Rachel & Leah
Genesis 29-30:24
God sees. God hears. We are not alone. That is true for us and it was true for Rachel and Leah. Genesis is a hard book to read sometimes, there are amazing stories like Abraham and Sarah and Joseph, but many of the stories are filled with the depravity of humanity and leave us feeling weighed down but the tragedy filled words of each of these stories.
Yet, God brings good in the midst of tradgey. He sees even when we cannot. He hears even when we are being drowned out by the sound of our own sorrow. I can only imagine the overwhelming helplessness both Rachel and Leah felt. Two sisters pitted against each other, only having their worth being talked about in front of them but not with them.
But God saw Leah - the Bible talks about Leah as the older and one with “weak eyes”, implying that it was not her that Jacob found beautiful or loved. She was a part of a trick by her father and forced into a marriage with a man who did not value or love her. Yet, in Genesis 29:31 it says, “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb…” She has four sons and three of their names highlights that God saw her, God heard her, and she will praise God. What a story we can cling to! This helpless woman, living a life not her own still is being pursued by God and clings to his character even living in a loveless marriage competing for affection with her sister.
God saw Rachel too! Robbed of a marriage with the man she loved, she too led a helpless life. One with two men fighting over her, not allowing to pursue her love and to live in a marriage with children. She was barren and taunted by her sister with many children. Her purpose to bring children in this world slipping through her fingers. Genesis 30:22 says this, “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.” God did not forsake Rachel for Leah. He isnt forsaking you for your friends either. You aren’t being left behind. You can trust that he will bring goodness and glory in and through your life at the right time.
God is ultimately in control. Can we trust him when it feels like we live in a world so out of our control? Can we trust when our life is not our own (or feels like it). He is totally sovereign and he is our good Shepherd who draws close out of a deep love for us. Can you trust that he sees, hears and remembers you in the moments and seasons of helplessness?
