Overlooked But Not Forgotten

Introduction

Brock Purdy- He was selected with the very last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft - number 262 - earning him the title "Mr. Irrelevant," which is the nickname traditionally given to the final pick of each draft.

Coming out of Iowa State, most scouts and teams passed on him multiple times. He was seen as too small, with an average arm at best. The 49ers only took him as their third-string quarterback, meaning he was expected to primarily watch from the sidelines, if he even made the team at all.

Then in the 2022 season, something unexpected happened. First, starting quarterback Trey Lance suffered a season-ending injury. Then backup Jimmy Garoppolo also got injured. Suddenly, the last pick in the draft was thrust into the starting role for a championship-contending team.

What happened next was remarkable. Purdy led the 49ers to win after win, playing with poise that belied his inexperience. In 2023, he helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, becoming the lowest-drafted quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl. He has been open about his Christian faith throughout his journey, often crediting God for his opportunities and success.

Worse than being Mr. Irrelevant is not getting picked at all!

Kurt Warner - After playing at Northern Iowa, a small Division I-AA school, Warner went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft. No team was interested in giving him a chance. He was invited to the Green Bay Packers' training camp but was cut after just five weeks.

With his NFL dreams seemingly shattered, Warner took a job at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa, stocking shelves for $5.50 an hour. During this time, he continued to train at his old college facility in the mornings before his night shifts at the grocery store. He never gave up on his dream, even while working a job that seemed worlds away from professional football.

Warner got a break when he joined the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League. He played there from 1995-1997, living on modest pay but gaining valuable experience. He was so dedicated that he and his wife Brenda, a former Marine who was a single mother of two when they met, lived in her parents’ basement to make ends meet.

His performance in the Arena League earned him a spot with the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe, and finally, a chance with the St. Louis Rams in 1998. He started as their third-string quarterback. Then, in 1999, starting quarterback Trent Green suffered a season-ending injury in preseason. Warner, the former grocery store clerk, was suddenly thrust into the starting role.

What happened next was extraordinary. Warner led one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf.” He threw for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns, was named NFL MVP, and led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. He went from stocking shelves to Super Bowl MVP in a span of just a few years.

These stories capture our imagination because they remind us that being overlooked doesn't determine our destiny. Today, we're going to look at a story from Genesis that weaves together two powerful truths: how God sees those who feel unseen, and how He transforms us even through life's disappointments and deceptions. We'll meet Jacob - a man who was no stranger to deception himself - as he experiences being on the receiving end from his uncle Laban. But more importantly, we'll see how God used this situation not only to begin reshaping Jacob's character but also to demonstrate His special care for Leah, a woman who quite possibly felt invisible to everyone except God.

You see, this story isn’t just about deception and its consequences. It’s about how God sees us when others don’t, and how He can use even our challenging circumstances to gradually transform us into people of integrity. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to live differently than the world around us, even when - especially when - life doesn’t go according to plan.

If you have your Bibles or on your devices, please turn with me to Genesis 29:9-31. If you are willing and able, would you stand with me I as I read God’s word this morning. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Amen. You may be seated.

Deception runs in the family

Jacob sees Rachel

Anecdotally: Jacob is no slack (liked hanging around the tents) but moves this huge stone

Some scholars see this as a metaphor and highlighting the struggle that we have seen thus far and we’ll see again. There is a need to water the sheep but there is an obstacle in the way. Through Jacob’s power he is able to make something happen. There are going to be realities that they will be faced with that they can not control. What will the do in that moment when their situation is out of their hands?

Jacob works for Rachel

We are made aware that there are two daughters, Rachel and Leah. Leah is for whatever reason less desirable then Rachel. Rachel is a shepherd. Laban and Jacob agree to a seven year service to get the hand of Rachel.

His desire/love for her makes this like a few days

Laban deceives Jacob

This effort is to show that what Jacob did initially to Esau was not good.

Jacob is found to be in the place of Isaac to only realize that what he thought was reality was in fact not. Isaac finding out when Esau confronts him and Jacob when he wakes up the next morning.

Where Jacob sought to go after the younger instead of the older, there is an order that the rest of culture was going to make him abide by.

Even though Jacob has an encounter with God, he is still dealing with people in the world meaning that he will still be affected by the choice of others.

Works for Rachel for another seven years

Jacob has two wives and they each had a servant (whom bore Jacob children): 12 in total

The means are as important as the end

Proverbs

Proverbs 21:7 “The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right.”

Proverbs 1:18–19 “These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.”

Hosea 10:12–13 “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,”

Esther, Mordecai, and Haman

Esther 3:9–11 “If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them”… So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews… the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.””

Esther 7:9–10 “Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.”

What a man sows, he reaps (Gal 6:7)

Galatians 6:7–8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

James 3:18 “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

God loves the unloved

Jacob was forced to marry Leah; he did not love her. Rachel was no friend of her sister, as the ensuing baby wars will make very clear. Laban only acted for his own benefit. As far as we know, there was no one there for Leah.

Except God.

God doesn’t care what we look like; he loves us as his creation. Good looking or not, we are created in his image. God expressed his care toward Leah concretely by allowing her to have children, while the favored wife, who had Jacob’s affection, was unable to have children.

Of course, this divine love for unlovely people issues forth in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). He loved us though we did not love him, and he died on the cross for our sins.

There, accordingly, should be no Leahs among us.

Though she enjoyed the concrete expression of God’s love for her in her ability to have children, she should also have felt the love of her family and friends in spite of the circumstances, beyond her control, that brought her to the place where she found herself.

Jesus’ love for us should lead us to love each other. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12–13).

This commandment to love one another extends beyond our immediate circle. Just as God saw and cared for Leah in her distress, we are called to notice those who might feel overlooked or unloved in our communities. The story of Leah reminds us that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and compassion, regardless of their circumstances or appearance.

In our modern context, this might mean reaching out to those who feel marginalized, showing kindness to those who are different from us, or offering support to those going through difficult times. When we embrace this kind of sacrificial love, we reflect God's character and fulfill His purpose for our lives.

Conclusion

Whether we find ourselves feeling like Mr. Irrelevant, stocking grocery store shelves, or overlooked like Leah, God's transformative love remains constant. The stories of Purdy and Warner remind us that being overlooked by the world doesn't mean we're overlooked by God, just as Leah's story demonstrates God's special care for those who feel invisible. But these stories call us to more than just hope in our own circumstances – they challenge us to be agents of God's love in a world full of people who feel unseen. Just as God transformed Jacob through his experiences with deception, and just as He showed particular care for Leah in her rejection, He calls us to allow our own experiences of feeling overlooked to soften our hearts toward others. In doing so, we become part of God's work of ensuring there are "no Leahs among us," extending His transformative love to everyone we encounter, regardless of their status in the world's eyes.