Nov 09 2009
Leah’s story
Leah was the girl nobody wanted.
Not by her father Laben, and not by her husband Jacob.
The Genesis story tells us what happens,
“When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
We pity Leah as she names her sons to mark her misery. Leah, desperate for love, is trying to find happiness “through traditional family values”. Sons will make her husband love her right? It wasn’t working.
Every time we put our hopes in something other than God, at the end of the day, we will distort our lives, and wake up disappointed and despairing.
Nothing can make us happy except the one person that was meant to. Everything and everyone else, marriage, intimacy, success, beauty, power, will be empty promises.
But you know what’s beautiful about Leah’s story?
She hits a breakthrough in the last verse- “She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah” There is a note of defiance here, she’s declaring- “Enough trying to use children to gain love and happiness, I’m going to serve God first!”
Tim Keller writes, “It appears that finally, she had taken her heart’s deepest hopes off of her husband and her children, and had put them on the Lord. Jacob and Laban had stolen Leah’s life, but when she gave her heart finally to the Lord, she got her life back”
That’s not the end of the story. God in his kindness, takes the girl who is unloved, and gives her a special gift. Judah.
And from Judah, we are told, the true King, the Messiah will come.
“Salvation came into the world, not through beautiful Rachel, but through the unwanted one, the unloved one…the text says that when the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he loved her…”I am the real bridegroom. I am the husband of the husbandless.”
This is the God who saves by grace, and the only God worth living for.
Sources:
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
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Awesome Christa, AWESOME. This is so very true. Romans 12: 1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
MacKenzie
That was beautiful. When it seemed that no one else cared, God did. And the Lord always does. Thank you for this article.
Wow! I never thought about this story like that. It’s a good reminder that nothing in this world will satisfy except God alone – and He needs to be the very first thing in my life! Thank you for the post.
Chloe
Matthew 6:33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
AMEN!
PS- is the header some woman’s rear end?
I hope not! It’s a pregnant woman.
Aha! Now I see!
*giggles*
Wow-I had never thought of that story in that light… Thanks for sharing that powerful article with us, Christa!
What a great reflection on this story – thanks for sharing it.
Wow, I never even thought of it in that light. Thank you!
That was beautiful, Christa! I always take a lot of comfort from Leah’s story–that though we can feel “unloved” and “unwanted” sometimes–God always wants us….and He will bless us abundantly!
This definitely sheds a new light on the story for me. Thank you for sharing it so beautifully…
You know–I never liked Leah before now! “Why couldn’t God have favored one of Rachel’s children and made him the special tribe?” I’ve wondered, feeling slightly miffed for Rachel’s sake. God loved both Rachel and Leah, though–even if Jacob didn’t, and even if I didn’t (I do now, though, thanks to you!).
Yeah I never thought of it that way or realized Leah was caring the descendant that would be the first of Judah and then would lead down the line to Jesus. So awesome how the old testament links to the new!
Has anyone else on here read the novel “The Red Tent?” It’s written from Dinah’s perspective and gives a fictional account of what happened with her parents… and aunt… and mom’s servants. Disclaimer: definitely contains some adult material, but expands upon a not-well-fleshed-out-Biblical-person. I brought it up because I can’t read that section of Genesis without thinking about it.
And yes, a wonderful reminder… thanks, Christa.
That is powerful, Christa, and beautiful. As I read along, I was surprised by the insight I had never noticed before, and I appreciated it. But when you finally noted that Jesus came from the line of Judah, all I could do was be in awe of the perfect, omnipotent planning of our Jehovah. He truly controls every detail, and it was only through Leah’s submission that God could work this miracle through her. Praise the Lord!
Has anyone read “Woodlands” by Robin Jones Gunn? Its a Christian romance novel about a girl named Leah who was named so because her parents were disappointed that she wasn’t a boy. While its a sweet romance story, what struck a chord with me was the healing she underwent from this and other childhood wounds. Like the Leah in the Bible her life turns around when her relationship with God is set to right. I’d definitely recommend the book (and all the books in Gunn’s Glennbrooke series!).
I really needed this. Over the last few weeks God has been teaching me that when I place my hope and deepest affections in anything other than him, I am setting myself up for disappointment. Just last night a good friend reminded me that even when I am feeling unloved, God loves me more than I can possibly imagine. I never thought about how Leah must have felt… This story is so powerful.
Oh wow, I think God made me read this just at the right time! It’s amazing how powerful this story is – it really does speak to all generations. Leah is always the ignored one as people focus on Rachel and Jacob’s love for her, but to me Leah shows such faith in the midst of very poor treatment of her by those who were supposed to care for her.
It always amazes me how often I and others forget that our Messiah came not from the line of the heroic Joseph, but from the line of Judah who sinned and whose mother was a ‘failure’ to those around her. God’s providence is incredible!
Thank you for this post – I really needed it.