Desperate for Love

Gen 29:17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.


Gen 29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years


Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren


Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.


Gen 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.


Gen 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.


Gen 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.


Gen 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
Gen 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.


Gen 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.


Gen 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.


Gen 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Gen 33:2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.


Gen 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Gen 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.


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To live and not be loved enough by the one you want to be loved by is painful. Leah spent years trying to gain favor of Jacob and never did, not over that of Rachel. Rachel even sold the favors of Jacob for a night for mandrakes from one of Leah's sons. Can you even imagine? Seriously. In the end, Jacob was buried next to Leah, not Rachel. Does that mean he did love her? I've no doubt he had affection for her, but the great love he had for Rachel far surpassed that he had for Leah. What lessons do we learn from this? What lessons should we learn from this? Are we Rachel's or Leah's? No, we're not usually in marriages with two women and one man, but the point of it all. How many people are in relationships with someone and that someone ends up wanting another? We live in a society that doesn't allow for more than one wife or husband so what happens is divorce. Divorce is very prevalent. No, it's not usually the same situation as Jacob's, Rachel's and Leah's. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, he never loved her to begin with. It was probably a good thing that he favored her as much as he did. Still, life often puts us into situations we don't enjoy but have to endure. Leah was never given a chance to find a man who loved her and had to live a life unloved by a counterpart. Yes, a lot of people go through life without finding a counterpart but it's not easy when we were made to have counterparts. The Lord said it's not good for man to be alone.


Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him


It's not good to be alone. Yet, Paul says this...


1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.


Which was alone, unmarried.


That wasn't a commandment, but a suggestion rather. It's easier to worship God with a whole heart if you're not worried by a loved one's walk with Christ.


No matter which situation we are called to, the bottom line is to live for God no matter what walk we are called to undertake. Are you caught up in a marriage where you are like Leah in some respects, left feeling unloved? Are you the one loved more than another? Are you alone? Have you been left? We can get caught up in the cares of this life and that's what Satan wants to happen. Satan would have us so caught up in our lives here and now that we lose sight of God and the hope of a new life in Christ at His return. We have to determine to set our treasures in heaven. If we keep our treasures here on earth that's where our hearts are going to be. Treasures come in many shapes and sizes. Treasures can be people, animals, objects, situations. Anything that would take our minds off Christ is a danger and we have to recognize that. We can live trying to have lives that make us happy in a worldly way, but that will only always give us temporary happiness, short-lived and wanting something better, something more. We have to live for Christ and the happiness we can find in that amazing love knowing that life here and now is not what it should be for us. We are strangers here, this is not our world anymore than it was Jesus' world.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ now and forever, in His love and in His righteousness.


Amen.