Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (21.2)

The Book of Genesis

Genesis Chapter 29:31 to 30:1-24 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

Children Born through Conflict and Strife

v.31-35 The record of these births is sad because of the conditions (v.31, “Leah was hated”) of unrequited love, lack of recognition, and complete disregard but the underlying message that God was building His nation provides the consolation.  The story contrasts the two wives of Jacob – Rachel was loved but Leah was hated; Rachel was barren but Leah had four sons in succession.  The 1st son was named “Reuben” (v.32), which express both a lament (“the LORD hath looked upon my affliction”)
and a wish (“now therefore my husband will love me”).  The 2nd son was named “Simeon” (v.33), which was a reminder of the truth that “the LORD hath heard” and relates to His providential kindness in the face of antagonism.  The 3rd son was named “Levi” (v.34), with the hope of Leah that “this time my husband be joined to me”. 

The births of the 1st two sons encouraged Leah because they obviously meant that the LORD had responded to her unhappy lot.  She had hoped that the birth of the third son would strike a responsive chord in her husband but it failed to do so.  With the 4th son, Leah thus resolved or resigned herself to praise the LORD for His provision of a son.  The name “Judah” (v.35) means “God be praised”.  The names Leah gave her sons revealed her to be a woman of strong faith.  She earnestly longed for the affection of her husband, and because she was unloved, God defended her through the blessing of childbirth.  God chose the despised mother, Leah, and exalted her to be the first mother – the kingly tribe of Judah and the priestly tribe of Levi were traced back to her.  We can learn that God’s choice to bless is not made by human standards – in fact, He characteristically works for things or people that humans reject (i.e. the downcast, the afflicted, the troubled, the oppressed, and the rejected.  Those who find themselves in such predicaments can by faith cast themselves upon the LORD, who in His sovereign mercy will bless them.

Chapter 30

v.1-8 Leah’s success at childbearing made Rachel envious even though she was the object of Jacob’s special love (v.1).  Rachel’s outburst was not well received by Jacob (v.2) – she knew well that only God could remove her sterility (cf. v.6).  The conflict and strife intensified as the two wives began to give their maidservants to Jacob.  This was the custom used by Sarah (cf. 16:1-2) that brought such trouble to Abraham’s household.  This practice preceded the Law.  This does not mean that God condone the custom but neither does it mean that God cannot turn the event to His purpose of building the tribes of His nation.

The naming of Rachel’s sons born through her maid Bilhah (v.3-5) do not reflect the strong faith of Leah but Rachel’s bitter struggle with her sister for vindication.  The 1st son born to Bilhah was “Dan” (v.6), whose name expressed the sentiment “God hath judged [vindicated] me”.  The name of the 2nd son born to Bilhah, “Naptali” (v.7), stresses Rachel’s struggle with her sister even more.  Rachel said, “With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed” (v.8) and the name carries the meaning –  “my wrestling”.  Although Leah was outdistancing Rachel in childbearing, the birth of Naptali provided a token of satisfaction for her struggle and in the name of this 2nd son, she may have thought that diving justice was rewarding her tenacity.

v.9-13 Leah responded by giving her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob (v.9-10).  The 1st son born to Zilpah was “Gad” (v.11), which means “fortune,” indicating that Leah sensed that fortune had smiled upon her.  The 2nd son born to Zilpah was named “Asher” (v.12-13), which could mean the “happy one,” over whom Leah rejoiced as another indication of her happy lot.  Clearly, the practice of favouritism first observed in Isaac and Rebekah over their sons has now extended to Jacob over his wives. 

Favouritism is dangerous in family relationships because it places a member in the tragic position of having to strive for love and recognition.  This tempts a person to live life on such an earthly level that temporal things mean much more than they ought to, to the neglect of the spiritual and the eternal.

v.14-21 During the wheat harvest in May and June in upper Mesopotamia, Reuben gathered some mandrakes for Leah his mother (v.14).  The mandrake is an herb of the Belladonna family with white and reddish blossoms.  Its yellow fruit is similar in size and shape to a small apple.  People in the ancient Near East thought that mandrakes stimulated sensual desire and aided conception.  Leah traded them to Rachel for Jacob (v.15) – and she continued to bear 3 additional children, while Rachel remained barren.  It is appalling that the sanctified act of reproduction within marriage became a tradable commodity in the family of Jacob through barter trade with mandrakes (v.16)!  This degradation recalls the degradation of Esau’s birthright, which was considered to be of no more value than a bowl of lentil soup.

The name of Leah’s 5th son “Issachar” (v.17) was explained in commemoration of this incident – “God hath given me my hire” (v.18).  Leah’s 6th son (v.19) was named “Zebulun” (v.20), which contains the idea of honour or exalt.  With the gift of the 6th son, Leah hoped that her husband would honour her.  Here, the anxiety over the struggle surfaces again.  Leah received the divine justice but she still had not found human justice.  The name “Zebulun” would therefore remind her of divine justice in the face of human injustice.  Finally, Leah gave birth to Dinah (v.21), whose name involved no word-play because the girl would not be a tribal ancestor.

v.22-24 Rachel finally had son of her own – Joseph.  The birth of a son after a long period of barrenness displayed divine intervention (v.22-23), this time, on behalf of the favourite wife.  The name “Joseph” (v.24), which means “May He add,” carries both the sound of an expression of joy and the expression of the desire “The LORD shall add to me another son”.  Rachel, filled with strife and impatience, now give praise to God for taking away her reproach and prayed for another son from the LORD.