Genesis 30:1-43

Genesis 29 and 30 cover approximately fourteen years of Jacob’s life. This chapter picks up in the middle of the first fourteen years of Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel. Leah has had 4 children, and Rachel has had none. These chapters are a summary of this lengthy period of time. After Jacob fulfilled his agreement to work for Laban for his daughter Rachel, he continued to work for himself for wages another six years. However, there is continual conflict with Laban, and also between Leah and Rachel as they each struggle for the love of their husband.

Scripture records, “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!’  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?’ 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.’ Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 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. And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, ‘With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.’ So she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, ‘A troop comes!’ So she called his name Gad. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, ‘I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.’ So she called his name Asher. 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.’ 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.’ 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. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, ‘God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.’ So she called his name Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 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. Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach.’ So she called his name Joseph, and said, ‘The LORD shall add to me another son.’” (Gen. 30:1-24).

Conflicts in Jacob’s marriage.  Vs. 1-24

These first twenty-four verses in our text reveal that there was not a lot of harmony in Jacob’s tent. Why? The primary reason was the polygamous marital relationship that existed. I have addressed this topic in more detail in chapter 29, so I won’t cover that same ground here, but as you read this chapter you cannot miss the envy, jealousy, and competitiveness between Jacob’s two wives. So, no matter how harmonious polygamous marriages are portrayed on reality television shows, don’t believe it. Why? Two reasons.

First, the nature of men and women is basically selfish, envious, and jealous, and that’s exactly what you see in this chapter. This is why you read in verse 1, “Rachel envied her sister,” because she wasn’t bearing Jacob any children as Leah was. Then in verse 2, Rachel began pleading with Jacob to give her children, and he gets angry with her, because he senses the envy and conflict between these two women. Again, in verse 8, notice that once Rachel provided a child for Jacob she declared, ‘With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.’ The Hebrew word for wrestlings means to go through a tortuous time. Then in verse 15, Leah declared to her sister, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?” which obviously revealed her resentful attitude in this whole wrestling match that took place in their relationship. This is why this entire passage was recorded for us in the Scripture, so that everyone can understand that there will be many conflicts that will arise in a polygamous marriage.

The second reason why polygamous marriages can’t work is, because within most men and women there is an innate understanding that marital love must be exclusive, between one man and one woman. This is why in the Song of Solomon 6:3, Solomon declared concerning his wife, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” So clearly there is a very exclusive love described here in this passage of Scripture. This is the way God has created us, and how He created the first man and woman. When God created Eve and brought her to Adam, He said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen. 2:18). Note that God did not say that He would make Adam multiple helpers or wives. God used the singular word for one helper. Then God said that, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Note again that God declared for all future marriages that a man (singular), should leave his father and mother (both words singular in number), and be joined to his wife (singular). Most importantly, Jesus confirmed this original intent of the Father when He quoted these Old Testament passages in His New Testament teaching on marriage (Matt. 19:4-6). Paul also confirmed this truth of one husband and one wife when giving the requirement for an elder of the church, when he declared that he must be, “The husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2). These are just a few of the verses of Scripture that confirm the original intent of God concerning marriage.

Why did the patriarchs take more than one wife?

This is one of the most asked questions on this topic of polygamy. If one man with one woman was God’s original intent, why then did the patriarchs have more than one wife? It was because this was a time that the Bible calls the, “Times of ignorance” (Acts 17:30). When Paul addressed the men of Athens about the unknown god that they worshipped, he told them that many of their beliefs concerning God were incorrect. Then he told them, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Why should all men repent now, and not follow their ignorant beliefs? Because God has come in the flesh of a man, in the person of Jesus, to fully and completely reveal the Father (John 1:18). All mankind now knows what God is like, because they have seen Him and heard His Word. We now have this record laid out for us in the Scripture, which should bring us all to repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why would Rachel want mandrakes?

What did this whole discussion about mandrakes have to do with the struggle between Leah and Rachel? Many scholars believe that mandrakes were actually ginseng; others disagree. All we know is that the mandrake plant was believed to be an aphrodisiac and to have some aid to fertility. Mandrakes are of the Atropa or Mandragora plant families. It is not clear if the root or the fruit was ingested. But the point is that Rachel and Leah believed that these mandrakes, whatever they were, had some kind of fertility quality to them. Clearly, they were bargaining with each other over these mandrakes, and who would sleep with Jacob, which also revealed the depth of the conflict between them.

The important thing to remember is that later both Leah and Rachel realized that the mandrakes were not what allowed them to have children. They both acknowledged that it was God who allowed them to produce children. Notice in verse 6, Rachel declared, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” In verse 18, Leah said, “God has given me my wages.” In verse 24 Rachel declared again, “So she called his name Joseph, and said, ‘The Lord shall add to me another son.’” Therefore, whatever their beliefs were concerning the mandrakes, they both came to the conclusion that it was the Lord who ultimately gave them the ability to have children. 

Jacob wants to go home.  Vs. 25-43

Now after Jacob had served Laban for fourteen years, he voiced his desire to return to his father’s home in the land of Canaan. Scripture records, “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. 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.’ 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.’ Then he said, ‘Name me your wages, and I will give it.’  So Jacob said to him, ‘You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 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?’ 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: 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. 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.’ And Laban said, ‘Oh, that it were according to your word!’ 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. Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. 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. 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. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 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. 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. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys” (Gen. 30:25-43)

From verses 25 and following, the story now begins the last 6 years of Jacob’s stay with Laban. Jacob doesn’t want to be a servant any longer in Laban’s house; he wants to return home to Canaan, and become his own business man. But Laban makes Jacob a deal that was too good to pass up. He has seen the blessing of God upon his own flocks and herds, because of Jacob’s labor and work ethic. So, he told Jacob to name his own wages. Jacob obviously saw a tremendous opportunity in this offer, and negotiated a deal that Laban thought was great for him.

What was the deal Jacob made with Laban? He would take all the brown, black, or multi-colored sheep and goats, and Laban would have all the normal single-colored ones. Why did Laban think this was a good deal for him? Because Jacob was telling Laban that he would take the rejects of the flock. Today when you observe a flock of sheep and you see a black sheep in the bunch, you immediately can pick it out of the herd. In those days they were an anomaly, and unusual. So, Laban told Jacob, “You have got a deal.” He believed that he had outwitted Jacob again, and so he agreed to the proposal.

But what Laban didn’t take into account were two things. First, that God had promised and determined to bless Jacob, and would return him back to the land of Canaan, because God had determined to prosper him beyond what he could ever conceive. Remember what God had promised Jacob through Isaac’s blessing when he said, “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham” (Gen. 28:3-4). In addition, through Jacob’s dream at Bethel, God promised, “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Gen. 28:13-15).
Second, Laban did not take into account that Jacob has learned a few things about raising sheep and goats in the last 14 years of his service to him. He had learned something about selective breeding techniques, and that stronger animals would always produce more and healthier offspring. These two facts are clearly revealed in the text (Vs. 35-36; 41).

Jacob’s selective breeding techniques.

It is obvious today that if you separate your flocks by the distance of 3 days journey, you are separating the gene pool of the brown, black, and multi-colored sheep and goats from those who were all white in color. This would obviously enable the brown, black, and multi-colored animals to have a better chance to produces the same-colored sheep and goats. Jacob must have observed this take place in his prior 14 years of service to Laban. This methodology of breeding would have helped bring about Jacob’s desire to prosper in his business. But we must also acknowledge that the result of the abundance that came, was also because of God’s blessing and determination to bless this man. Jacob even acknowledged this fact in Genesis 31:5, when he declared, “I have seen your fathers countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.” So, Jacob understood that it was not only his breeding techniques that produced all the sheep and goats, but it was the God of his fathers who had been with him. Jacob absolutely knew that ultimately God had blessed him.

Do you realize this fact in your life? You may be a great businessman or woman, or be very skillful in the use of your finances, but will you acknowledge that it is God’s blessing upon you that has prospered you? Note the warning that Moses gave to the Children of Israel when he said, “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest--when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end--then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut. 8:11-18). What a powerful warning this is, because this is a very real temptation for anyone to forget that it is ultimately God’s blessing that enables them to gain any wealth. Prosperity and wealth are some of the ways God blesses you, so He might establish His covenant with you, so that you may have to give to others who have need (1 Tim. 6:17-19; Eph. 4:28). It is absolutely essential that you always remember, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God means it when He declares that, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” May you give Him praise today for His many gifts that He has bestowed upon you!

The same is true for any spiritual blessings that God has given to you. Paul warned the Corinthian church concerning their arrogance over their spiritual gifts when he asked them, “For who makes you to differ from another, and what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it. Why do you boast as if you had not received it” (1 Cor. 4:7). Arrogantly boasting about any gifting that you possess, only reveals that you believe that your own hand, and your own abilities have gotten you what you have. Instead, boast in the Lord and boast in what He has done, and give Him the glory for what He has given to you. I truly believe that the Lord takes note of our hearts and our attitudes, and He knows the thoughts that we think, and He will deal with us accordingly. As for me personally, my wife and I started our married life together with a car, a bed, and a dresser, that was it. We had nothing, but God has richly blessed us, and I am absolutely sure that it is all His blessing. He has also richly blessed both of us with many spiritual gifts. We are both so thankful for how he has used us our entire married life. May you also recognize the blessings that God has given to you, and give Him glory! 

Peeling the branches.  Vs. 37-38

Everyone who reads verses 37 and 38 will usually ask, what was the purpose of stripping the rods or branches from the green poplar, almond, and chestnut trees? The word gutters in verse 38 is a Hebrew word for watering troughs. What would putting these stripped tree branches in the animals watering troughs do to promote their reproducing? The answer is, I have no idea. I have read many commentaries on this subject, and no one really knows the answer to this question. We do know that it did increase the breeding of his sheep and goats. Possibly Jacob knew something that we don’t know today about selective breeding. Personally, I believe that God just blessed Jacob and caused his sheep and goats to reproduce and become stronger.

Several lessons to be learned in this chapter.

One very important lesson that I have personally learned from this story of Laban trying to keep Jacob in his employment, is a very simple one. From reading this chapter and the two that follow, Laban would have been much better off if he would have just let Jacob go when he first asked to leave his employment. Why? Because Laban became the big loser in this bargain he made with Jacob. But Laban thought he was much smarter than Jacob, and that he could outwit him. Remember, Jacob didn’t like Laban because he had been deceived by him over the marriage to his two daughters. In addition, Laban obviously didn’t care about Jacob, or he would not of have treated him the way he did. When there is bad blood between two people and one wants to leave, if they can’t or won’t reconcile the issues, it would be better for them to part company. So, when someone tells you or shows you by their actions that they don’t like you, or that they really don’t want to have a relationship with you, let them go. Why? Because it is never a good idea to try and force someone to stay, when they have made it clear that they don’t want to stay. I have seen this truth bear out in church, family, and business or employment relationships. Let me give you several examples of what I mean, and why you should take this lesson to heart.   

First, what is the underlying principle that must be learned? It is very simple. Love never forces its will upon another. A loving friendship is always a voluntary arrangement. Does God ever force His will upon people, and save them whether they want to or not? No! Jesus clearly declared, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:15-18). In other words, whoever chooses to put their faith in Him, will not perish, because they by their own free will have chosen to believe. Even the last appeal made to mankind in the Bible reveals the same truth. John wrote, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Neither can anyone force God into saving them, because He will never be forced to do anything. Through the Prophet Hosea the Father said of His rebellious people, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4). The Hebrew word for freely means voluntarily. God is declaring that no one has twisted His arm, or forced Him to heal His backsliding people. He has done this work of healing and restoration voluntarily. Jesus also said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). No one took Christ’s life, He chose to voluntarily give His life, because of His own love for mankind. Remember, love is always given voluntarily.  

When you apply this principle to a marriage relationship you immediately see my point. As Paul was teaching the Corinthian church, he explained this truth when an unbeliever is not pleased to dwell with a believing spouse, and wants to leave the marriage. He declared, “But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace” (1 Cor. 7:15). The word depart in this verse means to separate or to divorce. The words, let him depart, are in the imperative mood which denotes a command. Therefore, Paul is commanding believers to let a person go who decided to divorce them, and not try and force the person to stay by whatever means they may devise. What was Paul’s rationale for this counsel? Because God has called us to peace.

I have also had the occasion to counsel numerous business people who question whether or not to try and keep an employee, that is constantly telling them that they want to leave their position for other opportunities. Many have tried to keep the employee by different means, just as Laban tried to keep Jacob. In most of these situations, it did not work out well. Why? Because they were trying to keep someone that really didn’t want to be with them anymore. I have also personally had this experience myself as an employer. The lesson that must be learned is, when someone wants to leave your employment for greener pastures, let them go!

God’s blessing upon Jacob!

One of the most powerful lessons Jacob had to learn in his life was that, God was the one who was going to bless him, and he didn’t have to deceive his father to get God’s blessing. Jacob had his plan for how he would obtain the blessing, but God wanted to bless him even more. Jacob went to all this effort to try an obtain something that God wanted to give him all along. By trying to get what he wanted by his own power and scheming, he created so much anguish for himself, and created a conflict with his brother that would continue for the rest of his life.

Do you realize this truth is the same with you? What do I mean? You must see that God has promised all the way back through Abraham that He wants to bless you too! Peter revealed his understanding of this truth when he said, “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:24-26). Think of it, God had promised to bless all the families of the earth when He spoke to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). You are a part of “all the families of the earth,” which means that God wants to bless you. God did this by sending Jesus to this earth to pay the price for my sin and yours. If we try and achieve His blessings by our own good deeds, we will fail. But if we put our faith in His Son Jesus, He will bless us by turning us away from our iniquities, which will make us children of God. May we learn to trust Him to bless our lives, and not attempt to try and deserve His blessings, or worse, try and scheme and deceive like Jacob did.

An error some make in the reading of this text.

There is one thing I must mention before we leave this chapter. In verse 27, Laban declared to Jacob, “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.” The words, “I have learned by experience,” have been translated by some that Laban learned this information about Jacob through divination, or by signs. Is this an acceptable translation of these words? No, I don’t believe that it is, nor should you get this understanding from the simple reading of the text. Why? For several reasons. First, there is no indication in the context that Laban was using divination. Considering the context of a verse is one of the most important criteria for how a word should be translated. Second, this same word learned is translated in 1 Kings 20:33, to watch closely. So, when people think that Laban was using divination because of this specific Hebrew word, I don’t believe this is correct. Yet, you can read many commentaries that declare that Laban learned that Jacob was blessed by God through some kind of divination. But I believe that Laban gained this understanding simply because he saw God’s blessing upon Jacob’s life. Therefore, just because a word could be translated a certain way, doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be translated that way. I caution you on this fact, because some of your Bible translations might make this note in the center reference of your Bible.