Part Two

Genesis 30:9-24

If you were giving a title to these verses, it might be “The Battle of the Sisters.”  What a mess!  Jacob is being passed around like a stud horse and it not just between the two wives it now includes their servant girls. Can you imagine this happening in our culture today?   The attitude or mind-set was on productivity and not so much on the sexual relations, if not why would any woman give her maid to her husband.  In that culture, son equated security that the mother would have in her old age.  But it is impossible to over look the jealousy that is between the sisters.

We may have uncovered the motives that drove the sister, but what is behind Jacob going passive and doing what he is told.  Henry M. Morris has this to say on page 467 of “The Genesis Record,” “As far as Jacob was concerned, he seems to have been rather pliant, going indiscriminately to whichever bed was most conveniently available at the time.  Perhaps, virile as he was, he rather enjoyed the sexual variety, which this household rivalry afforded him.  It also would be important in the future accomplishment of God’s promises regarding the nation, which would come from him.  Much of his indiscriminate moving about from bed to bed, however, was simply due to his desire to keep peace in his family, insofar as possible, by not favoring either wife in excess.”

As we look into the bed of Jacob we see that Leah is not going to be out done by little sister, so she offers Jacob her servant to be his wife.  Leah’s maid is named Zilpah and she gives Jacob two sons in rapid speed and Leah names them Gad meaning “Fortunate” and Asher, meaning “Happy”. 

These two sisters are like little children, what one has the other wants, and picking up the story in verse fourteen we have this account; “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.”  Once more Henry M. Morris gives this insight on page 468, “The mandrake is a small orange-colored berrylike fruit, much esteemed in ancient times as an aphrodisiac and inducer of fertility.  It has been called the “love-apple” and, in Western countries, the “May-apple.”  It has also been used as a narcotic and emetic, especially its large roots.  It was valued in promoting fertility and no doubt both Leah and Rachel desired it.”

So Leah made a deal for Jacob’s services with Rachel, and it is clear, that given a choice, he is in Rachel’s bed.  He sleeps with Leah and she once more with child, it is the fifth son Issachar meaning “Reward”.  Her reward was that it seems as if Jacob was spending more time with her and she gave him a sixth son, named Zebulun, meaning “Dwelling.”  And after six sons, God blessed Jacob with a daughter by Leah named Dinah, meaning “Judgment.”

And now the rest of the story; “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.”  God is the giver and yet it takes many of us years before we turn to him and stop trying to do what we cannot do without His blessing.  And she had Joseph, and the meaning of his name can be derived both from “Taken Away” and “May He Add.”  She has been blessed and her shame taken away and now she is asking God to bless her with another son.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Battle of the Sisters

Genesis 30:1-8

I often wonder why anyone would pay good money for a novel, fiction or non-fiction when they have such great stories in the Bible.  This story of Rachel and Leah and the saga that is taking place is one that cannot be out done by the paperback writer of sex stories. Leah the older, steals the boyfriend and husband to be of the younger, and very hot little sister Rachel, with a little help from dear old dad.  Then the dad makes a deal to give the younger one to Jacob in exchange for seven years of his labor, and now this guy Jacob has two wives and they are sisters, who have been competing with each other for years.

Leah had four sons and that gives the older sister a new status with her husband Jacob and those in the neighborhood, but it sure caused big problems with baby sister.  “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister.  She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Genesis 30:1)  That is possibly the first time that the younger was envious of the older sister, and Rachel also shows us she can be somewhat the drama queen.  As I read this account, I’ve wondered what kind of a man was Jacob, it almost looks like he does whatever his wives tell him to do; but in this account with Rachel he shows a little manhood, “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?”  I was wondering when this guy would come to the end of his rope with these women telling him what to do; then he blows it by not learning anything from the mistakes of his great grandfather Abraham.

Little sister does not do what her older sister did, by asking God to bless her with a male child, instead she comes up with a scheme to offer her servant Bilhah to Jacob so that she could have a baby though her servant.  “So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.  And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.  Then Rachel said, “God has judged me and has also heard my voice and given me a son.”  Therefore she called his name Dan.  Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore a second son.  Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.”  I hope you notice, this is a real battle going on between these sisters, they are not interested in God’s will; it is just a contest of who is going to beat the other, and it looks like Jacob is closer to being retired to stud, than to be the head of his family.  Note: Even though they are doing this totally in the flesh, God is not surprised and will use this in His plan for the founding of the twelve tribes of Israel.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Not loved = Hated

Genesis 29:31-35

 

The New International Version of the Bible uses the words “not loved” and the English Standard Version uses the word “hated” as to how Jacob thought of Leah.  At first thought, it seemed the two words were worlds apart; but are they?  Being somewhat ignorant of words and the English language, it drives me to the dictionary for the word “unloved” and this is the definition, unloved used as an adjective; uncared-for, friendless, unvalued, rejected, unwelcome, shunned, spurned, neglected, abandoned. After looking at those adjectives describing unloved, it’s not hard to say Jacob hated Leah, she was his wife but she was shunned, friendless and unvalued.

King Solomon has this to say about such a woman; “Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food, and unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.” (Proverbs 30:21-23)  Most little girls grow-up with the desire to marry the perfect man who will love and care for them and make them happy; it is a fairytale because there is not a perfect man, but if Leah had those dreams she was soon to have her heart broken, after the first week.  Her husband did not just love another woman, he loved her little sister, and she felt hated.

This is where God steps into the picture, “When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” (Genesis 29:31)  If we only have eyes to see what God is telling us in this verse, God is aware of your circumstance and He cares for you.  Now back to the story, in Leah’s time the most valued thing a woman could give a man was a son, without a son his name would die.  The rest of the verses listed above deal with the four sons Leah had with Jacob. 

It is of interest to see the names given to the boys; the first one was Reuben, and his name meant “Behold a son” and Leah had this to say; “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”  Leah has been talking with the Lord and she knows it is God who gives life.  Her second son is called Simeon and it means “Hearing” and this is what Leah had to say about him, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.”   On the third son she called him Levi and it meant “Attachment” and this is what Leah had to say; “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”  I’m sure that Jacob was in somewhat of a hurry to start his family and Leah was filling the role of having sons; so to some degree, her prayers are being answered, though his love is still for Rachel.  Leah’s fourth son was named Judah and it means “Praise” and this is what she said; “This time I will praise the Lord.” And she ceased bearing. 

Often I try to put a human face on God, His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts.  He is aware of your circumstances, so be like Leah and call on His name, He loves you and you are in his plans.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The first Bait and Switch

Genesis 29:15-30

“Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsmen, should you therefore serve me for nothing?  Tell me, what shall your wages be?”  Now Laban had two daughters.  The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.  Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.  Jacob loved Rachel.  And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”  Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.”  Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”  So Laban gather together all the people of the place and made a feast.  But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went to her.”

Have you ever been in a business deal and it went so well that later as you looked back on how things happened you wonder how could I have not seen that coming?  Laban is so happy to have his sister’s son in his home, Jacob is family and he looks and talks like family, plus he is a hard worker.  It was not God’s plan so this did not happen but it seems that Laban would have been delighted for his daughter to marry Jacob.  It is also of interest to see who made the offer or contract; not Laban but Jacob and Laban was more than happy to accept the terms.

If only Jacob had more insight into his Uncle, he might have understood that the old uncle was somewhat of a politician and had the ability to do what it took to get what he wanted.  If we go back to his relationship with his sister Rebekah and Abraham’s servant in chapter 24:29-30, “Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.  As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister.”  Even as a young man he was quick to see value and Laban knew how to close the deal.

The Scripture states that Leah eyes were weak, and your guess is as good as mine on what that meant, but some believe that they were of a lighter color and others that she could not see very well, but one point is very clear, Rachel is a good looking lady and she has stolen Jacob’s heart.  I’ve been told that when you’re in love time can fly and that is what Jacob testified to in the verses above.

For seven years and one month all has gone well, Jacob has only trust for his uncle and the contract that was made between them, but Laban has a problem.  We do not know what Laban was thinking; He may have thought that Leah would be married by this time, but she is not, and custom is that the older must marry first, so Laban comes up with a plan to do just that.  It’s called bait-and-switch and it seemed to work well until the next morning.  Picking up in verse twenty-five, “And in the morning, behold, it was Leah!  And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me?  Did I not serve you for Rachel?  Why then have you deceived me?”  We know the answer that Laban gave, but once more I wonder if it was flash back for Jacob and he remembered his own actions in deceiving his father to get his brother’s blessing.

Laban makes it clear that Jacob was to complete the week with Leah and then he could marry Rachel and serve seven more years of service to Laban.  Verse thirty is one of those sad verses in Scripture, a marriage with no love; “So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A family Reunion

Genesis 29:1-14

Is it as hard for you as it is for me to picture Jacob as anything but a young man maybe in his thirties, but that is not the case, Jacob is around seventy-five at this time.   He has traveled close to five hundred miles in search of his mother’s people, and has come to a well with three flocks of sheep lying beside it.  The first thing Jacob notices is the large rock on the well’s mouth and he was told by the shepherds, that they were waiting for all the flocks to arrive before removing the rock and when they were all watered they would put the stone back on the well.

As we read more of the chapter, we have this record of Jacob asking the shepherds where they came from and they replied Haran.  His next question is; do you know Laban the son of Nahor?  “They said, “We know him?”  He said to them, “Is it well with him?”  They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” He has obeyed his father and mother and has found the family of his mother, and he has also found that Laban has a daughter.  Often, we call that “luck” but what a bad word for a Christian to use; God was leading Jacob.   It can also be imagined that over the years Jacob has heard many accounts of Laban from his mother; now he is standing looking at the daughter of his mother’s brother.

It may also be assumed that the shepherds were very young because it took several of them to remove the stone on the well, but it is of interest that Jacob, after seeing Rachel began to act more like a manager than a stranger.  Picking up in verse seven, we have this account; “He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together.  Water the sheep and go, pasture them.”  But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

It is also of interest to see the actions of Jacob when Rachel arrived; have you heard the term “love at first sight” it would be an appropriate use of the term, in this case.  Beginning in verse ten, “Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.”  I bet Rachael is a little impressed, one man doing what took several of her shepherd friends to do, but she was totally unprepared for what Jacob did after that.  Verse eleven states, “Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.”  It’s hard to imagine if it was his kiss, or this man who has just watered her flock, or his weeping that startled her more.  It was the custom of that time that only relatives would kiss one another, and because she did not know this man, it must have taken her by surprise, and then to see a man weeping was a definite shock.

Scripture does not give us any clue as to how long it took Jacob to get control of his emotions, but at some point Jacob tells Rachel, “And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.”  Rachel had also heard the stories of how Rebekah had left with Abraham’s servant to go marry his son Isaac and although it had been over one hundred years since she had left her family, it was big news.  It was also big news for Laban, verse thirteen gives this account, “As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house.  Jacob told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and flesh!”  And he stayed with him a month.”  I call that a family reunion!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

First Glance is often Wrong

Genesis 28:18-22

As we begin looking at the Scripture listed above, it gives the impression of Jacob trying to con God in the same way as he had bargained with his twin brother over his birthright.  “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, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, them the Lord shall be my God, 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.”  Those verses remind me of my friend Tom Martin who own six sections of ranch land at 624 and Hwy 59, as you’re heading to Freer, Texas.  Tom and Jean had registered Santa Gertrudis cattle and he had spent thousands on a young bull with great papers, but shortly after he got to the ranch Tom found out that his young bull was sterile.  Tom tells how he began to make deals with God, and it began like this; God I will give you 15% of all the revenue from this bull’s calves, and when he got the next report back from the veterinarian it when up to 25% and as the story goes, when it got to 50% it was clear that God was not going to bargain with Tom. 

At first glance, that seems to be what Jacob is doing and it would be in keeping with his learned behavior, but is that what is happening?  Should we not first review what happened before this statement; Jacob has seen God in a dream and the Lord had spoken promises to him.  The place is named Luz but Jacob changes the name to Bethel, “The house of God” and stated this is the gate to heaven.  His very next action is to make an altar and worship the God of his fathers.  (Note: up to this time it has been his father’s God, but now he has heard and seen in a dream the God of his father’s, and it is now his God.)

He is on a journey without the protection of others and he still has a long way to go through land that could have robbers and wild animals that could take his supplies and they might even kill him.  We must remember, Jacob has just seen the Lord in his dream, it is the beginning of his faith walk, and in his prayer the “if” is no different than your faith or mine.  “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, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,” Personally I do not believe he is making a deal, It seems like he is telling the Lord, I hear what You have promised and though my faith is weak, I’m putting as much trust as I have in what you have said.  He is also telling the Lord, that he wants peace with his brother, the brother I’ve tricked and with my father, who must have felt some anger in the way he was deceived.

 Jacob is the son of promise, he should get two thirds of all that his father has, but he is on a donkey or camel going 500 miles away from his home to a land he has never been to, looking for his mother’s brother, to ask the hand of one of his daughters, and back home he has a brother who has promised to kill him.  So he tells the Lord, “And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”  I do not see Jacob making a deal, I see a man who has come to understand that without God and God’s blessing, he has nothing.  Often, I have been too quick to put a label on someone like Jacob, and it should be noted that God saw the heart of Jacob and we do not have that ability.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Perils of Power = Congress

Good morning, it began with someone calling the house at 5:50 a.m. and no answer when I awoke from a deep sleep.  It has been very windy so far but the sun is breaking through the clouds and I’ve been reading on page 1427 of (The Complete Works of O.C.) title Perils of Power.  This thought came to mind;  the perils of power is taking place in our Congress?  Jan and I were having a discussion on this and she thought not, because many of them are not Christian, but as Oswald states, it is God who places a person in a position of honor, as he did Pharaoh.  King Nebuchadnezzar, came into my mind and how God gave him great power till the terrible peril of pride entered his heart, and God hardened his heart and only after seven years of eating grass did God extend grace and bring him back to rule.  It was at this point, we see a man who understood that his power was a gift, and that the God who gave the gift, was more than able to remove it at His will. 

Chambers used this line, “The inevitable result of sin is to destroy the power of knowing it is sin.”  That quote reminded me of what Pastor Joe, the missionary told me as a young Christian, “Sin is akin to darkness, at first it is so dark, but the longer you stay in the darkness your eyes adjust, and before long it is not dark.”  Is that what has happened to the Congress, do they not even know that they are sinning; when they, lie, steal, and break the public trust with the very people who sent them to Congress to represent them?

Just Pondering,

Bob

If you do not have the book “The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers” I am adding the article.

Perils of Power (Jeremiah 23:1-3; Luke 22:24-27)

Temporal power is merely the manifestation of a Divine purpose leaving ample room for the prostitution of that power.  “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”  When once a man is placed in a position of honor under God’s providence and does not maintain a right relationship to God, the very position in which God has put him will harden him away from God.  Power we must have, whether we like it or not, but power is a terrible peril unless the life is rooted in God’s grace.

Bear in mind the distinction between the results of sin and punishment for sin.  Verse 2 refers to the latter – “ . . . behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”  The inevitable results of sin is to destroy the power of knowing it is sin.  The punishment of sin is that God banishes the sinner from His presence.  What is being forgotten to day is that there is any punishment –“This is simply the result of having made a mistake.”  The suffering that comes to the children of bad people is the inevitable result of sin, not its punishment; punishment is meted out here or hereafter to the parents who may never suffer in this present life.  In this case God interfered with the punishment because they were His people.

“Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away . . .” Beware of the possibility of being faced by God at some time with the lives you have been the cause of being driven out.