Gen 30:1
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!": This is similar to what Esau did when he sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Esau said he was about to die too. Just like Rachel is about to die. Such manipulation, and deceitful ways of dealing with people to get what we want. Rachel knew Jacob loved her, so she used his feelings against him. It's also the custom of old, where the worth of a woman was weighed in how many boys she gave birth to.
Gen 30:2
And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?": At least Jacob understands that God is in control and that God could open or close wombs if He so chooses.
Gen 30:3
So she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.": But just like Abraham and Sarah did with Hagar, Rachel and Jacob do with Bilhah. Rachel wants Jacob to father a child by Bilhah, and Rachel will raise it as her own. This is dispicable. I know it's because I was born in this time, but I can't wrap my head around slavery.
Gen 30:4
Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.: That Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife doesn't make it any better. This was clearly to go around God. Sex was intended to be between a husband and wife, so here, they abuse marriage.
Gen 30:5
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.: Again, we see God's promises being fulfilled in another strange way. There is nothing natural about this. Jacob and Rachel go against God (which by them being married in the first place was against God because marriage is between one man and one woman) and have their slave marry Jacob so they can take that baby from their slave and raise it as their own. This whole story is crazy, and filled with injustices and gets worse and worse because they only think of themselves. I mean, how much more depraved can you get than having your slave birth children so you can raise them as your own? However, this is the lineage that God chose to come into the world from. God didn't want His entrance to be from some holier than thou line because how could he show grace through that? From these honest records of the true actions of the patriarchs, and God still working to fulfill His promises in spite of them, we can be comforted in that His promises are not based on anything we do. We just have to believe that He is faithful. These examples are here to show us just that.
Gen 30:6
Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.: The name Dan means Judge. I'm not sure how having your husband sleep with another woman, then taking their child from them equates to God judging her case, and giving her a son. This is some sort of self trickery that we see humans are capable of. We have the very strange capacity to believe our own lies. The bible sums it up like this (Jer 17:9): The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? Just so you know, the saying that the ends justify the means, is false. Absolutely false. Evil is evil, even if God uses it for good. We will be held accountable on judgment day, and some of our works will be burned up. Also, the motives of our hearts will be exposed and laid plain and we'll have no way to defend against them. There will be no talking our way out of anything. On judgement day, Rachel and Jacob will have to explain their actions.
Gen 30:7
And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.: The fact that they continued with this behavior after the first son speaks volumes. They didn't have remorse, or realize later that what they were doing was wrong. And I know first hand how the Holy Spirit speaks to you when doing wrong, and how I usually ignore Him, but feel guilt and stop. I'm not saying mistakes can't be made, but they're usually followed with guilt and a change. Not so here.
Gen 30:8
Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.: This is what having two wives results in. Jealousy. There wan't anything wrong with either woman, but they competed for Jacob's love. It's inevitable. People lie to themselves (Jer 17:9) and say that they can share their spouse, but it's not true. The only way for that to be true would be if you didn't have any feelings for your spouse. But then, you'd have to not care about yourself as well. I'm not talking about the slaves either. That's evil in a different area. Anyway, the name Naphtali means, "my wrestling." There's definitely a pattern here.
Gen 30:9
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.: And this story continues to get worse. Now Leah gets in on this action and has her slave marry Jacob as well.
Gen 30:10
And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.: Jacob clearly doesn't see the wrong in what he's doing, and continues with this evil.
Gen 30:11
Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" So she called his name Gad.: This verse is translated a few ways, but the other ways don't make sense to me. For example, the NET translates it, "Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad." The definition in the different dictionaries I have seen disagree on the meaning. They translate Gad, either as a troop, or as fortune. And some seem to equate the two. I don't understand, so I'm not going to weigh in on this. However, it seems like the pattern established is the reaction, then naming the child based on the reaction. Based on this, I can see how both translations make sense.
Gen 30:12
And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.: Still hasn't heard the Holy Spirit. I have no doubt that He was speaking though. God doesn't let us do evil without speaking to us.
Gen 30:13
Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher.: And this name follows the pattern too. Asher means happy. Nobody asked Zilpah, but I doubt she would have named him Asher.
Gen 30:14
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest 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.": We need to keep in mind that the Bible simply records things. The fact that there is a record of this superstition that mandrakes make you fertile, doesn't meant that the Bible is promoting this idea. This is just another way that these two sisters are fighting to earn the love of Jacob.
Gen 30:15
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?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes.": Leah knows that Jacob loves Rachel, and that he doesn't love Leah, so she says that Rachel took Jacob. However, this was on Laban. Laban lied to Jacob, and it seems that he lied to Leah too. From this conversation, it appears that Laban had Leah believing that Jacob wanted her as a wife. That's terrible. Now, Rachel believed the superstition that mandrakes will make you fertile, so she buys them from her son by letting Leah sleep with Jacob. And it appears from this that Jacob wasn't living with Leah, but was living with Rachel. And later in Gen 30:20, we see this confirmed.
Gen 30:16
When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night.: Leah had to go out to meet Jacob and tell him to come with her. She had bought a night with him, so he went with her that night.
Gen 30:17
And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.: The record says that God listened to her probably because of the mention of the mandrakes. We wouldn't want to attribute God's works to things of this world, and God is making it clear here that He did it.
Gen 30:18
Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.: Just because the Bible records people saying things does not make them true. The Bible is not promoting this idea as if this was just. It's recorded here to show human depravity, and how utterly corrupted we are. Can you imagine if God endorsed this behavior of having a slave sleep with your husband, and taking the child to raise as your own? Thankfully, we have a just God that does not endorse these things. The mindset of these people is absolutely backward, and they're not even close to remorseful. In fact, they clearly believe that God is rewarding their evil. The name Issachar means, "reward."
Gen 30:19
Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.: At least this time, it wasn't the slave.
Gen 30:20
And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.: The name Zebulun means, "a habitation." Leah here again thinks that she can earn the love of Jacob. Why the first five wouldn't have done it, she doesn't say. Sadly, there's that point of desperation we reach when something unjust is taking place, where we keep on doing the same things, knowing that there will be no results, but convincing ourselves that there's a possibility. Leah thinks that because she is able to bear lots of children (a good endowment) that Jacob will value her more than Rachel. Sadly, that's just not how love works. You can't earn it. However, I can totally understand why she's behaving like this. Laban really messed her over. We aren't told his motives, but it seems clear that he did what he did to get Jacob to work seven extra years.
Gen 30:21
Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.: And she has another child named Dinah, which means aquitted. It's not normal to record a woman's birth, so most commentaries say that she's recorded because of Gen 34:1-31.
Gen 30:22
Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.: As God had done for Leah, He now does for Rachel. The thing we should learn from this is that God could have opened her womb at any time, yet Rachel and Jacob had taken the child bearing into their own hands with Jacob sleeping with Rachel's slave Bilhah. We know this was not God's will, and now we know that if they had been patient, they would have had a child the natural way. God does not operate on our timelines, and we bring strife when we try to make things happen instead of relying on God to make them happen.
Gen 30:23
And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach.": In actuality, not being able to have children isn't a reproach. There is nothing in scripture saying that women can't bear children is a reproach. This is a burden put on women. In these days, that's basically what the worth of a woman was. They were children factories, and if they couldn't produce, they weren't worth anything. I am grateful that Jesus changed all that. With Jesus, women are our equals, the same as all races, and walks of life. It may be hurtful that you can't have children, but it's not a reproach. We all have our lots in life, and perhaps yours isn't raising children. Perhaps you are to adopt, or foster, or do something else such as volunteering in a facility that takes care of battered children. My point here is that if we trust God and live our lives, these things won't be forced by us. God's purpose in our lives, while not being in line with what we want a lot of times, isn't something that we get to decide. We should just live and trust.
Gen 30:24
So she called his name Joseph, and said, "The LORD shall add to me another son.": The name Joseph has a double meaning. It means both remover, and increaser. This Joseph, who isn't in the line of Jesus, is used by God to preserve Israel. He becomes a ruler of Egypt and moves his family there. He also is a great example of faithfulness to God, recognizing that the trials in his life were used by God for good.
Gen 30:25
And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.: This is around the second seven year mark, at the end of the negotiated time of service between Laban and Jacob. Jacob wanted to go back home.
Gen 30:26
Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.": Jacob had been a faithful servant and there has been no record of any wrongdoings on Jacob's part. Jacob uses the fact that he served faithfully to point out that Jacob had no obligation to stay.
Gen 30:27
And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.": Laban's response here confirms that Jacob had served faithfully. And Laban's response also shows that he's only interested in wealth. Laban didn't ask Jacob to stay so he could be close to his family, but that God had blessed him because of Jacob. This shows a real ignorance of God. The blessings of God would most likely continue if he blessed Jacob. If God had blessed Laban on behalf of Jacob, as Laban believed, if he had any smarts, he would have done whatever Jacob wanted.
Gen 30:28
Then he said, "Name me your wages, and I will give it.": And treating Jacob like Laban is, Laban offers him wealth to stay. He doesn't realize that Jacob is deceitful as well. Jacob had been honorable when it came to honoring the contract he had established with Laban for his daughters, but we can't forget that Jacob was the guy that deceived his father and stole Esau's blessing.
Gen 30:29
So Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.: He recalls to Laban his faithfulness in his service.
Gen 30:30
For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?": Not only had Jacob been faithful, but Jacob had earned Laban considerable wealth. He had provided much wealth for Laban, but had nothing for himself. Jacob wants to be able to provide for his family when he leaves, but he knows that he couldn't at the time.
Gen 30:31
So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: Laban again offers Jacob wealth to stay and work for him. But Jacob has a scheme to take Laban's wealth from him. Jacob offers to stay and keep Laban's flocks, but the price wouldn't be wealth.
Gen 30:32
Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.: Jacob's offer is that he will take ownership of all the sheep and goats that are spotted or speckled, and the brown lambs and separate them from Laban's flock. The significance here is that the percentage of animals Jacob would take ownership of would have been very small. He chose the most uncommon of all of them.
Gen 30:33
So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.": Jacob says that he will continue to raise Laban's flock, and when it's time for Jacob to leave, he will take with him the speckled and spotted sheep and goats (not sure why he didn't mention the sheep here), and the brown lambs.
Gen 30:34
And Laban said, "Oh, that it were according to your word!": Of course Laban agrees! I don't know how the colorization of animals works, but that seems like a good deal to me too. From what I understand about genes, the likelihood of speckled sheep giving birth to a white sheep is very unlikely, requiring that both parents pass on the recessive gene, or a spotted sheep would need to pass on a dominant white gene. Jacob had been faithful so far, and says that he would continue to be faithful, taking only a small percentage for himself.
Gen 30:35
So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.: As agreed, Jacob removes the spotted and speckled sheep and goats and the brown lambs and puts them under the care of his sons.
Gen 30:36
Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.: Jacob separates the flocks so that they can have separate grazing fields.
Gen 30:37
Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods.: I found this in the Pulpit commentary for Gen 30:39: "The fact is said to have been frequently observed that, particularly in the case of sheep, whatever fixes their attention in copulation is marked upon the young." Apparently, Jacob believed this. He thought that he'd place striped branches that the animals would focus on during copulation, and they'd give birth to spotted and speckled offspring. Since Jacob was deliberately trying to produce speckled and spotted offspring, he was conspiring to steal from Laban. This supposed good deal Jacob made with Laban can be seen from our perspective for what it really was.
Gen 30:38
And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.: The animals would come to the troughs to drink, have sex, and focus on the striped branches.
Gen 30:39
So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.: It seems like Jacob's plan worked. However, keep in mind that we all know it's genetics that determine whether an animal is spotted, and superstition that a spotted rod would produce spotted offspring. But the fact that the animals did defy the odds and produce spotted or speckled ones could only have been God's doing. It's strange that God chose to do this because it would have confirmed to Jacob this superstition and made him less reliant on God. All I can say is (Isa 55:8-9), '"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."'
Gen 30:40
Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock.: When the agreed upon spotted, speckled or brown were born, Jacob separated them from Laban's flock. He also had Laban's remaining flock face the speckled ones. In my opinion, Jacob exibited the classic signs of a sociopath. He had no remorse for anything he did, including taking the children he fathered with his slaves as his own. He doesn't stop once he realizes that things are going in his favor either. In the next verses, he goes even further.
Gen 30:41
And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.: Not only did Jacob try to produce the multi-colored offspring, but he tried to make Laban's flock weak on top of it. Not only was Jacob's goal to produce only offspring that he would keep, but to make Laban's flock weak. I really do not like Jacob, and I do not understand why God went along with it.
Gen 30:42
But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.: Jacob the sociopath continues with this behavior, and only breeds his flock with the stronger ones, and Laban's flock with the weaker ones. Disgusting.
Gen 30:43
Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.: At the expense of Laban's prosperity, Jacob became prosperous.
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