My husband will dwell with me

Genesis 30: 19-21 “And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.”

Even though Leah was unloved she was blessed by the Lord. She had six sons in all and a daughter to give her joy in her old age. The Lord knows every person’s situation and the Lord understands all our needs. In Romans 8: 28 we read “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Leah was part of God’s plan and she was under the Lord’s care all her life. There may be people today who are in a similar position to Leah. They fell unloved but it is good to remember that God loves each one of His people and He will never stop caring for us. We may have a huge ache in our soul but God knows that as well and He is able to deal with that problem as well. If we are willing to thank Him for His love then we will begin to feel the peace of God in our hearts and we will be able to overcome the ache in our soul.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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God hath given me my hire

Genesis 30: 14-18: “And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.”

This episode is the end point of all the tricks that Reuben’s grandfather played. He established a family that was based on conflict and everyone else involved decided that conflict was the only way to live. They were all more concerned about themselves than they were about compassion and considering the needs of another person. Poor Rachel had no son to find her tasty fruit in the field so she gave what she had to get what she wanted. After this another son was born. How sad for her son to be called her son “hire”. Hoe would always be reminded of the conflict in his family. This reminds us that we choose consequences when we choose behaviour even if we don’t think about all the consequences at the time we choose the behaviour. This reminds us of Galatians 6: 7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Happy am I

Genesis 30: 9-13: “When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.”

This section tells us all about polygamy and why it is so bad. There are supporters of polygamy who talk about being sister wives and helping each other but that is not true. We were designed by our Creator to be in monogamous relationships and anything else leads to significant emotional problems. In this case, there was huge problems between the sisters because they were in competition with each other. In order to solve the problem they added extra wives to the mix but that really didn’t help. Leah had four sons but she took her slave girl and gave her to Jacob because she hoped that would solve the problem. She even reached the stage where she called the second child of her slave “happy” but this didn’t seem to help in the long run. It is hard to blame these girls for the problem because it came from a cynical decision on their father’s part but they still had to bear the consequences. It is important for us to understand that other people can suffer significantly when we make bad decisions but even though this may be the case, anyone can trust in the Lord and find comfort and security in Him despite the problem and despite our sinful nature.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I have wrestled with my sister

Genesis 30: 1-8: “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.”

Even though Rachel was loved more than Leah, she was unhappy that she didn’t have a son. She longed to have a child of her own so that she could gain a measure of independence. In the beginning God made Eve from Adam and then God said that a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh. There is no room in God’s equation for three people being joined together and becoming one flesh, just two. After Jacob married Leah they were joined together into one flesh but Jacob still chose to marry Rachel, this didn’t make it possible for him to be joined to Rachel as well even though she was joined to Jacob after their marriage. Jacob was a more selfish person and he was angry with Rachel because she was caught in an emotional wilderness. However, Jacob blamed God for the problem and didn’t accept any responsibility himself. In the end Rachel took her slave girl and told Jacob to have children with her. In the laws of those days the children of the slave girl would actually belong to Rachel so she chose this ancient method of surrogacy. She had two surrogate sons and then she felt some security. However, these boys were both slave boys and she still didn’t have her own son. In the short term, however, she felt a sense of triumph because she had been fighting against her sister for her husband’s attention and now she had sons to take her mind away from her emptiness of soul.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Now I will praise the Lord

Genesis 29: 31-35: “And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”

Even though her father had given Leah a bad situation, the Lord saw that she was in trouble and blessed her with four sons. In a culture of multiple marriages there isn’t any real bond between the husband and the wife. The spouses have to compete with each other for attention and a mother can only find true security in her children. In those days, women had very few rights and they would have no source of income after they death of their husband. They had to rely on their sons to look after them at that stage. All Leah wanted was to be loved and respected. We can assume that she was treated badly while she was growing up because she had tender eyes and wasn’t much of a marriage prospect but her father added to her woes by forcing her into the competitive situation where she wasn’t loved by her husband. It is hard not to feel sorry for this poor woman but the Lord saw her situation and gave her some important compensation. She was the mother of four sons and respected for that in her community.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Fulfil her week

Genesis 29: 26-30: “And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.”

Laban had won in his quest for superiority. He managed to trick Jacob and force him to do what he didn’t want to do. He must have been concerned about finding a husband for Leah because she was tender eyed. This probably means that she was unable to see very well and couldn’t do much work. In the book of Deuteronomy “tender” is associated with delicate and someone who doesn’t want to go outside at all. If this was the case then it would have been hard to find a husband for her because she would not be a good worker for her new husband. On the other hand we also read that Rachel was beautiful and well favoured so we can assume that Leah wasn’t very pretty either. Laban was a very cruel man who forced his daughters into a situation whereby they would constantly be competing with each other for love and attention. He really didn’t care for his daughters at all. We don’t read how either reacted to this situation but we can assume that neither of them liked it very much. Laban forced Jacob to finish the week’s celebrations for the wedding then he let Jacob marry the woman he loved. Later these women took Jacob’s side against their father when they tried to escape with some of the wealth. This is not the way to treat anyone, let alone your own children. However, God was with Leah and blessed with many children. in the mean time Jacob had to work for another seven years.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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But a few days

Genesis 29: 20-25: “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?”

Jacob loved Rachel and he happily worked for seven years so that he could earn the right to take her as his wife. There is no evidence that Jacob suspected that Laban would do anything to trick him but he was living in a fool’s paradise. There are two kinds of people who can be easily tricked. The first kind is someone who wants to get something for nothing and the second is someone who really wants to please everyone else. In both cases they get what they deserve. Jacob had spent much of his life trying to get something that he didn’t deserve and he could not earn. Here, he assumed that Laban could be trusted but learnt that he couldn’t be trusted. The wife came to the wedding covered with a clothing similar to a burka today and Jacob assumed that he was marrying Rachel but discovered that he was married to Leah when he woke up in the morning. They went into their tent after the ceremony was finished and everything was dark so Jacob didn’t look. I assume that Laban had threatened Leah with terrible punishment if she told Jacob what was happening, after all, Laban treated her like she was just another possession. When Jacob realised that he was married to the wrong woman, he also understood that he couldn’t really do anything about it. He couldn’t leave Leah and go back to his home because he was afraid of his brother and he knew that Laban would punish him severely if he tried to escape from the marriage that he had be forced into. All he could do was complain to Laban. Poor Leah, she was innocent in the whole matter but was forced to spend a lifetime paying for another person’s evil deed. Sometimes life can be very hard us but we need to trust God and hope in Him through all the hard time that God give us because we know that God is treating us like a child when he brings us to testing times. (see Heb 12: 7, 9 “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? ... Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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