October 11 - She Had Hard Labour.

Genesis 35:16
“And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.”
 
She.
She went through a season of barrenness, which made her desperate.
 
Genesis 30:1
“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.”
 
She blamed her husband for her despair.
She was the one whom he loved, yet she had not bare him any children.
 
Genesis 30:2
“And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?”
 
Much like her grandmother-in-law, she decided to take matters into her own hands rather than waiting on the Lord to provide.
 
Genesis 30:3-6
“And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.”
 
She ended up with two sons by Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali.
Their names remind us that God judged and heard Rachel’s prayer in the midst of the great struggle within and around her.
 
After that trial of waiting, God remembered Rachel and gave her children.
 
Genesis 30:22
“And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.”
She gave birth to her son Joseph, with faith that God would provide another.
He would be the portrait of Christ in the Old Testament for every generation afterward to read and learn from.
 
Genesis 30:23-24
“And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.”
 
She gave birth to Benjamin after Jacob’s name changing experience in Bethel.
She would experience hard labour, and end up naming her son while drawing her last breath.
 
Genesis 35:17-18
“And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died ) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”
 
Rachel serves as an example that what we seek and eventually find may end in sorrow, but God always has a purpose to His will for our lives.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Jeremiah 3-4  |  John 8  |  Psalm 20