Rachel and Leah: Bilhah and Zilpah joined the family drama

As a woman, I understand that we are very delicate and any home that considers the desires of the wife will thrive. In other words, when the wife is happy and satisfied, the home runs smoothly. However, as humans, we do not really need all that we want. Therefore a really happy wife means a lot of excesses that possibly the man doesn’t need will have to be accommodated. It is important for a woman to sieve her desires and cravings because not everything we wish to have are really necessary. If handling one wife comes with handling lots of excesses, imagine a polygamous home where the husband is committed to making all his wives happy and content. Rachel and Leah both had their issues and both felt the need to be satisfied accordingly. Jacob, the man at the center of all this drama had to deal with each wife and their requests. As the story of Rachel and Leah progressed,  we have seen that Rachel’s deepest longing is to have a child and Leah’s desire is to be loved by her husband. How can Jacob satisfy both? Let’s go back to the Bible and continue from there.

Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. (Genesis 30:3‭, ‬9)

Rachel was desperate to have a child and like Sarah, her grandmother-in-law, she decided to give her servant to her husband. Rachel said to Jacob, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan. Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.” (Genesis 30:3‭-‬8). This did not go well with Leah. “When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.” (Genesis 30:9‭-‬13). Jacob looks like the victim here, he was manipulated by his own wives to take on more wives and have more children. 

The drama in the house of Jacob was now intense. Rachel’s camp had two children and Leah’s camp had six children. Jacob was the man in the middle of this “baby-making business”. How was he managing his work life, family life and emotional state? Family feud of any kind is not good and it ends up draining all parties, causing disunity and grudge. The whole drama began with deception and favouritism that escalated to something else. When the Bible warns us against lies and favouritism, it is for our own good. Besides the right relationship we have with God when we eschew evil, we also have peace and tranquility in our lives when we live right. Each person has a role in the home to ensure peace and development. Envy, favouritism, hatred and bitterness are a good recipe for a “troubled home”. Imagine the heat and the tension when each one is against the other and each one in a competition with another in the same family. The children of such discombobulated homes carry the same mindset of their parents. How can the peace of God reign in such an atmosphere? One husband, four women… Jacob must have been a very busy man.

Imperfect people need a perfect God as their Saviour and that is why we all need God because we are not perfect. I pray that any home going through difficult times encounters the presence of God. Remember, only God can satisfy our deepest longings and desires. No person can give us what will permanently make us satisfied. Instead of worrying and nagging people for what we don’t have, we should work with what we have, and ask God for His provision for what we need. May the peace of God be with us all.