May the mumbling commence!
Jealousy between sisters can be quite strong. It was the case between Leah and Rachel. And matters were made worse when the married
the same man. And Rachel, in
desperation, did what her foremother did.
She gave her maid to Jacob to bear sons for her. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
When
Rachel realized that she wasn’t having
any children for
Jacob, she
became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, “Give me sons
or I’ll die!”
Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, “Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?”
Rachel said,
“Here’s my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her. Let her substitute
for me so I can have a child through her
and build a family.” So she gave him
her maid Bilhah
for a wife and Jacob slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and gave
Jacob a son.
Rachel
said, “God took my
side and vindicated me. He listened
to me and
gave me a son.” She named him Dan
(Vindication).
Rachel’s maid
Bilhah became
pregnant again and gave Jacob a second
son. Rachel said, “I’ve been in an all-out
fight with my sister – and I’ve won.” She named him Naphtali (Fight). (Genesis 30:1-8)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
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!"
Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I
in the place of God,
who has kept you from having
children?"
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."
So she gave him
her servant Bilhah
as a wife. Jacob
slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore
him a son. 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.
Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and
bore Jacob a second
son. Then
Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with
my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. (Genesis 30:1-8)
I see no issues between Peterson’s work and the
NIV. So, let’s spend time with the heart
and soul of this passage.
One thing that I find revealing is that the name for God
has changed. In the passage from
yesterday that regarded Leah, the personal name for the Lord is used – the Lord, Yahweh. Today’s passage uses the simple designation of
God.
Why is this?
Well, beauty is more than skin deep.
Even though Rachel is beautiful – lovely in form, she does not act in a
beautiful way. While Leah had solely her
relationship with Jacob in mind, Rachel was pointedly jealous of Leah.
Rachel’s jealousy vented itself on Jacob in anger. And Jacob only returned the anger. Anger and jealousy are the fruits of a
marriage that involves two sisters.
Isn’t that already a messed up marriage enough? But Rachel makes the decision to give her
maid to Jacob as a wife, solely to compete with Leah in having children… sons
specifically. Rachel feels a need for
vindication. Why?!? She already has the love of her husband. “God took her side.” Really?!?
Oh, the bitterness!
Rachel feels she’s in a knock ‘em down drag ‘em out
fight with her sister. And don’t laugh
about a fight between women. The most
brutal fights that I witnessed in my junior and high school years were between
girls. Rachel desperately wants to keep
Jacob’s love for her as opposed to her sister Leah.
Rachel makes the assumption that Jacob cannot
truly love both of them.
Rachel may be beautiful on the outside, but her
attitudes and words and actions were belying the ugliness of her heart. And the Lord sees the attitudes of our
hearts. Maybe that’s why God shut Rachel’s
womb.
I don’t know. I am not comfortable with that theology, but
it seems to be the theology of the passage.
May our beauty start in the attitudes of our hearts.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment