More Wives, More Children
“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?” (Genesis 30:1-2)
Jacob had served his father-in-law Laban for seven years for his beautiful daughter Rachel. Yet on the evening of the wedding night, Laban brought his other daughter Leah to Jacob. Next morning, Jacob was in the marriage bed with Leah. Laban had not told Jacob about the custom of the oldest daughter marrying first. He also agreed to let Jacob marry Rachel for seven more years of service. Jacob still loved Rachel. He agreed. Seven years later, Jacob had two wives.
Leah knew Jacob loved Rachel more than her, which must have been difficult for her. God saw that “…Leah was hated,” and God “…opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.” (Genesis 29:31) As our opening passage says, tension arose between Jacob and Rachel.
Then Rachel suggested Jacob should take her maid Bilhah to wife. Bilhah would be a sort of surrogate mother and give Rachel a child. This was not a good idea, by the way. In Genesis 16, Sarai (later known as Sarah) had told Abram (later known as Abraham) to do the same with her handmaid, Hagar. He did, and a great deal of strife resulted in their family.
Bilhah bore Jacob one son, then another. Leah then gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob to wife. Zilpah also bore Jacob two sons. Now Jacob had two wives and eight sons with three different women. Leah would later bear Jacob three more children. Multiple marriages were apparently legal at the time, but they were not and are not God’s plan for marriage.
God’s plan for marriage is one woman-one man: “Therefore shall a man (one) leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife (one): and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) Jesus also said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;” (Mark 10:6-7)
Yet amid all the problems in Jacob’s family, God was still at work! “And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.” (Genesis 30:22) God saw the grief Rachel was going through. She prayed for a child, and God answered!
Families can have problems. Yet God can help with family problems. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14) Pray for God’s help with family problems. Most importantly, the Bible tells us how to have our sins forgiven and a home in heaven. If you want to see more, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links”, then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 8/24/2022
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822