This is a testimony of Leah who is silently in pain until God wiped her tears away permanently...
Leah, the first wife of Jacob and a mother of his children.
Leah was the unloved wife. Her name, Leah, means 'weary' in Hebrew. She loved him dearly but she felt exhausted because her husband, Jacob, never reciprocated her love.
Let me first start on how they met. . .
Jacob is known for being a deceiver. Yes, he was not that good that's why he was forced to leave his home and live with his uncle Laban who was as bad as him.
Uncle Laban's youngest daughter was very fine with a beautiful face and a pleasing body figure. Her name was Rachel. Rachel is the youngest and at that time, being the youngest means the last to get married.
Leah was the opposite of Rachel. She was weak-hearted and not that beautiful with a 'cross-eye.' Nobody really wanted her as a wife. She has no suitor at all. She was in trouble for not being married to anyone for the rest of her life.
Until Uncle Laban plotted a very wicked and deceiving plan. . .
And in this plan, Leah was the pawn.
Jacob, with the desire to marry Rachel, agreed to work for Uncle Laban for 7 years. Those years will reward him to have Rachel's hand for marriage. 7 years of longingly waiting for his bride to be, Rachel. He was passionate and energetic to work thinking about the reward.
After seven years, the wedding is about to start. It was planned very nicely and everyone was invited to come. At dawn, Leah was taken abruptly.
Before the wedding started, Jacob was in euphoria. He was very excited to finally be the husband of the girl of his dreams and to hold her forever.
When it was finally time, the sun was shining and everyone is already there to witness the wedding.
Jacob's excitement and longing feeling was flashed down the toilet when he saw the woman standing after him. She was dressed in white, clearly looking like a bride, but she was not Rachel.
It was Leah. The oldest of the siblings and the 'unwanted' one because of her looks.
The Bible verse goes like this...
Genesis 29:25, NIV: "When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?'
Little did he know, Uncle Laban was more wicked and deceiving than him.
Laban wanted to marry off his oldest daughter so he tricked Jacob for it. He promised that for one bridal week, they will have their time as married couples, then, he will allow Jacob to have Rachel instead for another 7 years of serving him.
I can only imagine how that week meant for Leah to finally have a husband yet the Bible didn't elaborate on that. I can feel how disappointed and sad she must have been when she saw how Jacob reacted towards her.
So for 7 more years, Jacob worked under Laban. The first seven was nothing as he was excited to have Rachel and this time, he was determined already to make love to her.
Finally, he got married to Rachell and made love to her.
This is when the Lord saw the sadness of Leah. Leah is competing with her sister who share the same husband as hers. Jacob was madly inlove with Rachel and never saw Leah as his wife or even a woman.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. (Gen 29:31)
Despite her situation, Leah remained faithful to God and The Lord showed His compassion by blessing her womb with the first-born child of Jacob but still, he never noticed her.
Ruben- Behold a Son! (Leah had the honor to give the first-born to Jacob but Jacob didn't love her still)
Simeon- the One who hears (because the Lord heard her weeping)
Levi- having affection (Leah thought by having 3 sons, Jacob would finally feel attached to her)
Sadly, nothing changed with how Jacob treated her but somehing inside Leah changed instead. She began to finally realize how God really works to give her the hapiness she prayed for.
Her fourth son was named Judah that means Praise.
Two more sons and their names equate to Reward and Honour.
At the end, she was still unloved but she began to have a deeper relationship with God who heard and saw her misery and ended it.
Leah found happiness in her children who became leaders of their own.
Leah who Jacob never noticed finally found her happiness by the Grace of God. From bitter to better, her life was changed forever. Her true love was God all along.
Links that helped me:
https://www.ospreyobserver.com/2018/07/heroic-women-of-the-bible-leah-finding-true-love-in-god/
https://pamweaver.uk/leahs-story/
Hi! Hope you are blessed and transformed with Leah's amazing testimony. Be excited to experience your true love with God...
