Two sisters, One husband, Total turmoil
A need to love and to be loved is to experience our humanity. In ancient times, to be a woman was to be second class in society; but a woman did find her value through the bearing of children. To be a wife was to be fulfilled, to be a mother gave purpose and meaning to a woman.
Laban created for his two daughters, a sister strife that would last the lifetime for both of them.
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 29:30-35
“Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 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.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.”
Unloved
What a tragic and horrible situation for these two sisters.
Leah was unloved, so the LORD blessed her as a mother and she conceived. In fact, through her fourth son Judah, although Leah would know now it, she bore the father of the line that brought forth King David… and Jesus, the Prince of Peace! GOD blessed her and poured out His love upon her… even though her husband did not.
Rachel looked on, but bore no children. In a society where motherhood was virtually everything that gave a woman identity and self respect, how empty she must have felt. Yes, she had the affection of her husband, unlike her sister. But she had no children. It would have been painful to watch on as your sister bore 4 sons through your own husband.
And, although we do not know the relationship between the two sisters before Jacob arrived, surely once Leah married Jacob, any trust between these two woman would have been severely damaged. The temptation to envy, jealousy, resentment would have been natural and a huge challenge to overcome.
Longing
To long for love is just about the most lonely place to be. A woman being unloved or a woman unable to express love, is so painful.
In Leah we have a woman unloved, yearning and hoping for her husband to notice her. But by son number 4, she’d given up on that settling for the children as her focus, her fourth son being named, “Now, I will praise the Lord.”
The text does not share what Rachel says, but only that Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah” and “Rachel was barren.” These keys leave an impression of a disappointed woman: loved but unfulfilled.
Frustration
And what would it have been like to be Jacob: a husband of two women, having only chosen one. Did he wonder that Leah had duped him? Or did he pour all responsibility around the scheming sole on Laban, the women’s father? Did he regret he had no son through Rachel whom he loved? Did he identify with her frustration? Or did he simply have affection for his sons, pour himself in his work, and continue to prosper in spite of the family strife.
Laban
This complex family lived in the Laban’s territory. Who was grateful; who was resentful? And yet the boys grew and surely that was a good thing.
GOD’s Perspective
As the girls’ father, Laban had the right to make his choices. These choices ensured both his daughters were married, they ensured his own prosperity, but they provoked the hostility of a well-intentioned nephew. What was the real gain? A lot of strife and a lot of pain.
But GOD: God made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear: He gave fulfilment to unloved Leah, and he eventually gave Rachel the gift of a son as well. He gave incredible prosperity to Jacob, though eventually, it would ultimately benefit Lot. GOD made it so that everybody wins! What a GOD!
No matter what happens
The message from the text is: We can trust GOD no matter what the circumstance. GOD can make life out of strife and hope out of despair. No matter what, GOD!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) Although this was written by Solomon hundreds of years after Jacob had his family, perhaps Solomon looked back to find his ancestors were a source of inspiration for his writing.