Leah

We have been doing an Advent reading plan with Eva using The Jesus Storybook Bible.  I really just can't say enough about this little Bible.  It is so great.

Here is my favorite quote from our first day of reading:
"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do.  The Bible certainly does have some rules in it.  They show you how life works best.  But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing.  It's about God and what he has done."

I wish everyone could grasp that.  I pray that my children grasp that as they grow.  God is not some entity up on a throne in Heaven shaking his head every time we mess up.  Because in His eyes, our debt has already been paid.  His love is perfect and does not hinge on our ability to follow rules perfectly.

But that's not really what's been on my heart.  All of the above was just a bonus. :)  What has really been on my heart is Leah.  You know, Leah, she was the ugly sister. Poor girl.  The oldest girl of the family.  The one whose own father figured he could never marry her off without some trickery.  And if she couldn't get married then beautiful daughter number two couldn't get married either.  So dad tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, even though he thought he was marrying Rachel, the one he loved.  (Feel free to start reading in Genesis 29 if you would like to have the non-paraphrased version :). )

And we find out in Genesis 29:30 that "...he loved Rachel more than Leah."

How awful would it be to go through life knowing that your husband didn't love you?  Knowing that you were the ugly one?  The one no one wanted?  I can't imagine the pain that Leah must have lived with.  Always hoping that maybe her husband's heart could change.

But verse 31 tells us that God saw that Leah was unloved.  But God loved her.  And he wanted to show her, so he allowed her to have a baby.  And all you mamas know that there are few things in life more precious than the love you feel for your child... but beyond that, in those early years, little ones love no one else like they love their mama.  It is exhausting at times to be loved that much, but it's just so precious.  It was her special gift from a God who loved her.

As I was thinking about Leah, I was reminded that not only did God allow her to have children, he allowed one of those bouncing baby boys to become the lineage of His Own Son!

Stay with me on this rabbit trail for a second, if you will. Leah named her first son Reuben which means "Look, a son!" and the Bible tells us that she hoped that with the birth of the son that Jacob would love her.

Son #2 was named Simeon saying "The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son."
Son #3 was named Levi saying, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"

But apparently Jacob didn't magically start loving Leah after 3 sons (while Rachel remained childless).

Catch this, though, Leah then became pregnant again and had another son whom she named Judah.  Judah means "praise", and she said after his birth "Now I will praise the Lord!"

Sometimes in the depth of our pain, God just asks us to praise him.  And when we do?  Well amazing things can happen!  Judah ended up becoming the great-great-great-(a lot of greats)- grandfather to Jesus!

I'm so glad that we have a God who loves us, not with a far away kind of love, but with a "I see you" kind of love.  Thank you God for being the "God who sees" us (Gen. 16:13).