Written by Efe Abbe
The Word
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
Genesis 30:1-13
Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. You want things, but you don’t get them. So you kill and are jealous of others. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God. Or when you ask, you don’t receive anything, because the reason you ask is wrong. You only want to use it for your own pleasure.
But the kindness God shows is greater. As the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he is kind to the humble.” So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.
James 4:1-3, 6-8 ERV
Reflection
Rachel is the third generation of women in Abraham’s family experiencing barrenness, preceded by Sarah and Rebecca. Rachel, who really desires to have children becomes envious of her sister Leah (who now has four sons) and throws well… a tantrum; Jacob gets angry, responds very unsympathetically, and puts the reason for her barrenness on God. Sigh.
Rachel, like Sarah, then gives her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a concubine to have children through her. This makes Leah respond by giving Jacob her servant Zilpah to have more children, despite already having four sons. Without any objections Jacob goes along with the plan and has four more sons with Bilhah and Zilpah.
While we see God’s promise of multiplication to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob coming true, it is happening in the midst of a lot of strife. A lot of the cultural pressure that anchored a woman’s worth to child-bearing drove Rachel and Leah’s actions and in their conflict they exploited others to get what they wanted, using God’s gift of children to one up each other. Yet, we only have to go back one generation to see an example of what trusting God in this same circumstance looks like. Rebecca was also barren and we know Isaac prayed for her for twenty years(!) to have children (Genesis 25:19-21, 26). Isaac certainly wasn’t perfect but in this regard he and Rebecca didn’t take things into their own hands and God didn’t disappoint them.
Application
Our culture will also have us believe that we must get the things we desire at all cost, however when we let our desires master us, rather than bringing them in trust to our Heavenly Father, we will act in ways contrary to God’s character and our calling in Jesus (James 4:1-3). In those moments, we have wisdom from James, the brother of Jesus:
But the kindness God shows is greater. As the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he is kind to the humble.” So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.
James 4:6-8 ERV
Thank God for His greater kindness to us in Jesus our crucified and risen Savior!
Prayer
Dear Father, thank You for being gracious and kind to me. Please help me to remember that every good and perfect gift comes from You and that You won’t withhold any good thing from those who do what is right. Please, also help me to remember while I wait on You, that You are the ultimate good, amen
City Life Starter 
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