The Baby Competition
Gen 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
She did not ask for one child, but children, as to catch up with her sister Leah.
Gen 30:2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
It wasn't Jacob's fault, "am I God?" Rachel envied Leah, because she had four sons. Jacob thought too highly of the beauty of Rachel, having worked 14 years for her. Leah he would not have worked one day for. God saw this and favored Leah with children.
Gen 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
As Sarah used Hagar to bring forth a child, now Rachel repeats that foolishness. Bilhah would be as a surrogate mother, even placing the slave on her own knees as she gave birth; that is desperate and lacking faith and to me extremely selfish, not caring about the comfort of the birthmother.
Gen 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Gen 30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
Dan, meaning "judgment." Because of her own envy, she viewed this child born of the flesh as a victory and a vindication for her!
Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Gen 30:7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
Gen 30:8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
Naphtali, wrestlings or twisting together. She wrestled with Leah and has prevailed, having a son by her handmade. Rachel was a doing God's work for him, like grandmother Sarah.
Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Gen 49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Gen 30:9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
1 Cor 7:34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
Keeping up with the Joneses? A baby war, who will have the most children? So Leah gets on the band wagon. If Rachel can cheat by using her handmaid, so will I. Poor (innocent?) Jacob, kept so busy by his feuding wives.
Gen 30:10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
Gad, indeed. Gad means, troop or good fortune.
Gen 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Num 32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;
Num 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
Num 32:6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
They sent troops over the Jordan to fight with their brethren, but they took land on this side of the Jordan.
Gen 30:12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
Gen 30:13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
Asher, meaning "happy"; Leah is more concerned about the status the child will bring her (all the daughters will call me blessed) than about the child himself.
Deu 33:24 And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.
Deu 33:25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
Gen 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
We have a baby competition between Leah and Sarah. Sarah used her own schemes to bring forth children and Leah who had four sons, would get caught up in this competition. Leah had not let Judah (praise) be her focus. She was looking to God in praise and then she looked around and was caught up into a personal rivalry. Jealousy and envy took over their thoughts. Children were born as chess pawns, to gain favor with the world, for personal glory and to gain affection and approval. Satan controls the world where beauty is prized above godly character. Status, personal favor and power, are more important than a clean heart. They were joined to Jacob, one body, as the church is to be one body.
1 Cor 12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
1 Cor 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Cor 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Daughters of the world starve themselves to gain approval. They have sex, because of pressure from others, peer pressure and their desire to be loved. No longer are children the prize, abortions sometimes are done to gain a lifestyle of devotion to the god of self and pleasure. I have the right to control my body, which means that they can destroy the life of a child. Usually they are out of control, doing what is not pleasing to God. Rights also require responsibilities just as freedom requires sacrifice.
Gen 30:14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
Mandrakes (a root, called "love-apples" in Hebrew) were thought (and still are among some peoples) to increase fertility in women. Because Leah has the mandrakes, she knows Jacob will have relations with her, believing there is a greater likelihood she will become pregnant. (Guzik)
Gen 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
No way was she going to share her mandrakes with that other wife. Whether or not mandrakes are for fertility, God would give Leah more children.
Gen 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
The mandrake roots have long been used in magic rituals, today also in neopagan religions such as Wicca and Germanic revivalism religions such as Odinism. (It is alleged that magicians would form this root into a crude resemblance to the human figure, by pinching a constriction a little below the top, so as to make a kind of head and neck, and twisting off the upper branches except two, which they leave as arms, and the lower, except two, which they leave as legs.)(Wikopedia)
The herb had another property, however, for the root contains hyoscine a powerful alkaloid with the ability to cause hallucinations, delirium and, in larger doses, coma. Mandrake's use as a surgical anaesthetic was first described by the Greek physician Dioscorides around AD 60, and its use as a tincture known as mandragora, or in combination with other herbs such as opium, hemlock and henbane is described in documents from pre-Roman times onwards. It was the presence of this alkaloid, as well as the shape of the root, that led to the mandrake's association with magic, witchcraft and the supernatural.
Mandrake roots became highly sought after in their native Mediterranean habitat, and attempts to protect them from theft are thought to have been the source of the second mandrake myth, which stated that a demon inhabited the root and would kill anyone who attempted to uproot it. Later elaboration of this legend attributed the herb's lethal power to a shriek or a groan emitted by the mandrake as it was uprooted, and suggested that death could be avoided either by a loud blast on a horn at the critical moment or by sealing one's ears with wax. (Mandrakes and Myths JRS)
There was a comic book character named Mandrake the magician, who worked by hypnosis to create an illusion. Babies are not illusions, nor are they things, but living human beings created by God.
Gen 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Gen 30:18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
Issachar, meaning "reward"; Leah saw this son as a reward from God because she was "generous" enough to offer her maid to Jacob.
Gen 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
Gen 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Gen 30:19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
Gen 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
Zebulun, meaning "dwelling." In the pain of her heart, she is still waiting for her husband to truly love her and live with her, and she is hoping the sheer quantity of sons will win his heart to her!
Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Gen 30:21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
Dinah, meaning judgment. God having judged and favored Leah over Rachel. She had seven brothers to avenge her enemies. Dan, from Rachel's handmaid also meant judgment.
Two wives fighting one another in a baby making competition. With so much strife and anger it would take a tole on the children. One husband and one wife.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Increase
Gen 30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Gen 30:23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
Gen 30:24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
The name Joseph, is made from two words, meaning to gather and to add to. God shall add; The LORD shall add to me another son. Rachel considered her son as the beginning of a "collection" of babies. She had demanded a son and after 14 years God had complied. We should be careful of how we see God; is he a servant or is he our LORD? Jesus showed us the servant heart of God, that he wishes for us to have. Rachel was used to having her own way and she manipulated people to get her own way. Have thine own way LORD. Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Gen 30:25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
His home was the piece of land in the promise land.
Gen 30:26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
He had completed his 14 years of service.
Gen 30:27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
Laban said that he had learned by experience, nachash: to practice divination, divine, observe signs, learn by experience, diligently observe, practice fortunetelling, take as an omen. Laban practiced occult divination and he knew by experience that the LORD has blessed him for thy sake. The blessings of Abraham follow Jacob.
Gen 30:28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
What wages do you request to continue serving me?
Gen 30:29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
Gen 30:30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
Jacob reminds Laban that his herds have increased greatly by his hand. Now, when will he provide for his own family as well? Wealth was not the goal, but caring for his family.
1 Tim 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
His herds increased under his hand. We should work to increase the bosses wealth, so that we too may be blessed. Most jobs require production.
Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luke 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
Gen 30:31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
Gen 30:32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
Jacob would separate from the flock, all brown sheep and goats and those with spots or streaks.
Gen 30:33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
Jacob would take care of all the white, unspotted and unstreaked goats and sheep.
Gen 30:34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
Gen 30:35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Gen 30:36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
Laban removed all brown, streaked and spotted cattle from the herd and gave them to his son who would take them a three days journey, the distance the flock could walk in three days, and they would not be able to breed with the white sheep and goats.
Gen 30:37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
Rods of green, undried poplar and of hazel nut and chestnut; stripping the bark away in places, so they looked white, streaked with brown.
Gen 30:38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
The piles of streaked branches were placed where the animals would see them as they drank water at the troughs, supposedly imprinting streaks in their minds, so when they breeded they would be influence by these images.
Gen 30:39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.
This magic trick brought forth ringed and streaked flocks? Or was this the blessings of God? Do we take credit for the blessings we receive because of our efforts? sometimes, but we cannot forget who gives us grace to do the work. Do not forget that God gives all that is good to us.
Deu 7:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
Deu 7:14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
Gen 30:40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
Gen 30:41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
Gen 30:42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
He only bred the stronger animals : Laban received the feebler animals and Jacob the stronger. Work hard and do your best, God gives the increase.
Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Rom 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
What deeper meaning can we find in all this? The sacrificial animals were white and from the pure white goats and sheep came the striped ones. By the stripes Jacob was blessed and would be free from the bondage of Laban. Jesus was the pure Lamb of God who was striped for our salvation.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1 Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Gen 30:43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
His increase was great and God gave him the increase. From the increase he bought camels and asses and more servants. Have you been increased and blessed by God? God blesses our efforts if we give him our best.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
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