Genesis 29.31-35-Leah Gives Birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah
Sunday July 2, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 29:31-35-Leah Gives Birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah
Lesson # 172
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 29:31.
This morning we will complete our study of Genesis 29 by noting verses thirty-one thru thirty-five, which contains the record of Leah bearing Jacob four sons whose names are Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.
Genesis 29:31 actually begins a section that ends in Genesis 30:24 and contains the story of the birth of Jacob’s children who would later become the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, from whom the Messiah Jesus Christ in His human nature would descend.
This section is basically a study of love, sex, marriage and children and sounds like a “soap opera,” with Jacob hopping from bedroom to bedroom and his wives competing with each other for his love and affection.
Unlike today’s modern soap operas on television, the soap opera found in Genesis 29:31-30:24 is not designed to entertain us or encourage us to sin but rather, quite the opposite, it is designed to encourage us to live righteously before the Lord.
Genesis 29:31-30:24 can be divided into six sections: (1) The Lord opens Leah’s womb (29:31-35). (2) Rachel’s desire for children achieved through Bilhah (30:1-8). (3) Leah responds to Rachel by giving Jacob Zilpah who bears him two boys (30:9-13). (4) Leah desires sex from Jacob (30:14-15). (5) Jacob has sex with Leah (30:16-21) (6) God finally opens Rachel’s womb (30:22-24).
The whole episode is driven by Leah’s longing for Jacob’s love and Rachel’s craving for children.
Leah’s frequent pregnancies only aggravate Rachel’s frustration at her own childlessness.
It is interesting that the struggle of the sisters, Leah and Rachel, mirrors the struggle between the brothers, Esau and Jacob of trying to out do one another.
This account is written like a soap opera so that we might be able to identify with these two women, both of whom desperately fight for Jacob’s love and affection.
The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jacob’s children demonstrate the graciousness of God towards His people and in particular the nation of Israel who descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.
The record of the birth of Jacob’s children is important since it emphasizes the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Jacob to provide him with numerous descendants.
Therefore, this passage demonstrates the faithfulness of God in providing descendants as He had promised to Jacob even though he was unfaithful to God.
2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
Psalm 145:13, “The LORD is faithful to all his promises.”
Genesis 29:31, “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”
The statement “the Lord saw that Leah was unloved and He opened her womb” expresses the Lord’s compassion towards Leah and that He acted decisively on her behalf by giving her children.
God’s love is “compassionate” meaning that God intensely desires and will act to alleviate the pain and suffering of another or remove its cause (1 John 3:16-17).
Psalm 116:5, “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.”
The expression “the LORD saw” often is used in the Old Testament of the Lord acting decisively, often for the weak and oppressed (cf. 6:5; 7:1; 18:21; 31:12; Ex. 2:25; 4:31).
“Unloved” is the verb sane (an@c*) (saw-nay), which means, “hate” in the sense that Jacob rejected Leah as the sole object of all his love and affection and loved her less than Rachel.
The word does “not” mean that he was hostile and antagonistic towards her or was cold, and indifferent towards her since Genesis 29:30 records that Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah” indicating that Jacob did have love for Leah but it wasn’t as intense as his love for Rachel.
Genesis 29:32, “Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.’”
The first child that Leah bore to Jacob was “Reuben” (/b@War+) (re’uven) (reh-oo-vane), whose name means, “behold or see, a son.”
In the Hebrew, the name “Reuben” honors the Lord and is a play on the consonants of the name having a similar sound to the Hebrew for “He (the Lord) looked (with concern) on my misery.”
Leah recognized the grace of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and hoped that Jacob would recognize the Lord’s hand in this and that her bearing a son would not only raise her in Jacob’s esteem but also cause him to love her but it did not.
“The Lord has seen my affliction” echoes the similar remark made by Hagar recorded in Genesis 16:13, “You are a God who sees (my affliction).’”
Leah’s firstborn Reuben, like all children, was a gift from the Lord.
Psalm 127:3, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”
Genesis 29:33, “Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.’” So she named him Simeon.”
The second child that Leah bore to Jacob was “Simeon” (/w)um+v!) (shim`on) (shim-one), whose name means, “the Lord has heard.”
The name “Simeon” in the Hebrew is from “the Lord has heard that am hated,” which echoes the similar remark made by the Lord to Hagar recorded in Genesis 16:11, “the LORD has given heed to your affliction.’”
The first two names of Leah’s children replicate a pair of verbs (“to see” and “to hear”) express the Lord’s providential concern and care for the unfortunate.
Genesis 29:34, “She conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore he was named Levi.”
The third child that Leah bore to Jacob was “Levi” (yw!l@) (lewi) (lay-vee), whose name means, “attached, joined.”
This name is from “My husband will be attached to me.”
In spite of the Lord bestowing His grace upon her in giving her a third child, Leah does not have her hope realized and must learn to find her emotional fulfillment in her relationship with the Lord.
This child would be a blessing since the Aaronic priestly line in Israel and the tribe of Levi who ministered in the music and worship of the Temple were descended from Leah.
Genesis 29:35, “And she conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.”
The fourth child that Leah bore to Jacob was “Judah” (hd*Why+) (yehudhah) (yeh-hoo-daw), whose name means, “I will praise the Lord.”
By naming this fourth child yehudhah, “Judah,” Leah is again honoring the Lord and expressing the fact that she is able to transcend her distress that her husband Jacob does not prefer her over Rachel.
This child would be a blessing since King David and the Lord Jesus Christ would descend from the tribe of Judah.
Hebrews 7:14, “For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah.”
Though Leah was not the sole object of Jacob’s affections, the Lord blessed her in the sense that He gave her the privilege of being the mother of Jacob’s first four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah who was the ancestor of David and the Lord Jesus.
Levi’s descendants were given the honor of being the priestly tribe in Israel whereas King David and the Lord Jesus Christ were both from the tribe of Judah.
Each of the names of her first four children honor the Lord and express the depth of her pain as being the rejected and not the preferred woman in Jacob’s life.
Leah names three of her first four children in honor of the Lord (29:32-33, 35) and by giving these names she confesses her faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the gods of her father Laban.
The Lord permitted Leah to remain in this difficult marriage situation with Jacob in order to test her faith.
Jeremiah 20:12, “Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, who see the mind and the heart.”
The faith of Leah was tested in order to produce endurance in her.
James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The Lord rewarded the faith of Leah by giving her children and a more intimate fellowship with Himself, which was much more important than her relationship with her husband Jacob.
James 1:12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.”
Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
The Lord permitted Leah to remain in this difficult marriage in order to teach her about perseverance in prayer, which is the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances.
Matthew 7:7, “Ask repeatedly, and it will be given to you; seek repeatedly, and you will find; knock repeatedly, and it will be opened to you.”
The faith of Leah in praying for a child demonstrates the spiritual principle that you appropriate the omnipotence of God by operating in faith.
Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”
The fact that Leah was permitted by the Lord to remain in this difficult marriage with Jacob was to demonstrate His power in her weakness and suffering.
2 Corinthians 12:7, “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me -- to keep me from exalting myself!”
2 Corinthians 12:8, “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Therefore, if you are in a difficult marriage or you are not married and yet desire to be married or you are childless and want to have children, the Lord has permitted you to remain in your circumstances in order to demonstrate His power in your human weakness and give you a more intimate fellowship with Himself.
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our deacons pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ to every church age believer to bring into remembrance His Unique Person and Finished Work on the Cross, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other as members of the Body of Christ.
In the communion service, the bread portrays the sinless humanity of Christ, which was sacrificed for us and the wine portrays His spiritual death as our Substitute, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other.
1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:24, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”