From the first
moment he set eye on Rachel, Jacob’s love for her was undeniable. Remember he gallantly
removed the cover of the well so that she could water her flock. Then he worked
seven years for her and then another seven. He was there to watch her struggle
with her barrenness as well as her joy when Joseph was born. We cannot imagine
how it must have been like for him when he heard that Rachel was pregnant with
another child. He, as well as Rachel, must have least expected this son would
end her life. Unsuspectingly, they travelled down south to Hebron where Isaac lived.
Somewhere near Jerusalem, tragedy struck.
Here Rachel’s labour began and it was a difficult one. It must
have been a trying moment for her as she struggled to bring forth the child. The
midwife attending to her tried to ease her moment of great distress by
comforting her. She said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another
son.” But it was all in vain. And in her dying breath she named her son Ben-oni
meaning son of sorrow. This episode brings our mind back to that moment when she was struggling
with the pain of her barrenness. Remember she cried out to Jacob saying, “Give
me children, or I shall die!” Ironically, now it was having a son that had
taken her life. So what could have brought joy brought sorrow instead.
Rather than
have a child to remind him of that sorrowful moment, Jacob changed his name to
Benjamin. The
patriarch was of course very familiar with changing name, for his was changed from
Jacob to Israel. Instead of having a son to remind him of the sad departure of
Rachel, he’d rather have one to remind him of how favoured he was. So he named
him Benjamin, son of the right. The right is a symbol of the place
of favour. So naturally Benjamin became a son whom he greatly favored. The
conclusion of yet another chapter in Jacob’s life is found in verse 19.
He buried the woman he greatly loved in Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Over her
tomb Jacob set up a pillar. Despite the deep sorrow, life had to move on. So he
journeyed on.
In this chapter, we see four graves. The first was
found in verse 4 where we are told of the grave for the idols of his family.
Jacob had them buried underneath the oak tree in Shechem. This is a needful act
if we are to experience a victorious journey with God. There is a need to
constantly evaluate our life to identify the idols we have created and then
have them properly buried. Then in verse 8 we read of the second grave - the
grave of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse. This signifies transition. Life is full of
transitions. We must move from one phase to another. We cannot afford to stay
stagnated, we need to progress to greater heights with God. Be ready to make
the transition. And here in verse 19, we read of the grave of Rachel in Ephrath
or Bethlehem. This closes another episode in Jacob’s life. Know that people and
things that we love and hold dear to our hearts are just borrowed. Jesus let us
have them to brighten our life. Our first love must always be reserved for the
Lord. In verse 28, we will see the burial of Isaac. Dealing with the dying of people we dearly loved will certainly be very
difficult, but we have to live with this inevitability of life. Dreadful as death and burial maybe, they are timely and grim reminders of
how transient life really is. It is a reminder to us to seize the day and make
it count. Moses tells us in Psalm 90 that life is short, uncertain and
transitory. The best advice is found in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to
You (God) a heart of wisdom.” So let us count our days and make each day
count for God!
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