Jacob's two wives competed in bearing children. This competition put Jacob into the oven, making him like an ant in a hot oven. Four women, Laban's two daughters and their two maids, made life difficult for Jacob. If he had had no preference, he would only have had one wife. Eventually, due to his having a preference, he was given four wives. As we have seen, Rachel, the wife of his choice, was not his real wife; his real wife was Leah, the one he did not like. Because of the rivalry between Rachel and Leah, their two maids, Bilhah and Zilpah, were given to Jacob as wives (30:4, 9). These four women were a team playing against Jacob. As we compare Jacob with Isaac, we see that Isaac was very simple. He had no preference, but accepted whomever and whatever came to him. Thus, the best wife, Rebekah, was given to him. In Isaac's case, there were no complications. But there were many complications in Jacob's case because he had a preference. Nevertheless, Jacob's having his own preference was also under God's sovereignty. Do not despise yourself, saying, "I just hate myself. Why wasn't I born simple?" Rather, you should praise God for your not being simple, saying, "O Lord, thank You for not creating me as a simple person. Praise You, Lord, that I am so complicated." Have you ever thanked and praised God in this way? Do not say, "Oh I'm sorry for the mistakes I made in the past." Even your mistakes are under God's sovereignty. If many of us had never made any mistakes, we would probably not be in the church life today. Praise the Lord that our mistakes have brought us into the church life. Praise God for His sovereignty!
I laugh whenever I read of Laban's beguiling Jacob. In all of human history, there probably has not been another time when a father-in-law has played such a trick on his son-in-law. Only in the Bible do we read of such a thing. During the night, Jacob was dreaming of having his choice, but when the day dawned, he saw that he had been given the one he did not like. Here we see God's sovereignty. Then, in addition to Leah and Rachel, two other wives were given to Jacob. Jacob surely did not intend to have four wives. As all the married brothers can testify, one wife is enough. But Jacob no longer had a choice. Four wives were given to him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was surrounded by them and was no longer free to do what he wanted.
One day, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, found some mandrakes in the field and gave them to his mother Leah (30:14). According to Song of Songs 7:13, mandrakes are a type of love fruit. When Rachel wanted the mandrakes, Leah said, "Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? And wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also?" (30:15). To this Rachel said that Leah might have Jacob that night in exchange for Reuben's mandrakes. When Jacob came from the field that evening, Leah met him and said, "Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes" (30:16). Jacob had lost his freedom. He was like a volleyball being passed from one person to another. Jacob was in such a predicament because his wives were competing with each other in childbearing.
As we read Jacob's story, we must worship God for His being so sovereign, fair, and purposeful. Jacob loved Rachel, not Leah. But the hated Leah bore him four sons (29:31-35), and the loved Rachel was barren (30:1-2). Genesis 29:31 says, "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren." Although Leah was hated, she found favor in God's eyes. When Leah gave birth to her firstborn, Reuben, whose name means "See a son," she said, "Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction" (29:32). Leah's second son was named Simeon, whose name means "Hearing." After giving birth to Simeon, she said, "Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also" (29:33). Leah's third son was named Levi, whose name means "Joined." When Levi was born, Leah exclaimed, "Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons" (29:34). In 29:35 we are told that Leah "conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, "Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing." The name Judah means "Praise." After bearing these four sons, Leah could do nothing except praise the Lord.
When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she envied her sister and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die" (30:1). When Jacob heard this, he was angry and said, "Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?" (30:2). Do you think that Jacob had much enjoyment in this situation? No, he was constantly troubled. Rachel then gave Jacob Bilhah her handmaid as his wife (30:3-4). God was sovereign in this matter also. Bilhah gave birth to two sons: Dan, whose name means "Judging," and Naphtali, whose name means "My wrestling" (30:5-8). At the birth of Dan, Rachel declared, "God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son" (30:6). Whether God had vindicated Rachel or not is known only to Him. But according to Rachel's understanding, God had vindicated her. When Bilhah gave birth to Naphtali, Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed" (30:8, Heb.). In Hebrew, the word mighty in this verse (great in KJV) is the word for God. Hence, this phrase may be rendered as "wrestlings of God." This does not mean that Rachel fought with Leah; it means that she went to God many times, saying, "O God, You must judge and vindicate. You have given four sons to my sister Leah, but You have not given any to me." She wrestled in this manner with the "wrestlings of God." In other words, she had wrestled in the presence of God, and, after the birth of Naphtali, she thought that she had prevailed and won the case. However, Dan and Naphtali were not brought forth by her, but by her maid.
When Leah saw that Rachel's maid had given birth to two sons, she seemed to say, "If Rachel can give her maid to Jacob, then why can't I do the same? Let me do it, too!" Leah then gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife and she bore him two sons—Gad and Asher (30:9-13). Gad means "Fortunate," and Asher means "Happy." When Gad was born, Leah said, "Fortunate!" (30:11, Heb.), and when Asher was born, she said, "Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed" (30:13). In a good sense, Leah was fortunate because she had borne Jacob four sons herself and two more through her maid. She thought that she was happy and that all women would bless her. In Hebrew, the words happy and blessed are of the same root. Thus, a happy person is a blessed person and a blessed person is a happy person. This was Leah's concept. God gave Leah two more sons: Issachar and Zebulun (30:17-20). The name Issachar means "Hire." When he was born, Leah said, "God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband" (30:18). Deep within, Leah must have thought that Issachar was born because she had hired Jacob by giving Reuben's mandrakes to Rachel. This is a further indication of the competition between these women. When Zebulun was born, Leah said, "God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons" (30:20). Leah seemed to be saying, "I don't want Jacob to leave me. I want him to stay with me." In this record we clearly see the competition between Jacob's wives.
At this point, Rachel still had not borne any children of her own. Let us consider the chronology. Jacob went to Laban's home approximately in the year 1760 B.C. and he was married in approximately 1753 B.C. Eight years later, Joseph was born. Under God's sovereign hand, Rachel was barren, not bearing any children until eight years had passed. Then God gave her a son whom she called Joseph, saying, "The Lord shall add to me another son" (30:24). The meaning of the name Joseph—"Adding"—indicates that Rachel wanted God to add another son to her. Her desire was fulfilled six years later with the birth of Benjamin (35:16-20). Delivering Benjamin was a very difficult ordeal for her, costing Rachel her life. Giving birth to Benjamin as she was dying, Rachel "called his name Benoni: but his father called his name Benjamin" (35:18). Benoni means "Son of my sorrow." How meaningful it is that Jacob changed the child's name to Benjamin, which means "The son of the right hand." In the Bible, Benjamin is a type of Christ. Firstly, Christ was Benoni, the Son of sorrow (Isa. 53:3), but eventually He became Benjamin, the Son at the right hand of God (Matt. 26:64).
Rachel gave birth to two sons, but in delivering the second she lost her life. This means that Jacob gained his last son at the cost of his beloved wife. These experiences were like knives which cut Jacob to pieces. Jacob loved Rachel, but she was barren. After giving birth to Joseph, she expected to have a second son. This desire was fulfilled at the cost of her life. Jacob loved Joseph and Benjamin. Among all his twelve sons, they were his two favorites. Although Jacob gained these two sons, God never allowed him to have Rachel, his dear wife, and these two favorite sons at the same time. In the following chapters we shall see how much Jacob suffered over Joseph and Benjamin. In all this, Jacob was constantly under the working of God's sovereign, transforming hand.
How meaningful it is to read these chapters and how helpful it is to see the life they contain. Although these chapters seem quite long, they contain much nourishment for us. The more we consider Jacob's record, the more we realize that our record is exactly the same as his. In God's eyes, Jacob's story is the story of us all. We are today's Jacobs under God's hand, for God is now accomplishing His transforming work in us. Thank Him for His hand and thank Him for His transforming work. Regardless of our situation, environment, and circumstances, we are always under His transforming hand.