Leah's Love Story

"Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved and He opened her womb...Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, 'because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.' Then she bore a son and said 'because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also'... 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'.. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, 'This time I will praise the Lord.' Therefore she named him Judah." Genesis 29:31-35

 I've read the story of Jacob and Leah many times before. And each time is just as depressing as the last.  I mean, this poor girl helps her Dad deceive Jacob and as a result ends up married to a man who never loves her.  To make matters worse, Jacob also marries her sister, Rachel, and he completely adores Rachel.  This story just seems like every girl's worst nightmare.

Pastor Brandon pointed out something about this passage that I never noticed before.  When Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are born, Leah makes the statement that she hopes Jacob will take notice and love her.  She's actually having babies to make her husband notice her.  Unfortunately, it appears that Jacob's just using her as a baby momma.

By the time she has her fourth boy things appear to have changed.  When Judah, her youngest is born, she says "This time I will praise the Lord."  She no longer mentions her husband, but instead praises God.  It's almost as if she realizes that Jacob will never live up to her expectations and love her the way she wants to be loved.  So instead, she focuses on God. Isn't this a beautiful love story? 

I'm sure we all know people who got married for the wrong reasons.  Girls who got married because they were desperate to have a life companion.  Or guys who married girls so that they could have a personal maid and cook.  There are the couples who got married because they got pregnant.  And there are even people who got married because they thought they were in love.  But once the honeymoon is over and life happens, these marriages end up on the rocks and people start to wonder if they will ever find true happiness inside their marriage again.

Leah's story is a reminder that we can all be loved the way we want to be if we focus on the One who loves us the most.  God wants us to receive His love and to experience the fullness of His grace.  When we seek our happiness from Him, our marriages will fall into place.

As for Leah, God honored her and sent Jesus Christ to be born to the descendants of Judah.  God fulfilled her when Jacob could not.  What an encouragement to all married persons!  Let's all learn a lesson from Leah's love story. Let's all remember to seek God and to rely on Him to bring love and happiness to our marriages.