SISTER WIVES (GENESIS 29:31-30:24)
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JACOB WENT TO HARAN TO FIND A WIFE. HE FOUND TWO SISTERS.
JACOB WENT TO HARAN TO FIND A WIFE. HE FOUND TWO SISTERS.
THE SET UP FOR THIS IS:
30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
NOT A GREAT START TO A FAMILY. POLYGAMY WAS NEVER GOD’S INTENT. THINK BACK:
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
JESUS QUOTES THIS WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT DIVORCE ESTABLISHING MARRAIGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN AS GOD’S INTENT AND DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
30 because we are members of his body.
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
WITH THIS PARADIGM OF MARRIAGE IN MIND LET’S LOOK AT JACOB AND THE SISTER WIVES.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”
33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.
35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
JEALOUSY AND HATRED BETWEEN THE SISTERS INFECTED THE FAMILY. CHILD BEARING BECAME A COMPETITION.
1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”
2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
CONTRAST JACOB’S RESPONSE HERE TO ISAAC’S RESPONSE WHEN REBEKAH WAS BARREN.
21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
JACOB, UNLIKE ISAAC IS LIVING ON HIS OWN. HE IS TRYING TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. THIS IS STILL HIS NATURE - HE IS A MANIPULATOR - A CONTROL FREAK!
EVEN AFTER GOD APPEARS TO HIM AT BETHEL REMEMBER WHAT HE SAYS?
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,
22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
JACOB’S RESPONSE TO RACHEL IS ONE OF ANGER. THIS IS THE RESPONSE OF A PERSON WHO IS ASKED TO DO SOMETHING THEY CANNOT CONTROL.
RACHEL DECIDES TO TAKE MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS AND HELP GOD OUT:
3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.”
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.
5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
LEAH WILL NOT BE OUTDONE BY RACHEL SO SHE GIVES JACOB HER SERVANT:
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
AND THEN IT GET REALLY WEIRD!
14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went 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?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
MANDRAKES: HEBREW “LOVE FRUITS” OR “LOVE APPLES” WERE USED AS APHRODISIACS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. THE FRUIT HAS A STRONG DISTINCT AROMA AND IT WAS USED AS A NARCOTIC.
JACOB, THE BARTERER, IS BEING BARTERED BY HIS OWN WIVES.
16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So 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 gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
Genesis: A Commentary Leah and Rachel Struggle via the Mandrakes (30:14–24)
SLEEP” (ŠKB), AS A EUPHEMISM FOR SEX, IS NEVER USED FOR LOVING MARITAL INTERCOURSE IN THIS BOOK, ONLY FOR ILLICIT OR FORCED SEX: LOT’S DAUGHTERS WITH LOT (19:32–35); THE PHILISTINES WITH REBEKAH (26:10); SHECHEM WITH DINAH (34:2, 7); REUBEN WITH BILHAH (35:22); POTIPHAR’S WIFE WITH JOSEPH (39:7, 10, 12, 14).
HERE WE SEE ONE OF THE GREAT CHALLENGES OF LIFE WITH GOD. HOW DO WE INTERPRET OUR CIRCUMSTANCES IN CONNECTION TO GOD?
V. 17 TELLS US CLEARLY THAT GOD HELPED HER CONCEIVE HER FIFTH SON.
IN V. 18 SHE DECLARES THAT GOD HAS DONE THIS BECAUSE SHE GAVE ZILPAH TO JACOB. I DON’T THINK SO.
SO FIRST, IS THE BIBLE TRUE? ABSOLUTELY. DOES THAT MEAN THAT LEAH IS RIGHT IN HER ASSERTION OF WHY GOD BLESSED HER? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
USING OUR CIRCUMSTANCES TO PROVE GOD’S BLESSING IS FOOLISH AND DANGEROUS.
19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.
20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
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 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”
24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”
“MAY THE LORD ADD TO ME ANOTHER SON” FORESHADOWS THE BIRTH OF BENJAMIN. IT MAY ALSO BE A PLAY ON WORDS OF “TAKEN AWAY” AND “MAY HE ADD” WHICH WOULD BE PROPHETIC OF THE SON “TAKEN AWAY” AND THEN “ADDED”.
THIS IS A MESSY, UGLY, PAINFUL STORY!
Embedded in this agonizing story of people’s emptiness and self-inflicted pain is God’s gracious gift of hope. These people have half-lives, blocked by sorrow, hostility, and competition. Leah has children but not the love of her husband; Rachel, the love of her husband but no children. Roop offers, “To those caught in half a life, the Bible offers not reproach or platitudes but God’s remembering. To those longing for love or stagnated by a sterile world, the faith offers not blame or jargon but one who has come that we might have a full life (John 10:10).… Some folks, maybe all, will find themselves living in a situation which blocks them from reaching the fullness of life. They know the anguish of Leah and the hostility of Rachel. Ministry, like the Bible, takes that agony utterly seriously even while offering a word of hope.”
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.