Not By The Wayside
I came across a passage in Genesis 49 that was heartbreaking when I read it:
“29 Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.” (Genesis 49:29-31 NLT, Emphasis on Vs 31)
When I read verse 31, I was wondering why Leah was buried in the cave of couples instead of Rachel. You will also notice that Leah was not referred to as Jacob’s wife in this verse, as compared to Sarah and Rebekah, who were referred to as the wives of Abraham and Isaac, respectively. If you recall, Jacob had to serve Laban, Rachel’s dad, for 14 years (first 7 years and was deceived to marry Leah and served another 7 years, making a total of 14 years for Rachel, his love). Jacob truly loved Rachel and was willing to do anything for his love, even if it meant serving a whole 14 years under a crooked boss, Laban. This was the depth of his love for Rachel, so you can understand why I was puzzled why Rachel did not end up in the cave of couples. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to see why this was so.
In Genesis 31, after God spoke to Jacob to return to his hometown, he decided to leave Laban and move with his family and possessions back to his hometown. Prior to their departure, Rachel stole her father’s idols and took them along with her, without her husband’s knowledge.
“At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them with her. “ (Genesis 31:19 NLT)
When Laban discovered Jacob had left with his family and possessions, he chased after them and as he caught up with them, he accused Jacob of stealing his gods. Jacob was very upset at such an accusation, without realizing Rachel had taken it and he declared that whoever had taken those idols should die.
“But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols.” (Genesis 31:32 NLT)
The reason why Rachel decided to steal her father’s household idols is not stated in the bible, but that wrong move cost her her life. When you fast-forward to Genesis 35, you will notice that when Jacob and his family were on their way to Bethlehem, while they were just a few distances from their destination, Rachel went into labour and while in such great pain, she gave birth to Benjamin, but died in childbirth. She got buried on the way to Bethlehem.
“16 Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense. 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!” 18 Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.” (Genesis 35:16-20 NLT)
This was a very sad way for Rachel’s life to end, despite all the toils and challenges she had gone through with Jacob. Can you imagine how she might have felt when she heard that she could not get married to Jacob until he served 7 years for her? Wow, the first 1 year, then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 years and she might have thought “FINALLY,” only to discover that her own dad played a fast one on her and Jacob and gave her sister, Leah, in marriage. Heartbroken and crushed, she later got a glimpse of hope since Jacob was so in love with her and was ready to serve another 7 years for her. You can imagine the pain, discomfort and ache she might have experienced seeing Leah with her man!! Despite all that pain, 7 years finally came and she was able to be with her man, or should I say half of her man! She might have thought, “Wow, finally, the battle is over,” only to discover that she wasn’t having children and Leah was popping babies left, right, and center. With this new competition, she decides to give her maidservant, Bilhah, for Jacob to take in as his wife, out of desperation. Now, it wasn’t just one woman she was sharing her husband with, but now two. When Leah noticed she wasn’t giving birth to more children, she gave her maidservant, Zilpah, for Jacob to take in as his wife as well. (Genesis 30). Now, Rachel had 3 different women competing for the attention of her husband, her love. Can you imagine the pain she might have gone through, coupled with the fact that she was not able to give birth to her own children as of then? Despite all the sacrifices, when she was about to start enjoying the fruit of her labour, it was terminated by one wrong move she made (stealing the idols of her father). This move ordinarily might have seemed insignificant but when a declaration was made by her husband when his spirit was stirred up in anger towards Laban, it created a different world for Rachel. In one of the sermons by my pastor, “The Law of Exchange”, one of the highlights is how a person’s world can change by their words, especially when they are stirred up positively (e.g when happy) or negatively (e.g in anger). Rachel made a wrong move by stealing her dad’s idols, but when Jacob spoke those words of death over anyone who took it, it was a seed that was planted in Genesis 31 and germinated and produced its fruit in Genesis 35.
It was so sad to see the way Rachel’s life ended despite all the struggles she had gone through, only to die by the wayside, while a few distances from her destination. To wives, when those suggestions come for you to use your own hand to destroy what you have built through your words or deeds, please rebuke those demonic suggestions. You will notice that because of the pain Rachel was in when giving birth to Benjamin, she was about to limit the destiny of Benjamin by calling him Benoni (son of my sorrow), but thank God for Jacob, who wasn’t going to allow a wrong seed get sown a second time, and instead, cancelled that and named the child Benjamin (son of my right hand)- The bible says “Every wise woman encourages and builds up her family, but a foolish woman over time will tear it down by her own actions.” (Proverbs 14:1 TPT). The reason a foolish woman tears down her home is not necessarily because she intended to do so from the beginning, but every action she took led towards such destruction. Michal is another woman who limited her destiny by the words that came out of her mouth, instead of the blessing David intended releasing over her life. She died childless, without the next generation and a legacy ( 2 Samuel 6: 16-23). This blog post is mainly focused on wives, but the principles are applicable to both wives and husbands. To husbands, as authorities over your wives, ensure that you create a glorious world for your family. Jacob unknowingly spoke a negative word over Rachel’s life that came to pass later on in her life. You will notice that when another negative occurrence was about to take place by the words of Rachel, he cancelled it and spoke a positive word by calling his son Benjamin (son of my right hand) instead of Benoni (the son of my sorrow), which Rachel wanted to call the child.
You would have thought that after all the sacrifices, Rachel would have been buried in the cave of couples, at least her bones transported later on to the caves of couples, but instead, her place was taken by another. There is a vision God has for your marriage, and you, as a wife, have a vital part to play in it. Don't allow the suggestions of the enemy to limit the destiny God intends for you. It is my prayer that we will not fall by the wayside, but instead, we will finish well, the race set before us, in Jesus’ name amen.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1 NKJV)
To build your home as a wise woman, it takes the help of God to build it. He has given us the Holy Spirit, to help us in our time of need, to guide and direct us as we build our home together with God. To access the Holy spirit, you need to open your heart to Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior. If you would like to make that decision today, please say this prayer with me:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me for all my sins and to make me a brand new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations!!!! You are now born-again! This means you share the same DNA as Jesus Christ and, because of you, there is a great celebration in heaven right now!
If you made this decision, I would love to hear from you today! Please leave a comment on this post or reach out to me at https://www.cccghq.org/contact-us
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi