Merry Christmas?

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, “Christmas is my favorite time of year.” Christmas has always been a happy time for me. When I think back on past Christmases, I remember all the presents I used to get from Santa. I remember all the family gatherings we used to have, all the great food, all the games we used to play. All my childhood memories of Christmas are good ones.

So whenever Christmastime rolls around, I love to set up all the Christmas decorations in our house and fire up the Christmas music.

But let’s be honest, Christmas and the holiday seasons aren’t happy for everyone, are they?

Recently, I got a text from an old friend. She’s a really sweet person, someone who’s been following the Lord for years. In fact, she was one of several friends who kept telling me, “I can see you moving to Japan as a missionary someday.” For years, I told her, “No way.” But eventually, God did call me here, and when I told her, she laughed in my face and said, “I told you so.” I take it back: maybe she isn’t so sweet.

Anyway, I don’t hear from her very often, mostly because her life’s pretty hard. She has one daughter, but she’s severely autistic. My friend has to be with her constantly throughout the day. Worse, her husband lost his job several years ago, and he’s been doing little if anything to support the family since. Instead, he spends most of his time drinking, smoking pot, and partying.

And in her text, my friend basically said, “Sorry I haven’t been in touch, but things are pretty much the same. I’m just taking it one day at a time. All I can do is pray.” My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine her having a very merry Christmas this year.

Some of you may be like my friend. You’re putting on smiles when you come to church, but the truth is, you’re hurting. And all the happiness you see around you this time of year just accentuates your pain.

But here’s what I want you to know: Christmas is not simply for the happy people, for those who have everything all together in their lives. It’s meant for people just like you. Because the good news of Christmas is that despite your circumstances, there is a God who loves you. And he has not forgotten you.

I want to take a look at a story that we read back in January when John Honold was here. We’ll take a few minutes to review it for those who missed it, but then I want to take a deeper dive into the story.

In the book of Genesis, chapter 29, we saw the story of two sisters, Rachel and Leah. And both were in love with the same man, a guy named Jacob. Now if you look at the family tree of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew chapter 1, Jacob is third on that list. But like many people’s family trees, Jesus’ family tree is quite scandalous at points. And Jacob’s story, especially when it comes to Rachel and Leah, was particularly messy.

As I said, they both loved Jacob, but Rachel, being the much more beautiful of the two, was the one Jacob wanted to marry. But on Jacob’s wedding night, Rachel’s and Leah’s father Laban pulled a nasty trick on him. After a wonderful feast in which Laban probably made sure Jacob had lots of wine to drink, he brought out his daughter who was, as all women were in those days, heavily veiled in public. The newly-wed couple then went into Jacob’s darkened tent, but when Jacob got up the next morning and rubbed his bleary eyes, he got the shock of his life. It wasn’t Rachel he was with. It was Leah! (Genesis 29:16-25)

Can you imagine the chaos the night before? What in the world was happening with Rachel? Was she being physically restrained while Leah was dressing to look like her and walking into Jacob’s tent? Or was she in her tent getting herself ready for Jacob, only to find out too late that Leah was already with Jacob in his tent?

And what was Leah thinking? Why did she go along with her father’s plan? I don’t know. But probably a big part of it was that no one seemed to want her. No one loved her. Even her father seemed eager to get rid of her. And however Jacob felt about her, it’s apparent she loved him and desperately wanted him to love her.

Several weeks ago, we talked about how everyone has a God-shaped hole in their hearts. Only God can satisfy that hunger in our souls. But so often, we try to fill it with things that can never truly satisfy. For Leah, she tried to fill it with marriage. She tried to fill it with a man’s love. Perhaps she felt that if she just had enough time with Jacob, she could get him to love her. But that plan quickly fell apart.

When Jacob complained that Laban had tricked him, Laban said, “Hey no problem. I’ll give you Rachel too.” (Genesis 29:25-29).

How did Leah feel when those words came out of her father’s mouth? Did she know that was part of Laban’s plan? I strongly doubt it. There’s no way she’d want to spend her entire married life being compared to her more beautiful sister. At any rate, the Bible makes clear how Jacob felt. Look at chapter 29 verse 30.

…[Jacob] loved Rachel more than Leah.

Now, Jacob did his husbandly “duties” toward Leah. But each time, I imagine she felt more like a prostitute than a wife. As bad as it may seem not to be married, it’s far worse to be in a loveless marriage. Some of you know that pain. Leah did. Yet despite her bad choices, God still had compassion on her. And so we saw that God chose to bless her with four children. (Genesis 29:31)

Leah named her first son Reuben. Reuben is a word play in Hebrew. In Hebrew, “Reuben” sounds like, “the Lord has seen my affliction,” something Leah said when her son was born. But Reuben’s name itself means, “See, a son.” It was like she was telling Jacob, “See, I’ve given you a son. Love me!” Now, I’m sure Leah was grateful to God for her son, but her main focus is still on Jacob. She’s still looking to him to fill the void in her heart. But Jacob didn’t show any more love to Leah after Reuben was born. (Genesis 29:32)

You see that when God gave her a second son. In verse 33, she said,

“The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. (Genesis 29:33)

Simeon’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for “heard.”

Still nothing changed between her and Jacob. And so when she had her third son, you hear the desperate hope in her voice,

“At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi. (Genesis 29:34)

Levi sounds like the Hebrew words for “attached” or “feel affection.”

How often are we like Leah? God shows us his love. We may even be grateful to him for the blessings he gives us. It may be a husband or wife. It may be children. It may be a job. But instead of looking to the Giver of the gifts, we look to the gift itself to fill the hole in our hearts. That was Leah. But then when her fourth child was born, things changed. Look at what she says in verse 35.

“This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. (Genesis 29:35)

For the first time, Leah is no longer looking to Jacob to fill her need, she’s looking to God. Not just as the gift-giver. But as the one who really loves her. The name Judah means “praise.” And she does what we’ve talked about in recent weeks. She leads her heart. She says, “Even though my husband doesn’t love me, I choose to praise the God who sees me, who’s heard me, who loves me, and has blessed me.”

But now look at her sister Rachel in chapter 30 verse 1.

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring from you!” (Genesis 30:1-2)

Think about this for a moment. Rachel has what Leah doesn’t. She has beauty. She’s loved and wanted by Jacob. And yet there’s still a hole in her heart. A hole Jacob can’t fill. In those days, not being able to have children was considered a disgrace for women. But though Jacob loved her, it wasn’t in his power to give her children. What’s more, when you look at his reaction to her, it was hardly the response of a loving, understanding husband.

So often, we look to people to meet our needs. But the truth is, they often disappoint us. Anyone ever experience that? People disappoint us because much as they may love us, they’re imperfect people with limitations just like us. That’s what Rachel learned. But she had a hard time accepting that. Especially when her sister who stole Jacob from her on her wedding night now had children and she didn’t.

So what does she do? Her aunt Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, once had a similar problem. She couldn’t get pregnant. But her husband Isaac prayed, and in God’s timing, God gave her not just one son, but two. But Rachel wasn’t willing to wait. She was so desperate to fill that hole in her heart, that she did something that was very common in their day, but quite shocking in ours. She gave her servant to Jacob as a “wife,” he slept with her, and the resulting children were counted as Rachel’s children. She named one Dan, which means “judged” or “vindicated” because she said God had judged her case with Leah and sided with Rachel. She named the other Naphtali which sounds like the Hebrew for “My wrestling.” And she said, “I’ve wrestled with my sister and I’ve won!” (Genesis 30:3-8) But despite her words, we’ll see later, she was still feeling her disgrace. The void in her heart was still there.

Now we talked about Leah earlier and how she had led her heart, choosing to turn her focus toward God. But the thing is, she was human just like us. And the leading of our hearts is not a one-time battle. It’s a lifelong battle. And let’s be honest: after Rachel gave Jacob some sons through her servant, Leah struggled to accept that. She took her eyes off God, and because she wasn’t having children anymore, she did what Rachel did: she gave her servant to Jacob and had children through that servant. When God later gave Leah two more sons of her own, she actually seemed to think it was God’s reward to her for making the “sacrifice” of giving her maid to Jacob (Genesis 30:9-12, 17-18).

Rachel, meanwhile, still has no true children of her own. And she gets so desperate that she actually trades Leah a night with Jacob in exchange for some plants she hoped would increase her fertility (30:14-16). The result? Leah gets pregnant again and Rachel doesn’t. But then, just when Rachel’s probably lost all hope, God shows her grace. Look at verses 22-24.

Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” She named him Joseph and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.” (Genesis 30:22-24)

The English translation is more literal here, saying “God remembered Rachel.” But the Japanese Bible clarifies what that means. Whenever the Bible says God remembered someone, it has the idea of God turning his attention to them and acting on their behalf. In this case, he gave Rachel a son.

The name she gave her son is another word play. Joseph sounds like the Hebrew for “he has taken away” but also has the meaning of “He adds.”

Leah and Rachel were two broken people, desperately trying to fill the hole in their hearts. But what I want you to see is that despite their sin and brokenness, God saw them, he heard them, and he loved them. And ultimately, he used both of them to bring Jesus into the world.

God used Rachel’s son Joseph to save the whole family, including Leah’s sons, in a time of severe famine (Genesis 37-50). That’s important because it was through Leah’s son Judah that Jesus came. And while God used Rachel to bring the savior of the family, what’s interesting to me is that it was Leah, the not so beautiful, the unwanted, the unloved, that God directly used to bring the Savior of this whole world.

In many ways, Jesus was like Leah. In Isaiah 53:2-4, it says Jesus didn’t have an impressive form, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men. He was like someone people turned away from; we didn’t value him.

All these words describe Leah, don’t they? But then Isaiah says about Jesus,

But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. (Isaiah 53:5)

On the cross, Jesus paid the price for all the wrong we’ve done. For the times where we devalued him and instead idolized other things trying to fill the hole in our hearts with those things. For the times we refused to trust him and went our own way. For the times we hurt others and even ourselves by our bad choices. No, Christmas is not for the people who have it all together. It’s for broken people. Like you. Like me.

I love the words of Paul as he talks about people like us. He said in 1 Corinthians 1:26-28,

Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth…God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing… (1 Corinthians 1: 26, 28)

Why would he do that? Verse 29.

so that no one may boast in his presence. It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:29-31)

That sounds like Leah’s words doesn’t it? “This time, I will praise the Lord.” God chose us and sent his Son for us not because we have it all together. But because of his awesome grace.

So where do we go from here? Like I said, some of you are Christians, but you’re struggling. You feel God’s forgotten you and your Christmas is not so merry. But it is possible to find joy and peace in the midst of your struggles. To find it though, you need to start leading your heart and rewriting the narrative of your life to match God’s narrative. And maybe a good place to practice is rewriting the narrative of Leah’s and Rachel’s sons. The names of their sons came largely out of Leah’s and Rachel’s pain. Let’s rewrite that narrative in the light of Christmas and God’s truth, shall we? And as we do, let us lead our hearts toward Jesus.

Leah called her first son Reuben, saying to Jacob, “See, a son! Love me!” But God points us to Jesus saying, “See, my Son! I do love you.” (Isaiah 7:14; 1 John 4:9)

Leah named her second son Simeon, saying, “The Lord has heard I am neglected and unloved and has given me a son.” And God reassures us, “Yes, I have heard you and given you my Son. He is Immanuel, God with you. However you may feel at this moment, you’re not neglected, and you’re certainly not unloved.” (Psalm 34:15-20; 1 Peter 3:12)

Many of us are like Leah, who called her third son “Levi,” longing for attachment. And God’s message to us who believe in him is, “I have attached myself to you. Once, you were estranged from me because of your sin. But now through my Son, I have brought you near.” (Ephesians 2:12-13)

Rachel called her first son Dan, saying, “God has judged in my favor.” Now, it’s debatable whether God was really taking sides between Rachel and Leah. But whenever we face troubles in life, it’s important to remember that if we’ve put our faith in Jesus, God has already ruled in our favor. Satan would accuse us for all our past sins and failings. He would tell us “God must be punishing you for something you’ve done.” Don’t let Satan accuse you like that. Don’t let anyone, even your own heart say you’re no good. Because God has given you his Son. He’s paid the price for your sin on the cross. So, he’s no longer condemning you. He’s defending you. (Romans 8:31-34)

Rachel called her second son, Naphtali, meaning, “my wrestlings” talking about her wrestling with Leah for Jacob’s love. But God tells us, “Stop wrestling others for things that can’t fill the hole in your heart. It’s a vain fight that will still leave you empty.” (James 4:1-4)

And as we saw, despite her words, Rachel still felt disgraced and empty.

Leah too continued to struggle to fill that hole in her heart. Yes, she looked at her next two sons and called them Gad and Asher which mean, “good fortune” and “happiness.” But there was a price she paid for that good fortune and happiness. She had to let Jacob sleep with her servant. And when you look at her last two sons Issachar and Zebulun, it’s clear that she recognizes them as sons five and six, not Gad and Asher. More importantly, even with her final son’s birth, it’s obvious that she’s still trying to fill the hole in her heart with Jacob’s love (30:20).

God tells us, “I know you still feel that hole in your heart sometimes. But don’t compromise yourself by making foolish decisions in order to try to fill that hole. The happiness, blessings, reward, and honor you seek come only through my Son. Seek him.” (Ephesians 1:3-14, 2 Timothy 4:8, Hebrews 2:6-10)

That’s something a woman named Anna, a descendent of Asher would do hundreds of years later. She had a hole in her heart after her husband died after only 7 years of marriage. But she sought God day and night for decades after that, and ultimately her hole was filled when she found Jesus. (Luke 2:36-38)

Rachel’s first true son was named Joseph, which means, “he has taken away my disgrace,” and “may he add.” That’s what God’s done for us who’ve put our faith in him. Some of you may feel disgrace and shame for the wrong choices you’ve made. Choices that wrecked your marriage, your family, your life. But on the cross, Jesus took away all the disgrace of your sin, all the shame of your past, and each day he adds to you grace upon grace. ((Colossians 2:13-14, John 1:16)

Rachel’s final son was called Benjamin. Originally, she called him Ben-Oni which means “Son of my sorrows,” because Rachel died in childbirth. But Jacob renamed his son Benjamin, which means “Son of my right hand.” (Genesis 35:16-19)

According to Isaiah 53:3-4, Jesus too was a man of sorrows. He knows what it’s like to live in a broken world. But after the cross, Jesus was elevated to the right hand of God the Father (Ephesians 1:20-22). And one day he’ll return for those who love him, making all things right. On that day, he will wipe very tear from your eyes. (Revelation 21:3-4)

And then, Judah, through whom Jesus came. His name means “Praise.” This Christmas, you may be hurting, you may be struggling. You may feel lonely and forgotten. But let’s lead our hearts. Let’s remember Jesus coming to this earth 2000 years ago, lying in a manger. Let’s remember the cross he endured for you and me. And let us say, “This time, this Christmas, I choose to praise the Lord.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Finally, for some of you here, the biggest narrative change you need to make is putting your faith in Jesus as your Lord and King. Maybe for the first time today, you’ve seen his goodness, and you realize you need him in your life. If that’s you and you want to know more, I really encourage you to talk to your Christian friend who brought you. You can also talk to Pastor Fumi or myself. If you’re watching online, or you’re just really shy, feel free also to contact us on our website. We would love to talk to you.