God Is Stronger Than Your Sin (Genesis 29:31-30:24)
The Book of Genesis is a book filled with beginnings. The beginning of the world, the beginning of sin, the beginning of God’s work of redemption. And the beginning of the nation of Israel, as is accounted here with Jacob.
One would expect for Israel’s beginning to be splendid. But the truth is that it’s a wreck. There are probably more peaceful family stories to be found in episodes of The Jerry Springer Show’s archives.
Why such a beginning?
It seems obvious enough when we sit down and think about it. It is because God is powerful and gracious, and it is Him that is to be praised for the glorious work among His people. It is because God is more powerful than our sinfulness. It is because salvation is of the Lord.
Christians are not trophies to how good they are. Christians are trophies to how gracious God is. And when we see Jacob and his family acting so woeful over this period of seven years, we understand that God is gracious, and sin will not thwart His purposes.
I would like to begin by stating that, though bigamy and polygamy are not directly spoken against in the Old Testament, there was enough light from the past for the patriarchs and everyone else to know better than to enter into these relationships. God made marriage when H brought Adam and Eve together. That moment in time was definitional. Marriage is one man and one woman coming together for life, and that is plain within the account. On top of that, bigamy and polygamy were disastrous when tried. The first time we see it is the murderous child from the lineage of Cain, Lamech (Genesis 4:19). Don’t forget the account of Sarah and Hagar that resulted in a wild lineage that would war with his neighbors (Genesis 16:12). Simply put, Jacob knew the family’s history and knew the story of the creation of marriage.
There is a very real sense in which bigamy was thrust upon these three by the treachery of Laban (Genesis 29:21-25). It seems to me that Jacob should have given Leah back and demanded Rachel as had been agreed upon. And, as we will see, this would have been more loving to Leah. So this begins our discussion of this family, the creation of the 12 tribes of Israel, on rather sinful and precarious footing. And to this will be added much more as the sisters compete for attention and children and as Jacob neglects one of his wives.
Even so, God was building His people. From here the 12 tribes of Israel was created. And from this incredibly messed up foundation we will see that God is more powerful than our sinfulness and by His grace, He will build His Church.
Read Genesis 29:30-30:23 and we will discuss these three individuals one at a time, taking special note of their failures and God’s grace as we move along. And as we do so, we will see that God is gracious and stronger than your sin.
Jacob
Genesis 29:30 outlines one of the major problems of this text. That verse casts a large shadow over the entire story and it is about Jacob’s neglect of Leah.
“So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.” (Genesis 29:30 ESV)
Jacob despised Leah. And if we put ourselves in that situation, I think we have a little sympathy for him. But that only lasts for a moment. He probably despised her because of Laban’s trickery. But his treatment of Leah lasted for years as will be seen quite plainly throughout our text today.
Leah seems to have spent much of her time hoping that childbirth would make Jacob love her (Genesis 30:32-35). The names of her children outline this very well for us. She names her children based upon what she is thinking and feeling in the moment. And, honestly, it fills you with sorrow as you read it and think about it. It is tremendous sorrow that is the result of her husband’s neglect of her.
Look at the names. Reuben received his name “because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me” (Genesis 30:32 ESV). Simeon received his name “because the LORD has heard that I am hated, He has given me this son also.” (Genesis 30:33 ESV). And then when Leah gave birth to Levi she explained his name by saying, “now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Genesis 30:34 ESV) These names tell a tremendous story of years of neglect from Jacob.
Not only was Jacob’s neglect part of this story. But we also see that both sisters, in their competition to give birth to children, suggest that Jacob sleep with their servants so they can have children through them. And Jacob just went along with the plan (Genesis 30:3-13). Jacob should have known better. He was already in a bigamous relationship and now he’s repeating an old family sin that his grandparents participated in. And that relationship caused all sorts of problems.
Then there was the ordeal with the mandrakes that gives us a lot of information about the inner workings of this family. The neglect of Leah was long term. And this was so bad that she traded her mandrakes for one night with Jacob (Genesis 30:15).This whole mandrake thing needs some explanation. It was thought that mandrakes were aphrodisiacs that also had the ability to make a person fertile. Both sisters believed the mandrakes to be the answer in the ongoing war with the other sister. And she traded that that for one night with Jacob. But God, not the mandrakes, would giver her a child.
She gave up the mandrakes and became pregnant. It is God who gives life. And everyone should have been going to Him for children the entire time. And again, in the name, we are told much about the relationship. Leah named him Zebulun and the reason was, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me because I have borne him six sons.” (Genesis 30:20 ESV).
Jacob’s neglect of his wife is horrific. No wife should be treated the way that Leah was treated. I understand that he was in a hard situation that he never should have been in, but there is no excuse for this sort of behavior. He was joined to her, and he is not trying in the least.
We have already discussed the role a husband is to play in marriage. Men are to take responsibility and lead in their homes and are to reflect Christ in the relationship (Ephesians 5:22-23). Self-sacrifice is supposed to be the defining mark of biblical manhood. And Jacob utterly fails in this regard. This left Leah to suffer the consequences of his failure.
The application here is twofold. First, you can do terrible damage to your family through your own neglect. If you are not spending time caring for your family, then you are failing as a man and don’t be surprised when your wife has intense struggles because of it. Yes, you need to work and provide for your family, but you also need to give your family love and attention.
Second, and the theme of this sermon, the sin of God’s people does not thwart God’s plan. Notice that Jacob is again behaving in a pathetic manner, but God will continue to work in his life. God will continue to discipline and mold him into the man he should be. God will not be thwarted.
God is stronger than our sinful and wicked hearts. And that is incredibly evident through Jacob’s family. Through Jacob’s family God brought about the people of Israel and eventually His Son, the Savior of the world.
Through this flawed family, God brought forth His Son. All of mankind rebelled against God, and rather than leave us all in this situation God sent His Son. We earned for ourselves God’s wrath and justice. But God made a way for us to be made right with Him. God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. Through the Virgin Mary, a daughter from the lineage of Israel, Jesus Christ was born. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the grave. And all those who are united to Him by faith are credited with that perfect life, their sins were paid for on the cross, and they are given His resurrection life.
Leah
Leah was unloved and uncared for by Jacob (Genesis 29:30-35). But she was loved by God. And, as we have already seen, the names of her children bare out how she feels and what she was thinking about her life. With the birth of her children she hoped that her husband would finally love her. God responded to Leah’s need with kindness. His response to this lonely woman was to give her children (Genesis 29:31-35).
There came a time when Leah ceased bearing children (Genesis 29:35). And, she became jealous when Rachel started having children through a servant (Genesis 30:3-8). But Leah’s response to all of this was not to turn to God in prayer. Rather, she hatched a sinful plan that was very like the sinful plan that Sarah hatched long ago. She would have children through her own servant (Genesis 30:9-13).
Consider this for a moment. God had already proven to her that He loved and cared for her. But rather than go to the Lord when she ceased having children, she sought out a wicked device of the culture she lived in to do so.
Now, as I have already explained the neglect of Leah is quite plain in the ordeal with the mandrakes. They were thought to be an aphrodisiac and fertility induce, which is quite a weapon in a war that is all about having children. Leah’s son had found them and both women desired them greatly because they would give them what they wanted. But Leah traded away the mandrakes in exchange for one night with her husband (Genesis 30:15). These sisters are now treating their family like their father treated them. Their father used them to get 14 years of work out of Jacob. Now they are trading mandrakes for time with their husband.
But, God revealed something about Himself to Leah. God, not the mandrakes, is the giver of life. It is God who gives the gift of children. Leah credited God with giving her a child, but had a fairly twisted belief about it all rolling around in her head. She credited God with giving her a child, but apparently believed that it was her wages for the sinful decision of giving her servant to Jacob (Genesis 30:18). This strange and twisted bit of reasoning is not discussed, but God does bless her with other children. Zebulun, that has already been discussed and Dinah are mentioned here (Genesis 30:20-21).
It is very likely that other daughters were born, but not mentioned. It is the birth of the 12 Tribes of Israel that is of great concern her. But Dinah will play a large and sad role in an upcoming bit of our story.
Leah was unloved and uncared for and desperately wanted the affection of her husband. But it seems that she would not get it, at least from him. There is nothing wrong with desiring this from a husband. And there is something very wrong about not getting it. God’s response was to reveal to her repeatedly that He loved and cared for her by giving her children.
But jealously is a horrific pilot. And rather than trusting the Lord, Leah turned to methods of the day to have more children in the ongoing struggle with her sister for her husband’s affection. She used her servant to have more children. And then, in a rather odd turn of events, when God gives her another child, born of her, she believes it was her due for using her servant to have children. It is seriously a very odd and sinful line of reasoning on her part.
But God would be with her and use her. Leah gave birth to Judah. The tribe of Judah is the tribe that would give birth to King David and eventually King Jesus.
A lot of folks criticize the Church for her sins. And I understand that to a certain degree. We are the people of God and the differences between us, and the world should be manifold. But we are certainly not perfect. We are justified, not because of anything we have done but by the finished work of Christ.
Martin Luther and others have noted that we are “simul justus et peccator”, which is the Latin phrase that means we are simultaneously righteous and sinners. That is the good news. Those who are united to Christ have their sins forgiven because Christ paid for them on the cross. They are credited with the righteousness of Christ. And it is by His work, not ours that we are counted as righteous.
Notice what Paul said about this in 2 Corinthians.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)
Notice again what Paul said in his letter to the Philippians.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith– that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11 ESV)
We are being perfected. God is growing us in Him. But we have not arrived. Our failures may harm our personal testimony, damage our families, cause us to undergo hardship, and bring upon ourselves the discipline of the Lord, but Christ will grow His Church and He will reign on every inch of this globe.
Also note that it is God that keeps us secure. We can fail mightily in this life. And praise God that it is not you that keeps you in the Lord, it is God. It is God that saves us and God that keeps us. If it were up to you then you would surely mess this up.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 ESV)
You will sin enough today to earn God’s displeasure, but in Christ you have God’s grace and mercy. And nothing will separate you from God’s love. As was discussed last week, God disciplines His people so that they will follow Him. But your failures will not separate you from God.
Rachel
Rachel had all of Jacob’s love and affection (Genesis 29:30). But Leah had what Rachel desired. She desired children (Genesis 30:1).
Rachel envied her sister. She desired a good thing. Children are a gift from the Lord and should be desired. But rather than go to the Lord, she griped at Jacob. Now, Jacob could have been more loving in his response to her. But his response was correct. What was he supposed to do about this? She needed to go to the One who gives children (Genesis 30:2). This was a rather impolite way of telling her to go pray. But instead of doing that she proposed that he sleep with her servant and have children that way, which produced two children.
We do gain an understanding of what Rachel is thinking in the names of her children. But the messages are not as singular as the names given to Leah’s children. Notice Dan. His name means “judged” (Genesis 30:6). And it seems to help us see that she understood, at least to some extent, that the plan she hatched was wrong. But she did count it as a blessing that she now had a child. And the next child, Naphtali tells us a little more (Genesis 30:8). She named him “Naphtali” because “with mighty wrestlings” she felt that she had wrestled her sister and prevailed (Genesis 30:8 ESV). So now we see that she felt she was overcoming her sister. This is interesting because Rachel had not had any children of her own. These were through a surrogate, but she was now celebrating a victory over Leah.
Now let us think about the mandrake incident from Rachel’s perspective. She believed that mandrakes would allow her to have children of her own without the use of a surrogate. And she got them in a trade with Leah which gave Leah one night with Jacob, their husband (Genesis 30:15-17). But the mandrakes didn’t work, because God is the giver of life not mandrakes.
And so, we wrap up Rachel’s portion of this message with the birth of Joseph. God gave Rachel a child. He is the child that would eventually save God’s people from death (Genesis 30:22).
It seems that Rachel prayed and God heard her. Is it that she finally turned to the Lord for aid? That seems to be the case though we are not told for sure. But she does finally understand that God is the giver of life and prayed for another son.
God would answer this prayer (Genesis 35:16-21). Sadly, she would die even as God answered her prayer.
For a long time it seemed that Rachel turned everywhere but to the Lord for help in this fierce competition with her sister. She complained to Jacob, used a servant, and sought the help of mandrakes.
I wish I could say that I do not fall into this trap, but I do.
Eventually she would turn to the Lord. She figured out that it is God that is the giver of life, and He blessed her.
Learn from her failures. Many of us spend a lot of our lives not understanding just how dependent we are upon God. It oftentimes takes years to learn this lesson and that seems to have been the case for Rachel. Let us realize our dependence upon the Lord early in life, and not later.
And again, we see the truth that God used this flawed individual and flawed family situation to build His people.
Conclusion
Throughout this narrative we see the truth that God uses flawed people to build His Church. You and I are far from perfect. And no one, except God, realizes that as much as you do. And let that sink in for a moment.
You may think that your life is too messed up for God to use you. But God is greater than your sin. He is greater than your past. And this is seen time and time again in Scripture. Just in the Book of Genesis we have seen Noah get drunk and lay shamefully uncovered after the flood (Genesis 10:21). We have seen Abraham put his wife in danger twice by lying and saying that she was his sister (Genesis 12:10-20; 20). He also lay with his wife’s servant, Hagar, to attempt to have a child (Genesis 16). Isaac called his wife his sister (Genesis 26:6-11), and was weak and fearful much of his life (Genesis 26:12-22). Also, Jacob was a cheat and a liar, as has been seen in the past few chapters. Oh, and we are only to chapter 30 of the Book of Genesis.
Through this flawed group of people, God brought forth salvation. Through Joseph, God would save Israel from starvation. And through Israel, God would bring forth the salvation of mankind.
And God has not stopped using flawed people. God uses us to spread the message of His salvation to the ends of the Earth. God is at work building His Church and He uses very imperfect people to do so.
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
R. Dwain Minor