Reconstruction: Public Policy and the Dysfunctional Family

Genesis 29:31-30:24

Genesis 29:31–30:24 LSB

And Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing. Then Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, so she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.” Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” And she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may obtain children.” So she gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has rendered justice to me and has indeed listened to my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan. And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali. Then Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, so she took her servant-woman Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher. And 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, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” Then Jacob came in from the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant-woman to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, “God has gifted me a good gift; this time my husband will honor me because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she named him Joseph, saying, “May Yahweh give me another son.”

Family

A covenant, not a status

Marriage is a covenant between a male and a female to raise a family, make disciples.

Providing and Protecting society

Males are to provide food, shelter, and clothing. Females are to provide tranquility, nurture, and a sanctuary. Males are to protect the honor, dignity, and femininity. Females are to protect the name of, masculinity, and reputation of the male.

Center of all social concepts

Every social concept begins and ends with the family.

Religion and Politics

Levi - Attached or connected to, will become the prophets and priests of the nation of Israel

Judah - The political entity of the nation of Israel, establishes the alliance of defense for the borders, policies, and the commerce of the nation of Israel.

Separated

These brothers are separated for a reason. Levi is involved in the decisions that are being made, but do not hold to political positions. They are not land owners, and are not called to defend the land. Their intercessions, praying and sacrificing on behalf of the nation; they were the moral background of the nation.

Superstitions and benefits

“Mandrakes increase fertility.” “What goes around comes around.” “For our good and God’s glory.” God makes it clear that these things are paradoxes, or are the “exceptions to the rule.”

Leah will receive several benefits, but never receive the one thing that she is after, the attractive attention from Jacob.

Rachael will receive the benefit of being attractive in the eye of Jacob, but will not receive the benefit of lineage or God’s plan for the Christ.