Genesis 29: 31-35, Genesis 30:1-12

Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Jacob's Children
31 When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, [a] for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. [b]
34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. [c]
35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah. [d] Then she stopped having children.
Footnotes:
Genesis 29:32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery ; the name means see, a son .
Genesis 29:33 Simeon probably means one who hears .
Genesis 29:34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached .
Genesis 29:35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise .
Genesis 30
1 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!"
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"
3 Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family."
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan. [a]
7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. [b]
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" [c] So she named him Gad. [d]
12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. [e]
Footnotes:
Genesis 30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated .
Genesis 30:8 Naphtali means my struggle .
Genesis 30:11 Or "A troop is coming!"
Genesis 30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop .
Genesis 30:13 Asher means happy .
Father Jacob, had many sons. This is an interesting and almost bizarre turn of events. Leah was not loved, but could have children. Soon, she was spitting them out, trying to compete with her little sister for Jacob’s love and affection. Rachel had problems conceiving,(what is it about the wives of the patriarchs and trouble conceiving?) And felt jealous of her ugly sister, so she told Jacob to sleep with her maid-servant.
Jacob could have and should have learned from his grandfathers example, and avoided trouble by not doing that. Unfortunately, sometimes men are not the sharpest tool in the shed and we do things we know will cause ill-feeling just to ease a present problem. After Bilhah, Rachel’s servant became pregnant, Leah stopped having kids, so she had Jacob sleep with her servant to continue the kid race. Wow, what a mixed up family! And you think your family is a little dis-functional.
Prayer- Lord- Help us learn from the mistakes of our fathers and grandfathers. Keep us from falling in the same traps that others have fallen into. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Things to do- Read Genesis 30:14-21