Genesis 35:16-29

Sin of Reuben 

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35:16 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.

 

17 When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for now you have another son."

 

18 It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

 

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

 

20 Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

 

21 Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

 

22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.

 

The Sons of Israel

 

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob--

 

23 the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun;

 

24 the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin;

 

25 and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali;

 

26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

 

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

 

28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

 

29 Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

The Things We Do

As we see in these verses, Reuben did not see the consequence of his sin and, as far as he was concerned, the deed was done and forgotten. But, when Jacob (Israel) called all his sons to him on his death bed, the sin once again raised its ugly head.

A bit of history - As the first born son, Reuben stood to inherit a double portion of the inheritance and he was to be a leader among his people.

Sin Comes Back

The sin of sleeping with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah came back to haunt Reuben when Jacob gave his double portion to someone else because of that one mistake.

The same is true of our sins. When we do something that displeases God, there is a good chance it also affects other people - maybe not today or even next year, but down the road.

A Lesson Learned?

I pray that we can learn a lesson from Reuben's behavior to use in our lives. Now, this doesn't mean that we will never sin (we always will) but maybe we can take a moment of pause to think about the consequences of our actions before we decide to do things that might harm others. Remember, when we decide to willfully sin, we choose to hurt other people; and God.

Love in Christ

- Bob

Genesis 32:22-32 - Jacob Wrestles with God