Why Is Reuben a Defiler?

Kings and Chronicles may be some of the stiffest reading but I did find something rather important in the Genealogies listed in Chronicles:

Now The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler, but the birthright was Joseph's) -I Chronicles 5 vrs 1 & 2.

But Why does Reuben not deserve his birthright? What did he do to deserve such a thing, and why does Judah Prevail over his siblings? BACK TO GENESIS!

I first noticed that something was amiss in the treatment of Reuben when I stumbled across the blessings Of Israel upon his sons in the 49th book of Genesis:

Reuben, thou art my firstborn,
my might, and the beginning of my strength
the excellence of dignity, and the excellence of power:
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel,
because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;
then defiledst thou it. He went up to my couch. -V. 3 & 4

I couldn't understand why the Reuben was decided void of birthright and also why he trusted Judah with Benjamin's Life and Not Reuben.....Something was fishy.

So I Strolled back through Genesis, Again!

And what I found begins in the 30th Book, Verse 9

"When Leah saw that she had left bearing"-

BUT WAIT! Later on, in verse 19, it says

"And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob the sixth son."

I Read this and section between the verses multiple times before taking to the Internet for a few answers and here is what I got.

After Leah was considered barren of child her first son, Reuben, is off working in the fields when he comes across a Homeopathic drug called mandrakes which he gives to his Mother so that she can then again sleep with Israel. When the Barren Rachel finds out of this she goes and asks "Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes" to which Rachel replies, "Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldst thou take away my son's mandrakes also? Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes." to Which Rachel agrees causing Leah to run into the fields towards Jacob shouting "Thou must come in unto me: for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes!" And this is why Reuben is stricken of his birthright and even considered a defilest of his fathers bed.

But why is Judah considered great by his Father? And why is it that Judah and not Reuben is allowed to Take Benjamin into Egypt?  I'll save that for my next blog:)

Cheerio!