Seeing Leah
Have you ever felt unloved or forgotten? Abandoned or left out?
I am sure your answer to those questions is a resounding “Yes!”. We have all felt that way at one time or another. Our friend Leah, from the Old Testament, would empathize with your aching heart.
We meet Leah in the first book of the bible: Genesis. If you’re unfamiliar with this book, you may not know her fickle husband, Jacob. He had left his homeland because of a sibling quarrel, and traveled a great distance. He eventually ran into some family, and fell into love, at first sight, with a girl named Rachel (his cousin, by the way). Rachel was Leah’s younger sister.
He promised Rachel’s father, Laban (his uncle), that he would work for seven years if he could marry the beautiful Miss Rachel. Laban agreed, but must have crossed his fingers behind his back when they shook on it. Seven years later, the wedding night of Jacob and Rachel had arrived.
Remember I said that Rachel was Leah’s younger sister? Well, because of this, Laban wanted to get Leah married first, so he sent her into the wedding tent with Jacob. When Jacob realized it, he was furious.
>>Turn to Genesis chapter 29 and read verses 14-30.
Clearly Jacob was not happy with Leah and really wanted her sister Rachel. He even promised to labor seven more years to be with Rachel, on top of the seven he had already worked.
How do you think Leah felt when she awoke to Jacob’s unpleasant response to having been married to her instead of her sister? Oh my goodness, my heart breaks for her! At the same time, I wonder if she was in on the trick, or if her father forced her to marry Jacob despite her refusal? She knew how Jacob looked at and longed for her sister. Could she really have wanted to stand in the way of that?
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you know what the outcome is supposed to be, but instead of waiting for it to happen, you try to negotiate your own ending? It’s easy to want to manipulate a situation when it’s not going the way we want it to. Rather than trust Jesus’ provision and omniscience, we think we know better. If you were to stop and think for a moment, you would realize the error of your ways.
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”
How could we possibly think we know better than the Lord, the creator of the Universe?
Unfortunately, both Leah and Rachel continue to think just that. In another sibling quarrel, we see these sisters taking matters into their own hands.
Now, before we get to that mess, I will point out a rather marvelous truth that we see in the middle of this story: God sees our hurt, pain, and feelings of abandonment. Verse 31 says, “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.”
God knew her heart longed to be loved and to give requited love. Therefore, He allowed her to have children.
>>Take a moment to thank the Lord for His provision and His all-knowing heart of a Father. He chooses to bless His children who follow His ways.
That verse is what leads to the jealousy and angst between these two sisters, though. Leah continues having children for Jacob, and Rachel continues not having them. This goes on for some time, until the baby count is Leah 4, Rachel 0. At that point, Rachel was distraught with jealousy, to the point where she thought she would die if she didn’t bare a son for Jacob.
What happens next is rather unusual for our time. Rachel asks Jacob to sleep with her servant in hopes that Bilhah (her servant) would be able to have children that she could claim as her own. Although it was more commonplace in biblical times, it didn’t make it right. The chaos ensues.
Bilhah has 2 sons.
Then, in retaliation, Leah gives her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to have more children for her.
Zilpah has 2 sons.
Then Leah has 2 more sons of her own. If you’re keeping track, that’s 10 sons for Jacob.
Leah then has a daughter, and Rachel finally has a son of her own.
That’s a lot of babies, and a lot of sibling rivalry.
The story continues through the later chapters of Genesis.
>>I encourage you to read through it and reflect on the imperfect nature of humans, and the perfect nature of God. Despite our shortcomings, God uses us to accomplish His will. Jacob (who later becomes known as “Israel” when God changes his name) was the father of 12 sons who made up the 12 tribes of Israel - the chosen people of God. God used these imperfect people to bring His will to fruition. Hallelujah for the fact that His plan prevails even when our human hearts desire after our own outcomes.
There is a lot of waiting in this story. Jacob toiled for fourteen years to have his beloved Rachel. Leah waited for years to be loved by her husband. Although the bible doesn’t tell us if Jacob ever loved Leah, we do know that Jacob had Leah, but not Rachel, buried in the family tomb (Genesis 49:31).
Despite her waiting to be loved by her husband, Leah finds herself fulfilled in the Lord. In the naming of her sons, she delineates a path of contentment in the Lord. Reuben, “the Lord sees me,” Simeon, “the Lord hears me,” and Levi, where she claims the Lord will create a bond between her and her husband. After her fourth son, named Judah, she praises the Lord for His faithfulness. Although her love was unrequited, we see how God continued to bless and look well upon Leah. He cared for her graciously and she willingly found solace in His comfort.
She was unwanted by her husband, but clearly loved and wanted by the Father. God loved her, blessed her, and provided for her.
Sometimes what we think we need is not what God has in store for us.
>>Continue to trust Him and pray for His will to be done in your life. He used Leah’s pain and suffering, to continue the ancestral line to Jesus (through her son, Judah)! Wow-to be used in such a way! Only He knows what your future holds.
>>So as you reflect on Leah’s story, ask yourself if you are fully relying on God to fill your needs. In the waiting, He is working, whether you see glimpses of the proof or not.