"Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?"
Proverbs 27:4 NIV
Jealousy brings with it a complex range of emotions from fear of abandonment to a deep sense of humiliation and even rage. It comes about when there is a perceived threat to a relationship by a third party. You only need to watch young children playing together for a while to see this as they try to make friends. Floods of tears accompany the threat of loss and often various means of retaliation become evident.
The situation where Jacob has ended up having two wives, is certainly one where the potential for jealousy would be high. Leah has already produced four sons for Jacob while Rachel has been unable to fall pregnant:
"When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!" Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her." So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan. Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.
During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar. Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." She named him Joseph, and said, "May the Lord add to me another son."
Genesis 30: 1-24 NIV
Again we see the practice of using a surrogate to produce an heir, reminding us of Sarah's predicament. There seems to be ongoing jealousy between these sisters, probably because Leah felt that despite the fact she had provided heirs for Jacob, he only loved Rachel. She tries to remain in Jacob's favour by giving him her maid to lie with to give him another two sons, in the same way Rachel had used her maid in order to have two sons. Rachel speaks of the struggle with her sister and the fact that in her eyes, she had won!
The root of the mandrake plant apparently had properties which at that time were believed to enhance fertility. This is possibly why it was sought after by Rachel who desperately wanted to conceive. She even allows Leah to sleep with Jacob so she can obtain a supply of mandrakes from Reuben!
God listened to Leah's heart and allows her to conceive three more children. Rachel also finally bears a child of her own which must have been a great blessing. God knows all about our insecurities and He certainly knew that for both Leah and Rachel, they just felt inferior in their own way and it fuelled their jealousy. It's wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us all equally and there is no need to look at our brothers and sisters in Christ with jealousy or envy, as this makes it very difficult to love them:
"Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant."
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4 AMP
"For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind."
James 3:16 NLT
This is surely not the way anyone would want to live but imagine the difference if instead of jealousy, Leah and Rachel had cultivated a loving attitude toward each other:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Philippians 2:3-4 NIV
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for all Your Word has to say about jealousy and envy. You have given me the most wonderful example of how to live because I have the gospel accounts of how Jesus lived. May I be led by Your Holy Spirit, allowing Your love to define all of my relationships, living with contentment and deep gratitude for all I have in You.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2 NIV
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
Psalms 36:9 NLT
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Light and Life for Today
SpiritualA daily devotional for your time alone with God. In an increasingly dark world, more than ever, we need to look beyond what we can see, past our present circumstances. In order to see the light and experience life as our Heavenly Father intended, I...
