Lesson 64. Genesis 30- Oh, the Pain!

Rachel’s Pain of not having Children, 30:1-8

English Standard Version (Chapter 30)

30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 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?” 3 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.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

If you are keeping score, Leah is in the lead, 4 to 2. Rachel has not come to bat yet, but has sent in a substitute, Bilhah. Bilhah has two more sons with Jacob, and Rachel even names the boys. The first is Dan and the second is Naphtali. Rachel looks at Dan and he has “vindicated me.” Not much thought of Bilhah in these, by the way. It is all about Rachel and her travail. It is definitely a rebuke to today’s culture that devalues children and Rachel’s war cry was “give me children or I shall die!”

Bilhah’s name simply means “person.” She was not a commodity but a real person. In the coming chapters, Reuben, the first born of Leah and Jacob, sleeps with this “step-mother” and loses his blessing. She is not a pointless name or someone to be dismissed. She had feelings and desires and ended up deeply involved in the family. The stress of this household must have been tremendous with things like this happening. At the point of Rachel’s announcement, Give me kids or death, Jacob kindle’s his anger in front of Rachel. Let’s just say he blew his cork. Enough is enough! He says, “Who am I? am I God who has withheld? I’m doing my best.” I’m doing my best is my addition. But it seems reasonable to say.

The knee jerk reaction is fully on display. Rachel says to take Bilhah so she can have a son on her behalf. Boom. That’s what happened: Dan the man. Bilhah does it again with Naphtali. He names means “ I have had a great struggle, or wrestled many wrestling’s” With the score at 4-2, we are going into extra innings anyway.

Leah sends in Zilpah to pinch hit. 30:9- 13

English Standard Version (Chapter 30)

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. 12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

Leah bears down and tries to turn up the heat on Rachel. Isn’t that what all of this sister wife stuff is all about: helping the much loved but childless wife feel more inadequate than ever? That’s the plan that is hatching in Leah’s side of the tent. Jacob gets to impregnate Zilpah and she has more sons: Gad and Asher. One means “good fortune” and the other is “How happy am I?” This is putting the knife in Rachel’s ego and turning it a couple of clicks. Whew. Score 6-2. We are definitely into extra innings even with the lopsided score.

Days of Harvest 30:14- 18

English Standard Version (Chapter 30)

14 In the days of 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.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

This Leah’s fifth son but between her and Zilpah, this is number 7 for her side. Yep, score is 7 to 2. For many years, I never looked this word up and found that by casually looking into it, I found that it is a powerful plant. A mandrakes root and berries are edible. The ancient Near East viewed it as an aphrodisiac and fertility drug. It is often called love apple or devil’s apple. I would have to read more to consider if it is considered to be the garden of Eden apple. It is:

a Mediterranean plant of the nightshade family, with white or purple flowers and large yellow berries. It has a forked fleshy root that supposedly resembles the human form and was formerly widely used in medicine and magic, allegedly shrieking when pulled from the ground.

the root of a mandrake formerly used especially to promote conception, as a cathartic, or as a narcotic and soporific.

Those definitions show us that Rachel was willing to go to any means to get pregnant, even to the point of using a hypnotic drug. Leah didn’t need that stuff, slept with her husband and had another baby- Issachar. Literally my wages as a servant to my husband. Reuben had these plants, whether or not he grew them or “ just found them in a field.” Whether or not they were cultivated or wild, their value in this society of no pharmacies was pretty big. No matter how hard Rachel tries, Leah gets the best of her.

We are not Done Yet! Chapter 30 :19-24

English Standard Version (Chapter 30)

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”

Zebulon is the sixth son of Leah, meaning this time my husband will honor me. It’s a sad family commentary that a woman has six children but the cry of her heart is “ let my husband love and honor me. The word endowment that is used in verse 20 to describe her 6 sons has to do with income given through a person or persons. Her sons are money in the bank, just as they were intended. Then as icing on the cake, she gives Jacob a daughter, Dinah. Verse 23 begins with God remembers Rachel. God listened and opened her womb. Could this be the first she has prayed about it or is it just that God is giving her the benefit of the sweetness of delayed gratification.

Rachel bears the new son, Joseph, for the happy couple. Now Rachel has a son to get the blessing as the oldest of her particular household. Then she says, may the Lord give me another son! She doesn’t want a bakers dozen, she just wants a second one. isn’t it amazing at what happens when the Lord is in the middle of the process. In the push- pull, give- take of the quadrangle household, God now gets first mention. We can’t help but think how it might have been if there had not been an absence of praying and seeking the Lord, then there might have been different results.

Thought for the adults:

Never make children the object of getting even or getting ahead. Don’t put more conflict on them than they need to handle. Life has enough hassles.

2. Every human being deserves to be treated like a real person. We are not just names in a story. each person counts in life.

What is the hearts cry of today’s women? What are they trying to say to us who are leading churches and on the forefront of families. They need our assurance and protection so they can have children in a non-threatening atmosphere

The story does not end with just men, there are young ladies like Dinah who long to be loved and appreciated in God’s plan. Make sure they are well protected in God’s way and plan.