Our deepest longing may go unfulfilled by men in our lives who may have disappointed us or failed us, but the Lord Almighty looks in to our hearts and offers what Jacob could not – He offers the truest fulfilment that comes from relationship with him.
Joanna Pearl J.
Have you as a child looked at your parents wedding pictures and pictured a life like that- the wedding dress, the love, the excitement? Most of us have. We all look up to it, because as a child we picture it to be a life of perfect happiness and happily ever after. Somehow it is true that as we grow up, our fancy thoughts may have changed but our expectations remain, our desire to be loved by a man who is perfectly pictured in our mind, who knows not how to love less – the expected hero of our lives.
Broken hearts. Broken dreams. One doesn’t need a dictionary to understand what it means.
If Leah was allowed to give a brief recount of her broken dreams, she could probably be best at it.
Leah and Rachel were two pretty sisters, Rachel being the prettiest and the most beautiful. While Leah had a flaw in her eye, that stood out for her. Must have been pretty hard for Leah to grow up as a young girl. Rachel was the dream girl on every guys mind in her town and Leah was hardly known or noticed, because she didn’t quite step outside her home like Rachel did.
The story of Leah and Rachel take dramatic turns when their handsome relative visitor Jacob arrives. From the very first sight, he was in love head over heels with Rachel. Rachel’s dad capitalizes his feelings, makes Jacob sign a contract of seven years of hard work to marry Rachel. Shrewder than Jacob he was, through a deceptive scheme he arranges Leah to be wedded that night to Jacob. After seven long years of waiting, Jacob married a profile picture who liked Rachel but was not. (I wonder what kind of wedding that was, the guy didn’t know who he was marrying)
Not only did Leah have a difficult time growing up insecure because of her eye, here she was asked to be part of a scheme that her dad designed, that was inconsiderate of what Leah felt or Rachel felt or Jacob felt. Then Jacob makes the awkward discovery after the wedding night is over, he is infuriated by what was done, Laban his father- in- law safely blames the culture, that the younger cannot be married before the older one was. Laban makes Jacob sign another contract of seven years for Rachel.
Love makes an ocean puddle deep to cross, Jacob signs. He gets Rachel after the wedding week with Leah, another marriage following that week. (Seems like he married every week!)
As dramatic and complex the story could be, the sudden transitions of emotions in the crazy turn of events should have been a roller coaster for each of them, especially for Leah. Her wedding was schemed, not planned, probably forced and not a choice, she faces the brunt of decisions made by her dad.
And too obvious it is, Rachel was loved more than Leah.
Leah was not loved by her husband- that should have be the most painful beginning of dejection in her life. Rachel was loved- and she should have been the most fulfilled person of the lot.
This is the most beautiful part of the story that you wouldn’t want to miss.
God – the Almighty, saw that Leah was not loved, he looked into her heart, saw the pain that the man who was supposed to love her had caused her. God acted, intervened, moved, and stepped into her shoes.
He favoured Leah to have children. Leah had the honour of becoming the mother of Jacob’s children. She named her first son Reuben that meant God has seen her misery, and she hopes that her husband will love her.
Boy, she was disappointed
She gave birth again, named this child Simeon, that meant God heard her being unloved, and had given her that child. Another child was born he was named Levi, that meant her husband will now be attached to her.
As the story unfolds, there are amazing truths unfolding within them, Rachel had the love that Leah didn’t, Leah had the honour of being a mother that Rachel didn’t. Two women had things that each other wanted, yet they are still unfulfilled.
Jacob didn’t have what it takes to fulfil the deepest longing of their hearts, their needs were different but what their dissatisfaction had the same roots.
When Leah gives birth to the fourth child she names him Judah, “I will praise God” She didn’t miss it this time, she saw herself through the eyes of God, she knew now she was loved, she was seen, she was heard, she was held, she was understood, she was special.
Her moment of praise began, when she looked to God for her fulfilment.
She realizes she was loved by God, who looked her beyond her flaws and loved her the way she was designed to be loved by God alone.
Not only was she loved, she got to be the great grandmother of Jesus!
Our deepest longing may go unfulfilled by men in our lives who may have disappointed us or failed us, but the Lord Almighty looks in to our hearts and offers what Jacob could not – He offers the truest fulfilment that comes from relationship with him.
Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?…neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from the God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of Christ that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35a -39)
Ever heard of such bold vows. He acted, he intervened, he stepped into our shoes, gave up Himself for us. He vowed to love us, never, never ever can he fail at that. He signed his vow with his blood.
Your deepest longing could just be His residence!
Let him in, your moment of Praise will begin.
He Aletheia 