Solving Problems Through Human Logic: Genesis 30:14-24
God’s hands produce incredible things through broken people because He is glorious. As James says in his letter, all good things come from the Father. He deserves the credit. He may work through me and you to produce something great, but we do not deserve the credit. He redeems our brokenness and allows us to be a part of His incredible greatness.
The bargaining for Jacob’s love continues. One day, Reuben finds some mandrake roots. Rachel bargains for them, offering her husband in the trade. Leah truly was the second wife. There was clearly enough intimacy between Jacob and Rachel for Rachel to trade him away. There was clearly not enough intimacy between Leah and Jacob that the lack of intimacy became leverage.
People believed mandrakes were an aphrodisiac and fertility booster. Rachel is the woman having regular sex with Jacob and she is the only one who isn’t getting pregnant. There is no way to know how deeply she internalized the fact that she had her husband’s love but was unable to produce an heir.
From a scientific perspective, it is reasonable to conclude the issue was something in Rachel’s biology. Therefore, she bargains for the roots to help her overcome whatever was not working correctly. She gives Jacob to Leah for the night. She’s playing the long game. One more night of intimacy with Jacob won’t change anything. After all, how many nights of intimacy have they had while Leah was having four full-term pregnancies? However, if the mandrakes could be prepared properly and used effectively, then it might make a difference.
At this point in the story, notice where God is mentioned. The only time Rachel or Leah mention God is when a child is produced. They are treating God as a talisman. These women are solving their own problems and God’s blessing becomes proof of their scheming. They are competing in a very worldly manner. There is no indication they are going to God other than to offer up token thanks after they get what they want.
This marriage situation is already stressed. Jacob is splitting time between two legal wives and two concubines. That alone pushes the marriage well outside of God’s ideal for marriage. This marriage needed God’s wisdom and God’s direction to function properly. Instead of going to God, looking for His direction, making decisions based upon His ways, and trying to be a community that takes the needs of each member into account, Rachel and Leah spend time thinking about themselves and solving their own problems.
That doesn’t change the fact that God is present. In the end, after Leah has produced seven children and Jacob has a total of four through his concubines, Rachel bears Joseph. God still works His plan. This is yet another story about how imperfect people can be used by God to create something glorious. God’s hands produce incredible things through broken people because He is glorious.
