5 LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF RACHEL
Introduction
When Jacob fled from his brother, Esau, his parents instructed him to go to his mother’s family in the land of the eastern peoples. When he got there, he stopped at a well to rest. Some shepherds who were gathering their flocks for watering at the well assured him it was the city where his relatives lived. And right on cue, a pretty shepherdess joined them with her father’s flock. She was Rachel, the second daughter of Laban, Jacob’s maternal uncle.
Jacob’s heart was flooded with both relief that he had safely arrived his destination and a stirring of love for this beautiful girl. Had his parents not told him to get a wife from this side of the family? This was the one! And he proposed to make her his once Laban asked what he should pay for his services, one month after his arrival.
Laban gladly agreed but tricked Jacob into marrying the less attractive older sister, Leah, first. A week later, Rachel joined her older sister in Jacob’s home and the stage was set for a complicated and painful existence for the sisters.
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Rachel obviously saw Leah as an interloper and treated her as such, her status as the younger sister and second wife notwithstanding. Jacob became a pawn in the sisters’ competition for marital happiness and fulfilment. The full details of this background account and the story of the life of Rachel can be seen in Genesis, chapters 29-31, 33 and 35:16-26.
Now, let us see 5 lessons we can learn from Rachel’s life. Like every other person, Rachel had some strengths and weaknesses and on occasion, these were intertwined. In other words, what started out as a strength turned into a weakness when not moderated.
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(Related: Loyalty Wins – Flash Fiction)
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5 Lessons from the Life of Rachel
1. Loyalty to one’s spouse is commendable: Rachel was devoted to her husband, Jacob, as was Leah, her sister and co-wife. When Jacob complained about Laban’s cheating and mistreatment, they supported and helped him in the family’s secret escape from their hometown in Mesopotamia.
“14. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?
“16. … now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
“17. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
“18. And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan–aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan” – Genesis 31:14, 16-18.
But Rachel, unlike her sister Leah, carried her loyalty to her husband too far and sinned as a result as we shall see in Lesson No. 5.
2. Look unto God, not man: Rachel had a fertility problem and, at some point, she took out her frustration about it on Jacob. Jacob lost his temper but in lashing out at her reminded her of who she should be talking to about her predicament.
“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.
“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?” – Genesis 30:1-2
No matter how much anybody loves us, there is a lot they cannot do for us and burdening them with such things will only strain our relationship with them. Even in the things human beings can do for us, praying to God about those things improves our chances of getting them from the people who should provide them or from others if the former are unwilling or unable to meet our needs.
3. Avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition: In polygamous societies, a man whose wife is childless can take a second wife and have both wives care for the children that come from the latter. That is where the family is built on understanding. But that wasn’t the case in Jacob’s home. Rachel was envious of her sister, Leah, who was bearing Jacob children. I would imagine that this prevented her from sharing in Leah and Jacob’s joy with each childbirth and in helping to nurture the children. Instead, she was consumed with the desire to have her own children and was resourceful enough to come up with the idea of a surrogate to make her dream come true.
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(Related: Say “No” To Stress-Inducing Comparison)
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“3. 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.
“4. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
“5. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
“6. 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.
“7. And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
“8. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.” – Genesis 30:3-8
It is true that in traditional societies no woman wants to live with the stigma of childlessness, but Rachel would have had more peace and happiness while waiting for God to visit her if she had not been envious of her sister. Her competitive attitude came out forcefully in v. 8 above and Leah, not to be outdone, gave Jacob her maid for a wife as well (v. 9). Thank God Jacob spent many nights out in the fields with the flocks. It would have been very trying staying with the fighting sisters all the time.
The truth is that Rachel’s jealousy was unnecessary because Jacob clearly loved and preferred her over Leah.
“31. 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
Yet, Rachel felt so insecure. I am convinced that Jacob would not have loved her less even if she had borne him no children. This reminds me of another family in the Bible – Elkanah and his wives: Peninah, who had many children and taunted her co-wife, Hannah, who had none. These were Elkanah’s comforting words to Hannah when she was sorrowing over her childlessness:
“… Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?” – 1 Samuel 1:8
It was bad enough that the adults had to live in the unhealthy atmosphere created by the battling sisters in Jacob’s home, the children were watching and learning! To help his mum maintain her advantage in child rearing, Reuben brought her some mandrakes – said to help in conception (Genesis 30:14). Now we can understand why his brothers who were mostly from Leah’s stable hated Joseph so much. He was born into a home where jealousy was festering and he was the favoured child of their father born late to his favoured wife, Rachel. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and subsequently sold him into slavery (Genesis 30:20-24, 37:3-4, 12-14, 18-28).
4. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you: (The Golden Rule – Matthew 7:12) It was true that Laban conned Jacob into marrying Leah when he already loved Rachel and requested her hand in marriage, but this was not Leah’s fault. She was not as pretty as Rachel and seemed to have some kind of eye defect, but having married her, God expected her to be treated better than she was and so compensated her with many children while Rachel was barren as we saw in Genesis 29:31 above.
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It appeared that Rachel was controlling the conjugal rights in the house as seen in the incident about the mandrakes.
“14. …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.” – Genesis 30:14-17
Regardless of Jacob’s romantic preference, Leah was still the first wife and Rachel’s elder sister. Sharing a man may seem repulsive to us today but it wasn’t in that era, hence the sisters’ gifting of their maids to Jacob. So, I’m sure that if Rachel was in Leah’s shoes, she wouldn’t have liked being put in a position where she had to beg her younger sister before her husband would sleep with her.
Rachel may have thought she was acting on behalf of Jacob who must have resented Leah but, in God’s eyes, she was treating her sister shabbily and that attracted punishment.
5. Eschew craftiness and personal revenge seeking: When Jacob’s family secretly embarked on the journey from Padan-aram to Canaan, Rachel stole her father’s household gods (Genesis 31:17-19). Maybe she wanted to punish her father for his maltreatment of Jacob as can be seen from this complaint by the latter.
“38. This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
“39. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
“40. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
“41. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
“42. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” – Genesis 31:38-42
We may not understand the value that heathens place in their idols, but they do believe that those images help to protect and prosper them. Rachel wanted to strip her father of such coverage and favour. However, the Bible discourages us from taking the path of vengeance.
“17. Repay no one evil for evil ….
“18. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
“19. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’
“20. To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’
“21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:17 – 21 (ESV emphasis, mine)
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(Related: From Bait to Catch (3) Short Story)
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Perhaps, Rachel also thought she was doing something good for Jacob and their household (in the belief that those gods could add to whatever blessings they could get from the Fear of Isaac, God Almighty). Idolatrous people do not understand the concept of serving one God exclusively. They feel that the more gods you acquire, the more supernatural benevolence you receive.
Unfortunately, harbouring strange gods can only spell trouble. In trying to wreak vengeance on her father, Rachel unwittingly courted disaster.
“25. The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.
“26. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.” – Deuteronomy 7:25-26
When Laban caught up with the family, Jacob pronounced death on whoever had Laban’s gods, not knowing that Rachel did. Although she cleverly hid the gods in her camel’s saddle and sat on them (claiming she was menstruating to stop her father from searching where she sat for fear of contracting ritual uncleanness), she had brought a curse on herself.
“31. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, …
“32. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
“33. And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.
“34. Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
“35. And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.” – Genesis 31:31-35 (emphasis, mine)
I once read an article where it was suggested that Rachel’s untimely death through birth complications on the journey back to Canaan was a fallout of this incident. Whether this was the case or not, we can safely say that it is very dangerous to do anything that will attract a curse to oneself and that it’s always better to allow God to avenge us.
Conclusion
After all said and done, Rachel died and was buried at Ephrath as Jacob and his family continued their journey to Mamre to see his aged father, Isaac. Leah, on the other hand, lived longer and was buried with Jacob and his forebears, Abraham and Isaac, each beside his wife in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre (Genesis 49:29-31).
When I think generally about the life of Rachel, the scripture that comes to my mind is 1 Samuel 2:9 that says, “… by strength shall no man prevail.” Our physical power, intelligence, wealth, beauty, favour with men or whatever else we have may not secure us the fulfilment we seek in life. Only God can give us inner peace and satisfaction. That is why the Lord Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28
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Rachel lived before the law of Moses was given, so her knowledge of God’s requirements were limited, but we not only have the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) given through Moses, we have the entire Bible containing the teachings of our Lord Jesus, the prophets and apostles. We also have the outpoured grace of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit to help each of us live right.
So don’t spend your life struggling and striving. Don’t feel you need to disdain or distress anyone to be happy. Be nice to everyone so that you don’t block God’s blessings on your life. And be assured that no one’s blessings can prevent yours for God certainly has enough bounties to go round.
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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.
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English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
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Wow, wonderful writeup! I’m
encouraged. We should always avoid jealousy and stop competing with people, instead we should be happy for them when good things happen to them because we can always receive our own blessings from that. Rachel was envious of Leah because she wanted to be the one bearing the kids for their husband. This is what most polygamyous families face even in today’s world. May God give us the grace to always erase jealousy and enviousness from our mind. May He give us the grace to celebrate others whenever they are blessed so that our own blessing can come. Amen.
Nice prayer, amen. Glow in the Lord and be satisfied in Jesus’ name.
I have always known to embrace this
” delight yourself in the lord; and he would give you the desires of your heart. Commit your wag to the lord; trust in him;and he would bring it to you.”
Thank you ma for this piece.
Wow, interesting, ma! Forgiveness is indeed divine, I think if Rachel had forgiven her father and not sought revenge, she would have lived longer. The problem with we human beings is that we prefer to pay back evil for evil, forgetting that vengeance is for God. This story should serve as a lesson to us that jealousy can mar and lead us to sin that can claim our lives. May God save our soul.
Amen. May God’s bounties locate you today in Jesus’ name.
Unhealthy competition is one of the few reasons why there is pepertual evil in the world. A life free of jealousy should be a model for marriage partners in this life.
I also learnt that committment is prerequisite for success in marriage. Thanks.
Hi Ernest! I’m not sure you read the post. It will only take a few minutes and, by God’s grace, it will bless you very much. Remain blessed!
Well said, ma. Looking at point No. 2, our trust should always be in God, not man, because He rules in the affairs of men. Even though Rachel made that mistake, we should always have it at the back of our mind that human help always has a limit. There are heights in life where human help cannot take us, only the help of God can. So we should keep looking up to Him.
In addition, we should forgive with love and not trying to revenge what was done to us.
Nice comment, Oluchi! God’s grace in your affairs in Jesus’ name.
Lol, this statement by Rachel really got me stocked in laughter “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”.
This is more or less a perennial problem in marriage. The lamentations don’t only come from women but men also. I know of a woman and her husband, they were married for 10 years but they were still in anticipation for the fruit of the womb. What marvelled me about this couple is that they lived as if nothing was eating them up and actually it was really not eating them up.
So many people went to the husband advising him to take a second wife but the man never gave it a second thought. Amidst the tempest of unfruitfulness, they anchored firmly to the promise of God which says that, “Children are the blessings of every marriage”. Even when it seemed it was getting out of time, they held on. They were faithful to God irrespective of all the circumstances surrounding them, the pressure from peers and families. Eventually, it happened! God blessed them with triplets- a beautiful girl and two bouncing baby boys.
God is aware of every situation be it in marriage or any other aspect of life. Like one of my lecturers would say, “Marriage is something you know the beginning but you don’t know the midway and the end”.
Envy is not a good attitude for a child of God. Talk to God as a co-heir with Christ, hold Him to His words and, most importantly, avoid double mind and compromise and God will surely make a way in any situation. He did it for Sarah,Hannah and He is still doing it for so many people today. I believe He can still do for those that ask of Him.
May God help us to abide in faith. Thank you, ma, for this wonderful dissertation, God bless you!
Wonderful encouragement. You are lifted in Jesus’ name.
This one is really deep.
Let us learn to trust and wait on God in difficult times.
Jealousy is also a very bad thing that will lead you into doing things you can’t even imagine so let’s be guided.
This post has really motivated me this morning. Thank you ma.
Glory to God! May you be favoured today in Jesus’ name.
This is indeed an eye-opener to us. We shouldn’t follow the style of Rachael. We should treat people with the right attitude. Though she wasn’t right with her sister, God still blessed her with Joseph. God blesses us even when we don’t deserve it because He wants us to have a good relationship with Him but was not seen in the case of Rachael which I believed was why she had complications while giving birth which brought about untimely death. God expects us as Christans to live in peace with people around, show love and turn people to be followers of Christ.
Thank you, Ma, and may God bless u richly, Amen!!
Amen and may God bless you splendidly too in Jesus’ name.
The case of Rachael’s love/marital life won’t go down well with anyone especially when you are being robbed of something precious to you and can’t do anything other than to just fold your hands and watch helplessly.
You tend to be forced to revenge when you see the slightest opportunity, just like, the case of Rachael and Leah. And especially when you do not have a good understanding of what salvation is.
Just like you quoted in “1samuel 2:9 which says, ‘…by strength shall no man prevail.’ Our physical power, intelligence, wealth, beauty, favour with men or whatever else we have may not secure us the fulfilment we seek in life.” Rachael would have sought the face of God and waited for Him to act on her behalf, but she didn’t do that because her knowledge of God’s requirements was limited. I like the advice that we should not spend our lives struggling and striving, rather we should be nice to everyone so that we don’t block God’s blessings on our lives.
May the Lord continue to inspire you, ma. More of His blessings I pray.
Amen. Glory to God and abundant blessings upon you too in Jesus’ name.
Rachel is like some of the modern ladies of our times. For the fear of losing the affection of their partner, they are tempted to do evil. These things are not necessary to someone who loves you, just pray to God and allow Him to answer at His own time.
Doing evil will even diminish the love your partner has for you. Don’t be like Rachel.
You’re right. If someone truly loves you, they’ll accept you as you are and not blame you for things that are out of your hands. Have a blessed day!
This is a moral lesson for everyone.
We should always avoid jealousy and unnecessary competition because they have really destroyed so many homes.
May God help us all!
This is a great post with reminders of how to avoid things that could damage our lives and marriages. We should always learn to look unto God to solve our problems and help us out of any hurtful situation. Rachel at first took out her frustration on Jacob but when he lashed out on her, she realized that she is supposed to be talking to a supreme being of her predicament. Which is the right thing to do. Thankyou Dr. Edith for this wonderful piece.
Well done Ma,this is a very nice writeup and I love its moral lessons. We should try not to emulate Rachel who allowed jealousy to take the better part of her, who failed to forgive her father and lacked faith in God. We have to forgive people for their wrongs because the glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. Trust God,have Faith in him and always believe that he is a capable God. God bless us as we do this.
First off, this story really spoke to me because I’m from a polygamous home. Today I can’t talk to the numerous cousins and sisters I grew up with because of the hatred and bitterness created by our parents. “Ononso mind how you talk to so and so, don’t divulge our secrets!” is a common theme. It made me lose my innocence very quickly. At a very young age, I knew this world can be a terrible, terrible place.
Second, I’m embarking on a personal growth project where I’ll read the whole Bible chapter by chapter, day by day and really understand it, but sometimes I wonder if I’ll learn something new from stories I already know. This opened my eyes and I learnt a lot because I never looked at the Jacob, Leah and Rachel story from this angle. I learnt a lot.
Finally on a lighter note, I woke up this morning and I saw this email. Still groggy, I started reading it and when I got to the Bible verses, it was like I was reading Greek and Yoruba together. Please, ma’am, simpler Bible versions early in the morning.
Glad you were blessed by the post, Ononso. By God’s grace, I have been doing the yearly reading through of the Bible since the early 1990s and, believe me, there’s always something new to learn. Check out my posts: “7 Reasons You Should Read the Bible Through and Do it Yearly” and “5 Amazing Qualities of the Bible- That Make Me to Read it Everyday.” I got the idea for this post in 2017 but only scribbled some points. In the interim, I was learning more and I know that even after this, God could still show me more things I didn’t see in the life of Rachel. He’s awesome and infinite like that. I would suggest you get a Study Bible. The commentaries will help you.make sense of some cultural, geographical and other stuff that will enhance your understanding and takeaways from the Bible chapters you read each day.
I love your joke about the translation. I do use contemporary English versions where there is something said in hard to understand Old English but the passages I cited were a breeze, I think. Give my love to your folks and stay wonderfully blessed in Jesus’ name.
Leah and Rachel were so involved in their own individual quests and jealous contest that each failed to see the love in front of them. Rachel had the love of Jacob. Leah had the love of the Lord. Each could have had love for one another. The sisters could have joined together for support instead of tearing each other down. In the midst of all this both suffered in their marriage. Each allowed their own agenda and suffering to be a shadow over their duty as wives and women of faith.
Envy and jealousy can cause a lot of harm. It can even withhold the blessings of God. Gods time is always the best but if we decide to do it our own way, it might not end well.
I love lesson number 2 and 4. I think a lot of us will be better of if we adhere strictly to it. When we look unto God in all circumstances, we come to realize that our solution comes from God and not from man. Though Rachel is the center of attraction here, she is still lacking in childbearing. In other words whatever that attracts us or something we cherish so much has a bit of flaws in it. Coming to the issue of Golden rule, that’s where the issue lies. Most times we’re quick to react to certain issues as if we’re buttons being pressed by people and it makes us predictable. We should learn to treat others the way we treat ourselves because we never can tell what tomorrow has in store for us. Remember what goes around comes around.
Jealousy blinds the eyes and blocks the heart to reason and love. I love this, thank you ma.
I observed another lesson from this in expansion of ‘loyalty’. Rachel or Leah didn’t support there dad in doing wrong and that’s why when Jacob complained about Laban’s cheating they supported Jacob.
It’s good to stand on the right side.
Envying someone can never solve your own problem rather it adds to whatever problem you have God’s time is the best you don’t have something at the moment does not mean you won’t have it, it’s normal for any woman to feel bad if she no child of her own and seeing someone in the home with her bearing children, let love lead in everything and go to God in prayer whenever you are in need, your hardship is not a time to compare yourself with others we were not created on the same day our blessings may not come on the same day but surely trust God it shall come
Bitterness is a disease allowed to stay for a long time and I think that was what killed Rachel. Leah had her own issues but she never allowed it to take the best of her, knowing that Jacob loves Rachel more than her never took the best of her even though she was the eldest as well, the first wife. Being bitter doesn’t ease our emotional pains, rather it makes it worse and it propels us to act contrary to what we know is right. I pray we all understand that God is the only steadfast lover that one can cast all cares on and have peace of mind.
This is a wonderful write-up…
We should learn to be happy when other are wining…. And support then when necessary….we should learn to forgive others when they hurt us
Am encouraged MA…
This is an eye-opener on how to live my life….
I pray God gives us the grace and courage to forgive others when they offend us…
A look at the life of Rachel is a look at the totality of the duty of a good Christian, of a truth the life Rachel summarized our duty towards our neighborhood and our duty towards God. She loved both God and her husband and even her wife which had for most Christian wives of today and obeyed instructions without complaints. She is really a virtuous woman and a role model at that
Rachael was a person just like us, she had feelings. If it was me, I would carry the grudges all throgh my life. But we shouldnt actually blame Leah because it was obviously not her fault. Thanks, ma, for explaining this part of the bible to us.
What I meant was that, She loved both God and her husband and even her fellow wife which is hard for most Christian wives of today
This is a very nice piece ma and a great lesson to learn. Especially that of lesson three, “avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition”. Being an unhealthy competition does more harm to an individual with no good thing from it. We are all unique in our own way so why being in a competition with someone who doesn’t notice what you are doing. With God, all things are possible and also one with God is majority. So, whatever we want, whatever we need, we should resort to God in prayer. God bless you ma.
Impactful one Aunty, as always. The No. 5 says -Eschew craftiness and personal revenge seeking.
This rubs mud on our faces cause as humans, we always want to pay people back in their own coin, turning blind eye to God’s instruction of not paying evil for evil. We should learn to let all at God’s judgement table no matter how gross the pain. Overtly, these 5 lessons are life changing, no doubt. Thank you.
Unhealthy and unnecessary rivalry have eaten deep into the society. We should learn to avoid it because it can lead to malice or enmity.
in life one need be careful of whom we call family, at times those we call loved ones actually do love us but not in everything, it was not leahs fault that her father tricked jacob to get married to the same person that wanted to marry her younger sister. even though she was faithful to her husband her junior sister equally been her junior wife was maltreating her badly. so lesson learnt is dont pay evil for evil, do go good to people that treats you badly, God in heaven has your battle to fight.
Number 4 caught me “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
Factually, that should be what we should be practising even in our contemporary society.
I believe that what goes around comes around.
Had it been Rachael treated Leah (her sister)
fairly, she wouldn’t have fallen victim of her predicament.
This should serve as a lesson not just to all the wives/aspiring wives of polygamous marriage but also to every other individual out there.
this is an eye opener to those intending to marry as many wives as they wish, once you accept polygamy be ready to provide all their needs equally satisfy all of them equally, settle qurrels and envy and moreover it is hard to see a polygamous home in harmony God help us Rachel is the first in the bible am noticing that insist that the husband should give her a child others instead go to God in prayer to give them children but Rachel’s case was different
An exciting piece which takes us back to time immemorial.Our lord is truly divine,from jacob meeting Rachel to them finally getting married.explains and defined the potency and efficacy of true love.not just humanly love but God love for without God jacob could have been nothing.This piece teaches us lesson not just from our earthly father but also our heavenly father.As God’s love is genuine and unadulterated.we should have faith to bless us with all our needs.His time is sure and certain,for he will give us an expected end..
An interesting piece,one which teaches us to trust wholly on God as he know the beginning and end of our life.We should put our trust,hope in God knowing fully well he Knows the best for us.we should not be quick to conclude our predicament or situation.if only Rachel was patient Jacob wouldn’t have had issues to contend with in the house.we should lean on God and trust that he gives us a deserving end.
Poor Rachel, living her life in so much jealousy, distrust, envy, uncertainty and all for naught. I hate that she didn’t really have a happy ever after with Jacob cause it’s obvious she loved him so much. Though I know it’s no excuse for the way she treated Leah. I cannot begin to imagine how the dynamics of their family was, with two warring wives out to outdo the other.It’s no surprise Leah’s sons perfectly hated Joseph. This story teaches so many lessons. Jealousy only breeds more jealousy. We should learn to allow things happen according to their timing. Revenge should be left to God alone. Death is still the consequence of sin. And I think it’s better to stick to just one wife(It’s all that scheming Laban’s fault). It’s a wonderful post Aunty. Thank you
This post has once again emphasized on the need to cast ones hope and expectancy upon God, because he always comes through for us whenever we are in need. Also it is pertinent to note that unhealthy rivalry is indeed pernicious and has no beneficial aftermath whatsoever.
A lot of people engage themselves in unhealthy competitions and jealosy, and it could happen that the person they are jealous of or competing with is just living his or her normal life without even knowing that you have such a mind towards them! The life of Rachel is a very sad one, but one we should all learn from.
We should not blame people for our predicaments. It would not make it go away, rather, it would displease God. God knows our situations and he is able to help us but at the right time. We should just have patience and put our trust in Him. We should also avoid jealousy because it is a step towards downfall. With God’s help, we would over come.
Jealousy, unhealthy competition, self vengeance and unnecessary pettiness are what I would call the highlight of this post. In all things, we should not let our anger or situations lead us to sin and mistreating of our fellow human beings. It also serves as a reference for people with plans of entering a polygamous relationship, that it’s not completely a bed of roses
Amazing, I truly love the message number 2 passes, “Look unto God, not man.” We should learn to “cast our trust in God” and not man and only He can grant our wishes and heart desires. More so, the number 3 is really informing and moral construed. As humans, jealousy and competition is normal but we should learn how to control such and not engage in any drastic and radical actions (“it is truly unhealthy”, so to say).
Wow!! A really good write up. Jealousy is extremely bad and so is envy. It is unhealthy to live in jealousy. Rachel obviously had no reason to fight her sister because Jacob loved her more. We should avoid being jealous and envious of people and be contented with what we have and are. If we are not contented, the best thing to do is talk to God.
Rachel was a** woman** who was fearless, brave to fight side by side with her husband not minding what her father would have done to her. The way she handled her elders sister showed she was capable of handling anything she came across on her way as an obstacle. Bless you ma’am
Obviously, you didn’t read the post. I think your comment is based on assumption informed by your previous knowledge of Rachel’s story. You will benefit greatly if you actually read my posts. Bless you!
The story of Rachel is seen in our present day society in different ways. 70 out of every 100 persons are always envious of the other, over one thing or another, which in turn breed jealousy and competition. Rachel, just like most people, forgot that destiny ain’t the same. Every creature has his/her own unique destiny given to him by God. This individual destinies manifest in God’s time and not our own time. When we don’t allow God’s plan for us to take its natural time to manifest, we’re certainly going to jealous of others and by implication go into competition with them. Rachel forgot this and resulted in competing with Leah.
I’ll end with the biblical saying, “if God does not build a house, they labour in vain that build it.” We should allow God do bless us according to His will, when time is right for Him to do so.
Thank you, Dr. Edith Ohaja for this solemn reflection.
Loyalty, not only to one’s spouse. But to every engagement one embarks on. Loyalty in the office, loyalty in the class room, with loyalty, one can attain endless favour from God, just like Rachel. Relying on God’s words and promises, no matter how hard and disheartening a situation may seem is a doorway to victory. Avoidance of jealousy and competition is a sure path to good health, no matter how much success favors your close pal or partner. Treating others the same way you would want to be treated brings forth blessings from above. Avoidance of bitterness and revenge creates peace in one’s heart, just like Rachel. These are lessons of life that can attract God’s promises and fortunes, just like Rachel’s life attracted the unrestrained favor of God.
David, your comment shows that you didn’t read the post. That’s too bad!
As Christians we should learn from Rachael’s story. We should be loyal, kindhearted, look unto God and not man and also avoid jealousy.
well, its good to learn from peoples experiences. we may feel our life is hard but when you look at others, theirs are worst. We as Christians should cultivate the habit of calling unto him always not only when you are in need, even when you have surplus. A wonderful post ma.
Firstly, I understand the balance between free will and determinism; Rachel made wrong choices which led to her misfortunate end and at the same time is reasonable that things are destined to be the way they are for she was the person Jacob wanted in the first place so if the trick hadn’t been played on him the case wouldn’t be as it turned out to be.
Be it as it may, Rachel’s personality is full of inevitable lessons: in the end of it all she just needed God’s intervention to be a better person as summarized in the 2nd lesson “look unto God, not man” but her spiteful attitude made things the way they are.
Sincerely, no one owes us anything, no matter the kind of relationship we have with them. (I understand that parents are responsible for their kids, still they can only do their best.)
We should stop being so entitled, only God can provide all we need!
Unhealthy competition is self destructive, I have known that. If I notice someone is trying to put me in a situation where I have to constantly think of who is better and who is not, I just call it quits.
Life itself is hard enough, you can’t make it harder for me.
This is a great post with reminders of how to avoid things that could damage our lives and marriages. We should always learn to look unto God to solve our problems and help us out of any hurtful situations. Rachel at first took out her frustration on Jacob but when Jacob lashed out on her, she realized that she is supposed to be talking to a supreme being of her predicament. Which is the right thing to do. Thankyou Dr. Edith for this wonderful piece.
This lessons are very important, especially the part that talked about jealousy .when your concentration is always to feel unhappy for the success of other people, indirectly you are paving a way of failure for yourself. But when you are happy for the success of others, ask God to remember you, and believe me he will. Avoid jealousy And envy in your live today. If you can’t help it, remember the man Jesus, he will give you the grace
Great lessons these are from the life of Rachel. I have not seen her story from this perspective before, but, it is clear that most of her actions were out of jealousy and insecurity. Regardless of how much Jacob loved her, she always saw herself as one in competition for Jacob’s love with her sister. Well, lesson learned. With God, there will be no need for struggles nor stress nor competition in life.
I think Mrs. Rachel today represents lots of women out there. She made a point, “Give me children, or else I die”. These words are familiar in diverse situations encoutered today among our youths, women and men. Let me say that professing death as an option never solves anything, rather it compounds it.
Let’s lean on God and cast our burdens on Him who knows our pains and He alone will lighten them for us…
May God help us to abide in faith. Thank you, ma, God bless you!
I learnt also from the life of Rachael how important it is to wait on the Lord. Definitely, man cannot help God bless him as evident in the story of Sarah wanting to help God make her husband the father of nations through Ishmael.
It may only take time but it will surely come to perfection. Instead of living in strife all the while, one should persevere in love.
To be sincere, I’ve never read this part of the Bible before. I thought Racheal was a perfect woman, who didn’t have flaws. All the stories I’ve been hearing never revealed that she was jealous of her sister even though she knew Jacob preferred her and that she stole her father’s gods. Even in our Sunday teachings, the focus is mostly on Joseph and his brothers. So, I want to deeply appreciate you, Ma, for this post which has served as both a lesson and an eye-opener to me.
A very new and refreshing story,I actually never knew of this side of Racheal, Thanks for the enlightenment. For one thing I learnt that jealousy is very poisinous because I believe that Racheal would’ve loved her sister before the marriage of Leah and Jacob, cos this was just the beginning of the problems arising in the home. Even the problem of overburdening the people that you love with solving your problem is a habit amongst most people now, everyone always expects that since you’re a friend of someone you should basically find solutions for them even if its uncomfortable for you or past your powers, instead of them looking to God for answers. I love the fact that Jacob replied to her to pray to God instead of being sad and thinking that he owed it to her the gift of children. learnt that we shouldn’t be afraid of telling our friends to look to God, instead of burdening ourselves for things we know is past our power. Thank you.
Well said Ma,this is a moral lesson for everyone ma that jealousy is a very bad thing because it will make you do things that you are not supposed to do and it can lead to distraction .May God help us all
There are great lessons this post teaches.
Envy, revenge and unhealthy competitions will only mar us.
Rachel didn’t have the patience to wait unto the Lord for her own children and revenge against the father’s ill attitude towards her husband, Jacob, rather she let envy inpatience and jealousy ruin her before God’s blessings and favor comes upon her.
Patience purge Jealousy!!!.. The diction derived from Rachel life. Leah her sister was highly favoured by God ,giving her the fruit of the womb. While Rachel was still barren.. Tracing this to our present life although polygamy is not usual as the accident time..No woman could stand the sight of sharing her husband with another woman.
But to cut it short Rachel over acted in so much ways referring her maid to her husband. Which show her less faith in God ..
Also as relating to our present time there are barren couples, searching for a child .not minding the gender they could have…the single message I want to share here is hoping in God and patience, they should belief that no amount of patience is too much…God is the master planner may his will be done..Amen
Envy one diseases which physicians are yet to find cure for, most people are so eaten up by jealousy that they forget the “God timing ” factor, despite the fact that Rachel was Jacob’s favorite she didn’t enjoy that privilege much because of jealousy, more so vengeance is for God, she shouldn’t have stolen the gods of her fathers thereby bringing curse upon herself, look at the way the unhealthy rivalry between her and Leah escalated down to their children to the point that they had to sell their own brother.
I didn’t know much about Racheal until now, it’s a painful thing she died at the end but this lessons drafted out from her story tells a whole lot and reminds us to avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition. Leave it all to God. He knows best.
Avenging in any form is wrong, we should learn to be patient and let God take the wheel.
Being envious is natural for humans,if i was Rachael i think i would do same. I know it wasnt easy for her, coupled with the fact she had no child. We pray for Grace. Wonderful post
Forgiveness goes a long way and we all need to remember what the last commandment say “love your neighbour as yourself ….
Where do I start? I just had to read this again and again, ma you are transforming lives here. “No matter how someone loves you, he cannot do everything for you”, this really got me thinking, this is the reason why a child can die on the laps of the mother with the mother only left helplessly with tears. But thank God for God who has the solution to all my problems. Like Rachel, I will continue to look onto God. Thank you ma for this elating piece. It went a long way in my marrows.
The story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah which emanate from the Bible.
Bringing it to the present day life, in which we live in the world of attraction and belligerence, it is very imperative and pivotal that before we do unto someone, that which is bad we should first of all check if that should be done unto us are we going to be happy?
Rachel in the story betrayed Leah, but then, God compensate her with children and denied Rachel even one.
Thus, it is important to be careful in whatever you do to people in life, be it a brother, a sister or a friend.
Most marriages are in shambles as a consequence of absence of submission (as even prescribed) by the bible to one’s husband. Aunty Edith rightly and wonderfully showed its importance through Rachel’s exemplary life.
The area that speaks about faith in God is very necessary as if we are taken away from our Maker, we cannot do anything.
Of a greater significance to me is the fact that Aunty Edith is able to point out Rachel’s weaknesses and equally advised us to avoid them.
Thanks for this amazing lessons from the life of Rachel.
Awesome, loyalty is very important. My mom always tell me that , no matter how rich you are if you are not loyal then don’t expect much from God. God bless you ma for this wondeful piece.
Rachel exhibited all of the emotions and behaviors that each of us show from time to time. We get jealous when what is rightly ours is kept from us. We turn ugly in the face of that jealousy and we get emotional. We are dismissive. But, there’s an alternative which is regarding one another as more important than yourselves and not merely looking out for your own personal interests. By doing this, God will and continue to favour you.
There is a lot to learn from this Rachael story. one of which is never to act irrationally. sometimes it is important to think before reacting to situation no matter the circumstances or tension. one important lesson that i can relate with is he second lesson. It is not wise to expect a lot from someone. because you can be heartbroken if the expectations doesn’t turn out as expected. and this could to hate or resentment of some kind.
Rachael lived a simple life but ended up bringing trouble to herself by taking her father’s gods and Jacob cursing whosoever that took it. Ma,myou just opened my eyes to things I did not even notice while reading this passage in the Bible before. More power to your elbow and I pray that I don’t let jealousy take over my mindset. Amen.
“No matter how much anybody loves us, there is a lot they cannot do for us and burdening them with such things will only strain our relationship with them”
Coming to the battle between Rachel and her elder sister Leah, it’s a story in the Bible that’s familiar with everyone, but when related to our society today and when one put herself in Rachel’s shoe we will understand that ‘Childlessness’ is a deadly disease. Though she over acted by bringing her maid to Jacob to into and by hating her own blood elder sister… but the pain of bareeness is not here.
It’s obtainable that no sinner shall go unpunished, hence the result of her miserable death.
May God give us the grace to put our whole trust in Him whether good or bad. Amen
Thanks Dr. Ms. Edith Ohaja
Your blessings shall know no limitations.
Even with the love Jacob had for Rachael but is still wasn’t enough to spare the little her sister was enjoying. That is why God is God. The wicked ones can never go unpunished. And this biblical account says a lot about our contemporary ladies. Wanting to have everything even the ones meant for another person. They get jealous at the tiniest bit of the good thing you receive ignoring the massive ones God has blessed them with. But one thing I believe in this world is that no man is an island, so, good things are bound to happen for everybody, the better you accept that fact, and enjoy with the person, the chances that you will get yours in no due time.
Truly No man conquers through strength! Let’s learn to leave vengeance for God… Let’s learn to trust God in all situations… He knows better than us… According to his word his thoughts towards us is thought of good and not of evil that we should have an expected end… .lets learn to trust God with our problems .. We should learn to focus on counting our blessings rather than counting other people own….
As a little girl from a polygamous home and being on the less preferable side of the family, having not much support or help, I clinged to that passage of the bible, 1 SAM 2:9, it kept me strong. Whenever i asked for help from my step sisters and they replied with the most common reply when one is unwilling to help in Nigeria “the economy is hard”, I silently say the scripture, ” he will keep the feet of his saints and the wicked shall be silent for by strength shall no man prevail”, and keep my trust in God.
Although I let my usual quoting of this passage slide over the years, I want to generously thank you for bringing it to my heart once again.
When ever there is jealous in the heart of a person,or anytime someone becomes jealous of one another,the very person is bond to do evil because he or she has the mind set that you have what they don’t have,so for that reason such a person can go any length in other to stop this very good thing that they are jealous about,there by resulting to them doing evil things,so we ought not to be jealous of one another,because I believe that when you appreciate good things,good things will in turn appreciate you!
God blesses whom ever he wants to bless regardless. Though Rachel’s father gave out his first daughter to Jacob before giving Rachel God still blessed Leah more…blessed her with the fruit of the womb and jealousy set in in Rachel’s heart. I know that it was not easy for Rachel to cope with her sister being her co-wife but everything happens for a reason.
May God help us to understand that certain things in our life happens for a reason.
“Do unto other what you want them to do unto you ” that no 4 is not just a lesson for married people or polygamus family ,it not just a lesson to learn
its meant to be a philosophy to life ,because if only people can learn to tink of life in that sense , the world would be a better place than its is to be.
thank you ma
Rachel should have never doubted jacob’s love for her just as we should never doubt God’s Love for us. Jacob volunteered to work for seven years to gain Rachel. He did not try to get Rachel’s love for free in an attempt to earn something for nothing. He was willing to do what was necessary to have her. Jacob found Rachel worthy enough to labor for seven years. The Bible says his love was so strong for her that seven years seemed to him but a few days. It might be hard for some of us to imagine being loved and pursued by God in quite that way, but he sent his only Son Jesus Christ to die for us, that alone should tell how great his love is.
Thank you ma, jealousy can effect us on doing unimaginable things in our lives. There is really a lot to learn from this story, and one is thinking before reacting to situation no matter the circumstance , this is because patience quench jealousy…..God bless u ma. God will continue to use u in changing our bad perception of lives.
I know Rachel must have found it hard to live with her sister as her co-wife. Its not easy, but I can’t encourage jealousy and envy at least they are sisters.
That’s why God gave Leah children and didn’t give her.
God will bless who ever he wants to bless no matter what.
The two main theme from the story is theme of love of God and mankind and themes of loyalty.
Rachael lived a simple life. She was loyal to her husband Jacob. But this loyalty was swept under the carpet because of love for world thing, like love for my owns child,and others. This makes wave for jealous, hatred and envy.
And these are factors that kills our christian life (love for material things).
The problem with competition is that it takes away the requirement to set your own path, to invent your own method, to find a new way. Let us forgive each other only then would we leave in peace.
Someone like Sampson would have made it all through if man prevails by his own strength.
However, Rachel’s life style is the replica of our every day lifestyle and it is very bad.
We should learn to look up to God in all circumstances. He is capable of solving every problem that seems to be above us.
God bless you MA.
It is an educative post.
This is the more reason why families should be more careful with the way they argue or fight in the presence of their kids. Little do they know that what they are doing is impacting something on their kids. Most of time you may think that they don’t know anything but they are seriously learning. You see the result of what they learnt manifesting by the sighting of Joseph. That they connived without feeling remorse that he was their brother. Please let not make the same mistake.
We should always appreciate ourselves, imagine living in a society where people encouraged each other and is truly happy for one another for their achievements. Jealousy is a disease and makes us do things we end up regretting later so, if we have a problem we should take it to our Father in heaven for he alone know and holds the solution to our problems but we shouldn’t pray to God only when we have problems, we should appreciate the things He does for us because there are so many blessings God gifts unto us we are not even aware of or appreciate
We should learn to Let other people’s success make us happy. Jealousy kills. Rachel’s life style is the replica of our every day lifestyle and it is very bad. We should learn to look up to God in all circumstances. He is capable of solving every problem that seems to be above us. God bless you MA. It is an educative post.
Wonderful post ma, (point 3) “avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition” I’ll like to add that, yes Rachel was envious of her sister as she was unable to bear children, but this feelings are natural, and not something we can avoid, they will always come, we can only control how we react and display this emotion
This is why we must avoid such competitions but being in a polygamous home like Rachel was, it can be difficult or impossible
LOYALTY
The best trait of Rachel I love most, there’s nothing bigger than being loyal to your spouse, this time not for the ladies alone, the guys too, when the two are loyal to each other, am sure they will achieve great feat together.
Again is the putting trust in God and not man.
Because I believe that no matter how loyal or loving a man can be, he can still disappoint at any given time. For instance in the post, even the loving and caring Jacob got angry and spoke to Rachel, who knows the tune he even used, but at las he told her to go and ask God instead.
It still boil down to the point that God is the omnipotent, he’s the one we all should put first, no matter the circumstance.
We should not be jealous or envy people because of God’s blessing on their life because God might have big package waiting for us
Am inspired, because in terms of love, is good to handover everything in God’s hand, because doing evil will finally destroy everything and there will be no room for coming back. Rachel is a living example.
Wow! I have been hearing stories of Rachel and Joseph, but never new it all started this way.
Truly, “vengeance is not the best option”, we should allow God to avenge us, although Rachel was treated badly by her father Laban, she shouldn’t have taken it upon herself to punish her father by stealing his god, thereby bringing curse upon herself.
“Whatever is meant to be yours, will surely be yours”. Notwithstanding what Laban did to Rachel, she was still the apple of Jacob’s eye and the one very dear to his heart, and therefore was loved most.
I used to like that name Rachel… But not anymore. Her life was a bad worn characterised by jealousy and envy.
We should learn not to take advantage of our position to maltreat others.
Rachel was very mean to her own elder sister just because she was preferred by their husband. Even to the extent of being consulted before her elder sister can sleep with their own husband…. Tufiakwa.
I also like the fact that God punished her for all her evil deeds… At least it will serve as a lesson to everyone that might think of following her footsteps.
Most times, it is not always what we want but what God wants for us… Maybe God made Rachel’s father to give Leah to Jacob first so that she will give him enough children and therefore reduce the pressure of childbirth on Rachel but she didn’t see that, she was beclouded by jealousy and unhealthy competition to match up with her sister.
May God give us the grace to avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition of any kind and to always seek his will in every way situation.
No sinner can go unpunished. Jealousy is a cankerworm that eats deeper into anyone that has it, it keeps growing and growing and each act of jealousy leads to a greater one.
The story of Rachel is really a real life lesson to everyone till generations to come.
We should not fight battles ourselves when we can actually leave it for a God.
Rachel tried to fight an unnecessary battle with her sister even when she was at a better advantage but God showed her that it is not by power or might, the Lord will always fight for his own.
No 4 caught my attention ,yes do to others what you want them to do for you ,most people only count the bad side of others forgetting that they must have offended others too ,learn to treat others well.
,treat others with love,i learnt that we should be respectful,we should avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition this is common with the girls no offence but we like to show off
.also we were made to understand that we should not put our trust in human ,
Indeed our strengths can be our weakness if our behaviour us not moderated. I love the point which says “No matter how much anybody loves us, there is a lot they cannot do for us and burdening them with such things will only strain our relationship with them”. We should always take our problems to the right authority and most especially God. Nice one MA.
We are unique, a royal priesthood. Don’t envy another success because God has a reason for everything. You don’t have it now don’t mean you won’t have it later. Of a truth by strength shall no man prevail. Our physical achievements and attributes are worthless if we don’t commit it to God’s hands and wait for his will for our lives. So many of us exhibit both the good and bad attributes Rachel possessed both in our dealings with people and in our personal lives . May the lord help us and guide us through life’s challenges.
There is no competition in life..it’s not easy to accept cheat.but we should not let anger or jealousy steal the blessings of the Lord from us.let love and understanding lead us through..we should not help God by alternative mentality we should wait upon him.
I still wonder why people never bear Leah and we have so many Rachel. To me i feel Leah was more blessed than Rachel both in child bearing and long life. Now i know more about the two sisters. Really learnt a lot from this. God bless you ma
It is now clear that jealousy and envy is not the key to having dominion over one’s challenge. The key to having dominion is prayer. Matthew 11:28-29 New International Version (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. May God continue to give us spiritual and physical rest as we continue to seek him. May God continue to grant Dr. Edith Ohaja more insight in his word as she continues to bless our soul, Amen.
The second and third lessons from the life of Rachel really got me. Looking up to God and not man is really important if we want to succeed in this life. Man can disappoint but God can’t. Avoiding jealousy and unhealthy rivalry is a way of having rest of mind. Thank you ma.
Though the character is a female, males cannot afford to overlook the lessons pointed out. In between, you talked about Rachel’s child waiting and it just reminds me of a family friend who is trusting on the Lord for about 10yrs now amidst pressures from outside and maltreatment from her husband though Rachel didn’t face same- but the lesson #2 of trusting in God I noted.
I wonder what the scenario would have been like in this age with Rachel being the second wife and also barren. The mother in-law would sure have taken an irrational action against her. She was privileged even to the point of being Jacobs favourite but jealousy can be overwhelming a times and she was cutup in her dysphoria. it’s a pity she died the way she did. This simply implies that we cannot do anything on our own accord without God’s approval as it will always backfire, hence,the need to allow God avenge us as aunty rightly said.
putting off someone’s light doesn’t make yours shine any brighter than it already is. Jealousy they say is a disease and as such has the tendency to spread. The fight against jealousy is continuous and one which we all must fervently imbibe.
Wow! Jealousy is indeed a bad thing, also I think she should’ve forgiven her father, maybe she wouldn’t have died so ealry
What do we gain from jealousy? Nothing, just as evidenced in the life of Rachael. Deceit is bad but it shouldn’t stop us from giving honour to whom honour is due. Though Jacob was deceived by Laban, he should have loved Leah as much as he did to Rachael. Also, we shouldn’t pay back evil with evil; from the life of Rachael we should learn that and know when to let go.
Jealousy is bad even though it’s part of us as human but it’s extremely negative if out of jealousy, we cause harm to people. God is a jealous being but he has not destroyed the world because of our apostasy or wickedness thus, we should learn to control our envy and not otherwise. Also, we should not abuse our positions or privileges by subjecting people to unsavory treatment because the table could be turned and nobody likes to be treated so undeservedly. God knows us through and through thus, he compensates us for everything we do or trials we face in life.
One big lesson I learnt from this post is that peace and unity aboundsmore in the society when everybody sees their neighbour’s child as their own. But Racheal wanted a child of her own so she can have a root in her husband’s house and possibly to have a child that will inherit part of her husband’s property (this is mostly done in Igbo traditional society). Christianity demands the opposite of this. I pray that God will give us the grace to love and take others’ children as our own. With this, jealousy and competition will become a thing of the past in our society. God bless you exceedingly for this post Aunty Edith!
Jealousy doesn’t pay it only precedes evil! I have learnt a lot of morals from Rachel. Thank you ma
During my Sunday school days I was told taught to be like Rachel in the Bible. She was painted as someone who was without fault. Reading this article has opened my eyes to a whole new Rachel that was totally different from what I was taught which made me go back to the Bible to read her story. Aside the fact that she was jealous and tried so hard to out do her sister(Leah). I am also made to understand that Rachel was just another human being with flaws. She tried too hard and while trying to please her husband went too far. After all her effort she died on the way and was buried at Ephrath while Leah lived longer and was buried with their husband (Jacob). This article should sound as a warning to us all especially we the young ones that unhealthy competition and Jealousy is deadly and most often the person you are competing with does not know and does not care. We should know that we are not in any race with anybody and we should learn to wait patiently for God’s time. We should be forgiving and always look up to God who always have good things waiting for us no matter how late we think it is. Thank you ma for this eye opening article. Remain Blessed!
These lessons from Rachel really opened my eyes… No 5 though ‘Eschew Craftiness….’ it reminds me of that verse of the Bible that says the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. Sometimes we may want to act smart and do it our way, but we should always remember that there is a God that sees in secret. Vengeance surely belongs to God. As you stated, Ma, the unhealthy relationship in the household affected the children. We saw how Joseph’s brothers eventually sold him off to slavery. This is a great lesson for parents to learn and as believers in Christ, we should let our light’so shine’. Not glorying in strife, hatred, jealousy and vain glory. Thanks, Ma, for sharing!
This is a story every young lady should read and learn from. Marriage is a very delicate matter that shouldn’t be rushed into. many homes have been broken because of the rash decisions taken by the female spouse. this is didactic story to correct the mistakes this young women makes
from my point of view, Rachael had more negative attitudes compared to her positive attitudes but the most important thing is learning how to fall back to GOD in time of distress. Rachaels life is a good lesson for everyone to learn from so as to have a bright future.
They’d always be ups and downs,challenges and what nots but putting trust in God and not man, seeking his guudance so we dont take irrational decisions we are bound to regret is key,similar to what rachel did was sarah who told abraham to go into haggai which she later regretted just because she wasnt patient with God..
Jealousy have caused alot of problems in our daily living, it could make us have a negative thoughts and evil doing to our fellow people, Rachel was jealous because of how Leah have given birth. We tend to avoid been jealous, let’s do good to others and Good things Will fall in our favour. Live Good
Falling back to God is something we should learn to do, like the story of the prodigal son God is always ready to receive us back. But we should not take his mercy for granted. Much lessons to be learnt from this piece.
Although, jealousy is an inherit machenism in Man, we should try as much as possible to cut it out of our conscience.
Rachel, should have seen Leah’s success as a motivating factor to move on with life and to have an incurable hope in the Lord, because He is the only one who determines who to bless in a particular time.
Summarily, Rachel is not a patient type. And this even in our immediate environment shot virtue down the totem pole.
Being jealous and envious to other’s success will not make you have your own needs or become successful. This is seen in the life of Rachel. Therefore, we should learn to rejoice with others when they are happy and mourn with them when they are sad.
Jealousy, we are actually born with it but it takes the grace of God to subdue, in one way other we see ourselves in the position of Rachel. May I remember the lessons of this post. Amen thanks so much ma
I learnt a lot from this post, especially from lesson 2 ,which state that we should look up to God not man, cause He remaineth the impossibility specialist.
And lesson 3 which urges us to avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition, cause this life is a one-man’s race.
These lessons are very important, especially the part that talked about jealousy. When your concentration is always to feel unhappy for the success of other people, indirectly you are paving a way of failure for yourself; but when you are happy for the success of others, ask God to remember you, and believe me, he will. We need to avoid jealousy and envy.
Jealousy, we are actually born with it but it takes the grace of God to subdue, in one way other we see ourselves in the position of Rachel. May I remember the lessons of this post. Amen thanks so much ma
The lessons in this write up is also applicable to men to learn from. Our total trust in God shall earn more of his favours. Loyalty to ones spouse is one of the greatest lessons there when a is loyal and faithful to his knowing how best to handle his wife, then no much problem shall befall them. Jesus Christ in the Bible told us to do to others what we wish to be done unto us. This emphasizes the fact that no one would like to be treated awfully, or in an ill mannered way, thus since we don’t want to be treated bad, we should then treat others rightly. These are great lessons to success in our daily lives both as singles or couples. May God help us all to live and build a healthy relationship with our partners. Amen
Wow that was fantastic article ma. It is educative biblical injunctions.
Jealousy and unhealthy rivalry is a path to doom. I know as human being we are prone to temptations, but like the scripture made us to understand in the book of Romans “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good”. I guess that’s the summary I deduced from the story of Rachel’s fate.
Thank you ma for the lessons.
“Do unto others what you would love them to do to you”
Most attimes for one reason or the other, we tend not to consider the feelings of others towards our action, we just want to do what will please us forgetting that others really matters … We should all learn from Racheal’s shortcomings not to always think of our wellbeing alone all the time, rather we should consider the feelings of others
My favourite Number is No 2 look unto God, not man. Never depend on any man, man might fail you but God never fail or forsake those who have faith and trust in him. This quotes are very essential for building up life. Thank you ma for this motivational post have learnt a lot from it God bless.
Jealousy and envy is very dangerous it can easily mislead a person. Rachel met her Waterloo because of the bad traits. Treat people the same way you’ll like to be treated.
Nice write-up ma.
Truly Jealousy, over ambitiousness and vengeance are very poisonous traits that no one should have. Rachel was beautiful, but these bad things flawed her and of course led to her early death.
We christians should be mindful of these things.
‘No matter how much anybody loves us, there is a lot they cannot do for us…’. This statement got me and i really think lots of people should take note of that…its really important cause it sometimes affects relationship…
Thank u ma for this message
I have learnt so many things from the character of Rachael. Having an unhealthy competition, this doesn’t only apply to marriage alone, today we see unhealthy competition amongst friends for things that are vain ( clothes, money, fame etc). And seeking God first before seeking men, bevi when we seek God he brings men our way to give answers to our prayers.
Do unto others what you want them to do to you . The golden rule says it all jealousy is a disease as they say .let love in and it will die slowly.. competition unto things of the earth is vanity upon vanity us vanity…
I feel Rachel made lots of mistakes in her life because she might have felt cheated initially that her sister was given first to someone she loved and even bore more children than her. Things like this which may be markers of womanhood in that time got to her later than expected.
As per her stealing of her father’s household gods, that may indeed have been what led to her death because such curse especially from a parent’s mouth is always potent.
Unhealthy riavary and competition is not good. We should learn to forgive one another because God do forgive us our sins no matter how bad and evil me may have behaved. So we should also learn to let go. Let’s learn from the story of Rachel, if she had learn to forgive, she would have lived longer. Also jealousy is one of the bad vices that is destroying us. We should learn to be contented with what we have and seek the face of God in times of lack and trouble. Rachel did not seek to face of God in her time of trouble, rather she took her frustration on Jacob, her husband. God do come to his childrens aid if we go to him with a pure and sincere heart.
Thanks ma for his inspiring post. God bless you ma.
We’re all humans; we make mistakes, and we should learn not only from our mistakes, but from the mistakes of others. Rachel was a woman so loved and preferred by her husband to Leah, her co-wife. But this wasn’t enough for her. Perhaps, she wanted a monopoly of their husband, lols… Rachel was loyal to her husband, she looked up to God for a child. But, even at that, she was jealous. And this single act of jealous caused a friction in Jacob’s family.
The story of rachel is indeed a very remarkable story. However, we should not go too far in our actions towards our neighbour and we should also try to act rationally unlike rachel did in the story. Revenge is not the solution as it brings about further troubles.
I feel bad whenever i read the story of how Rachael ended. Revenge is not the best answer in most situations because it could backfire and end up ruining us. It should be left for God and also leaning on man in any circumstance or difficult situation cannot profit us. The best is to lean onto God.
Rachel is an iconic woman in the Bible. She gave birth to one of the best personalities in the Bible – Joseph. But it must be understood that everyone has flaws in one way or the other. Rachael as a woman is one who acted irrationally as a result of her difficulties in bearing children and jealousy. One of the important lessons to learn from this is good things come to those who have patience. Impatience and Jealousy should be avoided at all times
Awesome piece. Rachel was jealous of Leah because she wanted to be the one bearing the kids for their husband. Jealousy is a disease that we have to fight against at every point, it tries to pop up because it’s very harmful. May God give us the strength to always overcome jealousy. May He give us the grace to celebrate with others when their blessings come before ours. Instead of being jealous, we should always trust in God.
I love how you expose the character traits of our Bible characters thereby enlightening us about their strengths and weaknesses and encouraging us to learn from their lives. All five lessons made my day but lesson number three to five touched me most.
As a christians we understand there is one God,others are idols, serving them goes against everything we believe in. In the case of racheal.she just couldn’t accept and respect her sister and her husband.we should learn from this and be contended with what we have, and believe in the Lord cause he is the one true light. With him all things are possible
Unlike Deborah, Ruth, and Mary, Rachael is not one of my role models. Everyone has a flaw but her flaws were one too many and thus she shouldn’t be sighted as a role model. Exhibiting character traits such as jealousy, ingratitude, stealing, anger and revenge, which led to her death. We should be careful the way we live our lives in order not to bring upon ourselves the wrath of God.
I don’t want to be in the position of being a second wife or the first and entertaining the thought of another. But, I take these lessons with me to guide me.
We can learn a lot from Rachel’s flaws
We have to rely on God notwithstanding, and believe he has special blessings that await us. Envying others or putting them through difficulties will not make things better. Furthermore, we should conform our life patterns to the teachings of Christ and believe that he has the best in stock for us
As christians, we should wholly depend on God for everything, we shouldn’t depend on our own wisdom or on people as racheal tried pouring out her frustration on her husband..God bless you ma.
I just got to understand this biblical story in depth through your post
I learnt a lot from the five lessons listed. Thank you ma
This is indeed a nice write up. I have not viewed the Rachael story from this angle. We should shun jealousy. Thanks for this exposure MA.
Rachel did not seek to face of God in her time of trouble, rather she took her frustration on Jacob and she let her jealousy get into her head. We should learn to be contented with what we have
From what I understood, we all have weaknesses and must do well to trust them to God.
Jealousy can never be avoided. Even if you are made of stones and rocks, you can still feel jealousy if something is not going well for you but is for someone else. So i don’t blame Rachel for feeling that way. Sometimes what we want and how we can get it doesn’t only depend on being good and righteous,but if we have the special grace of God. We should just let things be and trust that God will always come through.
This is what is practically happening right now in our society. People don’t understand that bringing someone down will not take them up. Young people have made it a habit to be envious of their friends successes. We need to learn to hope and trust only on God during our challenges. Our God is ever faithful to complete the good works in our lives
Yet another edifying post Ma! Your blog is indeed a beehive of relevant material that leaves blueprints for visitors and subscribers too. To assist in living their lives.
God is the author and the finisher of our faith. It is very uncultured and unhealthy when we begin to act as though God is no longer active in carrying out his duty in our lives and situations we face.Though, it will tarry but it will surely come to past, only believe.
God is the author and the finisher of our faith. It is uncultured and unhealthy when we begin to act as though God is no longer active in carrying out his duty in our lives and situations. Though, it will tarry but it will surely come to past, only believe.
If only we can understand that life is not a competition, and that comparison kills, then life would be much easier to live. What a didactic text.
God is the author and the finisher of our faith. It is very uncultured and unhealthy when we begin to act as though God is no longer active in carrying out his duty in our lives and situations. Though, it will tarry but it will surely come to past, only believe.
Ma I love your analysis on characters in the bible, you show us things we would never see through surface reading. Most times, we spend so much time trying to fight things that bring us insecurities, we forget to actually live and enjoy the sweetness life has to offer to us, the love people have to give us. They are two types of people; the one who focuses on doing good and the one who focuses on avoiding the bad. the latter is a very wrong approach to life and that was kind of the life Rachel. We spend so much time chasing other things that would probably have easily come to us if we were patient. God give us the wisdom to live and live life to its fullest. Amen.
The story is really sweet and interesting to read. It not only broadened my knowledge about the scripture, it also taught me to always look up to God in times of distress. He will surely come to our aid because His Grace is sufficient.
Jealousy has never led anybody anywhere good and its not just this story that confirms it, we also have the story of Cain and Abel to reminisce about. Whenever we are wronged or feel like things are going good for others not us it is always best to put everything in the hands of God
Rachel was envious of Leah.human beings do get jealous but we should also know that jealousy kills, we should also learn how to forgive and forget than taking revenge on our own.
I learnt that we human tend to get jealous when we don’t get what we want, but we should learn to control it and not get us.Also we should learn to forgive and forget, revenge should never be an option.. We should always trust and take our problems to God in prayer.
Jealousy and envy are so so dangerous and poisons the heart of men,if only God will purge us from them…. Our relationshops with our fellow human will be worth emulating.
I learnt that we human tend to get jealous when we don’t get what we want, but we should learn to control it and not get us.Also we should learn to forgive and forget, revenge should never be an option.. We should always trust and take our problems to God in prayer. Also we should learn to be contented and satisfied with what we have and be happy and celebrate with others when they progress
I sometimes like to imagine that Rachel stole that idol from her father because she liked it. Lol. I mean seriously: it’s an art work. Maybe she loved art. Hahaha.
This is really an eye-opener, I have never viewed the story of Jacob and his wives from this angle. I know the situation here is really complicated and capable of causing lots of bad blood but love conquers all things. Rachel would have better handled the problems in her marriage if she had choosen to love and tolerate others.
No. 4 got my attention, it said”do to others as you want them to do to you”. In this case, treat others with love and care so that in return you will get more than you deserve.
Woowow! Where do I begin to appreciate this beautiful work! It is really wonderful. May God continue to strengthen you. Amen.
Rachel is really a woman full of surprises. One would never know that she could be vengeful, possessive and cunny. She even dared to steal her father’s gods, knowing fully how important it was to him. It’s like stealing the church’s treasury. Wow! I fear her morale.
Imagine! She even pioneered when Jacob should meet Leah. Oh my God. I can just imagine how helpless Leah was at that time that God had to come to her rescue. I understand that Jacob didn’t choose Leah, but i expected a little love from him.
It is expedient we understand what a deadly poison jealousy can be. It eats deeper than we can imagine and it can turn a good person to bad. Parents should try to love their children well enough to remove hatred and jealousy from their hearts. For I believe that Laban loved Leah more than Rachel, enough to give her to Jacob instead of Rachel.
I think this jealousy wahala started the day Leah was given to Jacob.
Wow! I’ve always felt God had been unfair to Rachel. I never really had an insight into this story from the Bible. I’m just getting one, for the first time, though very much familiar with this story.
In times like this we should always look up to God for he knows it all Rachel was faithful and obedient but she had jealousy in her which led to hate and unhealthy competition.God has a reason for everything and we should turn to him at all times in our situations.
God help my heart to be accommodating. I don’t want to live in strife and unnecessary competition. Help me live peaceably with all men so I can get the best out of every relationship You bring my way. I never knew I could learn this much from the life of Rachel. Thank you ma
(3)Avoid Jealousy and unhealthy Competition:Jealousy is a deadly attitude that kills every human relationships and even prevent one from chasing his dream as time that is supposed to be used in doing better things are used up in trying to bring one down as can be seen in the life of Rachael.Jealousy is in family resemblance with competition. People fail to understand that there is no competition in destiny. Competition in life other than normal sporting or game competition are usually borne out of jealousy for fellow man.
Whatever makes someone else happy might not be what makes you happy but that doesn’t mean you should be envious or jealous. True and satisfying happiness comes from within.
We owe ourselves the duty to find it and explore it.
The thing that was dominant in the life of Rachel and Leah was competition and wrestling which is very bad to cohabiting peacefully. Rachel should have known that Jacob loved her enough to work for her father for 14 years just to be with her, cause he thought she was that valuable. But you wouldnt blame her because bearing children those days, especially sons was a huge thing for the women. It meant carrying on the family name. Rachel could have done better about her relationship with her husband but rather she started seeing him as a means to and end, that is using him for child bearing, with the way she was always shoving her maids towards Jacob. Another thing in this story is that she could have worked towards a better relationship with Leah because they both had situations they had to deal with. They were both victims of circumstance, and it was out of their control. Rachel having th confidence of the one who was loved most could have been kind, but she chose not to.
Rachel exhibits all of the emotions and behaviours each one of us show from time to time. We get jealous when what is rightfully ours gets taken away from us, we get ugly in the face of that jealousy and we get emotional. We become vindictive. We put the focus and attention only on ourselves which is being selfish. But the bible in Phil 4 vs 3-4 says,”Do nothing out of selfishness and self conceit, but with humilty of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Jesus Christ.
Everyone comes into this world with a unique destiny and life path. Each of us has our own life curriculum with individualized lessons to learn. For this reason, comparing ourselves to others is redundant and only distracts us from what we should be accomplishing in our own lives. It’s important to realize that people who engage in this kind of behavior always end up hurting themselves the most. The need to compare oneself to another has a corrosive effect on our spirit and can drain our vitality and zest for life. Say no to jealousy and unhealthy competition!
The second lesson which is to Look unto God, not man. really shows a lot in the life of Rachel, it showed that she was jealous of her sister Leah& she was also impatient thereby putting all the anger on her husband Jacob. Forgetting to put her troubles to God in prayers. As Gods children this trait should not be seen in us, we should always remember God in times of difficulties.
Of a truth love and understanding should be the basis of any marriage but sadly enough reverse is the case for this present generation. Men are suffering though. Imagine been around all these drama gosh! May God help us all.
There are lots of things jealousy do to a person,it can set you back, it can also delay ur blessings from God,it can also make one see things in a different way while its means another . Rachel let jealously consume her even after knowing that her husband loves her more than her sisters Leah which was not suppose to be so, she always wanted to compete with her sister. May God grant us all the grace to get over jealously.
nice piece ma and a great lesson to learn. With God, all things are possible and also one with God is majority. So, whatever we want, whatever we need, we should resort to God in prayer. He will always show u where u fit i n his plan, because he has great plans for his children
God is not a man that he should lie
He knows what nd when is perfect for usRachel should have never doubted jacob’s love for her just as we should never doubt God’s Love for us. Buh everything goes according to God’s perfect will
This is a very interesting write up. I learnt a lot from this,the most important lesson is that we should always avoid jealously and stop competing with others.we should also be happy for people when good things happen to them and also learn to put your trust in God and not in man.
Truly blessed by this post. Some actions we take or behaviours we exhibit blocks God’s blessings from us. We may think we are hurting our neighbour not knowing that we are hurting ourselves
This is why we have the scriptures to guide us and show the consequences of jealousy, envy, lying and other ill characters.
Rachel did some wrong and right things. The essence of these lessons, I believe, is to help us sieve out the right ones. Going forward, this piece reiterated the fact that one is only supposed to be in competition with one’s self. Be loyal, not blind.
Love one another.
These lessons are really wonderful! There was something Rachael did out of pain that would have brought curse to the tribe of Benjamin. Thank God Jacob quickly averted the curse and renamed Benjamin. Thank you for sharing this Ma
The golden rule, rules?
Waoo… I’m so much in love with with any ink or letters you pen down for they are full of knowledge and teachings.
Jealousy and envy is one thing people should always pray against. May the Lord grant us wisdom to keep knowing him more.
Thanks for all the insights you keep feeding me with ever since Feature writing brought me to you.
Remain blessed Dr.
I remain Asogwa Paulmik (as a facebook name )
This is very expository.
I never really understood the story of Rachel and her sister this way.
Truly, leaving vengeance to God is the right thing to do at all times.
Bitterness can hinder our blessings without us realizing it.
Being envious of other people’s blessing can block one’s blessing.
I also concur to pouring our frustration to God in prayers instead of man. God himself asked us to knock that he will open door for us. He also promised me us rest if we come to him with our burdens.
An interesting story so far, Rachel faced many challenging situation but she prevailed. as one who is of God we should imbibe great virtue and patience in all our dealings. God has always prevailed and he will take care of his own. an exciting and expository story, we all as christians should believe in God always. he knows the end from the beginning.
I have read Rachel’s story countless of times from my Bible but never saw it through this light… “No matter how much anybody loves us, there is a lot they cannot do for us and burdening them with such things will only strain our relationship with them” this got me deeply…thank you ma for this…I think you should be a Sunday school teacher cause you made this story different from the conventional one..
Your second point really struck me ma. The part of us looking up to God and not up to men is a stinger. I learnt that we should learn to let God be God. People will never be enough. There’s also no need to be jealous or competitive. God always has something for every one of his children. God has enough bounties to go round. Thank you for this ma.
Wonderful post ma. One lesson every woman should learn from Rachel that I deem more important than others is submission. The rate at which feminists are rising is very alarming. This set of feminist don’t see the need to submit to their husbands,all they choose to see is equality if not superiority.
Even the Bible says that the man is the head of the home as Christ is the head of the church. What they don’t know is that a woman submitting isn’t foolishness but obedience.
Jealousy and vengeance will do us no good rather it can endanger our lives. Thanks so much ma for this wonderful piece.
Lessons learnt and noted. THANK YOU MA.
Wow , this is an interesting piece. Do to others as you would want them do to you. This is the golden rule and it applies.
The story of Rachel is so relatable to all that we see happening today. Now I’m even more certain of the fact that everything occurring today has occurred before. Many have read these parts of the bible so many times but to them, it has never been anything more than just Jacob’s story. In truth, I am only reading this for the first time today in this way. The deeper, hidden meanings and lessons present have made their mark and I’m glad I didn’t miss out. Thank you so much for this❤
Being envious of other people’s blessings can block your blessing..always be happy for others.
We should not be envious of anyone, if you are happy for what God has done for another, He will bless you also
What Rachael may have failed to realize was that she should have shared in Leah’s happiness (From conceiving children) and tapped from it. Competition only paves way for jealousy, and jealousy begets hatred, hatred brings about unnecessary bitterness which hinders one’s blessings. God would never bless a bitter soul. May the Lord give us the strength to remain happy and contented in every situation ?.
I am sure it wasn’t easy for Rachel but I learnt that in every situation a believer finds his or herself we should bless God and look up unto him for breakthrough. Because its only from him we can get the perfect miracle, just as Rachel was eventually blessed with Joseph whom God later made the leader over his brethren. So I would say it is always good to trust in the lord.
Bitterness can hinder our blessings without us knowing, same with jealousy and envy. We only need God’s grace to overcome all these.
Indeed! May grace be multiplied to you in your endeavours.
No doubt, Rachel’s life was obviously filled with bitterness. She was unhappy with the situation of things and wanted to have her husband to herself, however, as you rightly quoted @aunty Edith, she was trying to overcome it all on her own. The lesson I got from this post is not to be driven by hate and be contented as difficult as it may be.
Nice writeup
This writeup is encouraging, putting your trust in God in every situation we find our self is what every Christian should do.