Genesis 30:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 30:1-13. Let’s go!
Genesis 30:1-2 (NIV)
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?”
On verses 1-2: Jealous of the fact that her sister Leah had already borne four sons, Rachel idolizes the idea of having children, to the point of saying to her husband Jacob “Give me children or I’ll die!” (v1). Jacob rebukes Rachel for expecting him to be God in her life, since he is not God and can’t control whether they have children or not (v2).
What can we learn from this? One clue that we have started to put something or someone else in the place of God is when we say things like “I can’t live without ___”. That’s when we begin to look to something or someone else to satisfy us in ways that only God can. Rather than placing your hope in people or circumstances, which can change, put your hope in God, who does not change.
Genesis 30:3-13 (NIV)
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.
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.
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!” So she named him Gad.
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.
On verses 3-13: Each of Rachel and Leah gives her personal maidservant to Jacob so that, according to cultural customs of the time, they could have children through their maidservants. Now the race to see who can have more babies escalates. Because of envy, the joy and high calling of being a parent are reduced to a competition between two sisters to see who is superior.
What can we learn from this? Envy has this way of stealing the joy, and distracting us from the purpose, of the blessings God gives to us. Rather than appreciating what we have, we find ourselves in a rat race where it’s all about keeping up with, or beating, our supposed “competitor”. In so doing we miss the point of our lives and become miserable. God didn’t make us to live in envy. He made us to live lives of joy, prayer and thankfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
For practical tips to help you overcome envy, check out Episode 1 of our Take Me Hiya message series.
Lord, I declare today that my hope is not in my circumstances, my smarts or my own plans, but my hope is in You. May I worship You and not something or someone else, for only You can truly satisfy the longings in my heart. Also, may I not live in envy, but with a grateful heart, knowing that in You I am tremendously blessed and have everything I need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
