Genesis 30

Rachel pleads for childrenverses 1-2

And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children

Rachel envied her sister – and said unto Jacob

Give me children or else I die

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel – and he said

Am I in God’s stead

WHO has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?

Rachel gives Bilhah to Jacobverses 3-8

And she said – BEHOLD my maid Bilhah – go in to her

and she shall bear on my knees

that I may also have children by her

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid as his wife

and Jacob went in unto her

and Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son

And Rachel said

God has judged me – and has also heard my voice

and has given me a son

therefore called she his name DAN [judging]

And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again – and bore Jacob a second son

and Rachel said

With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister

and I have PREVAILED

and she called his name NAPHTALI [wrestling]

Leah gives Zilpah to Jacobverses 9-13

WHEN Leah saw that she had ceased bearing – she took Zilpah her maid

and gave her Jacob as his wife

And Zilpah Leah’s maid – bore Jacob a son

and Leah said- A troop comes – and she called his name GAD [troop]

And Zilpah Leah’s maid – bore Jacob a second son

and Leah said – Happy am I

FOR the daughters will call me BLESSED

and she called his name ASHER [happy]

Rachel asks Leah for Reuben’s mandrakesverse 14

And 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

Give me – I pray you – of your son’s mandrakes

Rachel offers Leah Jacob for the nightverses 15-21

And she said unto her

Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband?

and would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?

And Rachel said

Therefore he shall lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes

And Jacob came out of the field in the evening

and Leah went out to meet him and said

You must come in to me

FOR surely I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes

and he lay with her that night

And God hearkened unto Leah – and she conceived – and bore Jacob the

fifth son and Leah said – God hath given me my hire

BECAUSE I have given my maiden to my husband

and she called his name ISSACHAR [an hire]

And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob the sixth son

and Leah said – God has endued me with a good dowry

now will my husband dwell with me

BECAUSE I have borne him six sons

and she called his name ZEBULUN [dwelling]

And afterward she bore a daughter – and called her name DINAH

Rachel becomes pregnant with Josephverses 22-24

And God remembered Rachel – and God hearkened to her

and OPENED her womb

And she conceived and bore a son and said

God hath taken away my reproach

and she called his name JOSEPH [adding] – and said

The LORD shall add to me another son

Jacob asks Laban to let him return to his homeverses 25-26

And it came to pass – when Rachel had borne JOSEPH

that Jacob said unto Laban

Send me away that I may go unto mine own place

and to my country

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 you

Laban realizes that he is wealthy because of Jacobverse 27

And Laban said to him

I pray you – IF I have found favor in your eyes tarry

FOR I have learned by experience that the LORD has

BLESSED me for your sake

Laban offers new wagesverses 28-36

And he said

Appoint me your wages and I will give it

And he said to him –

You know how I have served you

and how your cattle was with me

For it was little which you had before I came

and it is now increased unto a multitude

And the LORD has BLESSED you since my coming

and now – when shall I provide for mine own house also?

And 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 flock

I will pass through all your flock today

removing from there all the speckled and spotted cattle

and all the brown cattle among the sheep

and the spotted and speckled among the goats

and of such shall be my HIRE

So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come

when it shall come for my HIRE before your face

every one that is not speckled and spotted among the

goats and brown among the sheep

that shall be counted stolen with me

And Laban said

BEHOLD – I would it might be according to your word

And he removed that day the he-goats that were

ringstreked and spotted

and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted

and every one that had some white in it

and all the brown among the sheep

and gave them into the hand of his sons

And he set THREE DAY’S journey between himself and Jacob

and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks

Jacob gains most of newbornsverses 37-43

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar

and of the hazel and chestnut tree

and peeled white streaks in them

and made the white appear which was in the rods

And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks

in the gutters in the watering troughs

when the flocks came to drink

that they should conceive when they came to drink

And the flocks conceived before the rods

and brought forth cattle ring-streaked – speckled – spotted

And Jacob did separate the lambs

and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked

and all the brown in the flock of Laban

and he put his own flocks by themselves

and put them not to Laban’s cattle

And it came to pass – whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive

that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters

that they might conceive among the rods

BUT when the cattle were feeble – he put them not in

so the feebler were Laban’s – and the stronger Jacob’s

And the man increased exceedingly – and had much

cattle – maidservants – menservants – camels – asses

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? (2734 “anger” [charah] means kindled, wroth, hot, burn, have a temper, grow warm, or blaze up)

DEVOTION: How many times have married couples had disagreements? In every marriage we have a time when things are not going the way one of those in the marriage is not happy. Here we have Rachel mad at her husband because she is not going to have a baby. Remember that women who believe in Jehovah were waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of a coming Messiah. Every woman wanted to have the Messiah that was promised. If a woman was not able to have a baby she would not be able to have the Messiah. This was not good.

Even if the wife wasn’t going to have the Messiah it was a privilege to have a baby because this increased the joy in the home. In this time period children were considered a blessing of the LORD.

Now Rachel is blaming Jacob for her not having a baby. Jacob comes back with his understanding that God is the only one who can close or open a womb of a woman. He is defending God. He is telling Rachel to bring her request to the LORD and not to him. He doesn’t have the power to open her womb to have a baby.

Today we find that there is a different attitude toward having children. In fact, many don’t marry before they are almost thirty today. The latest survey states that only 20 percent of those under thirty years of age are married. This is compared to over 60 percent in the 1960’s in America.

Those who are believers know that children are a blessing. Parents are responsible to the LORD for the training they give their children. We should be training them the best we can for the time period that they are at home. Once they are gone to college or the work force the training is not well received by most.

Older children are not looking to their parents for instruction regarding marriage or raising children usually. There are rare exceptions but they receive their advice from someone their own age instead.

CHALLENGE: Encourage your children to learn Biblical principles while they are young. Also remember that God is the one who gives children to each couple. Trust HIM to help you raise them.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 14 And 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, Give me, I pray you, of your son’s mandrakes. (1736 “mandrakes” [duwday] means love-apple, love fruits, aphrodisiac, amatory, or as exciting sexual desire, and favoring procreation)

DEVOTIONS: The two wives were fighting for the affections of their husband Jacob. They each gave their handmaids to Jacob as wives as well. They wanted to have the most children by their husband and the maids counted toward the two sister number of children.

So now we have the oldest son of Leah coming home with a special fruit of a plant called mandrakes that were thought to be good for causing women to be fertile. The fruit was the size of a plum.

So we find that Rachel was willing to give Leah a night with their husband for the piece of fruit. She thought because she was not able to have children this would help her. She was willing to try almost anything to have a baby.

We find a few verses later that the LORD did open her womb to have a son named Joseph. We will find out the rest of the story was we continue to read through the book of Genesis.

Again today we find that there are women who want to have children but seem not to be able to have them. They will try anything to see if there is a medical reason for not having children. They will have everything done to help them have children.

All those who are believers know that in the final analysis it is only the LORD who has the ability to approve an open womb. Doctors may think that they have worked a miracle of birth by their actions but the truth is that God is the one who can open or close a womb no matter how hard humans try to produce the miracle of the birth of a baby.

CHALLENGE: Look to the LORD for HIS approval for children.

: 21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. (1323 “bayith] means female human offspring, women, girl, maiden, apple of the eye or young women)

DEVOTION: In ancient times sons were needed to help with the chores that needed to be done around the farm. Men liked to have sons with them in the field.

Again, women also wanted to have male offspring because they thought they were going to have the Messiah who would be the Savior of the world. This was important to them as well.

However, we find the mention of the fact that Laban only had two daughters and he gave both of them to Jacob for wives. These two women fought to have the most children with their husband. It caused major problems because of this competition.

Finally, Leah had a daughter for Jacob. We will learn more about her in the future. The LORD makes a point of pointing out that a daughter was born. This is important to HIM because HE values woman as well as men. HE used both for HIS glory.

Today we have both males and females taught in our schools and in our churches to serve the LORD. God wants each of our children to worship and serve HIM in their respective responsibilities.

Men are not to be considered more important than women. They each have gifts given to them from the LORD once they become followers of HIM. There are some gifts that are restricted to men but that doesn’t mean that God looks down on women but HE gives them different responsibilities in their service to HIM.

Our culture is different than the culture at the beginning of the nation of Israel but we serve the same God. Our culture should not dictate what should be done by those who are followers of God. The Bible should dictate each genders responsibility in the sight of the LORD.

If we don’t listen to the instructions from the Word of God there will be chaos in the church. This is happening in many places because the Word of God is not being honored.

CHALLENGE: Leadership in the church is given by the LORD. HE has described who should be pastors and deacons in no uncertain terms. We can either listen or not listen to the Word of God.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 27 And Laban said to him, I prayer you, if I have found favor in your eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake. (5172 “learned” [nachash] means to hiss, whisper, to prognosticate, divine, enchantment, practice divination or diligently observe)

DEVOTION: Sibling revelry starts this chapter. We see Rachel and Leah in a battle for who can produce the most children for Jacob. Rachel decides to give her handmaid to Jacob in marriage. Leah decides to give her handmaid to Jacob in marriage. Here we have Jacob married to four women.

Yet we find that this does not satisfy the sisters. They are still fighting for the affection of Jacob. He goes along with this practice. The LORD has established one man and one woman for marriage but this is what is happening.

Now Jacob has eleven children and four wives. He wants to go back home to his father and mother. He approaches Laban about a return to Isaac.

Laban doesn’t like the idea because he has diligently observed that it is because of Jacob that he is rich. He realizes that the LORD is with Jacob. Remember the promise that Jacob made to the LORD in Bethel. It was happening. The LORD was blessing everything that he was doing.

Jacob had been working for Laban for fourteen years for his two wives. In those years Laban became rich. He had increased in cattle and all possessions. Laban knew beyond any doubt that the reason he was being blessed was because of the presence of Jacob. He didn’t want to lose the blessing.

What are we diligently observing in our life? Do we see the LORD’S blessing on our lives? Have we observed the LORD working in the lives of others? Have we shared these observations with those we see the LORD blessing? Are we learning from the lives of others what we should be learning?

We have a ministry of encouragement while we are here on this earth. Many just need a word of encouragement to continue in the service of the LORD. We should be giving those words of encouragement. One of the saying going around in Christian circles is that we are the “only army that shoots its wounded.” Are we shooting our wounded soldiers?

Remember that blessing doesn’t always mean wealth. God can bless with children who are following the LORD. HE can bless with contentment. HE can bless with friends.

CHALLENGE: Too often we only think that those who are blessed are wealthy in worldly possessions. All of the worldly possessions are left behind!!

:30 For it was little which thou had before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord has blessed you since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? (6213 “provide” [ʿasah] means 1 to do, fashion, accomplish, make. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to do, work, make, produce. 1a1a to do. 1a1b to work. 1a1c to deal (with). 1a1d to act, act with effect, effect. 1a2 to make. 1a2a to make. 1a2b to produce. 1a2c to prepare. 1a2d to make (an offering). 1a2e to attend to, put in order. 1a2f to observe, celebrate. 1a2g to acquire (property). 1a2h to appoint, ordain, institute. 1a2i to bring about. 1a2j to use. 1a2k to spend, pass. 1b (Niphal). 1b1 to be done. 1b2 to be made. 1b3 to be produced. 1b4 to be offered. 1b5 to be observed. 1b6 to be used. 1c (Pual) to be made. 2 (Piel) to press, squeeze. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])

DEVOTION: What is the role of work for the believer? There has been a lot of ink spilled over this particular question. Some believe that work was ordained by God for Adam in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. Others believe that God’s curse on the land in Genesis 3 in direct response to Adam’s sin is the result of work today.

In any case, God has provided work for man to do in order to supply his needs. Because of this, believers are told that they are to do their work heartily as unto God, rather than unto man (Colossians 3;23-24). This is true whether we are doing physical work (such as agriculture) or providing a service to others. We have the opportunity to serve God (as well as others) in our work.

Jacob’s problem was that Laban kept changing his wages, starting with his two wives. Jacob complained that he was having trouble keeping up with things in order to provide for his family, due to this. This is also a challenge to those of us who are employers, for we too need to be sure that we are paying a fair wage to those who work for us, so that they are able to provide for their families (James 5:4-5).

CHALLENGE: How are you going about providing for the members of your family? Is this a priority for you and your time? (MW)

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

God [Elohim]verses 2, 6, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23

LORD [Jehovah]verses 24, 27, 30

LORD blessed Laban because of Jacobverse 30

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Mandrakesverse 14

Hired Jacobverse 16

Learned by experienceverse 27

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Enviedverse 1

Angerverse 2

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Blessed of the LORDverses 27, 30

Righteousnessverse 33

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Rachelverses 1-8, 14, 22-25

Envied her sister

Gave Jacob Bilhah as wife

God has judged me

Wants Reuben’s mandrakes

Gives Jacob to Leah for mandrakes

Joseph born

Jacobverses 1-43

Angry at Rachel

Active in having children

Asks Laban to send him away

Sets up cattle to produce for him

Increased exceedingly

Bilhah = Rachel’s handmaidverse 3

Dan (vindicated)verse 6

Naphtali (wrestling)verse 8

Leahverses 9-21

Gave Jacob Zilpah to wife

Issachar (hire)verse 18

Zebulun (dwelling)verse 20

Dinah (judgment)verse 21

Zilpah = Leah’s handmaidverses 9-13

Gad (fortune)verse 11

Asher (blessing)verse 13

Reubenverse 14

Finds mandrakes for his mother

Issachar (fifth son of Leah)verse 18

Zebulun (sixth son of Leah)verse 20

Dinah – daughter of Leahverse 21

Joseph bornverses 24, 25

Labanverses 25-34, 42

Asked by Jacob to leave for home

Learned that he was blessed because of Jacob

Asked Jacob to stay for more wages

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

The point of the narrative is to show that such blessing did not come from Laban; rather it was a gift from God. As Abraham had rejected the offer of wealth from the king of Sodom (14:21), so now Jacob refused to take anything from Laban. What Jacob took instead was the right to stay on and shepherd Laban’s flocks and to keep a part of the herd that he raised (v.31). After the deal was struck, Jacob was allowed to keep all the speckled or spotted goats and all the black sheep in Laban’s herds. From this he would build his own herds.

Although the writer does not specifically state it within the narrative, the passage is surely to be read as an example of the Lord’s promise in chapter 28 to be with Jacob during his sojourn in the East. Jacob’s clever use of the peeled poplar branches was not so much intended to demonstrate his resourcefulness as it was to further the theme of God’s continued faithfulness to his word. The clue to the meaning of the passage is the last verse of the chapter (v.43), where a summary of the whole narrative is given. The summary recalls quite clearly God’s blessing of both Abraham (12:16) and Isaac (26:14) and thus puts the events of this chapter within the larger context of the themes developed throughout the book, namely, God’s promise of blessing and his faithfulness to that promise. Jacob’s wise dealings with Laban then are an example of the way God caused him to prosper during this sojourn. Further confirmation that such is the sense of the narrative comes from the words of Jacob himself in the next chapter. Looking back he told his wives that it was God who had taken Laban’s herds and given them to him (31:9). (Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 203). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

30:37–43. God blessed Jacob in an unusual way. Here there is a wordplay on the name Laban for as Jacob peeled back the bark on the sticks and exposed the white (lāḇān), he saw his flocks grow. He played the Laban game and won—he outwitted “Whitey.”

Clearly, as Jacob later admitted (31:7–12), God intervened to fulfill the expectations Jacob had in the branches. The peeled branches, placed in the watering troughs, appeared to make his animals reproductive as they mated in front of the troughs. In addition, Jacob used selective breeding by mating the stronger animals for himself and the weak female goats and sheep for Laban. But this was not the only time God’s part in Jacob’s success was much greater than it seemed to an observer.

So Jacob was greatly prospered (30:43) in fulfillment of God’s promise at Bethel, and at the expense of Laban, who now received in part the recompense due him. A fascinating struggle developed between Jacob and Laban. Laban’s injustice and artifice preceded Jacob’s project, just as Isaac’s attempt to bless Esau had earlier prompted Jacob’s deception. In both cases the attempt to defraud Jacob was actually overcome by Jacob. Afterward, however, Jacob viewed his real gain as divine blessing, though he had to accept the effects (fear and danger) of his craftiness. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 77–78). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

This time, however, Jacob was prepared for his father-in-law, because the Lord had talked to Jacob in a dream and told him exactly what to do (31:1–13). All Jacob wanted for his wages was the privilege of building his own flock of sheep and goats from the speckled and spotted animals in Laban’s flocks, animals that were considered inferior anyway. These would be separated three days’ journey from Laban’s flock so that Laban could investigate at any time and immediately know whether Jacob was robbing him.

Jacob’s peeled sticks belonged in the same category as Rachel’s mandrakes: They were both superstitious practices that had nothing to do with what actually happened. It was God who controlled the genetic structure of the animals and multiplied the spotted and striped sheep and goats, thus increasing Jacob’s wealth very quickly. At Bethel, God promised to bless Jacob, and He kept His promise (28:13–15); and since Laban had agreed to Jacob’s terms, he could do nothing about the results. All of those animals belonged to Jacob.

During the next six years, Jacob became a very wealthy man because of his faith and the blessing of the Lord. Now he was ready to strike out on his own, return to his own land and people, and fulfill whatever purposes God had planned for him. When he had arrived in Padan Aram twenty years before, all he had was his staff (32:10). But he had worked hard, suffered much, and trusted God. Now he had a large family and owned extensive flocks of healthy sheep and goats, as well as camels and donkeys and servants to care for all the animals. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be authentic (pp. 45–46). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)

30:37–42 rods. Jacob was knowledgeable about sheep, goats, and cattle, having kept his father’s animals for most of his 90 years, and Laban’s for the last 14 years. He knew that when one uncommonly marked animal was born (with a recessive gene), he could then begin to breed that gene selectively to produce flocks and herds of abnormally marked animals, which were in no way inferior physically to the normally marked. Once he began this breeding process, he sought to stimulate it by some methods that may appear superstitious and foolish to us (as the mandrakes in v. 14). But it is most likely that he had learned that, when the bark was peeled, there was some stimulant released into the water that stimulated the animals to sexual activity. In v. 38, the word “mated” is literally, in Heb., “to be hot,” or as is said of animals “to be in heat.” His plan was successful (v. 39) and kept his own flock separate from the abnormally colored ones of Laban. His system worked to his own advantage, not that of Laban (v. 42) who had for years taken advantage of him. Jacob gave God the credit for the success of his efforts (31:7, 9). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 30:37–42). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Ver. 42. And when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in, &c.] Or when covered, as Menachem, that is, with wool, and so not so desirous of copulation with the males, nor so fit and strong for generation; and therefore he put not in the rods into the gutters, partly that he might have none feeble in his flock, and partly that he might not spoil Laban of his whole flock, strong and weak: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s; not only his flocks became more numerous than Laban’s, but were in better plight.

Ver. 43. And the man increased exceedingly, &c.] Jacob grew very rich: and had much cattle; the greater part of Laban’s flocks brought forth speckled, spotted, and brown cattle, which, according to agreement, were Jacob’s: and maid-servants, and men-servants; which he got to take care of his household affairs, and to assist him in keeping his flocks: and camels, and asses; for his flocks increasing so very much, he sold many of his sheep at a good price, as Jarchi observes, and with it bought camels and asses; and these were very fit for his use, when he should be obliged or think fit to remove into his own country, and which he was meditating, and had a direction from the Lord for, as in the following chapter. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 205). London: Mathews and Leigh)

FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

Give me children, or else I die—either be reckoned as good as dead, or pine away from vexation. The intense anxiety of Hebrew women for children arose from the hope of giving birth to the promised seed. Rachel’s conduct was sinful and contrasts unfavorably with that of Rebekah (compare Ge 25:22) and of Hannah (1Sa 1:11). (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

30:2 Am I in the place of God …? Although spoken in a moment of frustration with Rachel’s pleading for children and the envy with which it was expressed, Jacob’s words do indicate an understanding that ultimately God opened and closed the womb. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

It is probable that Jacob had been already sorrowful on account of his wife’s barrenness. He now, therefore, fears lest her folly should still farther provoke God’s anger to inflict more severe strokes. This was a holy indignation, by which Jacob maintained the honour due to God, while he corrected his wife, and taught her that it was not without sufficient cause that she had been hitherto barren. For when he affirms that the Lord had shut her womb, he obliquely intimates that she ought the more deeply to humble herself. (Calvin, J., & King, J. (2010). Commentary on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis (Vol. 2, p. 141). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

Verse 2. Jacob was concerned for the honour of God, and not for any injury or injustice done to himself. To murmur at the power and providence of the Most High shows a rebellious will.

He that will be angry, and not sin, must not be angry but for sin. Reprove thy wife thou mayest; chide her thou mayest not, unless the offence be against God, as here, and Job 2:10.—(Trapp.) (Exell, J. S., & Leale, T. H. (1892). Genesis (p. 585). New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)

“Mandrakes” (dûdāʾîm) appears elsewhere in the Old Testament only in Song 7:13[14] (also T. Iss. 1:3–5), where it speaks of their exotic smell, as part of a scene depicting lovemaking (cp. dōdîm, “love,” e.g., Prov 7:18; Song 1:2). The standard identification of the “mandrake” is Mandragora officinarum L., part of the nightshade, potato, and tomato family. M. Zohary questions whether the Hebrew dûdāʾîm of our passage is to be equated with the Mandragora, on the basis that the Mandragora does not grow in Mesopotamia, but he does not offer an alternative identification. The Greeks rendered dûdāʾîm as Mandragora, and we know that the plant appears in Israel today. The Arabs called it the “devil’s apples” and the Greeks nicknamed it “love apple”²⁹⁶ because of its legendary reputation as an aphrodisiac. It was further believed that the mandrake could enhance a woman’s fertility. The plant exhibits long, dark green leaves in a rosette pattern; from the center of the leaves are flower stalks that each produce a “purple, bluish, or greenish-white flower.” During the spring the plant produces a yellow-red fruit, likened to a plum in size and shape. Moldenke and Moldenke describe their appearance like “yellow bird eggs in a shallow nest.” Especially interesting are its dark roots that resemble the lower torso of a human form, which probably contributed to the mysteries surrounding its magical, sensual powers. Although the mandrake grows wild in Palestine, the royalty and nobility of ancient Egypt cultivated it in gardens, perhaps near water ponds. During the eighteenth dynasty Mandragora plants and fruit often adorned artistic depictions of the royal family. K. Bosse-Griffiths concluded that the mandrakes contributed to the imagery of potency shared by the Egyptian king and queen who represented the whole of the people. (Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, pp. 486–487). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

In his book Fields of the Fatherless, C. Thomas Davis writes, “If you searched the Bible from front to back, you’d find many issues close to God’s heart. But you’d also notice three groups of people coming up again and again. They appear so many times, in fact, you have to conclude that God mentions them purposely to make sure they are at the top of our priority list.”
They are orphans, widows and aliens (or strangers). God demonstrated His care and provision for these three groups through His instructions to the Israelite farmers in Deuteronomy 24:19: “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (NIV).Similarly, if we want our Christianity to be its purest, we too must actively exercise our concern for the left-out and the abandoned: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27-28).Caring for the fatherless is not simply a compassionate act. Adoption is not merely an additional means of growing our families to the desired size. Caring for orphans is about obedience and expressing the heart of God. Perhaps God is calling you to the redemptive task of adoption, as He has Barbara and me. If not, each of us can be part of supporting, praying for and encouraging those who are in the midst of adoption, those who are seeking to acquire God’s heart for the fatherless. (Moments with YOU by Dennis & Barbara RAINEY)

THE IN-FILLING OF THE SPIRIT

Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18
The in-filling of the Spirit is essential to true Christian quality in our life. That is why we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. It is a command to every single Christian: Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. We are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit. And this is commanded in order that our graces may grow, in order that the fruit of the Spirit may develop in us and may be evident to all. It is as we are filled with this life that the fruit and the graces of this life will be manifest. Indeed, the filling of the Spirit is essential to a true act of worship. Did you notice how Paul uses that commandment of his in that very connection? He says, Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit and then goes on at once speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So the way to test whether we are filled with the Spirit is to ask, Are we full of thankfulness? Are we full of the spirit of praise, of thanksgiving, of worship and adoration?
What is a revival? It is God pouring out His Spirit. It is this tremendous filling that happens to numbers of people at the same time. You need not wait for a revival to get it; each of us is individually commanded to seek it and to have it and indeed to make sure it is there. But at times of revival God, as it were, fills a number of people together; they almost describe it as the Spirit falling upon them. That is a revival, and that is the greatest need of the Church today.
A Thought to Ponder
Be filled with the Spirit is a command to every single Christian. (From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 242-243 by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Nehemiah 2
Nehemiah requests the king’s help in rebuilding Jerusalem.
INSIGHT

Nehemiah comes before the king unable to conceal his agitation over the situation in Jerusalem. When we are faced with situations that need change, preparation is vital. We may not be able to do anything about it at the moment, but we can ask ourselves this question: “If it lay within our power to do anything we wanted to do, what would we do?” If we can answer that, then we will recognize opportunity when it knocks, and we can capitalize on it as Nehemiah does. (Quiet Walk)

The Truth
“And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:4)
This is the last of 11 occurrences of “the truth” in Paul’s two letters to Timothy. He was not writing about the importance of being truthful in general but about a specific body of factual information concerning Jesus Christ and its vital importance. Thus, “the truth” was a very important theme in both of Paul’s letters to this young pastor—and, by implication, to all God-called pastors.
Paul first speaks of “the knowledge of the truth” required for salvation (1 Timothy 2:4), then of his own teaching as “the truth in Christ” (1 Timothy 2:7), then of “the church of the living God” as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), and of Christians as those who “believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3). He stresses the importance of studying the Bible as “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), and also that true repentance requires “the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25).
Paul also warns of false and covetous teachers who are “destitute of the truth” (1 Timothy 6:5) and who therefore “concerning the truth have erred” (2 Timothy 2:18). There will even be false prophets who “resist the truth” and are “reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8).
As a result of the teachings of these false teachers, there will be many so-called seekers of truth who are “ever learning” yet who seem “never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The reason they never find the truth is because they “turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:4).
The fact is that Jesus said: “I am…the truth” and also that “thy word is truth” (John 14:6; 17:17). For any who would say with Pilate “What is truth?” (John 18:38), there is the definitive answer! (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

RIGHT THINKING
It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.
Psalm 100:3
Get right in your thinking about yourself; then think of yourself in your relationship to God. And the moment you do so, you will realize that you are utterly dependent upon Him. “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Our times and our breath are in His hand. God brought us into being, and He could end it in a moment. We, none of us, control life; God controls it all. But men and women do not stop and think about that. They say, “What shall I put on tonight? How shall I dress tomorrow?” They may be dead before tomorrow! But they do not think of that. The whole of life, for them, is without God; He does not enter into their calculations.
That is why the world is as it is, says our Lord. If only all men and women believed in God, they would all humble themselves before Him. If only the whole world believed in God, there would be no preparation for war, there would be no jealousy and envy and rivalry, because all men and women would be bowing before Him and worshiping Him and living to His glory and His praise. But because they do not, they set themselves up as gods, and they worship themselves. So there are barriers between nations. “I am going to be bigger,” says one; so he makes a bigger bomb. “I will make a bigger one!” says the other. And up and up and up we go, and we get worse. “Whence come wars and fightings among you. Come they not hence, even of your lusts…? Ye ask, and receive not,” says the apostle James (James 4:1,3).
You will never satisfy your god, and so, according to the Bible, we get all the troubles in the world–individual troubles and collective troubles, national troubles and international troubles! All this rivalry is because we are not living as under the eye of an almighty God.
A Thought to Ponder: If only all men and women believed in God, they would all humble themselves before Him. (From The Kingdom of God, p. 40, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

The Light of the Word
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
As the sun provides physical light for the world, so Jesus Christ is spiritually “the light of the world” (John 8:12). However, we clearly can see His light only through the light holder, the lamp, as it were, of His written Word. The Word, therefore, is a lamp and, since it contains and reveals the light, is also a light in its own right. Without the Holy Scriptures, this world would lie in the deepest darkness, but “the entrance of thy words giveth light” (Psalm 119:130).
The Lord Jesus Christ is the living Word, and “without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:3-5). Although He “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), when He Himself came into the world, those who were made by Him refused to receive Him. “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
Just so, although the written Word has come into the world, the world does not receive it, either. The lamp and the light of the written Word have been in the world (in complete and final form) for 1,900 years, but people still reject and ridicule it, and the world still lies in darkness. Nevertheless, for those who receive it, there is wonderful light. “Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light” (John 12:35-36).

God’s Word always brings light. His first spoken Word was “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and wherever He speaks, God sees the light, and it is good! (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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