Anguish
There is pain and strife in this life, anguish — but GOD does make all things good in the end.
Two people love each other. The bride’s father’s trickery almost ruins their chance of marriage but neither are put off.
Eventually, they marry and yet amidst huge compliations, there was much strife. The most natural thing to a married couple is to have children. But no, this mother is not granted a child. Pain triggers clash… as it does sometimes, with the person you love most… And so it there is much anguish between Jacob and his beloved Rachel: anguish from human interference to their life together, and anguish in barrenness.
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 30:1-5
“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.”
Rachel
I think it can be said that Jacob loved Rachel. Perhaps she loved him as well. Certainly, she was expecting to marry him and they both waited for 7 years, only to be tricked.
And so, on top of being second wife, to be barren also, would have been painful, and humiliating, and unfulfilling. She can, therefore, be forgiven for being short-tempered with her husband.
Jacob
And Jacob was tricked into a marriage he didn’t want and yet, the woman of his heart could bare no children, while the other wife brought forth sons. The emotional tension in the household would have been hard to bear and so, Jacob can be forgiven for snapping at the love of his life.
Marital tension
We often snap at the person we love most when we carry a burden of pain. So it is understandable this couple had arguments.
But we do rash things when we are desperate and under strife.
And so, as per Rachel’s instruction, Jacob, like his grandfather before him, took a servant…
He ended up with 12 sons in all.
The twelve tribes of Israel.
What the enemy means for evil, GOD turns to good!! (1 Samuel 24:19)
Rachel’s firstborn
Joseph is born to Rachel, and what is begun in him is a story of such magnitude it echoes through the history of Abraham’s descendants to this day.
Think on this: There is injustice in this world. But GOD makes all things good and right through His sovereign power and His victory on the cross.