Even though they are often overlooked, Bilhah and Zilpah were two very important women in the Bible. They were the other mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel and that fact alone should place them in high regard. So why is it that they don’t seem to get the recognition that Rachel and Leah do? In my opinion: it’s because they were not from a significant (family) bloodline and were not legal wives only concubines. It’s sometimes difficult to understand bloodline promises and the privileges of wives versus concubines from the biblical standpoint. It is also difficult to understand Middle Eastern culture from so long ago… Back then, legal wives had a position of honor, rights and respect. Concubines had their basic needs met but they had no public esteem and no legal right to anything (the law protected them from being thrown out onto the street and that was about it).
Millions of women from all over the world are born into similar circumstances, like these two, where they feel powerless or helpless to change things. That’s why it is so important to support the outreach of the Gospel of Jesus Christ beyond our local churches. Our God is a freeing God to every woman from every nation. Although Bilhah and Zilpah were called maids, they were basically slave girls who worked for their mistress (owner). They were both given to the husband of their owners to have his babies. In those days, maids could bear these children and hand them over because according to the law and custom anyone born in the house was considered property of the mistress. We have no way of really knowing how they each felt about this situation. There is a similar story from an earlier time between Abraham and his wife’s maid, Hagar, where it seemed she was proud that she had given birth to his child. But I’m sure that she wasn’t so proud on the day that she and her child were both sent away almost empty handed.
I can’t speak for Bilhah and Zilpah personally but I can tell you that a normal woman would want to be given a place of value and treated like she was somebody, no matter where she came from. No woman in her right mind would want to give her body to be used to provide a service instead of being in a relationship where she is deeply loved and cared for. But sadly, Bilhah and Zilpah weren’t born with the same opportunities as Rachel and Leah. Somehow, someone failed to protect them and offer them a secure future or else they would have never ended up as maids for mistresses. One thing that is great about this story though, is that their sons were given what they never had! They were given an inheritance with the rest of Jacobs’s offspring. Normally, sons from concubines weren’t considered heirs. Bilhah and Zilpah were smart enough to understand the rights and privileges of adoption. They knew that handing them over to Rachel and Leah would ensure the father’s blessing over their sons. Between these two women was a pitiful beginning but a much better ending for their children - all because of their choices based on the ending result instead of an emotional now. Wow! God grant all of us that kind of wisdom!!
Next week... Jacob.
Loving U Like a Sister,
Regina
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