This chapter chronicles the growth and development
of Jacob's family and fortune.
Leah had four boys while her younger sister
remained barren and became increasingly jealous. However, I can't say that
Rachel handled her predicament prudently. She blamed her husband. Then she (like Sarah before her) gave her
personal servant to Jacob as a mistress.
Then she mysteriously bargained away a night with her own husband for
what she perceived to be either an aphrodisiac or else some kind of natural fertility
potion (the mandrakes). Her desire to be a mother was normal and expected;
however, her stratagems for obtaining a child were neither prudent nor
successful. She only needed to wait for the life-giver Himself to open her womb
(Genesis 30:22).
Even aside from the bitter struggle of
one-upmanship between Leah and Rachel (to give Jacob more children), the story
of the family's growth would still be interesting by itself. Added to Leah and
Jacob's eldest four, Rachel's maid Bilhah birthed Dan and Naphtali. Not to be
outdone, Leah gave Jacob her maid who bore Gad and Asher. Leah again conceived
(on a night which she had actually purchased with her husband from her little
sister) and bore Issachar. Then she had Zebulon and a daughter named Dinah. So,
Jacob had 10 sons and 1 daughter, but none by Rachel, that is, until God
removed her "reproach" and gave her Joseph.
After Joseph's birth Jacob attempted to leave
Haran, but it was not to be. Jacob had earned his wives in Haran by labor. At this point he began to earn his wealth
there. Though he was indeed a busy and
diligent laborer, his wealth was not a product of his efforts. His success was a result of God’s kindness
toward him (and that because of His promises and character). Even Laban knew
that God's hand of blessing was on Jacob (Genesis 30:27). Admittedly, Jacob
didn't seem to be AS convinced yet that it was all of God. He attempted what
appears to us to be a rather unscientific method of promoting the reproduction
of certain varieties of animals so as to pad his own wallet and to drain that
of his father-in-law. Of course, not all
of his methods were totally senseless. He did have a partially logical habit of
separating the strong animals from the weak and following a breeding pattern
that he thought would strengthen and fatten his flocks and herds. Of course, we know that his prosperity was a
result of God's sovereign aid, not of whatever the beasts were looking at when
they were mating.
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