| Subject: Genesis 29 vss. 31-35 Post 152 |
Author:
Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 15:59:11 07/03/11 Sun
Genesis 29:31-35 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. 33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. 35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
God has a way of teaching lessons that leave a person humbled and thoroughly chastised. Leah, may or may not have had a hand in the deception that was perpetrated on Jacob but it is evident that she was greatly humiliated by her sister and Jacob. God saw it and did not like it.
We can think back to another which found herself in an unenviable position also. Hagar the Egyptian was placed in a situation that was not of her choosing and because of it she found herself being hated and despised by the very woman who had placed her in her husband's arms. Sarah could not bear children and gave Hagar, her handmaid to her husband Abraham to raise children for him. Because of the unwarranted hatred (although there is evidence that Hagar may have taunted Sarah with either action or words: Genesis 16) God looked down on Hagar with pity and blessed her greatly.
In similar fashion God blesses Leah and opened her womb and made her fruitful with sons while Rachel remained childless. It may be hard for us to understand today in our culture the emphasis on male children in the eastern cultures but their greatest honor for the wives is to be able to give their husbands male heirs. God gives Leah sons in good number and Rachel can only look on with envy and jealously. Leah can produce fruit and Rachel can only wish and long for children.
Leah's firstborn is Reuben. His name means "behold a son". There is joy in Leah's tent at the birth of this one who was the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah mistakenly believes this will cause Jacob to love her more than her sister. Reuben although the firstborn will not receive the birthright that normally would go to the first born son. Reube, as all before him, messes up.
Next comes Simeon whose name means "hearkened or heard". After Simeon comes Levi whose name means "joined to". Lastly to Leah is born Judah. Judah means praise and it is through Judah that "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" will eventually come and He is worthy of all our praise.
Four children in probably 4 years and Leah still is not loved as much as her barren sister Rachel. It is interesting to me that she says "Now will I praise the LORD" after the birth of this fourth son. Seems to me she would have been wiser to have been praising God all along.
After Judah is born Leah stops bearing children for a while although she will eventually give Jacob 7 sons and 1 daughter. Interesting, to say the least, is to see how God has directly intervened in the family of Jacob. While all is a direct result of the promise to Abraham much of the details of how and when are a result of how members of the family are treating members of the family. Another thing is that when Rachel does finally conceive because God opens her womb a great patriarch of the Hebrew family tree is born When he arrives he will display in his life over a hundred details that will mirror or foreshadow events in the life of Jesus.
We can think back to how Sarah was denied children until she was 90 years old and unto her then was born Isaac who was a great type of Jesus Christ, especially in the events of his almost being offered as a sacrifice by his father.
Eve is another that did not conceive until God allowed it. Children were not born to her until after the fall in the Garden of Eden. It is my belief that God would not allow children until after her temptation to the serpent. Had she conceived, or given birth, before the fall the children would have been sinless. They would not have been tainted with the original sin of Adam and Eve.
Hannah's womb was shut up until God opened it and she bare the great prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1)
Lastly we come to the New Testament and we find two more miraculous births in which the Lord opened wombs for the birth of sons. Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, was "well stricken in years" (Luke 1:7) and was barren. The Lord opened her womb and she conceived and to her was born John the Baptist. Her cousin was barren but she was a virgin and was supposed to be childless. The Holy Ghost came on her and she conceived and to her was born Jesus the Christ. The only begotten son of God.
When looking a the Bible we can see that God very much has a hand in the birth of "special" children. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15). Samson was Nazarite unto God from his mother's womb.
From all this we can see that God, for His own purposes, and for election (God choosing) has placed his hand on certain mother's and their offspring all throughout the Bible. God chose Jacob over Esau before they were born and God chose Moses probably before he was born. Don't you know that God's hand was on David's mother before he was born. We probably will never know the number of people that God has raised up to carry out His will over time. Some have been named but I suspect the vast majority were never known but played an important role in God's marvelous, majestic and mighty plans for Israel and the Church.
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