Betrayed by her own father because he thought she was not good enough to get a man for herself.
She couldn’t speak. It was against their culture.
Her case was sealed.
She was bound and hurled off to be married by the same man who bent his back and work his hands for own her sister. The betrayal was deeper than she expected.
She was going to hurt people.
She was going to hurt herself too.
But she didn’t want to offend her father…she wants him to be happy for her.
She broke her sister’s heart.
They lost their friendship.
In a bid to satisfy her father’s agenda, she gave in to his plot.
Covered up in shame, unloved and presented to her husband.
Allow me re-introduce you to Leah, the unloved woman.
Bible Reading: Genesis 29: 16-31
What could she have done? Protest. Yell. Run away. Tell her sister. She was not taught to be rebellous.
Was the idea sold to her and she gullibly accepted?
There was not much she would have done. For a lady in that time….
She had her own personal struggles.
May be she never enjoyed the attention of men like her sister.
May be she silently hoped this escape was worth it.
She sat still and waited for him to uncover her veil…
What! To his utter shock and disappointment, the young man found that he had being sold a lie.
All his hard work slaving for a woman he could have only in his dreams were for nought.
That anger alone was enough to make him despise his new wife.
A double ordeal, for Leah!
Caught in between a crafty Father’s agenda and her sister’s true love.
The price for being unloved.
The cost of being tender eyed!
Not good enough. Second best to her sister.
Words she had constantly heard from her father’s house.
Words whispered in her community.
Everyone knew her as the daughter with the cross eye.
Like a disease label following her around.
Now into her future!
But God…
And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. Genesis 29:31
He was watching. He saw.
He knew her story well.
God knew the scorn, the blame, fingers pointed.
The fights, jealousy and competition with her sister.
The treatment from her father.
The fact nobody believed in her enough.
God saw her pain and misery.
He made her fruitful with house full of children.
He rewarded her beyond her expectation.
He made her bear the lineage of the tribe of Judah.
Now your turn sister,
Have you been tagged, scorned, or even hated for your looks or anything?
Have you felt unloved by your husband or father?
Have you faced constant rejection by those you love?
Jesus knows!
Jesus loves you.
You are loved by the Creator of the Universe.
You are loved by the one who owns everything.
You are loved by the greatest
Nothing in this world comes close to that.
That love should sink right in your heart. It should overwhelm every doubts playing in your head.
When your thoughts are centred on God’s love for you, everything around you blossoms and responds to your acceptance of od’s love for you.
When the accuser comes to remind of how you look, what you did, what you didn’t oh please remind him that Jesus loves you in spite of all these allegations.
Remind the accuser that you are loved by the God who made Him and that’s enough.
Relevant Links:
Women of the Bible: Leah by Jo
The Chosen and Worthy Series by Lori Schumaker
Prayer:
Thank you Jesus for the Love you have for me. Thank you for the depth of the love you have for me. You love exceeds measure. It is deeper than the deepest ocean, higher than the heavens, overwhelming, unexplicable, beyond imagination and unconditional. I am grateful for your love. May my eyes and heart continually see your love in Jesus Name. Amen