Mar 11

Genesis 30:1-24
Memorise Ezekiel 14:4-5
“Give me children, or else I die…”

More than anything, Rachel wanted a child of her own. With great envy, she had watched as her sister Leah gave birth to one son after another. It did not matter to her that she was the favoured wife of Jacob who loved her more than her sister Leah. Her desire for a child became her all-consuming desire that quickly became an idol in her heart. It is not that it is wrong to want children. But for Rachel, it became an unhealthy obsession, such that she said to Jacob “give me children, or else I die” (Genesis 30:1). In saying that, she showed that to her, having a child was more important than life itself! She would rather die than be found childless.

Jacob rightly diagnosed her problem. He was rightly angry with Rachel’s unreasonable request, and asked her “Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?” (Genesis 30:2). Jacob knew that it was God’s sovereignty at work here, that had caused her to become barren. Thus in demanding from Jacob, she was actually demanding from God! She was angry with God’s hand in her life, and was thus sinning.

But her problem did not end there. Instead of repenting, she then came up with a terribly sinful solution to her problem. She suggested that her own husband now sleep with another woman – her handmaid. Whilst it was a culturally acceptable practice at that time, to have a handmaid serve as a sort of a surrogate mother, such that the child from her womb would be considered as Rachel’s. Yet it was certainly not acceptable in the eyes of her Lord! Yet Rachel did not care, for she was so caught up in her obsession that she was willing to do what it takes in order to achieve her objective. And so Jacob slept with Bilhah and conceived. Upon seeing that, Leah too joined in this sinful scheme and also gave her own handmaid Zilpah to Jacob in order that he may bear children through her as well. Thus that one sin was now propagating to more and more sin.

Yet at the end of it all, when Rachel herself finally conceived, it seems she was still not satisfied, for she named her first son “Joseph”, which means “let him add”, showing that she still wanted more from God! Dear teen – covetous and idolatry in the heart are dangerous sins that will never be satisfied. Do you harbour any such sins in you?

Thought: What are the idols in my heart?
Prayer: Lord, may You guard my heart from any such sinful idolatry.