These are thought to be a rare fruit or flower that superstition held would help a barren woman conceive. Note how superstition was still a way among this family. This is humans trying to manipulate life’s circumstances when they are not getting what they think they need. I know none of us ever does that, right? Like them, we do turn to lesser things instead of trusting God’s Sovereign plan, and when we do more trouble happens. Since Leah had not borne a child in quite some time, her eldest, Reuben, finds this plant and brings it home to mom. Rachel though continues longing for her own child, from her own body. So when she sees those rare occurring mandrakes, she pleads with Leah to give her some. Then Leah strikes up a trade, “I will give you some but it will be my turn to sleep with our husband.” I know, strange. But what else can we expect when humans step outside of God’s plan for marriage? It was always God’s intent, to which Jesus confirmed, that a marriage was between one man and one woman. Nothing else. This shows us how very patient God is with His disobedient and self-willed children! Yet let us never mistake God’s patience for God’s permission. As with these two sisters, and now with the two maids, problems always come when we push God’s boundaries. So Leah insists on having her time with Jacob, and what is Jacob going to do but consent? I mean, it’s his wife, so…. By the way, Jacob is not a young man when he enters into these marriages, so by now, he is probably in his 80’s. Where he gets the energy and stamina to deal with all these women, is yet another blessing from God, I think! And then he’s dealing with his shyster of a father-in-law too…more on that in a moment. Anyhow, Leah does conceive again and Issachar, whose name means reward, is born. Then she has one more boy named Zebulun, whose name means honor, as well as a daughter named Dinah, who we will read more about in a later chapter. Whew! But this family is not done yet, is it? Listen to God’s compassion towards Rachel too: “Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’” (Gen 30:22-23) Joseph is born, and later, she will also give birth to Benjamin, finalizing the 12 tribes of Israel. Later we will see, it is because of Joseph that this family can continue growing and prospering. We will hear much more on him in other talks. For now, sometimes we struggle for what seems like forever, but God is watching, God is grooming and God is providing what is best for us. Just like we see here, God can do anything, at any time, yet only He knows the what and when and where of it all. This is what it means to be Sovereign. Ours is to trust that whatever He does, or allows, it is not meant to hurt us, but to transform our hearts, so that we may have and enjoy the blessings He pours upon us.
God increases Jacob’s wealth. After at least 14 years of working obediently and rigorously for Laban, (7 years for each wife) and after having these 11 sons, Jacob wants to separate himself from Laban’s household, so that he may have his own. Laban recognizes the he is greatly blessed because of the hand of God over Jacob and Jacob’s management of his flock, so he promises to pay Jacob if he continues on. Jacob agrees to the wages of every variegated animal in Laban’s flock, to become his own. I am speculating that these were the rare animals, because greedy Laban quickly agrees. Immediately after the contract was made, Laban the deceiver that he was, takes away any currently streaked, speckled or spotted animals out of his flock and sends them away with his own sons, before Jacob begins getting paid for his service. (see 30:35-36) But God is watching and ready to pour out His blessings upon Jacob. So for the next 6 years, despite Laban trying to cheat Jacob out of his rightful earnings, Jacob acquires a huge heard of sheep, goats etc because of God’s favor and goodness over his life. The way Jacob goes about this might seem odd to us, yet we must understand he is being led by the Lord who has already told Jacob the plan. As I read above, in a dream God told Jacob which animals He would give Jacob, so he simply does what he is told, and God does indeed perform miracles on his behalf. Biologically speaking, God makes the recessive genes in these solid colored animals, come out so that streaked, speckled or spotted babies are born. Since this is the wage Laban agreed upon, these animals rightly belonged to Jacob as his payment for his services. Laban attempts to change the wages several times, still trying to cheat Jacob out of an honest pay, but God continues to move things in Jacob’s favor. Yet Jacob finally catches on that Laban and his sons are not happy about all about this reversal in fortune. God comes again to Jacob and says, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” (Gen 31:3) This is when Jacob calls his wives and tells them, we have to go, and they agree. The Bible says, “When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away.” (Gen 31:19-20) Well, we are all imperfect humans, aren’t we? Fear sets in and Jacob doesn’t want to face Laban, or fight with him anymore, so he tries to sneak off with all his rightful property and family while Laban is away. Rachel, on the other hand, as I said above, probably did not have an intimate knowledge of God, so she tries to hold on to a piece of her old life, just in case. We never imitate these two, right? We always bravely face every conflict head on, trusting God to protect us and move the other person’s heart to just let it go. And we never use any old symbol of “luck” to help us out, just in case God is busy and cannot be there for us. Ok. I might be exaggerating here, yet even when we are learning to follow God, we too do foolish things, like these two did, all the time. Fear is a compelling force that can cause us to not think clearly. Fear can cause us to not trust God completely. Fear can cause us to question God’s Sovereignty. I think it is for this reason God allows Laban to chase them down. They have to face this fear or be bound to it forever. And we have to do the same. Jacob is about to face a fear much greater than Laban. In order to be able to overcome that hurdle, he must not ignore this one. This tendency to deceive because he is afraid of not getting his way is still in Jacob, even after all these years of God’s Faithfulness. He must wrestle with God in order to…oh wait, that’s a topic for next week. But here, God shows Himself as the Protector. He even goes to Laban in a dream and warns him not to do anything to hurt Jacob. (see Gen 31:24) Since Laban is not ready to let go of his golden goose, he does chase Jacob down. Jacob man’s up and defends himself against Laban. (see Gen 31:38-42) And Laban seems to give in and let him go. God moves everyone’s heart to make peace and they go their own way. Now with an increase in both family and flock, Jacob is ready for the next battle. And I believe Jacob takes the next step to know that God will indeed be with him, just as He had promised. May we too learn this lesson if we learn none other: God is Sovereign. He has a plan for each of us and God will be with us through all the up’s and down’s.
God is not done yet. This is just the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to make Abraham’s descendants as many as the stars in the sky. Jacob, Leah, the two maidservants, and Rachel too, are all a part of this wonderful plan that will eventually bring Jesus to this broken and hurting world. Are we like Rachel thinking we are worthless if we are not achieving what this world says we should? The thought was, and is, that God can open or close any womb. Remember He is Sovereign and knows what is best for every human. Leah needed to be loved, and so God Himself shows her His affection and gives her significance by allowing her to conceive and give birth to six sons. God shows Leah Grace. Rachel, for reasons only God knows for certain, was barren. She desired children because this was what was expected of wives- they bore children, and moreover sons, for the continuation of the family line. So to be barren, was considered an embarrassment, a dis-grace. Yet note that Sarah and Rebekah also went years and years without conceiving. Rachel joins the club. Is God growing her to trust Him in spite of the evidence? Is God showing her that she is loved and significant as witnessed through the love of her husband, and that she does not need to prove anything? Just some thoughts and questions we need to pray about also when we are not being granted the desires of our heart. Ultimately, we all must be content with the fact that God is Sovereign. Again I say, He knows what is best for each human being. In the end, God is God, and we are not. Finding joy when we are getting what we desire is NOT an act of Faith. It is normal and natural to be joyful when things are going our way. Choosing to hold on to God and having joy even when our heart is still longing for what we do not yet have? That is what Faith is all about, isn’t it? Spend some time in Hebrew 11, the Hall of Faith. None of them received in this life the fullness of what God had promised them, yet they lived exemplary lives, displaying their trust in the God who promised. That was enough for them. And why did they not see the full promise? Because they, and we, are all just one piece of the bigger puzzle. God is not done yet. He is still gathering His children together. Unlike Jacob here, we already have the Messiah. The Promised One has come…and He is coming once again. Praise God! In the meantime, we are to play our part. To love Him and others so that we may be God’s hands and feet, gathering His children for the End Time. Like Rachel, let’s learn the lesson that God is not done yet. It all seems a disaster to her, yet God grants her an incredibly godly child in Joseph. Oh how I look forward to getting to his amazing story! Hold on, my Friends, God is not done with you yet either. This is our constant struggle: will we trust our Sovereign God and believe what He has already said, or will we look at our current, temporary circumstances and trust these changing things instead. Every time I choose to focus my eyes, and my heart, on God, my life becomes more stable, more secure and more abundant. Do you wan that too? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
| Genesis | Mother | Child | Name meaning | |
| 1 | 29:32 | Leah | Reuben | God sees my misery |
| 2 | 29:33 | Simeon | One who hears my complaints | |
| 3 | 29:34 | Levi | now my husband will be attached to me | |
| 4 | 29:35 | Judah | now I will praise the Lord | |
| 5 | 30:6 | Rachel: Bilhah | Dan | God has vindicated me |
| 6 | 30:8 | Naphtali | my struggle | |
| 7 | 30:11 | Leah: Zilpah | Gad | good fortune |
| 8 | 30:13 | Asher | happy | |
| 9 | 30:18 | Leah | Issachar | reward |
| 10 | 30:20 | Zebulun | honor | |
| 11 | 30:24 | Rachel | Joseph | may He add |
| 12 | 35:18 | Benjamin | son of my right hand |
