Genesis 30 | Jacob & Laban

Explore the intense rivalry between Rachel and Leah as they compete for Jacob's love and the blessing of children. Witness Rachel's desperation leading to her offering her servant Bilhah as a surrogate, resulting in the births of Dan and Naphtali. Learn about Leah's response, offering her servant Zilpah, leading to the births of Gad and Asher. Discover the cultural significance of mandrakes, Rachel's struggle with jealousy, and Jacob's complex relationships. Perfect for those seeking a deeper understanding of Scripture, this episode provides rich historical context and spiritual lessons from the Bible.

Intro music - Toby Mac
Outro music - Jeremy Camp

Transcript

·        Well thank you for checking out this verse-by-verse Bible study podcast, my name is Randy Duncan, and in this episode, we will be covering Genesis chapter 30.

·       
As a reminder, in the
last episode, we discussed Jacob being manipulated by Laban, so that he has ended
up working for Laban for 14 years now and marrying both Leah and Rachel. And we
talked about the various dynamics in play throughout that whole situation. 

·       
But we come now to the
point where Jacob approaches Laban and says it is time for him to return to his
homeland. And so, with that, we begin chapter 30

·       
30
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied
her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 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?” 3 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.” 4 So she gave him her
servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And
Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6
Then Rachel said, “God has
vindicated me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore, she
called his name Dan. 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore
Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have
wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So, she called his name Naphtali.

·       
So,
Rachel has not been able to have children. And she says to Jacob, “Give me
children or I shall die”. This is simply hyperbole to express her extreme grief.
In Rachel’s mind, life would not be worth living without children. In this
ancient culture, there was a certain shame that society attached to
childlessness. In fact, even the 1902 Jewish Encyclopedia noted that “to be
without child is regarded as the greatest curse”. And so, she says to Jacob,
“Give me children, or I shall die’! Ironically, and here is a spoiler alert,
Rachel will die in childbirth in chapter 35!

·       
And
so how does Jacob respond to Rachel? Probably could have chosen his words more
carefully, and seemingly with more compassion. Jacob responds by asking Rachel,
“Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
Piece of advice for you men out there…I wouldn’t recommend responding like
that! Although Jacob is technically correct, this sort of short, rhetorical
response seems to come across as a bit insensitive. 

·       
And so,
what does Rachel end up doing? Just like Sarah did, she resorts to offering
Bilhah as a concubine to her husband. We have already discussed this device of
concubinage in an earlier episode, so I won’t go over that again. But Jacob
apparently goes along with the plan, sleeps with Bilhah, and she gives birth to
a son. Although she is not the birth mother, Rachel will be the one that would
actually raise the child, sort of like an adoptive parent today. And she says
“God has vindicated me, and heard my voice and given me a son”, so she names
him Dan, which comes from a root word, Din, that means to judge or vindicate. 

·       
Same
thing happens again. And Bilhah conceives and bears Jacob a second son, Naphtali

·       
The
text tells us that “Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled
with my sister and have prevailed.” So, she called his name Naphtali. SO, first
of all, here we see recorded the birth of Jacob’s son, Naphtali. But notice
something else. Rachel was so upset at not having children that she said her
life was not worth living. But she was now already raising and loving and
nurturing Dan. But apparently that was not enough. Because she says after this
son was born that she has “wrestled with her sister and prevailed”, which is
why she names the child Naphtali, which comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to
contest”. 

·       
And so,
we see Rachel’s true attitude exposed here. It wasn’t enough to have a child to
love and to raise. She was in competition with her older sister. It is actually
sad that people can have an attitude like this. To harbor this sort of
jealousy, and to try to outdo one another. But it also reveals human
nature.  

·       
9-13
– 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing
children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then
Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good
fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. 12 Leah's
servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said,
“Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So, she called his name Asher

·       
Well
Leah has stopped having children herself, so not to be outdone by her sister,
she too now gets in on the concubine act, and offers Jacob her servant Zilpah
as a wife. Zilpah ends up giving birth to Gad and Asher. By the time this is
over, four of Jacob’s twelve sons will be born through concubines.

·       
14-18
– 14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found
mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to
Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” 15 But
she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?
Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie
with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” 16 When
Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said,
“You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So, he
lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and
bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I
gave my servant to my husband.” So, she called his name Issachar

·       
So
here we have this strange episode where Leah’s son Reuben was out in a field
and found some mandrakes and brings them to Leah. Rachel then approaches Leah
and asks for the mandrakes. But Leah responds by saying “you have taken away my
husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Ooh, shots fired!!

·       
But,
did you catch the self-righteous irony there? Leah accuses Rachel of stealing
her husband, when in fact, it was actually Leah who did that to Rachel. So, the
exact opposite is true! And you think that this only started within our recent
political & social environment! Everybody blaming someone else, everybody
playing the victim. No, unfortunately, this has been the case from the very
beginning with people, going all the way back to the Garden, with Adam blaming
Eve, Eve blaming Satan. Never, never underestimate people’s ability to
rationalize! 

·       
Now,
a word about mandrakes. In the ancient world, mandrakes were used as an
aphrodisiac. There was a belief that the mandrake plant had the power to
increase sexual desire and induce pregnancy. In fact, Aphrodite, the Greek
goddess of love and beauty and sex was called “The Lady of the Mandrake”

·       
So,
what is happening here is that these two sisters, who are in this sort of
rivalry, reach an agreement that meets both their needs. Leah has children, but
not the love of her husband. Rachel has the love of her husband, but no
children. Leah desires love and recognition from Jacob, Rachel desires
children. And so, they reach this deal, where Leah will give the mandrakes to
Rachel in exchange for Rachel allowing Jacob to sleep with her that night. 

·       
So
that evening when Jacob comes in from the field, Leah meets him, and tells him
what’s up. She tells him “You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with
my son’s mandrakes”. Understand, Leah was so desperate for love, that she
resorts to hiring her own husband to sleep with her for the night! It is
honestly both sad and pathetic. But Jacob, once again it seems, does as he is
told

·       
And
as we will see, Leah gives birth to two more sons and a daughter without the
mandrakes, while Rachel, with the mandrakes, will go three more years with no
children. So much for the power of the mandrake! And so much for folklore and
superstition! 

·       
As a
result of that night, Leah ends up pregnant and giving birth to another son, Issachar.

·       
19
And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then
Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor
me, because I have borne him six sons.” So, she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward
she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. 22 Then
God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She
conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And
she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

·       
So,
Leah gives birth to another son, and names him Zebulun. Notice what Leah says
here too. She says that “since I have borne Jacob six sons, now he will honor
me”. That word “honor” in Hebrew means to raise, to exalt, and so once again
reflects Leah’s yearning for her husband's attention. But remember, Leah has
had to hire her husband Jacob to achieve what she hopes will bring her what she
desires, which is his love and affection. You would think by now that Leah
would have already realized that no number of children would cause Jacob to
fall in love with her. Love doesn’t work that way! Love can’t be manipulated or
coerced like that. It must be freely given. 

·       
Leah
then gives birth to a daughter, Dinah. Or as it’s pronounced in the Hebrew,
(Dee-nah’). This is the only named daughter of Jacob, and perhaps she is named
here because she will appear again in the terrible events that occur in chapter
34.

·       
In
verse 22 we see a sudden transition from Leah to Rachel, when it tells us that
God remembered Rachel, and listened to her, and opened her womb. Now when the
Bible says that “God remembered”, it doesn’t mean that God had previously
forgotten. God doesn’t forget like we do. It simply means that God decided to
act. Rachel finally gives birth to a son, and names him Joseph, which of
course, will go on to become one of the most recognized and revered people in
all of scripture. And he will be the focus of several upcoming chapters in the
book of Genesis

·       
This
then completes the birth narrative, and so the focus now shifts back to Jacob
and Laban

·       
25
As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban,
“Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give
me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you
know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to
him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that
the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and
I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have
served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For
you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has
blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own
household also?”

·       
So,
after the birth of Joseph, Jacob approaches Laban and says, “let me return to
my home”. Jacob has now fulfilled all of his obligations to Laban. Now that God
has blessed him and Rachel with the birth of Joseph, it is now time to prepare
for his journey back home. And so, he formally asks leave of Laban to take his
wives and children, and return to his homeland. Remember, it has now been 20
years since Jacob left his home, fleeing his brother Esau and finding a wife.
Remember what Jacob’s mother told him, “Flee to Laban’s house for a number of
days, until your brother Esau’s anger subsides”. Well, those few days have now
turned into 20 years!!

·       
Notice
the verbiage that Jacob uses when talking to Laban here. Jacob tells Laban that
“I have served you”. In the Hebrew, that word for serve is actually repeated
three times in this one verse. So, Jacob is characterizing his time with Laban
as one of servitude. 

·       
And
how does Laban respond? Well, Laban being Laban, he of course wants Jacob to
stay. I think there is something important here to notice. Just as the
Egyptians tried to keep Israel enslaved, Laban tries to prevent Jacob’s return
to his homeland. Do you see the foreshadowing here? And just as Israel will
leave the oppression and servitude of Egypt and return home, so will Jacob
leave Laban and return to his home. Both Israel and Jacob began their servitude
with nothing, they will both leave the land with riches.

·       
So,
Laban tells Jacob that he has been blessed by God on account of Jacob. He says
he learned this through divination. Now divination was forbidden in Israel,
because it presumes that spiritual forces other than God control the world.
Some commentators interpret this as Laban simply saying that ‘I have learned by
experience” that God has blessed me on your account. But either way, Laban
acknowledges that God has blessed him on account of Jacob and so he is not
about to let him just leave that easily.

·       
And
even though Laban admits to God’s blessings upon him through Jacob, his
confession does not lead to a change in his heart. There is no conversion. He
continues to try and cheat and manipulate Jacob for his own gain. 

·       
There
is a lesson here. Intellectual knowledge, intellectual ascent, does not
necessarily result in a change of heart. Knowing something to be true doesn’t
always result in a change of lifestyle. Knowing that God exists doesn’t always
drive people to lead a better or more moral life. Satan “knows” the truth, in
fact, much better than you or I do, but what good is that doing him? Just
knowing something in and of itself is useless. It's what you do with that
information that matters. 

·       
Learning
and hearing about Jesus, and realizing you cannot escape the truth claims of
Christianity does not result in people converting, and placing their trust and
faith in Jesus! I wish it was that simple. But you know it’s not. In fact,
Romans 1:21 tells us “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God
or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their
foolish hearts were darkened.” 

·       
So,
Laban straight out tells Jacob, name your wages and I will pay it! In other
words, name your price! How much will it take? However much it is, I will pay
it! You see, Laban is always focused on the material things. He is focused on
the money. There’s always an angle with Laban, and it’s always about the money. 

·       
Jacob
responds by reiterating how much Laban has been blessed on his account, but
also asks “at what point should I provide for my own household?” Good question,
Jacob. And so, the conversation continues.

·       
31-36–
31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You
shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture
your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing
from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted
and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 So
my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with
you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among
the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban
said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban
removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats
that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb
that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And
he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob
pastured the rest of Laban's flock.

·       
And
so again, Laban asks Jacob, “What shall I give you?” Jacob responds by telling
Laban, you shall not pay me anything! But if you do this one thing for me, I
will again pasture your flock. So, Jacob doesn’t want Laban’s money. He offers
to take care of the flocks for Laban, and his only payment would be that he
would keep any of the spotted and speckled sheep or lamb, and every black lamb,
and those would be his wages. 

·       
Jacob
also tells Laban that later on, when Laban comes and checks out the flock that
Jacob has, if any of them are not speckled or striped, then Laban should
consider those as stolen. 

·       
Now,
a couple of things about Jacob’s proposal here. Normally in the Near East,
goats are either black or dark brown, and sheep are white. But Jacob is saying
his wages would be only those abnormally colored sheep and goats. Normally, the
wages for a shepherd would be around 20% of the flock, and rarely, if ever,
would the speckled population of the flock be that high. So, Jacob is offering
Laban quite a deal here because these varieties, these speckled and striped
flock, were very rare. And so, Laban readily agrees to this deal since he
believes he is getting a real bargain. 

·       
But
once again, Laban is going to be Laban. A good bargain isn’t enough for this
greedy man. So, what does Laban do? He goes and removes all of the striped and
speckled from among the flock, gives them to his sons, and sends them away so
there is no chance for Jacob for them to breed with the other flock. In fact,
Laban sends them a three days journey away! So, Jacob is starting with no
abnormally colored flock. Don’t you just love Laban?! Everybody’s favorite
uncle!

·       
One
other observation I would make here. Most of us were taught in high school
about basic genetics and inheritance and Gregor Mendel, who is called the
father of genetics, and then also random variation and Charles Darwin with his
theory of evolution and so forth. Both of these men lived in the 1800s. 

·       
But
notice that thousands of years ago, both Jacob and Laban already knew about
genetics and inheritance and variation. And I’m sure these two men weren’t
special in that regard. It would have been common knowledge for any shepherd,
just as it has been for any farmer, that the characteristics of animals that
are born depend on the characteristics of the animals that are breeding. I
mean, this is shepherding 101! 

·       
Laban
certainly understood it quite well, which is why he goes and removes all of the
abnormally colored flock and sends them away, so they wouldn’t be around to
breed, and so the likelihood of any abnormally colored flock being born would
have been extremely low! And thus, he would owe Jacob very little. Again, you got
to love Laban! Or, as they would say in a lot of Baptist churches in the south,
Bless his heart!

·       
So,
to finish out the verses here in chapter 30, 37-43 read…37 Then
Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white
streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He
set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that
is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred
when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the
flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And
Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped
and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did
not put them with Laban's flock. 41
Whenever the stronger of the
flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes
of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but
for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So, the feebler would
be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 43
Thus the man increased greatly
and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

·       
So,
what in the world is this all about? Well, there are various thoughts and
interpretations of what is actually going on here. It tells us that Jacob took
fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and made peeled white
streaks in them. BTW, a plane tree is similar to a sycamore tree. But Jacob
exposes the whites of the sticks. But he places these sticks that he had peeled
in front of the watering troughs where the animals came to drink and also to breed. 

·       
There
is a thought that each of those plants used contained toxic substances used in
the ancient world for medicinal purposes, which could have had an effect on
quickening the estrous cycle in the animals so that they would more readily
breed. 

·       
Another
thought is that it is no more than superstition, similar to the mandrakes that
Rachel thought would help her become pregnant. 

·       
But
we know that Jacob also practices selective breeding techniques here. Again,
thousands of years before scientists were able to explain the actual genetic
mechanisms. Jacob may not have been able to break out a microscope and see the
dominant and recessive genes, but he certainly was experienced with the visual
outcomes, just as any farmer or shepherd would have been. 

·       
But
either way, we know that the result was brought about by God’s sovereignty and
his blessing of Jacob. 

·       
Verse
43 tells us that Jacob increased greatly, and had large flocks, female servants
and male servants, and camels and donkeys. The assumption here is that Jacob
simply bartered and traded his strong sheep and goats to acquire these
additional possessions. This is the climax of this chapter and of this scene.
Jacob grew exceedingly prosperous. The Hebrew word for “grew” here means to
“break out”, and is the same verb used back in chapter 28 for God’s promise at
Bethel, demonstrating that the promise had been fulfilled. 

·       
As a
reminder, it is also important to see that Jacob, who will soon have his name
changed to Israel by God, comes into a foreign land with nothing, works as a
servant, and then leaves the land to return home with great possessions through
God’s blessings. Does that sound familiar at all? It should, because it
foreshadows Israel's servitude in Egypt. 

·       
God’s
transformation of Jacob’s character is now well underway. Jacob has been on the
receiving end of the same sort of deception he was a part of with his father
Isaac. He is being humbled. He will return to the land of Israel, not the land
of Isaac or Jacob. But before he is fit to do so, it will require God to change
his character. 

·       
And
you know that sounds a lot like what Jesus does for us. There’s not a prerequisite,
there are no requirements that your character be perfect before you place your
faith and trust in Jesus. Jesus will meet you where you are. In fact, if you’re
waiting until you are worthy of Jesus to come to Him, you’ll never make it. It
doesn’t work like that. If you’re waiting until your “good enough”, well,
spoiler alert, you're never going to be good enough. That’s the bad news

·       
The
good news is that’s what the Gospel is all about. The good news is that even
though you’re not good enough, and you never will be, that your sin has
separated you from God, Jesus came to bring you back into a right relationship
with God. That’s what the cross is all about. That’s what the Gospel is all
about. And all you have to do is accept the offer by confessing your sin, and
placing your faith and trust in Jesus, and begin following him. And when you do
that the Bible tells us in 

·       
2 Cor
5:17, that “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The
old has passed away; behold, the new has come.