The Family

O.T. #62  "The Family"  June 5, 2013
Genesis 29-Part 3to 30:24
And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach. Genesis 30:23

LET IT GLOW

A good Christian family with 19 children live in our area. The children are well mannered, well
taken care of, taught Christian values  and the Word. Yet people still think it is terrible that they would have so many kids. Why? Maybe it makes them convicted that they aren't family oriented,
but are materialistic, career oriented, or don't want to spend their time training children. Whatever the
reason, why not just keep the negative comments to themselves? Back in my grandparents' day, it wasn't unusual for families to have at least 7 children. My grandparents had 6 and 7. How about yours?
I said all of that to say Jacob had 12 sons and 1 daughter. Shall we look at his family?

We have already discussed how Jacob worked 7 years for his beloved Rachel, but was given her sister Leah by Laban instead. He then married Rachel a week later, and worked 7 more years. The deceiver Jacob had met his match-Laban deceived Jacob.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary has this to say about the situation:

Such consanguinity (relationship by blood) was not God's will, and the Mosaic code later forbade it (Lev. 18:18). Polygamy always brought grief, as in the life of Jacob.

Whenever a marriage begins with sin, there is usually division and unhappiness in the home. At
first, neither of the two wives bore children, but it was obvious that Jacob loved Rachel more and that he "slighted" (verse 31) Leah.  (Wiersbe)

Here's the family portrait. These 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel, to which was Jacob's name changed later. Jacob was 84 at the time, mind you.
So God honored Leah by giving her 6 sons and one daughter by Jacob:

• Reuben means See, a son!, indicating Leah's pledge from God indicating His favor;
• Simeon means hearing, which reveals that God had heard how much Leah was hated;
• Levi means attachment, expressing Leah's desire that Jacob would ultimately become attached to her;
• Judah means praise, conveying the thought of not merely the praised one, but the one for whom Jehovah is praised;
• Later, Leah had Issachar, which means reward;
• Zebulun means dwelling.
• A daughter was added to the family, Dinah (She is mentioned because of the tragedy in  chapter 34, though she wasn't the only daughter born to Jacob.

Like her husband's predecessors, Sarah, Rachel was jealous of the other woman, and gave her husband her maid servant, Bilhah, to produce her children, since Rachel had none at that time.

Bilhah, maid servant of Rachel, had 2 sons of Jacob:

• Dan means justice, indicating that God had vindicated or intervened for Rachel;
• Naphtali means wrestling, depicting Rachel's struggles.

Rachel finally had 2 sons:

• Joseph meaning to take away or to add, so God either removed the reproach of her childlessness or would give her another son;
• God gave her Benjamin much later (35:18); Benjamin means son of my right hand.

Leah thought she was done bearing children (4 had been born), took up the rivalry, and gave her
maid servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to bear more:

• Gad means troops;
• Asher means happy, stating her inner happiness at having another son.

[Reference: Liberty Bible Commentary, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament, the    
                   MacArthur Bible Commentary]

There we have it, one big happy family-NOT! It must have been crazy living with four women, jealous of each other's time with Jacob and their child bearing.
This account covers 14 years in Jacob's life-years of toil, trial, and testing. God used Laban and the difficult circumstances of life to discipline Jacob and prepare him for the tasks that lay ahead. (Wiersbe)

LET IT GROW

Here's a humerous little story inserted in the Bible.
Reuben was about 5 years old, playing the a field during wheat harvest time. He found small, yellowish orange colored fruit, called a mandrake, and brought them to his mother Leah. In the ancient world, these were viewed superstitiously as "love apples," an aphrodisiac or fertility-inducing narcotic.
Rachel bargained with Leah, Jacob could come to her that night, in exchange for the mandrake. This happened before Rachel had Joseph. The funny thing is, Leah was the one who got pregnant, not Rachel.
Leah tells Jacob, in verse 16, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with
my son's mandrakes. Leah paid for her time with Jacob. Is that funny or what? What a mess!
This reminds me of another woman who ate of the forbidden fruit-Eve.

God gives children (verses 6, 17, 20, 22). Finally, in 30:22-24, God opened Rachel's womb and she conceived Joseph.

Do we turn to God in our time of distress or to our own resources? Do we try to manipulate circumstances?

LET IT GO

Patiently wait upon God to solve our problems, work out circumstances, and intervene in situations.

Keep following Jesus.