Leah and Rachel

Jacob loved Rachel but was tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah, by their father. Jacob eventually married Rachel too, but there was always a rivalry between the two sisters over who had claim to Jacob's affection. This rivalry was especially seen played out between the two in the bearing of children by Jacob. They were in constant battle and prayer to God, each pleading their own case. You can read the story for yourself in Genesis 29 and 30.

Genesis 29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

Leah had bore four sons to Jacob and Rachel was envious.

Genesis 30:1-2 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

The two sisters fight over mandrakes (an aphrodisiac)and Leah sells her mandrakes to Rachel in exchange for a night with Jacob.

Genesis 30:17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

Genesis 30:19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

Genesis 30:21 Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 30:22-23a Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son.

Rachel was blessed with another son but died during childbirth.

Two things strike me as interesting in this story.

1. They had no form of birth control (if it was available it clearly is not being used here) and yet Rachel does not conceive until God deems it is time.

2. Jacob's words to Rachel clearly show he believes it is by God's own will that Leah has bore children and Rachel has not.

I can just hear the liberals thinking out loud that the people of the Old Testament were neanderthals and had no capacity to even conceive of birth control or that they didn't have the best of health conditions so that may have prevented them from being fertile. But I don't believe those responses are true because they knew what aphrodisiacs were and Jacob seemed to be very successful in his occupation.

So, what is the lesson in this story? Can we gleam anything from these words of recorded history that is useful to us today? I'm still in discovery, so I have no answers, only more questions.