Gentle Reader,
Begin at the beginning. Or don’t. You have the freedom to choose.
May God give you what you need today.
When the LORD Saw Leah: Out Planned – Judah
Again, Leah does not receive that which she longs for. Jacob is not joined to her. Jacob remains attached, heart and soul, to Rachel. This favoritism will carry over into the way he parents his sons; the two that Rachel eventually gives him will be the ones he loves most. Leah cannot see into the future, however. All she has is the current moment. Life goes on, and she gets pregnant once again.
Judah – “praise or thanks.”44 This time, no mention of Jacob. No longing for his love. Leah’s eyes, weak though they perhaps are, look to God. She finds comfort and peace in God’s presence. She recognizes what God has done for her. This husband who does not want her has nevertheless provided for her, nothing to be sneered at in a culture where women had precious few options. She has four sons. Her future is secure.
More importantly, she has shifted from making Jacob the center of her world to making God the center. Every time she calls Judah into the tent for dinner, she is reminded to give thanks to God. Every time she washes his face, she is prompted to praise God.
God has out planned Leah. God has given her everything she needs to courageously handle the lack of what she wants. “The unloved wife is able to transcend her distress”45 because of the gracious, patient, tender activity of God in her life.
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44 Zucker and Reiss, 171.
45 Bruce K. Waltke and Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001), 410.
GRACE AND PEACE ALONG THE WAY,
MARIE
Image Courtesy of Tachina Lee
A full list of references for this paper can be found here.