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(1) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Genesis 29:29: 31-33 (ESV)
(Leah Births Reuben and Simeon)
31When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachael was barren. 32And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,c for she said “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.d
(2) Genesis 20:34-35 (ESV)
(Leah Births Levi and Judah)
34Again she conceived and bore a son, and said “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.e
35And she conceived again and bore a son, and said “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah.f Then she ceased bearing.
(3) Genesis 30:1-4 (ESV)
(Rachael Envies Leah and Enlists (Enslaves) Bilhah)
1When Rachael saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”
2Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachael, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
3Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf,a that even I may have children through her.” 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.
(4) Genesis 30:5-8 (ESV)
(Bilhah Bears Dan and Naphtali for Rachael, Who Wrestles with Leah)
5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6Then Rachael said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.c
7Rachael’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8Then Rachael said, “With mighty wrestlingsd I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.e
(5) Genesis 30: 9-13 (ESV) (Leah Enlists Zilpah Who Bears Gad and Asher)
9When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.f 12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.g
(6) Genesis 30: 14-16 (ESV)
(Rachael Trades Jacob To Leah for Reuben’s Mandrakes)
14In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachael said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachael said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”16When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night.
(7) Genesis 30: 17–18 (ESV) (God Listens To Leah Bears Issachar)
17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.h
(8) Genesis 30: 19-21 (ESV) (Leah Is Endowed With Zebulun)
19And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. 21Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
(9) Genesis 30: 22-24 ( (ESV) (God Remembers Rachael With Joseph)
22Then God remembered Rachael, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24And she called his name Joseph,j saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”
(10) Message map: Genesis 29: 31-35 & 30: 1-24
“Jacob’s Family Feuds & Germinates The 12 Tribes”
- Leah’s relationship with God is reflected in the names of her 6 Children-Tribes
- Rachael Wrestles With Leah & Reflects the Problems of Polygamous Relationships
(Rachael Has 2 Children: Joseph & Benjamin)
- Bilhah & Zilpah Are Brought Into The Battle to Bear Children of The Tribes
- God Honors the 12 boys born in Dubious, morally suspect Circumstance
(Despite Parental Choices, God Loves & Accepts Children, Each of which Has An Equal Opportunity To Honor God)
(11) Genesis 29: 30-33
Leah’s relationship with God is reflected in the names of her 6 Children-Tribes
Gen 29: 30 Jacob loved Rachael more than Leah. 31 the LORD saw Leah, who was hated (ESV, KJV) (CJB/NAS = unloved,), he opened her womb, but Rachael was barren. So God insinuates Himself and intervenes in the affairs of the chosen family.
- Gen 29: 32 Leah’s 1st son is named Reuben, meaning paraphrase “the LORD sees my affliction,” and she hopes this wins her husband’s affection
- Gen 29: 33 Leah’s 2nd son is named Simeon, meaning ““the LORD hears I am hated.”
(12) Genesis 29: 30-33
Leah’s relationship with God is reflected in the names of her 6 Children-Tribes
- Gen 29: 34 Leah’s 3rd son is named Levi, meaning “my husband will be attached.” Again, she’s hoping this wins her husband’s affection.
- Gen 29: 35 Leah’s 4th son is named Judah, meaning ““I will praise the LORD.”
With the birth of Judah, Leah seems now to be focused on The Lord, independent of how her husband feels about her in relation to her sister.
Then she ceased bearing [for a time].
(13) Genesis 30: 17–18 (ESV)
Leah’s relationship with God is reflected in the names of her 6 Children-Tribes
(God Listens To Leah & Blesses Her To Bear Issachar)
17And God listened to Leah (and understood her situation and motives), and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
- Gen 30: 17-18 Leah’s 5th son is named Issachar, meaning “God has given me my wages. Though God does bless her with a child, Leah’s reasoning that it is because she gave her maid to her husband is not accurate. A) Leah acts as if she committed a selfless act by giving her maid, Zilpah to Jacob in Gen 30: 9 – 13, which results in the birth of Gad and Asher, ,but Leah does this to compete with her sister, Rachael, who had given her maid Bilhah to Jacob, the union of which had produced Dan and Naphtali.
- Gen 30: 19-20 Leah’s 6th son is named Zebulun, meaning “God has endowed me with a good endowment;
Leah loves God, but still is hoping that “now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.”
God will honor Leah, as she and Jacob will be buried with Sarah and Abraham, and Isaac and Rebekah now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
(14) (Yellow) Deut. 21:15 Presents the problems of polygamy
The Law of Moses supposes that, if a man had two wives, one would be loved and the other lacking affection, and these preferences would transfer to the children. [bctt tweet=”Deu. 21:15. “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,a 16then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, …” username=”LibertyCF3″]
Deu. 21:15. “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,a 16then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, …
17but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the first fruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
The other problem with polygamy is that causes rivalry between the wives.
In Gen 30: 1-4 we see that Rachael Envies Leah & Enlists (Enslaves) her maid, Bilhah to Bear Children for Her and the motive is competition with her sister. Although Rachael would have wanted children anyway, the polygamous marriage exacerbates every challenge a family faces by adding an added layer of contention.
1When Rachael saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachael, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf,a that even I may have childrenb through her.” 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.
In Gen 30 9-11, When Leah’s servant Zilpah births Gad, whose name means “Good fortune has come!” and then in Gen 30: 12 -13 when Zilpah bears Asher, whose name means, “Happy am I” — what transpires?
- Zilpah get to make decisions about how Gad and Asher are raised, or does Leah?
- Do Gad and Asher call Zilpah or Leah, “Mom”?
- Does Zilpah have the same wifely rights and status as does Leah and Rachael? (No)
- Just because Leah feels “Good Fortune and Happy does not mean it is the same for Zilpah, and her children.
Polygamy Impedes Inter-Family Peace
God wants our families to be free from the competition, jealously, contention and other emotional traumas, so in 1Tim 3: 1-2 & 12 says both overseers and deacons must be the husband of one wife. This monogamy is Gods desire for all families.
(15) Gen 30:14-16
Rachael trades Her turn with Jacob for mandrakes
In Gen 30:14-15 when Rachael and Leah barter bedding down with Jacob for Reuben’s mandrakes, he learns:
- a) His mother, Leah, resents Rachael for having taken away her husband
- b) It is okay to trade goods for personal sexual favors
- c) People are objects to be traded or bartered for
- d) What leads to Reuben’s sin with Bilhah in Gen 35:22
(16) Gen 30:14-15
Gen 30: 22 Then God remembered Rachael (was mindful of her condition, circumstances & situation), and God listened to her and opened her womb.
- Gen 30: 22-23 Rachael’s 1st son is named Joseph, a composite of two word phrases meaning a) “God has taken away my reproach and b) “The Lord shall add to me another son.”
- Gen 35: 16-18 Rachael’s 2nd son is named Benjamin, meaning — “Son of my right”
Genesis 35: Rachael Dies While Giving Birth To Benjamin
16Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distancef from Ephrath, Rachael went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” 18And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;g but his father called him Benjamin.h 19So Rachael died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachael’s tomb, which is there to this day. 21Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
17) Israel’s Tribal Birth Order Tells The Nation’s Story
The Tribal Listings Occur 20 Times in the Bible, but not always in the same order, and at times some tribes are left out and are combined to perhaps tell a different part of the story.
| Israel’s Tribal Birth Order Tells The Nation’s Story | ||||
| # | Name | Mother | Meaning | Historical
Event |
| 1 | Reuben | Leah | the LORD sees my _______________ | Egypt Slavery |
| 2 | Simeon | Leah | the LORD sees I’m ______________ | Moses Sent |
| 3 | Levi | Leah | the LORD is
_____________ to me |
10 Plagues |
| 4 | Judah | Leah | I ________ the LORD | Passover |
| 5 | Dan | Bilhah | God is my
__________________ |
Left Egypt |
| 6 | Naphtali | Bilhah | I have wrestled & __________________ | Jud,Sam,Kgs |
| 7 | Gad | Zilpah | Good ___________ has come | King David |
| 8 | Asher | Zilpah | ____________ Am I | Solomon |
| 9 | Issachar | Leah | God gives me _______ | Split Kingdom |
| 10 | Zebulun | Leah | God ___________ me | Exiles Return |
| 11 | Joseph | Rachael | The Lord adds another ____________ | Christ Comes |
| 12 | Benjamin | Son of the _____ hand | Resurrection | |
(18) What is the significance of there being 12 tribes of Israel?
Why are there 12 tribes of Israel?
www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/12.html
The number 12 in Scripture is the number of perfection & completeness and symbolizes God’s power and authority, and perfect governmental foundation.
- Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons (princes) who each represented one of the 12 tribes.
- Ishmael, who was born to Abraham through Hagar, also had twelve princes. (Gen 21:13 &18, & Gen 25: 12-18)
- Twelve can be found in 187 places in God’s word.
- There are 12 Disciples of Christ
- Twelve occurs 22 times in Revelation.
The Number Twelve (12) can be found in 187 places in God’s word. Revelation alone has 22 occurrences of the number.
Twelve (12) is considered a perfect number, and symbolizes God’s power and authority, as well perfect governmental foundation. It can also symbolize completeness or the nation of Israel as a whole.
For example, Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons, each of which represented a tribe begun by a prince, for 12 princes total. Ishmael, who was born to Abraham through Hagar, also had twelve princes.
In Leviticus 24: 5-9, God specified that twelve unleavened cakes of bread be placed every week in the temple with frankincense next to each of the two piles that were to be made. The priests were commanded to change the bread every Sabbath day (Leviticus 24).
Bread for the Tabernacle
5“You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephahb shall be in each loaf. 6And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure goldc before the LORD. 7And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the LORD. 8Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the LORD regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. 9And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the LORD’s food offerings, a perpetual due.”)
Christ called and choose twelve disciples to bear witness to what he did and to spread the good news of the gospel to the entire world. After he was raised from the dead, Jesus told the eleven disciples (Judas had killed himself) that God had given him ALL power and authority in both earth and heaven (God’s divine authority – Matthew 28:18).
Twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel (144,000 total) will receive salvation during the end time’s Great Tribulation (Revelation 7). A set of 144,000 (12 x 12,000), possibly the same as those in chapter 7, will be taken from earth in order to serve and follow the Lamb of God (Revelation 14:1 – 5). Christ’s bride in Revelation 12, the church, wears a crown containing twelve stars.
New Jerusalem, which is made in heaven and brought to the earth by God himself, contains 12 gates made of pearl which are each manned by an angel. Over each gate will be one of the names of Israel’s twelve tribes. The walls are 144 cubits high (12 multiplied by itself – Revelation 21:16 – 17), with the city itself being 12,000 furlongs square.
(19) Deut 24:16, 2 Kgs 14:6 & Mt. 19:14, Mk 10:14 & Lk. 18:18
God Loves the 12 boys born in Dubious, morally suspect Circumstances God Honors the 12 boys born in morally suspect Circumstances
Despite parental choices, God loves & accepts children, each of whom has an equal opportunity to honor God!
Mt. 19:14, Mk 10:14 & Lk. 18:18 “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Duet 24:16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
2 Kings 14:6 (NLT) However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”
Col 3:25 KJV – But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
(20) Key Verse Comparison:
Jeremiah 32:18
(The Next Generation Bears The After Effects of The Previous)
CJB – 18 You display your grace to thousands but also reap the guilt of the fathers into the lap of their children who follow them. Great, powerful God, whose name is ADONAI-Tzva’ot, (Lord of Hosts)
NIV –You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD Almighty.
NLT – You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sing upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
(21) Let’s Respond to God Who Accepts Us as Beloved!
Let’s Respond to God Who Disciplines Us for Our Good!!
Let’s turn too Christ in Communion, trusting and thanking Him for accepting us, regardless of our dubious backgrounds, and our failures in parenting that each of our children can be accepted in the Lord.
As we commune with Christ this morning, let’s look to Him to continue to reach out to our children, and let’s ask Him for the wisdom to show us how to move forward as parents whom He can use to influence our Godly character in our Children.
Rom 5:1-5
1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faithb into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
In Communion we can draw near because Titus 3:5 (ESV) he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
(22) In Communion We Invite the Holy Spirit to examine us as we…
Consider Christ – Heb 12: 2-3 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted
We Look To Christ Who Commissions Us To Serve
Ephesians 4:8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people …
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
In Communion We are reminded to reconnect and Confirm Our Calling & Election
2Pet 1:10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. In Communion We reflect upon our commission and how god confirms it by strengthening our convictions
Receive Conviction to move forward and take the next steps of faith
Eph 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
1 Thes. 1:5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 3:14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence/conviction(NIV) firm to the end.
Bereshit (Genesis) 30-31 order
(Their birth)
Bereshit (Genesis) 49 order
(The blessings)
I Chronicles 2 Order
Shemot (Exodus) 1 Order
(Going to Egypt)
Revelation 7 Order
(The sealing)
- Reuben – Leah
- Reuben – Leah
- Reuben – Leah
- Reuben – Leah
- Judah – Leah
- Simeon – Leah
- Simeon – Leah
- Simeon – Leah
- Simeon – Leah
- Reuben – Leah
- Levi – Leah
- Levi – Leah
- Levi – Leah
- Levi – Leah
- Gad – Zilpah
- Judah – Leah
- Judah – Leah
- Judah – Leah
- Judah – Leah
- Asher – Zilpah
- Dan – Leah
- Zebulon – Leah
- 6. Issachar – Leah
- Issachar – Leah
- Naphtali – Bilhah
- Naphtali – Bilhah
- Issachar – Leah
- Zebulon – Leah
- Zebulon – Leah
Manasseh –
- Gad – Zilpah
- Dan – Bilhah
- Dan – Bilhah
- Benyamin – Rachael
- Simeon – Leah
- Asher – Zilpah
- Gad – Zilpah
- Joseph – Rachael
- Dan – Bilhah
- Levi – Leah
- 9. Issachar – Leah
- Asher – Zilpah
- Benyamin – Rachael
- Naphtali – Bilhah
- Issachar – Leah
- Zebulon – Bilhah
- Naphtali – Bilhah
- Naphtali – Bilhah
- Gad – Zilpah
- Zebulon – Leah
- Joseph – Rachael
- Joseph – Rachael
- Gad – Zilpah
- Asher – Zilpah
- Joseph – Rachael
- Benyamin – Rachael
- Benyamin – Rachael
- Asher – Zilpah
- Joseph – Rachael
- Benyamin – Rache1 [email-download-link namefield=”YES” id=”242″]
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