Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
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.
Genesis 29:31-35
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Up to this point, most of the focus in Genesis, Chapter 29, has revolved around Jacob’s quest to gain Rachel as his wife. First, we found him making an arrangement with Laban to work seven years for the opportunity to marry her and then, after being deceived by Laban to sleep with and marry his other daughter Leah, we saw him willing to work another seven years, just so he could finally have Rachel as his wife as well.
Now, you’ll remember that the scriptures told us that Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah" (verse 30) and with that, we know that he didn’t have strong feelings for Leah who we see is at center stage in today’s passage, able to provide Jacob what Rachel couldn’t. Let’s look again at those verses here:
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
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. Vv.31-35
Note here how the Lord intervenes to bless Leah in the midst of her taking a backseat to her sister in Jacob’s heart.
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
Bearing children who would carry on the lineage of the male was of utmost significance in biblical times. In fact, women who were not able to bear a child were seen as being punished by God for some sin they had committed.
And so where Rachel was barren, the Lord opened the womb of Leah while she was in the midst of heartbreak and disappointment and she received the privilege and honor of bearing the first sons for Jacob. Through this, we are reminded of how we can always count on the love of God to enter into any of our life circumstances where someone might leave us feeling unloved.
Now, it’s important to remember that these sons of Jacob would go onto great notoriety as leaders of the tribes of Israel. And so when Leah was giving birth to the baby boys in our passage, she became indelibly linked to Israel’s history. We read about these sons that she bore to Jacob with her associated statements that showed how her despair had turned to joy:
1. Reuben – "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
2. Simeon – "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too."
3. Levi - "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons."
4. Judah – "This time I will praise the Lord."
Notice here that Leah’s heart longed for Jacob’s devotion but in the end, she was led to give praise to the Lord who she realized was the source of her love and blessings.
Before I close, there are several important life lessons we can glean from this passage and Leah’s story:
1. We can hurt others badly when we withdraw our love from them.
We all have an inherent need to feel valued, cared for, and accepted. Intentionally withholding love from others can cause irreparable damage and scar them for life.
All believers need to remember that the greatest commandments given by Jesus revolved around love because when we look to the heart of our Savior, we find just that…love. Ultimately, if we truly are Christians and Christ is in our hearts, then we will never hesitate to love anyone as He did.
As you read this message, maybe you have had a time when you haven’t felt loved. In fact, maybe you’re feeling that way right now. For all those in that place, here’s a second assurance we find in our passage.
2. God looks after the unloved.
The scriptures assure us of this.
In Leah’s sadness and time of deep need, God entered in and he’ll do the same for you or anyone else. We can always count on the love of the Father when all other love fails and it’s a source of great comfort when we remember that He’s always there for us. For just as David shared in the 34th Psalm:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. v.18
3. No matter how late we might be in seeing the Lord’s work in our lives, the most important thing is that we recognize Him as the sole source of our blessings.
In regard to Leah, it may have taken bearing her fourth son to figure this out but she eventually did and when that happened, she was taken from the place of worldly reason into the spirit of praise unto her Lord.
Have you taken time to thank the Lord for His love today?
For even if you haven’t received anything tangible like Leah’s gift of bearing children, you have been given lungs that breathe and a heart that beats along with His mercy, grace and love, all rich blessings from the giver of every good and perfect thing (James 1:17).
Today and every day, let us show our gratitude to a Heavenly Father who never leaves us feeling unloved, no matter where we are or what we’re going through.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment