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16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. ~ Genesis 35:16-20
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 35 where we discover Jacob back in the land of promise with his family enjoying the life that God had long wanted to give him. When we resist God's leading and His will, we exempt ourselves from the blessings that we so ardently are seeking on our own. Like us, I am sure that Jacob thought his troubles were the result of his bad choices and that God was punishing him for those bad choices. Jacob was wrong when he thought that God was punishing him through his poor choices because in the choices that he made, he chose the opposite of God's will for him. Jacob's troubles weren't given to him by God. No, Jacob chose the troubles when he fed the flesh. Jacob was no different than we, but he was learning that his way did not render the life that he truly desired. As a result, God had to allow Jacob to experience pain which would serve him in making better choices for his life. Learning from our poor choices is a big part of our sanctification, the process whereby God inculcates His culture into our souls.
In v.16-19 of today's passage we read, "16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, 'Do not fear; you will have this son also.' 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."
While on their way to where Isaac was in Ephrath, later known as Bethlehem, Rachel gave birth to the twelfth son of Jacob also known as Israel. During her hard delivery Rachel died. This was unusual because there was no mention in the Bible of Isaac's wife Rebekah. And, of all of the sons of Israel, only Joseph’s death was recorded. Ephrath means "Fruitful." The name Rachel means "Ewe lamb."
God who was directing both the means and the timing of Rachel’s death, allowed her to live long enough to name her son "Ben-Oni," which means "son of my suffering." Then, after his wife's death, Jacob renamed their second-born son "Benjamin" which means "son of my right hand." When Benjamin was born the family was headed to Bethlehem which means, "House of Bread." All of these names and events were given in order that we might see the unfolding plan of God. All of these events picture for us the Lord Jesus who said in John 6:48, "I am the bread of life." The Lord Jesus Christ was heaven’s Bread, having come from the House of God to the House of Bread. But Bethlehem had another name, Ephrath, which means "fruitful." Ephrath pictures for us the saving work of the Lord Jesus who said in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." When we walk with the Lord and He is free to express Himself to and through us, we find that we will be included in this tapestry from the very God of all creation.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day."
Just six verses earlier, in v.14, did Jacob set up another pillar in honor of his meeting with God at Bethel. That was a time of joy and fellowship with God. Now in v.20, Jacob erected another pillar through his sadness and hope in God on the heels of the death of his wife. The pillar has since been a monument of faith in the resurrection of the dead. Jacob anticipated this through his faith in the God of the Bible during his time of sadness. The pillar’s location was still remembered at the time of Moses when he wrote the book of Genesis, and it was still remembered at the time of Samuel about 400 years later as recorded in 1 Samuel 10:2.
The name "Rachel" means "ewe Lamb." The child of a lamb is a lamb. This picture given so long ago was fulfilled in the words of John the Baptist who exclaimed in John 1:29, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" The word that John used for "lamb" was a unique term which literally means "a sacrificial lamb." This same word for "lamb" in the Hebrew is Rachel. Rachel’s death was uniquely recorded to show us that the Messiah would also die, as a sacrificial lamb. Rachel's death and the birth of Benjamin produced also for us a dual picture: From the death of the lamb, Rachel, comes the birth of the son, Benjamin. But also from the death of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, comes the birth of the son, you and me. Thus, it is a picture of all who have ever trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. These have entered into eternal life from eternal death.
