It could be said that Leah was one of the most unloved women in Scripture. As a woman who has struggled most of my life to feel loved and wanted, I can relate.
The twenty ninth chapter of Genesis opens with Jacob finding his Uncle Laban's daughter, Rachel, watering sheep in the heat of the day. He helps her roll the stone from the well so that she can water the sheep, and she in turn takes him back to her father's house where Jacob is taken in to live with the family. After about a month, Laban asks Jacob what wages he desired for laboring with his men. Jacob does not hesitate to ask for Rachel's hand in marriage in exchange for seven years of labor.
What is interesting about this text is the descriptions used to describe the women. Rachel is said to be beautiful in form and appearance--in other words, she was fine and pretty. Leah, however, is said to have "soft eyes". Now, many have conjectured what this term means. Some have said she was cock-eyed; others that she was homely looking. However you choose to describe it, at the end of the day, she wasn't the fine sister. She was not the one the boys were clamoring to ask the father's permission to date. She was destined for "old maid" status. I'm sure if Leah were living in the 21st century, she'd feel much like Katherine Heigl's character, Jane in 27 dresses. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
No doubt that Rachel had Jacob's heart. Yet it was Leah whom Jacob was given after his initial seven years of labor. Imagine being forced to marry and lay with a man promised to your younger sister. It was as if, Leah was the unwanted Zonk prize from Let's Make a Deal.
Despite knowing that Jacob did not love her, Leah still gave her heart to him.
What do you do when the man to whom you've given your heart has given his heart to someone else?
It was not until her fourth son, Judah, that she declared, "Now, I will praise the Lord."
Many times we try to purchase affection, approval and affirmation from people not worth the proceeds of our labor.
We have multiple children for men who never offer us a wedding ring in exchange. We pay for college degrees and training for him to get that job or that promotion all while holding down the house, the business and the children, only to be repaid with regret.
I remember giving my heart to a young man in high school. I gave him my heart and my virginity. To be with him, I gave up numerous scholarships to colleges all over the country and chose to stay in Mobile so we could be together. He gave me a shallow promise of "forever" (which, in high school terms, was about 6 months), and in October of my freshman year of undergrad, he broke up with me. I was devastated. Regrettably, that would not be the last time I gave my heart to someone who had no clue what to do with it.
We give our hearts to men who have a heart for someone or something else. And it is because we have never learned how to develop and guard our own hearts with diligence.
Rachel never had to really develop her heart because all of the attention and affection she needed was readily available to her. As beautiful as she was, she was undoubtedly often showered with praise and compliments on her beauty. Here sense of self-esteem and self-worth were constantly bolstered by others.
Leah, by comparison, was much more like me--she had to search the wells of her soul daily to conjure forth her sense of self-worth. She was constantly reminded of her age and lack of male suitors asking for her hand in marriage. After all, at the ripe old age of 17, who would want an old maid for a wife?
Finally, her father took matters into his own hands and forced her to marry a man who didn't love her--and whom she probably didn't love. But oh! How she longed for his affection. If he could just look at her with the same eyes as he did Rachel. Night after night she spent lying beside Jacob, his back turned away from her, knowing that he was thinking of her sister--how that must have hurt.
But God saw Leah's heart, and he blessed her womb.
Despite the hurt we go through, God sees our hearts. He knows what we need and he will bless our "wombs". Not just our physical wombs, but our spiritual wombs. He will birth great things in us if we would trust him with our hearts.
What is God wanting to birth in you today? What womb in your life seems barren that God wants to impregnate with the power of His word?
The only way to find out is to attune your heart to that of God's. The Bible declares that if we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart(1).
Do you find yourself delighting in God? Do you get excited over the opportunity to spend time alone in His presence? Do you seek His face, or only His hand? Do you see his statutes and commandments as a blessing to be treasured or a burden to be endured?
It is only when God is the center of our world that He can bring the people and resources we need into our lives to accomplish His purpose and plan. When we delight in Him, we push aside our agenda for His promises. Our vision is no longer focused inward, but rather upward and then outward to others.
Leah finally realized that her purpose was to praise the Lord. Through all of her rejection, hurt and disappointment, she made a commitment to praise God.
What would happen if we made the decision to praise God regardless of our situations, circumstances or even our feelings? Praise comes out of a realization of purpose. When we realize that we were created and ordained to praise the Lord, we can put life in perspective. We develop a God-centered vision for our lives, and we are able to live our lives to the glory of God.
Leah is by far, my favorite character in Scripture. Her resiliency and heart made her a heroine and the mother of a majority of the children of Israel.
I look forward to talking more about this Divine Diva at our Bible Study on Saturday.
Til the Divas meet again, I wish you a killer pair of stacked heels on sale, a heart with all of the gladnesss it can hold and a vision for your life that supersedes the validation of others!Sincerely,
Jabaria
The Divine Diva
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