Thursday Night Bible Study

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Genesis 30:1-24 

Jacob's Real Trouble! • 5.27.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- In chapter 29, we saw Jacob the deceiver being deceived by his mother's brother Laban.

- The morning after his wedding night, he opened his eyes to an unwelcome surprise. Laban had given Jacob his older, less attractive daughter Leah.

- Rachel, the younger daughter was his love interest.

- There is a bit of irony in this story. Jacob had deceived his Father Isaac. Now, Laban, Rachel's Father, deceives him.

- Jacob had deceived Isaac who was in the dark, being nearly blind. Laban gave Leah to Jacob while he was in the dark of his tent.

- God had chosen Jacob, the younger to rule, which was against the custom of the land. Now, God had chosen the older sister Leah for him to marry, which was the prevailing custom.

- Genesis 29:28ff gives us the rest of the story: "Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years."

- I wonder what would have happened if Jacob had just left with Leah and cut his losses? Instead, he takes Rachel as his second wife.

- His love for Rachel was more than his love for Leah, in fact, Leah was hated. When the Lord saw that she was unloved, he opened her womb.

- At the end of chapter 29, we see that Leah bore him 4 sons, the last of which, Judah, is the one who will carry the line of the Messiah.

- But Rachel, the loved one was barren. In the chapter before us, we are going to look at Rachel and prayerfully get a perspective about how to respond when God witholds.

Text

• Genesis 30:1-3 : "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!'
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?'" : We are meant to see that Rachel's motivation comes from a place of envy. She sees what has happened with her sister, and she desires to have what Leah has.

- In an ironic turn, I believe that Leah would have been happy being loved by her husband. That is what Rachel had, but it was not enough for her.

- Let us begin here with a proper view of what God has given to each of us. You and I need to be reminded that the envy of another is the opposite of personal contentment.

• Proverbs 14:30 : "A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones."

˚ "Envy and jealousy are most tormenting passions to the breast which harbours them, vexatious to all around, and introductory to much impatience and ungodliness." Unknown Author

- Turn over to Galatians 5. How serious a sin is envy? Take a listen to Paul.

• Galatians 4:19-21 : "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

- Envy is mentioned right alongside such words as fornication, adultery and sorcery! God condemns the envious heart.

- In Rachel's jealous rage, she took out her frustration on Jacob, telling him, "Give me children, or else I die." This is an inevitable side effect when envy exists in our hearts.

- When God witholds from us, we tend to begin to look at others around us. Most of us do not have the relationship chops with God, to express our whole heart to Him.

- At this point, we lash out at those closest to us and in this case, Jacob is the recipient.

- Rachel is putting all the pressure upon Jacob to do something that he cannot change.

- We have to understand something critical here: Our envy and desire for things that God witholds will bring undue stress upon each of our most precious relationships.

- "I want what that person has. Make it happen!" What is never considered is the context of the other individual and how they attained their status.

- Before long, we resent the person in our life instead of looking at them as a unique gift. That is what Rachel is guilty of here.

- Jacob rightly says, "Am I in the place of God!" He is theologically correct, and is correct in correcting his wife.

- When considering the needs of our spouse, or anyone, we need to remember this. We are not in the place of God who withholds.

- However, he was not right for 2 reasons: He neglected to pray for her and he answered her in his wrath.

- When Isaac and Rebekah faced the issue of her infertility, Isaac prayed and did so for persistently, consistently for 20 years. Jacob, the fruit of those prayers, did not follow that example

- Second, Moses tells us that his anger was aroused. The word seems to indicate a visual, facial inflammation. Jacob was livid with her.

- I wonder if this was the first time she had come to him or if it was the 1,000th time. Either way, we are never going to get our point across communicating to one another in anger.

• Proverbs 15:1 : "A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger."

- When we are the target of another person's frustration, it's important to remember to point them kindly and softly to the Lord.

• Genesis 30:4-8 : "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.' Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 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. And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, 'With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.' So she called his name Naphtali." : The mutual frustration, Rachel at Jacob and Jacob at Rachel, caused them to consider surrogacy with Rachel's maid Bilhah.

- We ran into this topic of surrogacy back in the story of Abraham and Sarah, who also employed this method with Hagar. It was an accepted practice among the other nations.

- It was not a practice that God sought to bring into the life of His people. The Bible tells us that this happened, but it does not carry God's endorsement.

- Here again, we have a choice when it comes to God witholding our desires from us. The choice will be patient acceptance with contentment or impatient manipulation.

- How can I make this happen? What can I do to bring this to pass?

- This plan works and brings forth two more sons to Jacob, Dan and Naphtali. Rachel's attitude is seen in her naming of Naphtali, as she felt that she had prevailed over Leah.

• Genesis 30:9-13 : "When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, 'A troop comes!' So she called his name Gad. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, 'I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.' So she called his name Asher." : Now it's Leah's turn to get back in the act. Her last child was Judah and she believed that she was now finished.

- She saw that Rachel had involved her maid. Leah says, "two can play at that game!"

- Time to call the bullpen! Zilpah comes in in relief and provides Jacob with two more sons, Gad and Asher.

- Gad's name means "A troop comes." He was a real trooper! Her naming of him with a military name is perfect for this family.

- Sadly, Leah is far from her high point last week. She had brought Judah into the world and praised the Lord, likely acknowledging God's hand in bringing her son into the line of the Messiah.

- Here, she allows her sisters envy to rub off on her and stoops down to her level. There is a good lesson in all this, as we must ever be aware to not rest on our spiritual laurels.

- At the end of chapter 29, there seemed to be some progress in Leah's relationship with the Lord. Then, a new pressure revealed itself, and it was two steps backward.

- We need to be careful to walk with our Lord everyday.

• Genesis 30:14-21 : "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.' 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.' 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. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, 'God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.' So she called his name Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 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. Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah." : Reuben is Jacob's oldest son, old enough to be out in the fields.

- He went out at the wheat harvest and came upon some mandrakes. These mandrakes have the look between a lemon and an orange. They look like little bulbs.

- Literally, their name means "love apples." They were thought to have some power with regard to fertility. This is why Rachel bargains for them. She is that desperate!

- Rachel is trusting in mandrakes. We might laugh at her, but today our little blue pills and oyster collections are just as telling! What is the bargain? Leah gets to sleep with Jacob that night!

- I wonder if Jacob worked out in the field and just hoped he could come home and not be bothered.

- Jacob is on his way home, the sun is going down behind him, his sack is full of wheat from the day. Just as he is about to enter the property gates, there is Leah standing there waiting for him.

- She tells Jacob with a wry smile, "Reuben found some mandrakes." Jacob probably wanted to slap that kid right then! But the thing here is that Moses comments that God listened to Leah.

- What was she speaking to Him about? It might again relate to her being unloved by Jacob. Somehow, God blessed her and she conceived 3 more times, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah.

• Genesis 30:22-24 : "Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, 'God has taken away my reproach.' So she called his name Joseph, and said, 'The Lord shall add to me another son.'" : This section ends with Rachel pregnancy. Follow the progression that we see in Rachel's life.

- She begins with envy and jealousy. She lashes out in frustration toward Jacob and likely toward God. She watches everyone around her get pregnant, including Leah that had stopped.

- Somewhere along the way, she got a clue. It seems that she started a prayer life of her own.

- Understand this: She began her prayer life as a last resort! This was not her first resource. Had it been her first resource, she may have avoided some of the ugliness that she brought.

- God listened to her just as He had listened to Leah. There are now 11 children that comprise Jacob's family.

- This is not to say that Rachel's prayer life manipulated God into action. It was always the Lord's will to open her womb. But God allows His children to wait for Him patiently.

- The trial caused Rachel to draw close to the Lord, which is something that each of us should take the initiative to learn.

Conclusion

- Tonight, there my be something that God has kept out of your reach. It is causing you great envy and dissatisfaction. God is calling you to thanksgiving, contentment and joy in what you can do.

- More than anything, surrender your feelings to the Lord and begin to ask Him in prayer to change your heart or your circumstances.