Genesis 29:15-35 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 29:15-35. Let’s go!
Genesis 29:31-35 (NIV)
31 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.”
33 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.
34 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.
35 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.
On verses 31-35: Now both married to the same man Jacob, the two sisters Leah and Rachel begin the most heated rivalry ever recorded in the Bible between two sisters. Leah is jealous and saddened that Jacob loves Rachel more. It seems that with each baby she bears for Jacob, Leah somehow hopes it will cause Jacob to love her more. Leah is desperately longing for her husband’s love and affection, but can’t seem to win it no matter what does.
What can we learn from this? Here are a number of lessons I learn from these verses:
First, the painful rivalry between Leah and Rachel and the deep hurt Leah experienced can be seen as a cautionary tale against polygamy, indirectly showing why God’s original plan was for marriage to be between one man and one woman.
Second, Leah kept hoping that she could earn Jacob’s love by bearing him more and more children. When she gives birth to her first son Reuben, Leah thinks, “Surely my husband will love me now” (v32). When she gives birth to her third son Levi, she says, “at last my husband will become attached to me” (v34). When she gives birth to Simeon her second son, it seems that all she can think about is how unloved she feels (v33). It’s only when Leah gives birth to her fourth son, Judah, that she says, “This time I will praise the Lord” (v35), as if to say, “This time I’m not going to put my hope in Jacob being in love with me. My hope is in God.” Likewise, to the extent that we are putting our hope in something or someone other than God, we need to get to that place where we say, “This time I will praise the Lord.” In other words, I’m not going put my hope in anything or anyone other than God. He is the One I will live for. Unfortunately for Leah this would be a short-lived conviction, as Leah would later fall back into her pattern of trying to earn Jacob’s love by bearing more children. May it not be so short-lived with us.
Third, whereas Leah was never secure in Jacob’s love for her and always felt that she had to earn Jacob’s love, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God’s love for us is unconditional. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. The Bible describes God as being eternally and passionately in love with human beings. Since God’s love for you is greater than anything you can imagine, you don’t need to try to earn God’s love. All you need to do is receive it. May you find rest in God’s unchanging, unconditional love for you.
Lastly, Leah’s sadness at being the lesser loved of the two wives reminds me of Proverbs 30:23, which suggests that one of the great tragedies in life is when a woman is married but unloved. If anyone can relate to Leah’s sadness, perhaps it is God himself, who tries over and over to win our love and often to no avail.
Heavenly Father, just as Jacob served seven years to get Rachel and time flew by so quickly, I pray that I would spend the time You have given me living and serving a purpose that really matters. When it comes to dealing with people, especially people I am related to whether by blood or by marriage, please give me wisdom so that I may represent You faithfully and love them well. Finally, thank You that I don’t need to earn Your love, that Your love for me is eternal, unconditional and unchanging. May I rest in Your unconditional, unchanging love today. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
