雅各的两个妻子在生孩子的事上争竞。这种争竞把雅各放进火炉里。拉班的两个女儿，和她们的两个使女，四个女人使雅各的生活艰难。如果他没有偏好，他会只有一个妻子。因着他有偏好，至终他得了四个妻子。我们比较雅各与以撒，看见以撒非常简单。他没有偏好，只接受临到他的人和事。所以给了他的，是最好的妻子利百加。以撒的事例并不复杂。但雅各的事例很复杂，因为他有偏好。
我们读雅各的故事，必须为着神这样的主宰、公平和刻意敬拜祂。雅各爱拉结，不爱利亚。但那被恨的利亚给他生了四个儿子（创二九31-35），被爱的拉结却不生育（创三十1-2）。当利亚生第一个孩子流便（这名的意思是“看见儿子”）的时候，她说，“耶和华看见我的苦情”（创二九32）。利亚第二个儿子名叫西缅，这名的意思是“听见”。利亚第三个儿子名叫利未，这名的意思是“联合”。当利未出生的时候，利亚喊说，“我给丈夫生了三个儿子，他必与我联合”（创二九34）。利亚“又怀孕生子，说，这回我要赞美耶和华，因此给他起名叫犹大；这才停了生育”（创二九35）。犹大这名的意思是“赞美”。
拉结自己不生子，就嫉妒她姐姐，对雅各说，“你给我孩子，不然我就死了”（创三十1）。雅各听见这话，就生气说，“叫你不生育的是神，我岂能代替祂作主呢？”（创三十2）。你想雅各在这种情况中有很多享受么？不，他一直受困扰。拉结于是把她的使女辟拉给雅各作妻子（创三十3-4）。神在这件事上也是主宰的。辟拉生了两个儿子：一个名叫但，意思是“伸冤”。另一个名叫拿弗他利，意思是“我的争斗”（创三十5-8）。
利亚看见拉结的使女生了两个儿子，利亚于是把她的使女悉帕给雅各作妻子，她给雅各生了两个儿子－迦得和亚设（创三十9-13）。迦得的意思是“万幸”。亚设的意思是“快乐”。迦得出生时，利亚说，“万幸！”（创三十11）。亚设出生时，她说，“我快乐阿，因为众女子都要称我是有福的”（创三十13，另译）。神又给利亚两个儿子：以萨迦和西布伦（创三十17-20）。以萨迦的意思是“雇金”。这进一步指明这些女人之间的争竞。西布伦出生时，利亚说，“神赐我厚赏，我丈夫必与我同住”（创三十20）。在这记载中，我们清楚看见雅各妻子之间的争竞。
信息重点：因着雅各的偏好，他至终得了四个妻子。这四个妻子彼此争竞、嫉妒、争斗，成为他极大的苦恼。然而，这一切都在神主宰的安排之下，为着对付他的天然生命，并完成祂变化人的工作。
应用祷告：主耶稣，求你使我不埋怨环境，也不责怪别人，而是看见你主宰的手。愿我接受你的对付，让天然的生命不断被变化。阿们！
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Jacob’s Wives Compete, Are Jealous and Strive (1) — Gen. 29:31
Jacob’s two wives competed with each other in bearing children. This competition threw Jacob into a furnace. Laban’s two daughters and their two maidservants — four women — made Jacob’s life exceedingly difficult. If he had had no preference, he would have had only one wife. Because he had a preference, he ended up with four wives. When we compare Jacob with Isaac, we see that Isaac was very simple. He had no preference; he simply received whatever and whoever came to him. So the wife given to him was the best — Rebekah. Isaac’s situation was not complicated. But Jacob’s situation was very complicated, because he had preferences.
When we read Jacob’s story, we must worship God for His sovereignty, His justice and His intentionality. Jacob loved Rachel but not Leah. Yet the hated Leah bore him four sons (Gen. 29:31-35), while the beloved Rachel was barren (Gen. 30:1-2). When Leah bore her first child, Reuben — whose name means “see, a son” — she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction” (Gen. 29:32). Leah’s second son was named Simeon, meaning “heard”. Her third son was Levi, meaning “joined”. When Levi was born, Leah cried out, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Gen. 29:34). Then Leah “conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore she named him Judah” (Gen. 29:35). Judah means “praise”.
Rachel, unable to bear children herself, became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die” (Gen. 30:1). Jacob became angry and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” (Gen. 30:2). Do you think Jacob was enjoying himself in this situation? No — he was continually troubled. So Rachel gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob as a wife (Gen. 30:3-4). God was also sovereign in this matter. Bilhah bore two sons: one named Dan, meaning “judged” or “vindicated”; and another named Naphtali, meaning “my wrestling” (Gen. 30:5-8).
When Leah saw that Rachel’s maidservant had borne two sons, Leah gave her own maidservant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife, and she bore Jacob two sons — Gad and Asher (Gen. 30:9-13). Gad means “good fortune”, Asher means “happy”. When Gad was born, Leah said, “How fortunate!” (Gen. 30:11). When Asher was born, she said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy” (Gen. 30:13, alt. trans.). God also gave Leah two more sons — Issachar and Zebulun (Gen. 30:17-20). Issachar means “hire” or “wages”, which further indicates the striving among these women. When Zebulun was born, Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me” (Gen. 30:20). In this record, we clearly see the competition among Jacob’s wives.
Message Focus: Because of Jacob’s preferences, he ultimately had four wives. These four wives competed with, were jealous of, and strove against one another, becoming a source of great anguish for him. Yet all of this was under God’s sovereign arrangement — for the purpose of dealing with his natural life and accomplishing God’s transforming work.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep me from complaining about my circumstances or blaming others, but help me to see Your sovereign hand. May I accept Your dealings and allow my natural life to be continually transformed. Amen!