The
first half of Genesis chapter 30 details how the rivalry between Leah
and Rachel becomes a baby-production competition. It begins with a
familiar idea, “When
Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became
jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, Give me children or
I’ll die“.
Rachel demands, “Here
is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear
children for me and through her I can build a family“.
Rachel names the son, Dan, meaning “God
has vindicated me“.
Their baby-wars continue as Bilhah has a second son named Naphthali
(I have won). Then Leah’s servant Zilpah has two more sons, Gad
(Good fortune) and Asher (How happy I am). This must have been one
contentious household. We are told Rueben found some Mandrake plants
in the field, this is believed to aid in fertility. Rachel said to
Leah, “Please
give me some of your son’s Mandrakes“.
And Leah replies, “Wasn’t
it enough that you took away my husband?”
Rachel bargains to let Leah sleep with Jacob in exchange for the
Mandrakes. Leah demands of Jacob, “You
must sleep with me. I have hired you with my son’s Mandrakes“.
Proverbs 21:9 says, “It
is better to live in the corner of a housetop then in a house with a
contentious woman“.
How much more so with TWO contentious wives!
Leah
has two more sons, Issachar (reward) and Zebulon (honor) and a
daughter named Dinah. Then we read, “God
remembered Rachel; He listened to her and He opened her womb“.
Rachel declares, “He
has taken away my disgrace”
and she named him Joseph. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, will
become the salvation of the children of Jacob. Because he is born of
Rachel, he receives special treatment and this causes jealousy among
his brothers. Rachel offers a brief prayer, “May
the Lord add another son”
acknowledging He is in control.
God’s
sovereignty over the womb is a persistent theme in the Bible. With
our ability to manipulate fertility, we have lost the appreciation of
how precious the birth of human life really is. I believe that
Science and the Bible agree that life begins at conception. We are
saddened by the way Rachel and Leah use the births to make themselves
feel more important, but how different are we in our society now?
Babies are aborted in the name of convenience and individual rights,
and eggs are harvested, fertilized and discarded when the right
number of babies are born. Thankfully our God does not so easily
discard us. Jeremiah 1:5 declares, “Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I
sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations“.
Romans 8:29 says, “For
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be firstborn among many brethren“.
And Philippians 1:6 declares, “He
who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until
the day of Jesus Christ“.
Praise God, it is His faithfulness that produces anything worthy in
us. God values each life as precious and unique. He loves you as if
you are the only one in the world.