Dan and Naphtali
Genesis 30:1-22 “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.” (Literally bear children on my knees)
So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as his wife, and he slept with her, and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan. (Dan means he has judged or he has vindicated.)
And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali. (Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling.)
Gad and Asher
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. (Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune, or alternately for band of raiders.)
When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, Leah said, “How happy I am, for the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.( Asher means happy.)
Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?”
“Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah
And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob. Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. (Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages or reward.)
Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob. “God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun. (Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor. )
After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
The Birth of Joseph
Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said. She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.” (Joseph means “may he add.”)
In case you’ve gotten confused, at this point, there are eleven sons and one daughter, plus four women who are now in a very tangled relationship. It was bad enough when only Rachel and Leah were competing, but now the two sisters are also competing by having given their husband their serving maids as concubines or secondary wives. No peace in this household! Anybody who has raised little boys knows boys make NOISE, get into fights, run around getting into things, pestering their little sister, and accidentally tearing things up. Jacob may be strutting around, boasting of his masculinity, but back in the tents, it’s chaos.
Rachel and Leah’s uneasy relationship has resulted in a kind of armed truce, as evidenced by the story of Leah hiring Jacob for a night with her son’s mandrakes. What are mandrakes? IBible tells us this: “It has large, wrinkled leaves and small, purple flowers, and the root may be several feet long and weigh several pounds. Mandrakes were believed to be a stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women. Rachel sees the mandrakes as a way for her to bear a child with Jacob!” https://www.i.bible/behind-the-scenes/mandrakes-in-genesis/#:~:text=It%20has%20large%2C%20wrinkled%20leaves,bear%20a%20child%20with%20Jacob!
Poor Leah! Poor Rachel! Poor Bilhah and Zilpah! The two sisters have competed all their lives, and now are involved in the baby-bearing Olympics. These two women have drawn both their serving maids into the competition, willingly or not. Perhaps Bilhah and Zilpah already have young men interested in them and have no desire to be forced to have sex with Jacob, no matter what his position is. Now the serving maids are being treated as baby – bearing machines through which their mistresses may continue their competition. What if either Bilhah or Zilpah fails to become pregnant? Will they be treated as outcasts?
Sometimes, people are fond of the phrase “healthy competition.” Frequently, these same people are not describing a situation in which they are involved, but are commenting on someone else’s situation. When you are the one whose position is threatened, that competition looks anything but healthy! In this story, the women have been drawn into competition due to cultural norms over which they have no control. But sometimes, we put undue pressure on ourselves by struggling to compete unnecessarily. If we have been raised in families in which love was conditional, we feel that we must strive to perform well or people will fail to value us. We might find ourselves feeling rejected when no rejection has been intended. We might also feel that we must continue to show off so that we can gain approval from others. If applause and praise do not come quickly or in sufficient quantities, we are likely to blame others, not realizing that the problem lies within ourselves.
God loves each of us for our unique character, even though He knows our failings better than we do ourselves. A pastor friend used to say that God loves each of us so much that if we had been the only person on earth, Jesus would still have died for our sins. We don’t have to compete with others for God’s love; however, many times church members serve not out of love for God but in hopes of gaining praise from others.
Today, examine your heart. Do you feel that you are only as good as your last performance and that people will only love you if you keep performing? Ask God to show you how much He loves you, and then look for His answers. God will never fail or disappoint you.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us have been repeatedly wounded and truly believe that You will not love us if we don’t keep performing. Speak to our hearts and help us to know that You love us without setting conditions or boundaries. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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