Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Genesis 30 Devotional

Blessing That Rivalry Cannot Win

“Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,”Genesis 30:22 (BSB)

Genesis 30 is a painful contest. Rachel envies her sister and tells Jacob to give her children or she will die (30:1). The sisters give Jacob their servants, bargain over mandrakes, and name children after their rivalry. Jacob answers that he is not in the place of God (30:2), and he is right. Only God gives life. In time God remembers Rachel, listens to her, and she gives birth to Joseph (30:22-24).

The second half of the chapter shows Jacob bargaining with Laban and using peeled branches to try to build his flocks. Yet in the next chapter Jacob himself admits that it was God who took Laban's livestock and gave them to him (31:9). The striving in this chapter is real, and so is the grief behind it, but it is not what produces the blessing. God gives children and flocks as gifts. You can bring your longings to him honestly, without having to win them by competing.

To think about: What are you trying to win by striving or comparison that you could ask God for instead?

About Genesis 30: Jacob's Children and Flocks

Rachel and Leah compete for Jacob's affection by giving him their servants and bearing children, until God remembers Rachel and she gives birth to Joseph. Jacob then bargains with Laban for the speckled and spotted animals, and his flocks grow greatly by God's blessing.

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