As we learned in the last chapter, Leah gave birth to four sons. She was hoping to win over her husband Jacob, but it did not quite a workout that way. On the other hand, Rachel was barren and she was not happy about it. In short, both sisters were unhappy in their marriage. Let’s look at chapter 30 together and see what we can learn and apply to our life.
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”2 And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
Rachel was more beautiful of 2 sisters as we learned in the last chapter, she was the one who men desired. Laban was so worried about finding a husband for Leah that he tricked Jacob into marrying her. But here we see that it is Rachel who is envious of her sister. This must be a new experience for her as she never had to be envious of Leah before this in her life. And it prompted her to say, She will die if she does not have children. Interestingly, she does die because of child-birth as we will learn later on. In her spirit of envy, she looked at Jacob to cure her barrenness.”Give me Children or I die“. This ignited anger in the heart of her husband who loved her and worked seven years to secure her as a bride. Here we see the lack of spiritual maturity in Jacob. When his mother Rebekah was barren, Issac prayed to God to cure her barrenness ( Gen 25:21). Here we see Jacob getting angry and saying, don’t look at me for the solution. Like Rachel, ARE YOU BARREN? I don’t mean that you do not have a child but are there other things in life that are missing? Maybe you are not where you thought you would be in life. There may be financial barrenness, family barrenness, struggle in a relationship, emotional stress etc. And you may be looking at your spouse, friend, or pastor to meet that barrenness, need, emptiness, lack of productivity in your life. Like Rachel, we cry out “MEET THIS NEED” or I’ll die. But the truth of the matter is, they can’t. There is a void in all of our hearts that can only be filled by Jesus. We need to be totally dependent on God. He is the only one who can cure our barrenness. The hunger in our heart can only be filled with intimacy, dependency, and closer relationship with Jesus. We have all seen preachers who say, we just need to demand from God ( like Rachel). So-called “name it and claim it ” prosperity preachers who say, just speak the word that we don’t want to be barren, that we want to be rich, healthy and successful. This is not biblical teaching. God is not our personal servant that we demand/ask, and he just gives. Remember, Satan promises wealth, health, and prosperity. Jesus offers eternal life.Jacob does point Rachel in the right direction. He understands that only one who can give kids to Rachel is God. Is there something that you want to change in your life? husband? wife? then stop nagging them or getting angry rather take it to God in prayer. Either he will change the person or change you and give you strength to deal with it.
3 So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” 4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[a] 7 And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.[b]
Like Sarah, Rachel gave her maid to Jacob and she bore him a son. This was a custom of the day and the child conceived would be considered Rachel’s son. Her son’s name reflected Rachel’s inner thoughts. She was in competition with her sister.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “A troop comes!”[c] So she called his name Gad.[d] 12 And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.[e]
Not to be outdone, Leah applied the same solution and gave her maid to Jacob and she conceived Gad which means “troops,” it was as if Leah was answering her sister’s challenge and saying reinforcements are here. Asher means “Happy” and she was expressing her joy.
14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest 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?”And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, 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.” And 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 have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. 19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
The people in middle eastern believed that mandrake ( love apples) enhanced a chance of getting pregnant. They were highly valued. Reuben was probably 7-8 yrs of age when he found this fruit. Rachel offers Leah a night with Jacob in exchange for the fruit. The irony of the situation is, Rachel manipulates to get the fruit but Leah gets pregnant. Be careful what you plan and scheme for, opposite might happen and instead of being cursed your enemy might be blessed.
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 And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 So she called his name Joseph,[h] and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”
At last Rachel has a son and named him Joseph which means ” My God add,” she was saying “I want more”. Aren’t we like Rachel in so many ways? Once we have Job, we want a raise and office, We want bigger home, bigger, better car. We always want more.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
Jacob finished seven years of service for Rachel. His family grew and now it was time for him to take care of them as the father. Although, Laban was a pagan worshipper; he was no dummy, He knew the reason why he was flourishing. He is not even a believer, yet he recognizes he has been blessed by God because of Jacob. Things were going well for Laban. No wonder he wanted Jacob to stay. He knew Jacob was supernaturally blessed and he had seen his abilities first hand in last fourteen years. We learn two important things from this, Many times we see people prospering and think, God is blessing them but in reality, they just might be blessed because of God-fearing person they are in association with. Secondly, We as born again Christians must be the very best worker in the company, for then even the Labans will be drawn to ONE we serve. They come to know Jesus just by observing us. How we handle day to day challenges, What our reaction is when things go wrong and how forgiving we are when mistakes are made. Remember, satan is always around to point out a mistake of born again Christian; not only to create doubt in non believer but in our hearts as well by doing so he gets us to focus on our works rather than the grace of Jesus. Laban asked Jacob to name his price to stick around.
29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”31 So he said, “What shall I give you?”
Two con men are negotiating. Both have met their match in wit. Laban makes the first move and instead of naming his wages, Jacob reminds Laban of his qualifications and what he has achieved. Think of it in a way someone looking for promotion in company pointing out his contribution to the growth of the company. Labam is a shrewd negotiator and waits for Jacob to name his price instead of him making an offer.
And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: 32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. 33 So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”34 And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!”
On the surface, it seems like Jacob is making a bad deal. Even today solid color sheep and goats are highly valued. But Jacob is putting his faith in God.We will see in next chapter why Jacob made this deal. It shows his faith and spiritual growth. As Christians we have a secret weapon on our side, what ever deal we make, we have God watching over us. If you are making your decisions prayerfully, then don’t worry what it looks like on the surface. Even if you made a mistake, God will bless you. A deal was struck, Jacob said, “I will take care of your flock” and when times come for us to part ways, I will take the spotted once. Laban must have been overjoyed with this deal. He knew the solid color sheep & goats were of more value and the solid color was a dominant gene. He agreed to the deal without any hesitation.
35 So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Even though Laban received a very generous and favorable deal, he still removed all the spotted and speckled sheep and goats.And gave them to his son and gave them 3 days head start. He was making sure Jacob does not get anything that he did not earn. He was only going to give Jacob what was born after the deal was struck and he removed the spotted once so it would be harder for Jacob. Think of Laban as a big corporation or a bank who draws up a contract, they make sure all the terms are in their favor. The next day, Jacob goes out to find no speckled or spotted flock. Laban has tricked him again.
37 Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. 38 And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban, but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock.41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
Jacob strips the bark of poplar, hazel & chestnut branches in such a way that they appear striped. Then he placed them in water troughs. Did the striped branches cause the flock to bear spotted and speckled offspring? I don’t believe so. Rather, God simply blessed Jacob as he said he would. We will discuss this portion of scripture in next chapter and it will become very clear why Jacob made the deal he made and why suddenly so many offspring were spotted and speckled. So many people who are in ministry act like Jacob is acting here, they think their effort and various programs are growing the ministry. They all start out by teaching the word and serving the Lord but as ministry grows or church expands focus shifts to growing the ministry or simply maintaining the programs.Little by little focus moves away from sharing the Gospel to feeding the hungry, building schools, clothing the naked, soup kitchens, tract distribution etc and not enough time spent in prayer, word or fellowship with Lord. Our focus is shifted from faith, obedience, and grace to works. This is what has happened to big denomination churches. They have to feed the monster they have created and so they have become businesses and now they no longer serve Jesus and his mission of making disciples instead the focus has changed to making members. By no means, I am saying doing good works such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving to the needy is wrong; that is necessary and Bible tells us to be generous but our focus should be on Jesus and closer walk with him. Remember, People of other religion and even those who do not believe in God at all do charity work too so what sets us apart? Jesus, his blood and our salvation through his GRACE. You can have a ministry and you can be feeding thousands, helping thousands and you could be doing it under the Christian name, but, if you have not given your life to Jesus and if you are not walking in faith and obedience, it is all in vain. I pray and urge you, no matter how busy you are in your life, how active you are in your church; Don’t forget to spend time in Prayer and reading the scripture. Jesus always made time for prayer and alone time in a fellowship with Father, Should we not do the same?
May God add blessings to his word. Amen.
only savior jesus 