Scroll Roll
Reuben
Strength: God has vindicated and visited
Weakness: looking for love in all the wrong places
Sign:
And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
Genesis 29:31-32
Leah was the wife who through trickery married dear old daddy Jacob first. According to the text, Reuben would have been the firstborn son among them all. The trouble with that though was Jacob didn't love Leah, at least not really. Leah's having children then despite a lack of love would have been nothing but the Lord. Contrary to popular belief love isn't a requirement for having a child but it is necessary for raising one. Here God has heard Leah's trouble and so answered it very well. The results of her vindication are from the Lord. Thus, it will also be this child's hidden strength. The only issue though is the lack of love in the home and the woman who sought it from other than God. Being raised in this environment, Reuben soon learned to look for love, affection, and vindication from everyone else before turning back to the Lord. His power would get him what he wanted or what was needed for life, yet it came with a cost. It would get him in trouble later as we will soon see. Reuben would have done well to trust the Lord with his weakness as well as his strength.
Promise: Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Genesis 49:3-4
Simeon
Strength: vengeance
Weakness: love of the law
Sign:
And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
Genesis 29:33
I don't know about you, but hate is a pretty powerful thing. It's a force that either can make you fall in love or out of it pretty quickly. Regardless, it's a pretty strong environment to have to suffer from much less bring a child into. It was into this environment however that Simeon, the child of the one that was hated, came. There are one of two responses to when this sort of thing has happened. Simeon could either grow bitter or he could grow cold. In this case, he did both, being both vengeful and without love in some cases himself. Isn't it funny how the sins of the fathers often end up affecting the children. Often you can pretend they don't, but in actuality they do. Simeon's strength is vengeance then for both his mother and himself. Without love to temper this though, he will either look for love in all the wrong places or become a law unto himself. That is why the Lord so often must say that vengeance is his, he will repay. Just think of poor old daddy Jacob left all by himself with the wife that was scorned. No wonder his favorite was Joseph only until such a time as his removal from among them was come.
Promise: Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Genesis 49:5-7
Levi
Strength: service
Weakness: retribution
Sign:
34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
Genesis 29:34
Next comes Leah's third child, known by the surname Levi as shown here in the text. Levi is a bit of a wild card, being neither entirely loved nor hated. The house has settled down somewhat, perhaps having been tempered with time. Now Jacob has resumed his accustomed husbandly duties although with a bit of grumbling perhaps. In case you were wondering, Jacob may have been beset with trickery in the house of his uncle Laban. Still, it was kind of his fault for not putting his foot down and refusing to marry the bride-to-be of trickery. Laban surely would have been one to reason with. Perhaps you don't remember the story told of in days of old how that Jacob had struggled with the Lord. He certainly was capable of it wasn't he when he wished especially when his future blessings were all on the line. When it came to his wife and children though, perhaps he was just a little more lax. That's just the thing though. He shouldn't have been with their future and present at stake. Levi has come with much power being gifted into the servant leadership position. He too like his father can either do his job well or half hardly if at all. Should that happen, Levi will too resemble his brother and father in both law and effects. Thus, his weakness is one of being prone to carrying out the law in which he served all by himself.
Promise: Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Genesis 49:5-7
Judah
Strength: all things turned into good
Weakness: self-sufficiency
Sign: the nose of the Lion and Lamb
35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
Genesis 29:35
Fourth in line from the top, according to Leah's limited point of view, comes Judah. The name means praise to his name and indeed that is what Leah rather ought to have done all along. Instead though, she waits till she has her fourth child to start. If I waited until everything was going just right for me to start praising the Lord, I'd be in a sorry place indeed. Far better to trust in the Lord all along as really, I ought. That aside, Leah is slowly learning and there is no better time than the present to begin. It seems much as Judah's power her situation has slowly been turned into good. Isn't it so like our God with no earthly husband in sight to lend aid. The danger then with this is that of taking matters into our own hands. Judah would always struggle with thinking he was enough by himself unless of course he found his rest at the hands of the Lord. Just imagine what would happen if Leah like Judah continued to seek ought at the hands of the Lord.
Promise: 8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Genesis 49:8-12
Issachar
Strength: worthy
Weakness: hireling for profit or ownership
Sign:
14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
Genesis 30:14-18
Picture this if you will. If you won't, well that's alright too. Reuben, another of Leah's sons, went hunting out in the fields of the harvest and over a wall. When he returned, he came bearing something that was wanted but couldn't really be had. What did Rachel the other wife of Jacob do but what any good sister would and ask hers for some. Since they're all sharing husbands and children, they might as well share the food too, right. Only, Leah has an issue with this. She's been slighted from her point of view though she's borne so many children of her own. Rachel doesn't have any yet nor ever so much. Leah just cannot resist taking a shot at her sister. Given the situation though, she probably should. The result of this event was the having of one, Issachar. It means hired one, and his power was found in his worth. Without the Lord and some other help though, he would soon become slave to that which was not his burden to bear. Thus, he would give up for money what God had already given for free.
Promise: 14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Genesis 49:14-15
Zebulun
Strength: dwelling with power
Weakness: misuse thereof
Sign:
19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
Genesis 30:19-20
At the rear comes Zebulun with all the richness of his powers that come from being in just the right place at the right time. It's an opportunity isn't it for Leah, being married to this man. He's given her children too, even though she's despised. Thus, she has her own place too. Much like Zebulun, so would she do. She's well fed and provided for too. To such a one as Leah, it's an opportunity for which to die. At first, it appears that Leah has almost no boundaries. Zebulun too would be like her in her right, though perhaps broader still in want and in power. With everything needed being found right there, there comes the temptation to misuse ought of the Lord. That then would remain Zebulun's lifelong temptation. Better still to seek the Lord and so to dwell in all things most worthy and kept very well.
Promise: Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Genesis 49:13
Dinah
21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
Genesis 30:21
Turns out there was a daughter too, but we don't really talk about her much. In large part, the lot of physical and spiritual leadership fell to the sons. One can only imagine what a strain this has put on the family relations. As we will soon see, it mattered a lot. If they weren't already, all the sons would soon be affected. So, she grew into quite an attractive young woman if the texts are to be believed. She went out one day to see the daughters of the land and came back home with a suitor and a marriage all in the same breath. Perhaps she may have been forced, perhaps not. Who knows, but what is clear is that her gifts began to go bad with the defiling of the body. If they had not already, then they surely would have with what came next. Two of Jacob's sons arose and the rest told the men lies so that they were slain with the sword.
And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Genesis 34:1-2
Maybe you didn't know, but there it all is. The whole truth in its ugly, sordid detail lies in the mystery of Leah and her six sons. If you really think of it though, why should things be figured from Leah's perspective in the first place.
The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
Genesis 35:23
Gad
Strength: a troop comes
Weakness: direction
Sign:
When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
Genesis 30:9-11
Now that Leah has borne Jacob some children and Bilhah Rachel's maid has done likewise, Leah decides that now is the time to even the score. As if these four children were not already enough, Leah forgets that it's her childless sister we're dealing with her though scorned and loveless herself and goes all out. Sometimes you just feel like saying to her, 'yes, Leah, it's wonderful that you have had such children. They're lovely and all are greatly loved of God.' But I would have thought after God had shown her such favor and grace to herself that she would have thought better of engaging in this nonsense. Thus, she might have a troop coming in her direction but it's worthless when these have no sense of direction. Though a sense of misdirection is really the same as no direction at all when you think about it, isn't it. The appropriate thing for Leah to do would have been to forget about the whole affair with the handmaids and her husband and focus on raising her four other children. However, since waiting on God's timing and blessing was not one of the cards she had in her hand at the time, a troop in herself was her next best option. It seems she will need some divine direction and guidance to sort this one out. I only pray he does not turn to Dan for judgement, for there will be none coming from those quarters. To Dan, Gad will be right, whatever he does. Thanks be to God who does not judge us nor yet guide and direct us after that fashion.
Promise: Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Genesis 49:19
Asher
Strength: happy, blessed, and highly favored among men
Weakness: a misdirected identity
Sign:
12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
Genesis 30:12-13
Now at the last, Leah is still operating in need of direction. I find it funny that she has done to Jacob the same thing that has been done to them, even though the original deception wasn't any fault of his at all. Imagine having a sister with a pretty face who is favored above all for it. Then she has been told that she is to be married to a man who doesn't love her and isn't even aware of his upcoming marriage. I would say she needs some blessing indeed at this point. What she really needs is some divine deliverance from this situation. But that is a story for another day. Asher then is called happy and blessed or highly favored among women or men as the case may be. Without the Lord's direction, he too will face struggles of a misdirected identity or an ill-placed favor. Just think of it, you're blessed and you don't know what for. Perhaps it was for something you did or even had. Maybe it was that of her sister's, simply for looks. Leah really should have done well to find her vindication and pleasure at the hands of the Lord.
Promise: Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Genesis 49:20
Alright, let's finish up the roll call again for the house and quite possibly for the entire rest of the class. Perhaps we'll be done with this soon and won't have to go find anyone else.
And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
Genesis 35:26