Text: Genesis 29:31-30:24
There was a constant tension and competition between Leah and Rachel for the love of Jacob. In that society, the first wife and the firstborn son were favored. So, although Jacob loved Rachel, Leah sought to win his love by giving him sons. All of their names reflected this up until the fourth son, Judah, was born. The name she chose means, "object of praise, or Praise of the Lord."
Rachel is unable to bear children up to this point, so she gives her maid to Jacob. The first son is named, Dan, which means "he that judges." The second son's name, Naphtali, means "obtained by wrestling."
Leah had not conceived again after the fourth son was born, so she gave her maid to Jacob. As a result, Gad and Asher were born. Leah then bares Jacob two more sons, Issachar and Zebulon, as well as a daughter, Dinah.
Rachel finally produces two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, but dies in childbirth with the second boy. These two women took matters into their own hands. Most of the tribes are named after flesh-ordered behavior. God never told Jacob, "you'll have 12 sons." Only three of them, Levi, Judah, and Joseph, were significant. In the New Testament, Peter, James, and John, were prominent. This is an interesting parallel.
External pressure can move you from what God has commanded you. So, too, can inward desires to obtain things. External pressure can only be effective if there is an inward desire to exploit. Our tendency is to judge the validity of our actions by the outcome that we see, but God judges our actions by the outcome we never attain.
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