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30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years. 31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me." 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing. ~ Genesis 29:30-35
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 29 where Jacob has met his match in his father-in-law Laban. As we saw in our last study, similar to Jacob, Laban was deceitful. His deceit tricked Jacob into marrying his two daughters, one Jacob loved more than the other. It wasn't that Jacob didn't love Leah, he just didn't love her the way he did Rachel.
Figuratively speaking, every married person has two spouses. There is the person we thought we would marry and there is the person we actually married. Whoever it is that we love, figuratively, that person is both Leah and Rachel. We may love one more than the other, but they are wrapped into the same person. For every married couple, like it was for Jacob, the tension between the love we have and the love we want seems to grow with each passing day.
When we choose to love flawed people for whom they are, it will be then that we will be free to choose how we perceive their flaws. Biblical scholars are not real sure how to translate the Hebrew word used to describe Leah's eyes. Sometimes it is translated that "Leah had weak eyes." Sometimes it is translated that "Leah had lovely eyes." The difference between weak and lovely is significant, and clearly this word can be interpreted either way from the text. Jacob had a choice with regard to how he would translate Leah's eyes. He could have chosen to see them as weak, but he could have chosen to see them as lovely. Jacob was the biggest variable in this choice, but initially he saw them as "weak."
In v.30 of today's passage we read, "Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years."
Jacob lacked the depth to see the depth in Leah's eyes. And so, he chose to love Rachel more than Leah. I find it quite amazing though that by the end of Jacob's story, Jacob appeared to have embraced Leah. When Rachel died the family was in transit, so Jacob bought a piece of property by the side of road, buried Rachel there, and kept moving. But when Leah died he had her buried in the family plot where he would eventually have his own bones placed. Maybe this means that he had come to embrace the spouse he was given more than the one he wanted and had to leave behind.
In v.31-32 of today's passage we read, "31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, 'The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.'"
When we are despised by men we are potentially favored by God. I say "potentially" because if our trials drive us to more dependence upon the Lord, well we will be more blessed. If not, well, you get the picture. We can get hung up on those who look down on us or we can see their rejection as an opportunity to be more defined by the Lord, the choice is always before us.
Leah was unloved, but God tended to her need. Like Leah, we may feel unloved, but we aren’t. We are truly the joy of God’s heart because of what the Lord Jesus did for us. Our time spent with Him is time well spent and what we may seem to be missing out on now will have a different outcome in the days ahead. In the case of Leah, she was able to conceive children.
Jacob’s first child was born to Leah. As with all of the 12 sons and 1 daughter who are mentioned, their names reflect what was happening in Leah's heart. Leah named her first child "Reuben" which means "See a son." Leah went on to explain the choice of Reuben's name when she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction." Leah was convinced that the Lord granted her a son due to the lack of love she received from her husband. As a result of giving birth to Jacob's first son, she thought Jacob might love her as she wanted to be loved. But, Leah was further disappointed.
In v.33 of today's passage we read, "Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.' And she called his name Simeon."
Leah was again the one to bear a son for Jacob, but by this time she believed that being granted the honor of bearing the firstborn didn’t change Jacob’s heart toward her. Again she chose a name showing the condition of her heart. Simeon means "to hear."
Leah craved the love of Jacob, but in her craving, the Lord granted her a child to love. God does not always give to us what we want, but He will always give us what we need. True contentment in a world which isn’t always fair or kind comes only from the Lord who can fill the emptiness in our hearts. He knows when we are unloved and He always hears the cry of His children. Like Leah, we must let our voice be made known to the Lord for He is always faithful to hear and to provide for us what we truly need.
In v.34 of today's passage we read, "She conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.' Therefore his name was called Levi."
Now, for the third time in a row, Leah conceived a son. Leah named their third child Levi which means "attached." With three sons came hope for a stronger bond than before. Three in the Bible stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon used the number three to show us its strength. In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we read, "Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Leah saw Levi as the son who would bring her what she had desired, a strong bond with Jacob. Interestingly though, in today's verses, this is the only verse in which the name of the Lord is not mentioned. Leah expected attachment from Jacob as a result of giving him children but to no avail. This caused Leah to leave the Lord out of the picture in this verse.
In v.35 of today's passage we read, "And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Now I will praise the Lord.' Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing."
For a fourth time Leah received the Lord’s favor and she conceived a son. This time, she cried out, "Now I will praise the Lord." Leah's fourth born son was named Judah which means "Praise the Lord." As we previously noted, it was through Judah that the Lord Jesus Christ came to our desperation. Leah longed for praise from her husband but such is only to be found in the Lord. Like Leah we all long for the praise of men more than the praise of God. But, as Leah learned in the end, it is only the Lord who truly wells up from our souls authentic praise that endures even through our pain.
