Israel Archives

August 20, 2024October 8, 2024

Why Did Reuben Sleep With Bilhah?

Jacob, later renamed Israel, had 12 sons. These 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. The eldest of these was Reuben, son of Jacob’s first wife, Leah. When Reuben grew older, he slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, but why? Why would Reuben sleep with the mother of his two younger brothers, Dan and Naphtali? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he searches through Scripture for answers in his video, Why Did Reuben Sleep With Bilhah?

Genesis 35:22
Genesis 35:16-21
Genesis 29:17-18
Genesis 29:31
Genesis 30:14-16
Genesis 49:3-4

Why Did Reuben Sleep With Bilhah?

The Story of Reuben and Bilhah In The Bible

¹⁶Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” ¹⁸And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), ²⁰and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. ²¹Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. ²²While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. ²³The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 35:16-26

³Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. ⁴Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

Genesis 49:3-4

Back to Nuggets of Truth?

Back to Theology?

Why Did The People of Israel Make A Golden Calf In The Wilderness?

The people of Israel had just left Egypt after 400 years of slavery. They witnessed God work powerful signs through Moses and Aaron. God Himself went before them and behind them, as they traveled from Egypt into the wilderness. Nevertheless, the people of Israel fell into idolatry almost immediately after; why? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture for the answer to this question and not on her video, Why Did The People of Israel Make A Golden Calf In The Wilderness?

Exodus 32:1
Exodus 20:18-21
1 Kings 12:25-29
Ezekiel 23:3, 19
Ezekiel 16:26
1 Kings 11:40

Why Did The People of Israel Make A Golden Calf In The Wilderness?

¹ When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ²So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
⁷And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” ¹¹But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹²Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. ¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. ¹⁵Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. ¹⁶The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:1‭-‬16‬

Back to Too Deep?

Back to Bible Studies?

The Lesson of The Fig Tree

Jesus gives us several key events to keep an eye on so that we are not surprised by His second coming. One of them was when the fig tree begins to blossom again. But what is so important about a fig tree blossoming? What does the fig tree symbolize in the Bible? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he searches through Scripture to find the true meaning behind this key End Time event in his video, The Lesson of the Fig Tree.

Luke 13:6–9
John 15:1
Mark 11:12–14
Matthew 24:32–33
Romans 11:7–11
Mark 11:20–21
Matthew 24:32
Proverbs 10:5
Jeremiah 40:10
Jeremiah 8:20
Song of Solomon 2:10–13

The Lesson of The Fig Tree

The Key End Time Event

³²From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁴Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Matthew 24:32-35

²⁸From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁰Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Mark 13:28-31

Jesus states that when the fig tree begins to blossom again, we know that summer is on its way. Summer always represents the Harvest. The full lesson of the fig tree is rooted in what the fig tree symbolizes in the Bible.

Back to The End Times?

Back to Theology?