COME AS A CHILD LESSON 81 TWO WIVES AND TWELVE KIDS PART TWO

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Leah, though not as loved as Rachel by Jacob, was accepted as a wife by him.  Eventually he showed her the love of a husband and eventually she became pregnant with his first son.  This son was called Reuben.  Leah named him that because Reuben means “to see” and she felt in giving her a son God had looked down and “seen” her broken heart and had mercy on her.  It is interesting to think of the name Reuben being similar to the name that Hagar called God when He looked down on her near the well as if He “saw” her in her troubles and she called him “the God Who Sees Me.”  I suppose Leah felt a lot the same as Hagar before the birth of Reuben.  He would have changed her status in life from “barren” to “fruitful.”

So when Reuben was born it was said “See – A Son!”  This was a prophetic shadow pointing to the fact that Jesus, The Son of God would one day come forth and a Messiah would come to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Like this first son of Jacob who was much anticipated and much expected, so too would come The Christ Child.

God was preaching the gospel to the people through the names of Jacob’s sons even before it happened!  He was telling the stories in ways they may not have fully understood until much later!  And Leah said when Reuben was born; “Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction!”

So Reuben became the first born son of Jacob.  He was destined to be the son who would inherit the family birthright, however, some things transpired that raised his two brothers above him.  This happened because Reuben was found to be rebellious and committed some pretty strong sins later in his life that cost him the first place in headship of the family and the tribes of Israel, but that is another story for another day.

Leah proved herself to be fruitful again, and she bore a second son whom she named Simeon.  When Simeon was born she said, “The Lord has “heard” that I am hated and given me a son.”  If you remember the story of Ishmael, Abraham’s son born to Hagar, these two names have similar meanings

The next son born to Leah was named Levi. When Levi was born Leah said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”  Levi’s name means “joined” and Leah suggests that this birth will “join” her closer to Jacob.

 Levi’s descendants became the holy priesthood of Israel, thus thy were used of God to “join” the will of God to the people of Israel.  It would be one of the sons of Levi who would eventually wear the breastplate of The High Priest which bore stones symbolizing all of the names of all of the sons of Jacob.

Leah’s next son was named Judah.  When he was born Leah gave praise to Jehovah.  The name Judah means “praise.”  From the tribe of Judah came the line of David and eventually the Messiah for whom all of God’s people continuously offer up praise!

Judah was said to be outstanding above all his brethren.  He was trustworthy and Jacob relied on him.  He became the head of the tribe of people who settled in the land in and around Jerusalem after the splitting of the Israelite people into the people of the Northern Tribes and the people of the Southern Tribes. 

For a little while Leah did not conceive again.  It was during this period of time that Rachel decided to give her handmaiden, Bilhah, to Jacob so that she could bear children for her.

Bilhah became pregnant and conceived Dan.  Rachel named him Dan meaning “he judged me.”  This was to indicate that God had looked down and judged her and found her worthy of having this son for Jacob.

Dan grew up to be a very evil and deceptive person.  He seems to mirror the hatred Rachel held in her heart for her sister during the time she was childless.  Dan has been mentioned to be the archetype of the antichrist in many writings of the sages.  Some believe the antichrist will come directly from the tribe of Dan and be one of his descendants.  When Jacob blessed his sons before he died, Dan was described as a “serpent.”

Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob again; and Bilhah conceived another son for Rachel.  Rachel named this son Naphtali.  Naptali means “mighty wrestling.”  Rachel exclaimed she had wrestled with God and won favor over her sister when Naphtali was born.

Leah became worried about being so barren for so long, and she gave Zilpah, her handmaiden, to Jacob.  Zilpah bore her a son and Leah named this son Gad.  Gad means “luck” or “fortunate.”  Leah felt lucky and fortunate to have been given yet another son of Jacob’s to raise.  Gad was known for his great strength.

Zilpah became pregnant again and gave birth to Asher for Leah.  Asher means “happy.”  The final blessing of Jacob to his sons said of Asher:  “out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” 

Later when Moses blessed the descendants of Asher in the tribe called Asher he said:  “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren and let him dip his foot in oil.  Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

So; it was widely known that mandrake plants were used for making women fertile.  Leah and Rachel both wanted all the mandrakes they could find!  Reuben went out in the field and found some mandrake plants and brought them to Leah.  Rachel asked Leah to share them with her.  Leah resented the request!  She said to Rachel, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband?  Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

Rachel really wanted the mandrakes, thinking she would give birth to another son if she had them.  So Rachel said she would allow Jacob to sleep with Leah that night if she would give her the mandrakes.  They made a deal and Leah went out to meet Jacob and told him he was hired from Rachel to sleep with her that night.  This must have been very amusing to Jacob. 

Because Leah had hired Jacob from Rachel that night, Leah became pregnant again and when her next son was born she said “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”  She named her son Issachar.  Issachar means “reward” or “wages.” 

Leah became pregnant again with another son for Jacob.  She said “God has presented me with a precious gift.  This time my husband will treat me with honor, and he will be honored to dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.”  So she named this son Zebulun.  Zebulun means:  “to dwell.”  The name could also mean “habitation.”

After the birth of Zebulon, Leah became pregnant again.  This time she gave birth to a girl.  Her name was Dinah.  The name Dinah is the feminine form of “Dan” and both names mean “to judge” or “to govern.”  We will hear Dinah’s sad tale later.  She is raped and her brothers seek revenge on the man who raped her as well as those who are associated with him; though it is said that this man who raped her actually loved Dinah and desired to marry Dinah through it all.  Yet another story for another day.

After Dinah was born God blessed Rachel with the birth of Joseph.  When Rachel gave birth to Joseph she said “God has taken away my disgrace.”  Joseph means “may He add.”  The story of Joseph’s life is quite amazing.  It is a story that will be told at a later time in these lessons. 

By this point in time Jacob was living a VERY busy life.  He had eleven sons and he longed to go back to the land of his birth.  First, he had to finish business with Laban.  (You can guess how business with Laban usually turns out.) 

Simply for the sake of naming all of Jacob’s children at this time, we will briefly skip ahead with this lesson then return to the proper sequence of the story in the next lesson.

Immediately after the miracle of Joseph’s birth, for Rachel had been unable to bear a child on her own before him; she begged God to give her ANOTHER son.  Once again we are presented with Rachel’s discontentment and the desire for MORE, no matter how many blessings she already had. 

The last son of Jacob was named Benjamin.  He was born to Rachel.  God heard her cry for another son and allowed her last request.  When Benjamin was born, Rachel’s labor was severe.  When the midwife told Rachel she had given birth to a son she gasped out his name with her last breath; “son of my sorrow.”  Jacob later changed this name to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.”

Ironically, the woman who had screamed “Give me children or I die” died giving birth to her second son.  We will tell more of this story later too, as we are getting ahead of ourselves, and want to return to the part of the story where Jacob was growing anxious to leave the land of labor for Laban and return to the land of Isaac and Rebecca.

Now we have discussed the whole list of all of Jacob’s children by his two wives, and his two concubines along with the meanings of all of their names.

Be listening for each of their names in upcoming stories.  Much later in the family history all of Jacob’s children became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Levi was head over the Levitical priesthood which evolved.  Each of the twelve tribes had their names represented by a stone for their tribe on the covering that The High Priest wore into the Holy of Holies.  Each stone represented a tribe and each stone and tribe name had a meaning which is comparable to the names of the children they originated from.

There is a message hidden inside the symbolism of all of the stones and the way they are arranged on the ephod (the priestly covering.)  When you think of the meaning of the names given to each son and/or tribe and you combine their meaning s together and in order of their birth, the message reads like this:

“ Now I will praise YHVH.  Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction.  What good fortune!  Happy am I!  With great wrestling  I have wrestled!  For Elohim has made me forget all my toil and because YHVH has heard that I was hated, now this time will my husband be joined unto me.  Elohim has given me my wages.  Elohim has endowed me with a good gift!  Now my husband will dwell with me.  YHVH will add to me.  You shall have this Son.”

How much of this hidden message is a coincidence?

Is this message not the whole meaning of the existence of the people of God throughout the Old Testament?  Does it not scream of God sending a Messiah to save us?

Is it possible that the minds of men could have somehow contrived these names and their order about 1800 years before the birth of Christ?  I hardly think so! 

God is in the details.  You can always count on the fact that God is in every little thing.  If you live with open eyes and pray for understanding you will see such things come to pass every day in your own life.