God’s Love for the Unloved: Lessons from Leah and Rachel

Sermon Outline: "God’s Love for the Unloved: Lessons from Leah and Rachel"

Scripture Reading: Genesis 29:31 - 30:43

I. Introduction

Engaging Children: Start with a story or example that children can relate to, such as feeling left out or wanting what someone else has.

There's nothing quite as bad as feeling left out is there? Whether you want to play with a group of friends and your sister doesn't or you've got a ability that your friend doesn't have or vice versa it feels bad to be left out. As adults it feels bad to want what someone else has whether it's looks or it is finances or success anyone of a number of things feel make us feel left out.

Today we're going to look at a part of the Bible where we see how much God loves someone who is unloved. Someone who feels left out.

Today we're going to look at the story of Rachel and Leah. Last week in church we read about how Jacob wanted to marry Rachel. He worked hard and long to get to marry Rachel. But in the end he was tricked into marrying Leah. But then he quickly went back and married Rachel as well. Back in that time in the Bible sometimes men could have multiple wives. That doesn't work out to day. God doesn't allow that to day. But back then Rachel and Leah were both stuck married to the same guy and Jacob very clearly and very much played favorites. He really loved Rachel more than Leah. How do you think that would have felt to be in leah's shoes? Today we're going to take a little bit of a look at their life.

II. God’s Heart for the Unloved (Genesis 29:31-35)

Genesis 29:31–35 ESV

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

My favorite thing in these first two verses here is the fact that God saw that Leah was hated. God's saw Leah. Friends God sees you when you feel left out. God sees you when you feel like you don't have the gifts and abilities that you would like to have period God sees the unloved.

And the way that God shows that it is listening and he shows that he seized Leah is by allowing her to have children. It was a blessing for her to get to have children. And in these 5 verses she has four children.!

Think about it the Bible says that Rachel was beautiful but Leah has weak eyes. How would you like to have someone summarize your life like that? Your sister is beautiful and you got weak eyes period. She lived in the shadow of her sister her whole life Leah Did.

But what is amazing is that we will see that Leah develops a real sense of peace trusting in God. Her sister is caught up in trying to get the blessings that she would like to have. Near simply resting in and trusting in God.

We have to guard in our lives in every area when God blesses us with something to not depend on that thing more than God. I don't know whether you want to talk about you being better looking than someone else. Or you're stronger than someone else. Or you're faster than someone else. Or you've got more economic or success in your work than someone else. It doesn't matter what it is if you trust in how good you are or strong you are or rich you are or popular you are more than you trust in God you'll make mistakes And you won't find the life that God really wants you to have. Because all those things can go away just like that.

God loves the unloved and He sees your pain!

III. The Perils of Jealousy (Genesis 30:1-13)

Genesis 30:1–13 ESV

1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. 12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

So the first thing we need to remember about this story is that in that world children especially sons were a sign of wealth and power. A symbol that you were really blessed by God!

What's sad here is that you don't see this couple coming to God and praying to God for wisdom you see Rachel complaining to Jacob in verse one and Jacob angrily reacting against Rachel and says hey I can't control how many kids God gives to you and instead of asking for God's help they use another human solution. In much the same way back in that time period it was OK culturally and God did not condemn this they had multiple wives. It was also a practice in that time if your wife couldn't have children you could have a surrogate have children for you. Another person. And so that's what Rachel did in verse 4 both these women bill haha and Zopa become concubines in the family. Women whose job was to have children. It was an odd and different time.

So as different as this story is with all the wives and concubines and craziness it's still kind of just a fight between two sisters. Rachel can't have kids so she turns to her servant bilhah and gets bilhah to conceive and have several kids and then Leah sees she's not having any kids so she takes her servant zilpah and gives her to Jacob as a wife and zilpah bears Jacob a son they're competing back and forth to have children and experience blessings.

And so by the end of this story the unwanted sister with weak eyes is now the legal mother of six and the biological mother of four. Having produced more kids than her sister she is now the matriarchal leader of the family.

Jealousy is it dangerous thing isn't it? Instead of either of these sisters being happy for the other they reacted with jealousy. Instead of turning to God and asking God for help they schemed and planned how they could get what they wanted.

Jealousy can ruin relationships. We need to guard against jealousy in our lives.

IV. The Importance of Trusting God (Genesis 30:14-24)

Genesis 30:14–24 ESV

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

As far as we can tell Reuben is probably about seven or eight years old at this time. He wanders into the field and he finds a apparently tasty fruit. And Rachel really wants some of that fruit but Ruben is Leah son so she gets to say what he does with the fruit. And apparently at this time Rachel being the favorite wife gets to decide whom her husband sleeps with each night again a weird relationship by our view today. What sat in this story is that instead of this being a family of trust and healthy relationships were there talking to each other about problems and things they're going through this is a family reduced to contractual bargains purchasing time with each other.

Whatever the means God answers the prayer of Leah in verse 17 and gives her more sons. Added a daughter. At this point she has eight sons! She has now finally won the biological family competition with her sister. She also has one daughter.

In the end we see God gave him one more son to Rachel and that is Joseph. We will hear a lot more about this guy later.

V. A Curious Contract

Genesis 30:25–43 ESV

25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock. 37 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

The end result of this whole story is God is the one that has provided for Jacob. Jacob can trick and scheme but in the end God blesses and provides for him. Even though he doesn't deserve it.

So far throughout the story of Jacob we see a guy who is really struggling he is struggling with what is right and what is wrong. Struggling to get whatever you can by his own schemes and not by trusting in God. Jacob doesn't see absolute right and wrong he sees the world in terms of what he can get. That's a lot like the world today. Jacob's story improves the more he actually lives out and believes in God.

One of the lessons we need to take from the stories of the patriarchs I is whenever they walk with God their lives improve. Whenever they depend on their own schemes they struggled

VI. Conclusion

What we need to see in this chapter is that God loves the unloved. God Psalm Leah and he provided for her. God sees you and I when we feel unloved or unseen. We also see that jealousy and trickery only damaged relationships period.

I want you guys to remember that God sees you when you don't feel seen. God loves you when you don't feel loved. And when you struggle with jealousy commit that to God. When you struggle with not being seen or loved know that God sees you and loves you. Know that God's there for you.