A Husband's Response Matters

Now when Rachel saw that she

bore Jacob no children,

she became jealous of her sister;

and she said to Jacob,

“Give me children, or else I die.”

Genesis 30:1

Jacob responds to Rachel’s cry with anger instead of prayer, which leads to what I like to call the “wife wars.” God has placed the husband as head of the household, and his choices and his actions affect the course of the family. We should never forget the importance of the role of husbands.

In Leah’s and Rachel’s desperation to be number one in the heart of Jacob, they force their two maids, Bilhah and Zilpah, to allow Jacob to go into them and bear sons for them.

I can’t help but wonder if the history of the nation of Israel might have been a little different had Jacob learned from the choices of his fathers; if he had learned from Abraham, who listened to the voice of his wife and went into her maid and refused to do so himself. If he instead had prayed for his beloved Rachel as Isaac had Rebekah, maybe things would be different.

However, I know that God is sovereign, and I know that from Leah came Judah, the father of David, the father of Mary, through whom Christ would enter this world in the flesh.

Jacob has such a long road ahead of him, and behind him lays the path of havoc wreaked by his choices. He has yet to place his faith in God. He has yet to seek righteousness. He is still just going through life, living according to his own strength, making choices according to his own flesh. He has yet to learn that he needs to trust in the Lord with all his heart and lean not on his own understanding, but acknowledge God in all his ways and God will make his path straight (Proverbs 3:5–6).

The good news is that one day he will learn.

Jacob also will learn that even in the mistakes of life—even in the sin, the rebellion, and iniquity—God’s purpose will not be thwarted. In our God there is always hope. He reigns supreme. God not only makes our path straight, but He also clears the way.

Oh Father,

I have made life-altering choices that not only affected me, but others as well, and they were made in the midst of sin, rebellion, and iniquity. I continue to suffer the consequences of those choices, but I have peace because I know I am forgiven. I have You as my God and Savior. In Christ I can forget about what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). In Christ I am a new creation, and the old things have passed away and new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ all things work together for good for those who love God and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). In Christ I can rejoice!

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.