Sometimes I wonder why the biblical authors wrote down the details of certain events and ignored others. The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Through inspiration, the authors even documented the mistakes of the people whose stories were connected to write God’s bigger story. In essence, God does not pick just the righteous people but He is interested in building a relationship with even the downtrodden and those who have been declared “bad”. If God could make a great patriarch out of a deceiver and a thief (Jacob), could connect a harlot to the family line of Jesus (Rahab), could take a murderer and a stammerer and make him a saviour of a nation (Moses), could make doubtful person an apostle and evangelist (Thomas), among others, surely He can make something out of me. The women in the Bible series reveal to us the women whose lives contributed to the scriptures. These women were not the best in their days. They had their strengths and weaknesses, yet, God worked His story in their discombobulated stories. Today’s focus will be on a single verse in Genesis 35 that is mostly ignored but very important in the Bible. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. (Genesis 35:22a) Bilhah, Rachel’s servant who bore Jacob Dan and Naphtali, had an affair with Reuben, Jacob’s first son. Genesis 35:22a quotes that, “While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.” This verse is not continued in subsequent passages in the chapter. The Bible author just dropped the bombshell; Reuben defiled his father’s bed by sleeping with Bilhah. Jacob heard of the incident and did not say a word about it. Was Bilhah coerced, or did she willingly agree to sleep with Rueben? Such details are not given. What we know is what happened. Bilhah and Reuben’s action is a disrespect to Jacob. Aside the incestuous acts, it was a total disgrace for Bilhah to engage in sexual intimacy with Reuben while Jacob was still alive. The fact that Jacob heard it and does not immediately react to it makes the incident more difficult to process. Both Bilhah and Reuben continued to live in the same house with Jacob and the rest of the family. The huge burden of guilt hung like an Albatross around their necks. The weight of the guilt and the shame it probably brought to them had to be a lifetime mark. Bilhah and Reuben’s act had future consequences. Before Jacob died, he blessed all his children. For Reuben, this is what he said: “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.” (Genesis 49:3-4). Literally, Jacob cursed Reuben for the action done years ago. Bilhah might have heard of the curse too. Their age-old sin was reviewed on Jacob’s deathbed. The curse was laid on Reuben and no Reubenites could ever rise to the top in the history of the Israelites. No king, judge, priest ever came from the tribe of Rueben. The family also occupied a territory beyond Jordan when they moved to the promised land (Numbers 32:1-5). Reuben’s lack of control over his emotions (turbulent as the waters), led to an act that caused his descendants to lose a prominent place in Israel’s history. The only “popular” Reubenites, Datham and Abiram were rebel leaders and they died for inciting the people to sin (Numbers 16). Bilhah and Reuben’s mistake became a generational scare and we should learn from them to avoid a singular act that can deny us of a blissful future. Before you do anything, consider the implications it would have in the future. You owe your descendants a blessing not a curse. Be intentional about avoiding sinful acts. One day with Bilhah or Reuben can cost a lifetime of regrets, pain, worry and disappointment. Look before you leap!
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