The birth of Jacob’s children


These chapters tell us about Jacob’s marriages, Genesis 29, the birth of Jacob’s children, Genesis 30 and Jacob’s return to his father’s home, Genesis 31. In each of these areas he faced unusual problems!

He was cheated when it came to his marriage, for he thought he was being married to Rachel, while Leah was given to him as his first wife! Further, there was competition between his wives concerning the birth of their children, and even four of his children were born through two of his wives’ maids, Zilpah and Bilhah, at his wives’ behest! On the work front, Laban, his father in law and employer, was a hard task master who made him work like a slave for twenty long years, in order to earn his two daughters in marriage and his flock too, Genesis 31:38-41!

This was very different from the way his father Issac got a wife for himself, had his children or earned his living! The only saving grace was that God’s hand of mercy, faithfulness and provision was upon Jacob on account of His promise to Jacob’s ancestors, and Jacob too willingly bore the brunt that he faced on account of his mother’s devious ways of forcing him to obtain the birthright by trickery! This teaches us that our sin will eventually find us out, Numbers 32:23, and we will invariably have to reap what we have sown, Galatians 6:7.

How different an attitude we would have to sin and disobedience if we really believed these Scriptures! Would we then have subjected ourselves to any sin, even if it would be our near and dear ones who coaxed us into committing the same? Even God who sought to bless Jacob on account of the covenant with his forefathers could not stop the inevitable from taking place in Jacob’s life, till the time of his ‘reaping’ the consequences of his sin was completed!

Like someone put it very well by saying, ‘If we try to run away from our ‘Esau’ without appropriately settling matters with him, in all righteousness, for the wrong done by us, we will inevitably run into a ‘Laban”! Even before meeting with his brother, on his way back home, he had to acknowledge his sin before God, and subsequently humbled himself before his brother too, so as to be acquitted of the same, Genesis. 32.

Therefore, if we too find ourselves suffering abnormally on account of any injustices that we have done to others, let us be quick to humble our pride and settle issues with them at the earliest, so that God’s blessings, favour and grace may return on our lives, and we can go on to becoming a blessing to many others too, just as God has intended it to be!

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India