Jacob is married to two women, though unintentionally. Rachel is the only wife he wanted and she is dearly loved by him. We don't know whether Rachel ever cared as much for Jacob as he cared for her; the Bible doesn't say. But based on what we are told today we know that Leah, Jacob's other wife, has feelings for Jacob. I believe Jacob feels affection toward Leah and cares about her wellbeing. He finds her interesting enough to spend a fair amount of nights with her, based on how many children the two of them have together. But every day of her life Leah knows Jacob never wanted to marry her in the first place and that Rachel will always be his one true love.
Nobody in this situation seems to spare much thought for what a difficult situation Leah is in. Her father obviously never gave her a thought or a care when he switched Rachel for her during the wedding ceremony and in the bedchamber of Jacob. Jacob's shock and horror at discovering he'd married and slept with the wrong woman must have been heartbreaking for her. Whether or not Leah loved Jacob, she would have suffered a tremendous blow to her self esteem when she saw how unhappy he was that he'd gotten the "wrong" wife. And now, as these three adults try to make some kind of life together, there's never peace in the household. The two sisters are rivals. We don't know whether they got along well before this change in their circumstances, but if they did then they've lost each other's friendship now that they feel they must vie for the attention and affection of Jacob. Rachel probably looks down on her sister and reminds her that Jacob would never have married her if given the choice. Leah probably resents Rachel because of the way Jacob's eyes light up when he looks at her---something his eyes never do when Leah walks into the room. Jacob can't relax in his own house either. When he comes home from work he's got two women snapping at each other and competing with each other to do the best job as wife and homemaker. It's a terrible mess for all of them but for Leah most of all. And no one seems to care except the Lord. But, as the Apostle Paul said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) The Lord has seen Leah's pain and He is going to bless her.
"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless." (Genesis 29:31) Yesterday we discussed the possibility that Leah is the woman the Lord would have chosen for Jacob's first and only wife if Jacob had consulted Him on the matter. The Lord allowed Jacob to be deceived by Laban to teach him a lesson but perhaps also to put him with the woman who was best for him. But Jacob failed to see Leah's worth. During his first week with her, which was like a honeymoon when he wouldn't have been expected to leave the house, his desire for Rachel didn't fade. He no longer had to suffer the sexual frustrations of a young single man now that he was married to Leah, but that didn't keep him from lusting for Rachel also. He was willing to work seven more years for free in order to obtain Rachel as his second wife. I think the reason the Bible says "the Lord saw that Leah was not loved" is because the Lord wanted Jacob to love Leah. And even if Jacob wasn't willing to give up on the idea of possessing Rachel as his wife and sexual partner, the least he could have done was not make Leah feel like an outcast in her own home. He could have treated the women equally instead of making it obvious (though probably not in a malicious way) that he far preferred one woman over the other.
It appears Rachel has an unfair advantage over Leah. She's more beautiful of face and figure. She's more loved by Jacob. So the Lord enables Leah to bear children and He prevents Rachel from conceiving. Rachel can't help it that Jacob has always preferred her over Leah, so it might seem as if she's being punished for something that isn't her fault, but I tend to think she enjoyed having the upper hand over her sister. If she isn't doing anything wrong then I just don't see the Lord preventing her from having what was considered the ultimate honor for a woman in those days: the bearing of sons. Women in those times sometimes worked outside the home, and some of them were even fine craftswomen and tradeswomen, but in a patriarchal society of ancient times no achievements were considered as important as being a mother. It didn't matter how much education a woman had or how talented she was at weaving rugs or creating sculptures or painting artwork. If she wasn't a mother she was pitied. Rachel, who I believe may have gone out of her way to heap pity on her less-loved sister, now has to endure the pitying looks of her family and friends while she fails to bear children for Jacob. But Leah, the one who was formerly pitied because she was less-loved, has no problem bearing four healthy sons in a row for Jacob.
"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.'" (Genesis 29:32) The name "Reuben" means "see, a son". How proud Leah must have been to present Jacob with his first son! She must have worried Rachel would become pregnant before she did, which would have felt to her like having salt poured into an already painful wound. She must have experienced a great deal of satisfaction in the moment when Jacob came into the bedroom to see his newborn child. His delight with the child and with her soothed her wounded heart. We can see by Leah's thoughts that she wants Jacob's love, but we can also see that she credits the Lord with the blessing of a child. She doesn't give the credit to Jacob for being virile and she doesn't congratulate herself for being fertile. She thanks the Lord for seeing her misery and for doing something about it.
"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." (Genesis 29:33) Simeon's name means "one who hears". It would seem Jacob hasn't shown her any extra love after the first son arrived than he was showing her before she presented him with a child. She has prayed to the Lord to help her produce another fine healthy son and He has heard her and answered her.
"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." (Genesis 29:34) This child's name means "attached". Leah and Jacob have been married for quite some time now. In those days it was typical for a child to be weaned at about three years of age, and since nursing a baby often prevents ovulation, children tended to be spaced about three years apart. So we can assume that Leah and Jacob have been married for around nine years minimum. Jacob has been married to Rachel only one week less than he's been married to Leah but Rachel hasn't been pregnant a single time. Leah thinks to herself, "My sister is clearly barren. Jacob must be terribly disappointed in her. She might be fine to look at but she's a dud where childbearing is concerned. It's a good thing my father deceived Jacob into marrying me or else he'd have no children at all! Surely Jacob can see this by now. Surely he is becoming aware that I'm a far superior wife for him than my sister. Any day now his disappointment in her will result in him turning his affections away from her and then his heart will be all mine."
But Jacob still prefers Rachel over Leah. He may be giving Leah more physical attention than Rachel by now since his physical relations with Rachel never seem to produce any offspring, but his heart still belongs to Rachel. Leah would rather have his heart than his presence in her bed. How empty it must have made her feel knowing his visits to her room are based more on her fertility or on a sense of obligation than on affection. She knows that in the middle of the night, while she's lying in his arms, he wishes she was Rachel. By the time Leah conceives her fourth son, she's given up on expecting Jacob to fall in love with her and to prefer her over her sister. When she names her fourth son, his name makes no reference to her misery or to her desire for Jacob's love. The fourth son's name will reflect Leah's reliance upon the Lord's love. The Lord has been far more of a husband to her than Jacob. The Lord has spent far more time thinking about her needs and providing the attention and affection she so desperately craves. When she brings a fourth son successfully into the world, her mind is solely on the Lord and not on the husband who will never love her best. "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." (Genesis 29:35)
Judah's name means "praise". His name has nothing to do with Leah's desire to please her husband and win his love. His name is given in gratitude to the Lord whose eyes are always on her and whose ears are always open to her prayers. The Lord is really all she needs. As long as she has Him, she can do anything. The Lord has said to her something He will later say to the entire nation of Israel to whom His love is forever pledged: "For your Maker is your husband---the Lord Almighty is His name---the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth." (Isaiah 54:5) Many a woman's husband hasn't loved her as he should. Many a woman's husband has been unfaithful to her or has walked off and left her as if he never made vows to cherish her for life. The Lord can be counted on when humans can't. The Lord will always love us as He should. The Lord will always be faithful. The Lord will never cast aside anyone who wants Him in their life. Many people expect their spouse to fulfill them in every way, and that's not something any human being can do, not even when they love their spouse with their whole heart. The Lord is the One who completes us and makes us whole, and Leah has learned that. I'm sure she'd still be overjoyed if her husband loved her as a man ought to love his wife, but by now she knows she's going to be okay if he never does.
We would expect Leah's first son Reuben to be Jacob's primary heir, the owner of the birthright, the leader of the family, and the ancestor of the Messiah. But neither he nor Simeon nor Levi will hold these honors. It's the son named "praise" who will be the ancestor of the Messiah. It's the son who was born to Leah after she had come to the conclusion that when the Lord is all you have, you still have all you need. Because this woman loves the Lord and gives Him her praise, this less-loved wife of Jacob is in the family tree of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you felt rejected or less-loved by anyone? Have you ever been passed over or mistreated? You can be certain this hasn't gone unnoticed by the Lord. If you give Him your praise and make Him the center of your life as we find Leah doing in our passage today, what might He do for you? Leah must have felt like she wasn't very important to the Lord. She'd never been important to to any man, not to her father and not to her husband. But the Lord showed her He loved her with all His heart and that she was very important to Him. What might He do for us out of His great love if we submit everything we are and everything we have to Him?
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