#83 The Theology of Mandrakes Genesis 30

Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "you must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar. Then leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach." So she called his name Joseph, and said, "the lord shall add to me another son." Genesis 30: 14-24 NKJV

So it would appear that Rachel is still desperate for a child and that the relationship between the sisters is still strained. Leah's son finds mandrakes, which some consider to be an aid in fertility. Rachel is quite anxious for these, so trades her husband for some of the homeopathic remedy. So much of their beliefs are steeped in superstition relating to the natural. God had made a covenant with Abraham and He will most certainly accomplish His end, even aside from the superstition and through a fickle people. They make the same assumptions and leaps that I see today. "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." If God is blessing me than it is because I am good, never mind that he causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust. We tend to think that our actions are justified when things are going well. Leah still feels unloved and hopes that making sons for Jacob will cause him to come to her tent more often. It is a very natural Theology, where even knowing that God exist, the approval of man becomes the idol of the heart. Zebulun means dwelling, and reflects her sorrow and her hope. She wants a husband of her own, to be someones end of day and rising sun. It is not wrong on her part to want this, and it is not wrong for Rachel to want a child. The correct Theology would be to pray, and trust the words of God rather than shape a belief based upon the earthly want. 

This reminds me of the words of my Great Grandmother when I was young. She believed if you were rich it was because you were a good person. If a church grew, it was because they were doing the right thing. She could not let those around her walk in forgiveness from the things of the past, especially if they struggled in the material. Their struggle financially was proof that God was punishing them. She was a respecter of persons, and I loved her but I don't share her views on this. It is not what the scripture teaches. 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6&7 NKJV

Your grace is sufficient for me.