Summer
Sermon Series: Wrestling with Jacob
Genesis
29:31-30:24
This morning we continue our summer
sermon series, “Wrestling with Jacob”.
We are halfway through the Jacob story and it has already been a long
journey. We have witnessed Jacob’s birth
into a family marked by strife. We have
watched him trick and cajole his way into both an inheritance and a
blessing. Last week we witnessed Jacob
get a taste of his own medicine, as his uncle Laban tricked him into marrying
two sisters. This week, the man born
into family conflict, witnesses some pretty severe family conflict of his own.
(Read Genesis 29:31-35)
Those that were here last week
remember that Leah is the unloved, un-lovely of the two sisters in this
marriage. Leah has some sort of vision
defect and Jacob was tricked into marrying her.
The author is clear that she is unloved, and today we find that her
sorry plight is a motivator for God’s grace.
God was behind the scenes in our
reading last week, but this morning God takes center stage. When God sees that Leah is unloved, the Lord
has mercy on her, and blesses her with the gift of children. More specifically, Leah is given the gift of
sons, which are of great value in the culture.
Leah is blessed with four sons,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Leah
views each child not as a blessing in and of itself, but rather as a way to
draw Jacob to her in love. “Surely now
my husband will love me, God has seen that I am hated, now this time my husband
will be joined to me” she says. With
each child Leah hopes in vain to win Jacob’s affection.
(Read Genesis 30:1-13)
Rachel, the beautiful wife married for
love, is heartbroken that she cannot bear a child. We must remind ourselves that bearing a son
is the only value that women possess in this ancient culture. You are nothing if you cannot give your
husband a son.
In her heart break Rachel lashes out
at Jacob. Jacob won’t have it, he knows
he has done his part, and he obviously knows he is capable of producing
children. Jacob suggests that Rachel’s
problem is with God and not with him; after all it is God who has “withheld the
fruit of her womb.”
Rachel looks back to the tradition of
her foremother Sarah and offers her maid to Jacob in replacement. To say she is offered as a wife is a bit of a
stretch, as Bilhah has no say in the matter.
She is no more than property, and her womb is a part of that
property. Her body belongs to Rachel and
so when she conceives and bears children, those children belong to Rachel. Rachel, through Bilhah, now has two sons to
her name, Dan and Naphtali.
Not to be left out, Leah gets back in
on the child bearing action. If Rachel
is going to do it then she can too! She
offers her maid Zilpah to Jacob as a womb and two more sons are born, Gad and
Asher.
This idea of women as womb property is
offensive to our modern sensibilities.
In fact, this section of scripture is the premise for the society in
Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” which is back on the bestseller list and a
new series on Netflix. My book group has
discussed this idea with horror, but the truth is it was a very common practice
in ancient culture. Much as we detest
it, this was the way of the world; women were nothing but property and their
wombs fell under that same category. But
at the same time we can see how such family dynamics can sow seeds of strife
and discontent.
(Read Genesis 30:14-21)
Ah, the mandrake, a wild fruit that
was commonly thought to be an aphrodisiac.
Just when we think things can’t get any more complicated now the sisters
are bargaining for nights with Jacob.
Leah’s son brings in the mandrakes, and Rachel, still hungry for a child
of her own womb, asks after them.
It is interesting that Leah accuses
Rachel of stealing her husband. One
would think it might be the other way around.
Yes of course, Leah was married to him first, but everyone knows that Jacob
didn’t want to marry her. It has always
been Rachel that Jacob loved. Rachel
could argue that Leah stole her
husband.
Leah appears to still be caught up in
her desire for Jacob’s affection. She
offers the mandrakes to Rachel in exchange for an extra night with Jacob. God hears her prayers and once again Leah
starts conceiving children. Two more
sons are born, Issachar and Zebulun. And
lastly Leah pops out a daughter, Dinah.
If you have been following along you will note that each birth is marked
with an exaltation, a praise of God, and a special name. Each birth that is, except the girl. Dinah is worth nothing to the family, and so
she is an afterthought. Leah is given 6
sons “Praise the Lord” and oh yeah, one girl.
(Read Genesis 30:22-24)
Finally Rachel’s day comes. In a family of ten boys and one girl, God
finally hears Rachel’s cry. The author
tells us “God remembered Rachel”. Had
God forgotten Rachel? She conceives and
bears a son from her own womb, Joseph.
And as Rachel praises God for the gift, she asks for another son in the
next breath.
And so, we have one big jealous
family. They certainly aren’t
happy. One husband, two wives, two maids
to serve as wombs, and 12 kids now make up Jacob’s clan. What a mess!
They are an entire generation born in conflict and strife. Even the very names of the sons are meant to
rub it in and gloat. “God loves me, God
chooses me, I am the special wife” the names say. “I have fought with my sister, and I have
won!”
Last week I mentioned that the purpose
of this narrative is to tell the story of the nation of Israel. How do 12 tribes all claim their lineage to
one father and four different mothers?
The author is explaining how that happened in this text that tells the
birth of 11 brothers. (Number twelve
will arrive later on).
The story we have read today is the
birth not only of Jacob’s family, this is the birth of the nation of
Israel. The sons are born in envy,
rivalry, strife, and dispute. The narrative
of their births will reflect the conflict among the tribes later on. The way of the nation is a way of
conflict.
When I read this story though, my
heart is drawn to Leah. What a tragic
character she is. Always fighting with
her sister, always feeling “less than”, always seeking after Jacob’s love which
she never receives. The birth of each
son is only a blessing if it will finally make Jacob love her, and he never
does.
How often do we look for our own value
in the eyes of others? Like Leah, we
don’t see our intrinsic value to God; we only see the ways we want to be valued
by other people. God sees Leah, God
values Leah, God loves Leah, and so God favors Leah by opening her womb so many
times. Only a truly blessed woman could survive
the birth of 7 children in that time.
But Leah cannot see God’s love. She only sees Jacob and he could care
less. Just like Leah, we struggle to
find our inherent value in God. We are
looking for love in other places: in a partner, at a job, from our
parents. Like Leah, we struggle to accept
ourselves as being of value simply because we are made by a loving
creator. It is a sad story, for only God
can offer us the perfect love our hearts desire.
Our text for this morning reminds us
that the nation of Israel was born in conflict and strife. It reminds us that the followers of God have
always been a broken and messy people.
When we look at the paper each morning, or watch the news, and marvel at
the brokenness of our modern world we are tempted to say “Things have never
been this bad!” The scriptures remind us
that things have always been this bad.
We have always been broken, and selfish, and God has always met us in
our brokenness.
Today we gather together at the
communion table. This is not a place for
perfect people. This is instead, a place
for broken people. Our Savior Jesus
Christ came among us; experienced our messy lives, witnessed to our brokenness,
and lived that brokenness in his body on the cross. When we gather at the table, we admit our
failings, we admit that we are broken, and we are united together in our brokenness. It is in coming together as community of
broken and hurting people that we are healed.
It is in coming together that we finally know we are loved.
The story of Jacob is a story of
people fighting, being jealous, and being selfish. It is a story of family. It is a story of the nation of Israel, and it
is a story of God’s broken people. Come
back next week as the conflict continues in this one big jealous family . . .
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