Genesis 30

Daily Devotional from Genesis 30—

Verse 14-15
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes…Therefore [Jacob] will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." NKJV

Jacob who had cheated his brother Esau out of his inheritance is now being bought and sold by his rival wives. The price was mandrakes, an aphrodisiac and fertility drug. Perhaps Rachel’s desperation to have a child drove her to trade a night with Jacob for the drug.

Desperation can drive us to do crazy things, even when there is a better option. If Rachel could have trusted God to give her the desired child, she might not have felt the need to compete with her sister. When we get desperate, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to fix things ourselves instead of trusting Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Today, rather than try to fix it ourselves, let’s trust in God’s plan and rely on Him for our future and our hope.

Marci Ellis