Women Of The Bible- Rachel

This week we return to my, "Women of the Bible" series with a look at the person of Rachel. Wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, Rachel's life was full of highs and lows. I hope these verses and points for reflection can bless us today as we take a look at just a few of the key elements we find in the life of this fascinating woman.

Women Of The Bible- Rachel

Genesis 29:4-6
“And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?”
And they said, “We are from Haran.”
Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”
And they said, “We know him.”
So he said to them, “Is he well?”
And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.””

Genesis 29:16-20
“Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said,
“I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.”

Genesis 29:23-28
“Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban,
“What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.”

Genesis 30:1
“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”

Genesis 30:22-24
“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.””

Women of the Bible. Let’s look at Jacob’s wife,
A fascinating study can be seen in Rachel’s life.
This Matriarch of Israel had many highs and lows.
A woman full of beauty and the one whom Jacob chose.

Her true love waited patiently, for Rachel filled his heart
And yet it could be said their marriage saw a rocky start!
Her father was deceptive, giving Leah first as wife.
This trickery caused years of woe and brought all kinds of strife.

Laban’s dark deception caught Jacob unawares,
The consequences messy, in these family affairs!
But Rachel knew her husband’s love, a love in which to boast
And yet her soul still thirsted for the thing she wanted most.

Considering the stigma of the times this woman lived in,
It’s fully understandable that Rachel longed for children.
Her journey, full of heartache, for jealousy was rife.
The pressures of the culture brought great sorrow to her life.

Her struggle for identity is evidently seen,
Filled with insecurity and woeful self-esteem.
A spirit of contentment seems far from Rachel’s soul
Yet through her many trials, God was always in control.

He used those tribulations to bring her close to Him.
Her status not in “motherhood” but “daughter of the King.”
Whatever be our circumstance, whatever be our story,
May we be fulfilled in Christ and live for Jesus’ glory!


1 Timothy 6:6
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Points For Reflection And Insight
I found the study of Rachel’s life absolutely fascinating and condensing things into only six verses was a real challenge! There is so much going in the life of Rachel and multiple avenues to explore.

It’s quite incredible to see her husband Jacob, “the deceiver” who tricked his own father and brother, become the one who is deceived! He certainly met his match in Laban, Rachel’s father and we see the principle set in place by God that in this life, you reap what you sow.

Jacob was known for his trickery and we can see the reality of Galatians 6:7-8 proving true in his life. The verses read,

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Laban’s deception, giving Leah to Jacob as wife and not Rachel, certainly led to a lot of rivalry, jealousy and strife in the family. Multiple wives was never a part of God’s plan for mankind and this was expressed in Genesis 2:24. It reads,

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

God’s decree was that one man would be joined to one woman in a one-flesh relationship. We read later on in Leviticus 18:18 that the marrying of sisters became a forbidden thing to do. The verse reads,

“Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.”

Looking at the bitter competition between Rachel and Leah and seeing that it’s a direct result of having the same husband, we can see why this law came in to place.

Before the chaos of having multiple wives came into the story however, we see such a beautiful picture of true love between Rachel and Jacob. Jacob’s love for Rachel is a wonderful reflection of the agape love we read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4. This verse tells us, among other things that love is patient and love is kind.

This is very much what we see from Jacob’s willingness to work seven years for Rachel. He was prepared to make sacrifices for her, to work hard for her and most importantly, to wait for her. We know from his words to Laban in Genesis 29:21 that their relationship had stayed pure for the whole time of their courtship.

Again this falls in line with what 1 Corinthians 13 tells us about true, godly love. We’re told in verse 5,

“It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking.”

We see in Jacob’s courtship of Rachel, a great example of what a godly courtship should look like. Jacob wanted to honour Rachel. His love for her meant that he didn’t pressure her and seek his own gratification. He waited for her. He respected her.

In stark contrast to the patience of love, lust will pressure. Lust is impatient. Lust seeks it’s own desire and puts itself first and others second. Anyone feeling pressured in a relationship or pressuring their partner in a relationship, really needs to question where they’re at with the Lord. As we see from the Scriptures and from Jacob’s love for Rachel, true love will put the honour of the other person first and is more than happy to wait.

Being on the receiving end of such an incredible love must have made Rachel feel very special indeed. This didn’t mean her life was smooth-sailing by any means and we certainly see that she has many heartaches and sorrows to face. We also see that Rachel is far from perfect and is very much a work in progress.

This is encouraging for us however as the Bible never seeks to hide the faults and flaws of mankind, not even with the “Biblical giants” or in Rachel’s case, the woman who became known as the “Mother of Israel.” We read about their struggles and failures too and they show us how God works through us all, in spite of our shortcomings and how He can bring something of worth out of our disappointments.

The contention and rivalry between Rachel and Leah is a major part of Rachel’s life. As I mentioned in the poem, the cultural pressures and stigmas of the day relating to childbearing brought a lot of heartache into Rachel’s existence. I think it’s an easy thing to relate to, even in this day and age. Modern society still gives us a long list of boxes to tick and achievements to have accomplished by certain check points in our lives.

Cultural pressures pushed at us through social media and similar forms can heap heavy expectations onto us and it can be so easy to feel like we aren’t “measuring up” if we haven’t ticked all the boxes. We can fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, looking on at their supposed fabulous family life, soaring career and financial success.

If we’re not careful, we can end up feeling miserable like Rachel because we’ve turned our focus onto what the world says is important instead of what God says is important. Instead of seeking after the Lord’s plan for us personally, wherever that may lead, we place our energy instead on achieving worldly success.

If our feelings of self-worth and value are based on external pressures of the day however, then we’ll easily find ourselves in a place of discontentment. God’s will for our life is the most important thing and when we know we’re in the centre of His plan for us then we are filled with a peace and a strength to handle whatever comes our way, good or bad.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with our heart desiring children, marriage, a good career or other positive things for our lives. It’s just that if we’re looking first and foremost to these sources to give us a sense of purpose and meaning rather than looking to God, then that’s when issues start to come in, as we see with Rachel.

Now might be a good time to pause and have a quick heart check. Some helpful questions to ask ourselves might be:

Do I feel content in life right now?
Where do I look to find my feelings of self-worth and value?
Am I seeking God in my life and letting Him lead?
Am I striving after things because society says I should have them in order to be happy?
Am I comparing myself to other people to gauge how successful I am and how well I’m doing?
Do I look at what other people have and think, “If only I had what they have, then I’d be happy?”
When I’m disappointed or frustrated with the way things are going, where do I turn for comfort and encouragement?

Taking a brief look at Rachel’s sister Leah, we know from the Scriptures that she wasn’t considered “a beauty” like Rachel was and she felt very unloved by her husband, Jacob. Despite being unloved by him, Jacob was clearly quite prepared to sleep with her as she went on to provide many children for him. It highlights the point that I made earlier in that love and lust are two separate things.

As we know, Jacob had twelve sons altogether through four women and the naming of each of the sons born in this family is a study in itself. Each name means something significant and reflects how Leah or Rachel were feeling at the time. Many times Leah thought her ability to give her husband children would earn her his love, only to be met with further sorrow when he didn’t grow in his affections for her.

Though Leah had a lot of heartache to speak of in her life, what we can see from studying the Scriptures is that she allowed the Lord to meet her need and could praise God through her circumstances. It certainly seems clear that through these difficulties, Leah grew to know the Lord better and the trials she faced in life served to drive her closer to His Throne.

Something that I find incredible to consider is that though Leah was neglected by Jacob, she too had a great purpose in God’s plan. Two of the greatest tribes of Israel came through Leah. There’s the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe and the tribe of Judah, the royal tribe. Most importantly, the Messiah Himself came from Leah. She may have been the less attractive and neglected sister but she was far from neglected by God and was in fact used mightily by Him. It really is amazing to think that when we look at these two sisters, the Messiah came through the rejected one. No wonder one of the names of God is El Roi. He really is the God who sees.

Something we can observe through looking at both Rachel and her sister Leah, is that in their trials they learned to look to the Lord and praise Him through their heartache and difficulties. We know that Rachel had great physical beauty, yet despite this beauty, she also felt despair. No doubt, the less attractive Leah often said, “If only I had my sister’s beauty and the love of my husband I would be happy.”

In the meantime it’s easy to imagine that the heartbroken Rachel might have thought, “If only I had sons like my sister I would be happy.” It’s clear to see that beautiful or plain, we all have problems and heartache to face and comparing ourselves to others only leads to further frustration.

We can certainly learn so much from the life of Rachel. Her story can help us refocus our identity, remember that godliness with contentment is great gain and remind us not to compare ourselves to others, envying the blessings God has poured out into their lives.

Then of course there’s Rachel’s tragic and premature death. Her sad and sudden demise can certainly teach us and may help inspire us to value, love and cherish all the children in our lives. It reminds us to treasure the time we have with the ones we love, to set our eyes on Jesus and allow our days to be used for His glory in all seasons, fulfilled by an undivided focus on Him.