Happy new week my Yielded Family. We are starting a new topic this week. We will be looking at different characters in the Bible. Let’s study the woman – Leah. Leah is the elder daughter of Laban, the wife of Jacob and the sister to Rachel. Please refer to Genesis chapter 29.
The first time we hear anything specific about Leah’s is in verse 17;
“Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
Genesis 29:17-18 NIV
My friend and l read this chapter a while ago and we quickly went to google to check if maybe there’s a visual reference to Leah’s physique, lol because , I mean, what are “weak eyes?” Other versions say her eyes were sickly, dull looking and tender. Whatever “weak” means I’m not sure, but the context is clear. Leah was physically unattractive (at least in Jacob’s eyes), whereas Rachel was beautiful (he was in love with her). He completely disregarded Leah. The bible says she was not his choice.
We live in a world of choices. I was scrolling on an online store last night looking for bags to buy and sell. I checked a few and added them to my cart. I checked out other bags and even though the reviews were quite good, “it’s good quality” , “it’s spacious”, “I love the design” , to me , they were not a choice I’d make. I love shoes but there are shoes I’d never buy, like these.
These ones can cost R3 or even be for free , l would never ever buy them. Why? Because human beings have a choice based on their preferences. You’d be shocked how many people would love them and even cry if you give them as a gift. Now the difference is, those are shoes, shoes don’t have feelings even if they are rejected. At worst the designer hears you talking bad about his design but that’s that. Leah was not a shoe. Or a bag. Human beings feel. Human beings yearn and Long to be chosen no matter the flaws they are AWARE they have, they still want to be first choice. Let’s go back scripture;
Jacob did not hold back his love. He declared it openly to Laban that he was willing to work hard to get his younger daughter , Rachel. Guess what? From the get go, Jacob knew the custom was to marry the first daughter first. If Jacob is a cheat, Laban is double dose! Anyhoo, Leah was aware that Jacob does not like her much so much so he’s willingness to cheat “culture and tradition” to avoid being with her. How did Leah feel about all this? Maybe Jacob was not the first man dodge her. Maybe he was not the only man to make her feel unseen. Leah.
When it came to Rachel, Jacob said “l will work” but when it came to Leah , there was silence and crooked plans. No one was willing to show up. I know many of us have had our Leah moments. You applied and they chose someone who wasn’t even as qualified as you. You thought because you have finally made it in life your parents would love you but the rejection continued. Rejected by friends. Rejected by men. Rejected by women. You are just never the first choice and you have built an identity around it so much so even before people say anything, you have concluded, it will be a no. What happens to you when you feel you’re not good enough? What happens to you when certain people destabilise our need to “belong”?
There are so many things about Leah that I want us to discuss. We should’ve been on our second post but I got tied up yesterday and couldn’t post. I want to encourage you to get a ticket for our event on the 19th, we will talk about such things and more. The truth is, many people think they’ll find healing in other people. No. Healing is found in God after you make a decision to start the journey. Healing from rejection . See you on our next blog, let’s find out how much damage rejection can cause.
Please help me share the link to the event with your friends
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/280390-lets-talk-about-it/?ref=algolia-search#