Genesis 30 -31

Here’s the setting as we move onto chapter 30. We have Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah. Leah has given birth to several children, but Rachel, his favorite wife, has not been able to get pregnant. This led to jealousies and conflict between the wives.

Verse 1, “Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister, so that she said to Jacob, “Give me children or I’ll die.”

It’s not like he wasn’t being intimate with her, after all, she was his favorite wife. The irony of her is that she claimed that she would die if she didn’t have any children, yet how did she die? She died giving birth to her son Benjamin.

In desperation, much like Sarah, Rachel tells Jacob to have a child through her maid, Bilhah. You’ll recall that Abraham had a child with Sarah’s servant, Hagar. How did that work out? Did that solve their problems or add to them? This practice seems strange to us today, but it was in keeping with the law of the day. And just as it was in the time of Sarah and Abraham, the child born would legally be that of Rachel, not Bilhah and it would be Rachel who get to name the child.

When Bilhah got pregnant and gave birth to a son, Rachel says, in verse 6, “God has vindicated me.” Some translations say that God “judged” her. She named the boy Dan, which is a word play with the Hebrew word for judge.

Pleased with the results, Bilhah has another baby with Jacob and Rachel named him Naphtali. His name means, “my wresting” referring to the fact that she has been struggling with her sister “and won.” Can you just imagine the looks these women may have given each other when they saw each other with their babies?

But the battle of the sister-wives is not over. Leah, Rachels older sister and Jacob’s less favorite wife, who had stopped having babies, took her handmaid, Zilpah to Jacob to have a baby with him. Zilpah gave birth to a baby that was named Gad, meaning “good fortune and then a third, named Asher, meaning happy. Good fortune and happy. So, I guess all the family problems disappeared and everyone was happy. Right? Not quite.

Now you are going to get a lesson in Botany. Trust me, there’s a reason for this. Let me tell you about a plant called the Mandrake, which is mentioned in verses 14-16 and the Song of Solomon. Its Biblical use is generally attributed to its supposed fertility power. Scripture connects the fragrance of mandrake with sexuality. Over the years it was thought to be able to cure practically everything from infertility and insomnia and being able to foretell the future and shield soldiers in battle. But of course, you had to harvest it correctly. It was believed that the mandrake could be safely uprooted only in the moonlight, after appropriate prayer and ritual, by a black dog attached to the plant by a cord. Human hands were not to come in contact with the plant. In medieval times it was thought that as the mandrake was pulled from the ground, it uttered a shriek that killed or drove mad those who did not block their ears against it. Before you try to brew some Mandrake tea, keep in mind that it is a powerful narcotic, emetic, sedative, and hallucinogen and its poisons can easily lead to death.

Back to the text, in verse 14 we read, “During the harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. In case you lost track of who is who, Leah is the one who stopped having babies. Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’ But she said to her, ‘Wasn’t it enough at you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” Can you sense the tension between these women?  “Very well,” Rachel said, he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” People seem to be very casual about passing their maids and spouses around to other people. Rachel, in a sense, prostitutes Jacob by offering him to Leah for the desired fruit. They are bartering for relational and sexual intimacy. Do you think Jacob looked forward to going home each evening? I wonder if he found all kinds of excuses not to go home to all of this drama and tension.

Jacob comes home and is told that he is to sleep with Leah that night. God listened to Leah (her prayer) and she got pregnant . . . again. That son was named Issachar. But wait, she wasn’t done yet, she conceived and gave birth to Jacob, a sixth son. Then another, named Zebulun and finally a daughter, Dinah. Ironically, in this case What does this tell us about the Mandrakes? The superstitious beliefs are worthless. The competition between Leah and Rachel continues as Rachel gives birth to Joseph. At Joseph’s birth she said, “May the Lord add to me another son.” Be careful what you wish for, Rachel. It is with the birth of her next son, Benjamin, that Rachel dies. Rachel is the one who said she would die if she didn’t have a baby, yet she died giving birth to the baby Benjamin.

With conflicts and drama at home, how are things going at work for Jacob? Let’s look in as Jacob says to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.” Jacob had been working for Laban for about fourteen years.

Well, Laban didn’t want to see Jacob go. He recognized the fact that the blessings of Jacob by God overflowed into his life and he wanted to continue riding the gravy train. He says to Jacob, in verse 27 “I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” Divination is relying on supposed supernatural powers which excludes God to foretell the future. Though it is expressly forbidden later, in Deut. 18:10, it hadn’t been announced at this time. This is an example of a description of what was practiced, not an endorsement or prescription for us to do the same. As for the reason why Jacob was blessed, this goes back to the promise God made to him at Bethel in Gen 28:14. Laban recognized that the blessings of Jacob spilled over onto him and he wanted it to continue. Laban tells Jacob in verse 28, “name your wages, and I will pay them.” How many of us are such valuable employees that our employer would make us such an offer? Paul tells us that we should view ourselves as “working for the Lord, not men” in Col. 3:23.

Jacob had worked long and hard for Laban. He could have been bitter and done the bare minimum, but he did have a strong work ethic. Jacob takes Laban up on his offer and for compensation he asked for the sheep with dark markings and goat with white markings on the face of it. This would leave Laban with the pure white sheep and all black goats. Confusing? Yes, it is. I read this several times and basically, it says that just as Abraham rejected the wealth offered to him by the King of Sodom, Jacob refused to take anything from Laban. He just wanted to build his own flocks and take that wealth, which he earns himself, with him.

In verse 37 we see another practice that is neither endorsed nor prescribed to us. Jacob engages in a superstitious practice that included the use of fresh cut tree branches with markings placed in front of watering troughs that supposedly led to an increase in the number of speckled animals born to his flock, thus increasing his wealth.

Superstitions are still believed today. For instance, in Africa it is believed that when a pregnant woman looks at an unpleasant or ugly animal, her baby will take on a resemblance of that animal. If you reveal a pregnancy too early your enemies may bewitch you and have a curse placed on you. I wonder if Leah or Rachel believed this and tried to have a curse placed on the other? Another belief is that you shouldn’t accept gifts before the birth of a child because the gift might come with a curse or might invite the anger of the gods or the ancestors, who may curse the pregnant mother and her baby with death, illness or bad luck. Also, they believe that pregnant women shouldn’t attend a funeral or worse, look at the deceased while pregnant since this may pass on the “death spirit” to you or the unborn baby. So, we have mandrakes used by Leah and Rachel, striped branches used by Jacob and divination used by Laban.

The result: verse 43, “In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.” Even though he used this superstition, he knew what was really behind his wealth building. In 31:9 he acknowledges, “So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.” The blessings came from God, not his superstitious practices. Following superstitions might provide you with some comfort, but God can still act to accomplish his will. God can still bless us even if we act manipulatively to get our way, either by lying, or using unproven, forbidden practices.

As we move onto chapter 31, we find that the relationship between Jacob and Laban and his family has really deteriorated. The sons of Laban have come to believe that Jacob had somehow cheated Laban. But it was Laban who was the cheater in this case. He changed Jacob’s wages ten times. Have you ever worked for a Laban? An employer who promised you something but didn’t deliver? Jacob had had enough of dealing with Laban. By now he had acquired great wealth and decided to head back to the Promised Land. Here’s the plan. He got all of his herds together, brought his wives and family out to the field and told them that they were going back “home.” How did the women respond to this? They ask Jacob, in verse 14, “Do we have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Not only has he sold us. . . he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children.” It doesn’t sound like Laban is in very good financial shape to me. Notice that Jacob, in planning to return to his homeland, was doing what God told him to do and had the support of his wives. Did you notice that, guys? Everyone is on board with the plan so off they went.

It was three days before Laban learned that they had left. And the hunt is on . . . Laban puts together a group and goes after Jacob. He’s after his family and the pagan god statuette that Rachel stole from him. This sounds like a B movie western with Jacob, his wives, children and flocks having a three-day head start and Laban and his “army” in pursuit. Can you imagine the sound effects and the dramatic music in the background?

Who is going to come to the rescue of Jacob? No, not the Lone Ranger. God comes to Laban in a dream. In 31:24 God says, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” This prohibition must have been for the day he meets up with Jacob, when his anger is high. He needed some time to cool off before confronting Jacob and his daughters. This is like never mailing an angry letter the day you write it. Better to let the letter sit for a day and then see if you still want to send it.

Now what about this statuette of a pagan god? Why would Rachel steal a portable idol of a pagan god? Just as we have “comfort foods” we also have comfort objects. Our comfort foods are usually high sugar and high carbohydrates, not necessarily the healthiest of foods. So, it is with some objects that bring us comfort. Have you heard of The Scapular? It is a devotional garment that looks like a necklace made of string with 2 postage size images of religious figures on woolen squares. You place one of the woolen squares with the image on your chest, rest the cords on each shoulder and the second square on your back. According to the one I have, for educational purposes only, it is described as: “For lay people, it promises benefits and indulgences for those who wear it faithfully in honor of Our Lady.”

Now if you grew up a devout Catholic family and later left Catholicism, you might still cling to wearing the Scapular or other practices because it brings you comfort in some way. Tanzanian pastors don’t discard all of their pagan practices and beliefs as soon as they become Christians. It takes time to unlearn false belief and to learn true beliefs. I imagine that Rachel believed that, like the Scapular, the idol would bring her some comfort, protection or blessing. 

Laban confronts Jacob and has the nerve to say, “What have you done? You deceived me” (v 26). He’s sounds shocked, shocked that someone would deceive him.  I’m sorry, but I can’t feel very sorry for Laban.

Laban tells him that he would have liked to have a going away celebration with music, tambourines, and harps. Do you believe him? I don’t. I think Laban is lucky that Jacob didn’t strangle him in his sleep. Laban then asks, “Why did you steal my god?” Well, if he worships something that is so helpless that it can be stolen, it really isn’t worth worshipping in the first place. What do you think?

Then Jacob says something stupid. In verse 32 he says that if you find anyone with the idol, “he shall not live.” Notice that he says, “he shall not live.” He is assuming that the thief was a male servant, not his wife Rachel. Laban starts to search the tents, etc. and find nothing. Where was the idol? Rachel, clever woman that she is, was sitting on in on the camel. I hope she had plenty of padding. She could not stand up from the camel, she says, because she was having her period.

Jacob has had it with Laban. In verse 36 he blows his top. He has been with Laban for twenty years by this time. That long? When Rebekah sent him off, it was to have been “for a while until your brother’s fury subsides” (27:44). He goes on to say, in verse 42, “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

Well, this took the wind out of Laban’s sails. Verse 44, he says, “Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.” Would you sign off on another covenant with Laban? Laban prays, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.” And how did they conclude the making of the covenant? With a big meal, of course. Verse 54, They offered a sacrifice. Then they ate together and spent the night there. Do you think Jacob felt secure that night? I wonder if he posted a guard that night. Early the next morning Laban kissed his family and blessed them. Then he left and returned home. What could have been a nasty, even violent confrontation between Laban and Jacob ended pleasantly thanks to the intervention of God.

Do these events in the life of Jacob remind you of the Israelites in Egypt? Both groups were blessed in a foreign land, which bred resentments on the part of the locals. Both Jacob and the Israelites left the land with great wealth. On his return trip, Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and the Israelites crossed the Reed or Red Sea. Both Laban and the Pharaoh pursued them, and both were protected in their journey by God.

There’s a lot of deception in these stories. Jacob and Rebekah lie to get Isaac to bless Jacob. Rebekah tricked Isaac as to why Jacob had to leave for Paddan Aram so that Isaac would bless his journey. Rachel lies to Laban about why she couldn’t get up off the saddle. Isaac and Abraham lied to avoid being killed for their beautiful wives. Yet, these are the people God chose to work with concerning the blessing and covenant. Do you think there were times when God may have thought, “Perhaps I should have chosen someone else?” These people can not be an example for us in all that they did, but they were faithful. Flawed but faithful, like the rest of us. They were like some of our elected officials. Flawed, but elected for what we think they can do for our country despite their personal flaws. Some of our greatest presidents were not the best husbands or fathers. Besides, the Patriarchs were mere toddlers with regards to the level of knowledge and understanding compared to what we know and understand. So maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh in our assessment of their private lives.

Have you ever heard of a movie called The Straight Story? Alvin Straight was 73 years old, living in Iowa when he heard that his brother Lyle, who lived in Wisconsin had a stroke. They had been estranged from each other for years. Alvin wanted to visit his brother before he died. He had bad eyesight so he couldn’t drive, so he decided to ride the 240 miles on his thirty-year old John Deere 110 lawn tractor to reconcile with his brother before he dies. When he arrived at his brother’s house and saw him again, it was as if they had never quarreled.

Why did I tell you about this? Well, you will see in our next lesson, chapter 32. Let’s call it, The Patriarchs, the Reconciliation of Jacob and Esau.