Hey Bible Readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Yesterday when we left off, Jacob had just married two sisters, Leah and Rachel,

due in part to some deception from his father-in-law, and Jacob's wife Leah had just had four sons.

Today we opened with Rachel being envious of Leah's ability to bear children.

She puts some weight on Jacob to get her pregnant,

but Jacob gets defensive and points out that only God can give life. We'll see that

repeatedly in this chapter. Rachel decided to follow the ways of her grandmother-in-law

slash great-great-aunt Sarah by offering her maidservant Bill Ha to her husband.

If you recall this did not go well for Sarah.

Stick around to see if it solves all Rachel's problems. Bill Ha had two children for Jacob and Rachel, but then Leah follows suit and gives

her maid servant Zilpa to Jacob and she has two more sons.

So now the tally is, Leah, 4, Leah by Zilpa 2, and Rachel by Bilha 2.

But this sibling rivalry is far from over.

Bitleness and jealousy have been growing in their hearts, and left unattended, a bitter heart will

often resort to manipulation and retaliation, which is what Leah does next.

Since Jacob probably spent most nights with Rachel, the wife he loved,

Leah trades Rachel some plants in exchange for a night with Jacob.

Interestingly, this particular plant, the Mandrake, was believed to promote fertility, but it's also used to treat stomach ulcers, which I'm guessing they both had a lot up by this point.

Do you see all the striving on both parts? Do you see how it's never enough for either of them?

Do you see how the spirit of greed and comparison and their scarcity mentality is driving all their actions?

This isn't love for God.

It isn't love for Jacob.

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