1But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”
2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children.”
3She said, “Here is my slave Bilhah; sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. In this way I can become a mother through her.” 4So she gave Bilhah to her husband, and he had intercourse with her. 5Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son. 6Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son”; so she named him Dan. 7Bilhah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Rachel said, “I have fought a hard fight with my sister, but I have won”; so she named him Naphtali.
9When Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife. 10Then Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Leah said, “I have been lucky”; so she named him Gad. 12Zilpah bore Jacob another son, 13and Leah said, “How happy I am! Now women will call me happy”; so she named him Asher.
14During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the fields and found mandrakes, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”
15Leah answered, “Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you are even trying to take away my son's mandrakes.”
Rachel said, “If you will give me your son's mandrakes, you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16When Jacob came in from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are going to sleep with me tonight, because I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes.” So he had intercourse with her that night.
17God answered Leah's prayer, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband”; so she named her son Issachar. 19Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now my husband will accept me, because I have borne him six sons”; so she named him Zebulun. 21Later she bore a daughter, whom she named Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel; he answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has taken away my disgrace by giving me a son.
Reflection: The story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah is not an easy one to read. Two sisters, married to the same man? The elder sister given to the man who was besotted with her beautiful younger sister, without his knowledge, to trick him into working harder and longer for their father? From the outset, it seems a recipe for disaster in terms of the jealousy, competition and strife between sisters and between husband and wives. A recipe made worse by infertility, when children were considered so important and vital for a woman’s
worth, status and identity. God had compassion on Leah, since he ‘saw that Leah was not loved’, and he enabled her to conceive children. The names of her sons and their meanings speak of her great desire for her husband’s love, and her understanding that God was watching over her. After her fourth son was born, it seems she had given up seeking her husband’s love and approval; she named him Judah, and said ‘this time I will praise the Lord’ (Gen 29:35). Rachel, on the other hand, had her husband’s love. But it was not enough for her. She placed her husband in God’s place, and demanded in the strongest terms that he give her children! Jacob (quite rightly) points out that he is not ‘in the place of God’, who has kept Rachel from having children. Rachel erred in putting her faith in her husband, instead of acknowledging and trusting in God. This wasn’t the end of Rachel’s story. We are told
that ‘God remembered Rachel’, listened to her, and allowed her to conceive. She gave birth to Joseph, and believed that God had taken away her disgrace.
Question: Do you find yourself like Leah and Rachel, placing more value on human relationships, than your relationship with God? How can we learn to rest in God’s complete love for us, and trust him as the one in control of our lives?
Prayer: Loving Father, thank you that we can see your care and concern for both Leah (the unloved wife) and Rachel (who valued her husband more than you) in this passage. Thank you that your love for us is complete. Help us to take comfort in your love, when we struggle in our other relationships. Please help us to always
remember that you are in control, and keep you in your rightful place in our lives. Amen.
We are reading the Bible with Karen Mudge until 19th May.
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