Love for the Unlovable

Introduction

Recap

Matthew 1:1–2 CSB

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,

God call’s Abraham to go and he goes

not all goes perfect, he does not have a son… they attempt a son in a worldly way that God rejects

they eventually have Isaac

Isaac has twins through Rebekah

last week we saw how that was going

Jacob has stolen the birth right and the blessing from his older brother Esau

now he is on the run from his brother and has gone to Laban’s, his mother’s brother

Today - Loving the unlovable

Is there anyone who feels more unloved than Charlie Brown

always gets the short end of the stick, excluded from games, missing out on the love of his life

yet Charlie Brown picks himself up and in the face of rejection, love and friendship is found

Jacob now has two wives, one he loves and the other he was kind of stuck with

Genesis 29:31–35 CSB

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive. 32 Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.” 33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.

PRAYER!

We should daily trust the one who is providentially in control of all things yet still elevates and comforts the broken hearted.

The Other Sister

Story of how Leah become married to Jacob (Genesis 29:13-30)

Jacob loved Rachel, Leah’s sister

Jacob agreed with Laban, his uncle, to work for 7 years to receive Rachel as a wife

Laban sent Leah into the wedding bed, not Rachel

causing Jacob to work another 7 years for Rachel

Jacob tricked into marrying Leah and she knows who it is he really wanted

she sees his anger at finding her in bed with him when daylight comes

she will always be the one he was forced to take

Genesis 29:31–32 CSB

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive. 32 Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.”

Leah was unloved … but Rachel remained childless.” Both crave what the other has; Leah longs for Jacob’s love, and Rachel is desperate for children.

Gordon J. Wenham

God has compassion in her pain

neglected = hated, detest

the Lord saw her affliction, how she was unloved

by her husband - who love her sister more

by her father - who basically told her if we do not trick this guy into taking you, you will never be married

by her sister - Leah went along with the plan and is not having children when she cannot

in this place God shows her compassion

Reuben = to see

similar to Rahab in the wilderness when Sarah saw she was pregnant, and God came to her

I think this might be one of the hardest things to live out

we feel like God sees us when we do wrong and hope that God sees when we do good

but we feel invisible when we are feeling unloved

We feel like this at times, everyone has gone through it

The lies we believe

sticks and stones is a lie… they do

nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms… is something that people mock and tell us we should not be like… but we feel it

don’t know the saying, “How to eat fired worms.” the movie

Psalm 34:18 CSB

18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.

God comes near to those who are broken

it is the proud and arrogant that he pushes away

in our brokenness, in our heartbreak, God draws near and shows compassion

The Elevated Sister

In the early 1900s, a struggling artist named Vincent van Gogh had a hard time gaining recognition and love for his artwork.

He sent letters to his brother Theo, often feeling the pain of being unloved by the art world.

However, his vibrant paintings now grace galleries worldwide,

showing that it’s not always about being recognized during your time but about the legacy you leave behind. Sometimes the unloved ones are those who reshape the world with their unique vision.

Genesis 29:33–35 CSB

33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.

Leah has four sons here, two later and a daughter

in this society, for a woman, having a son was the highest honor you could hope for

Rachel had yet to have any children

now Leah has given him four sons

The names give us a clue as to her thoughts as she has these sons

CSB Study Bible: Notes Genesis 29:31–35

Three themes are present in Leah’s remarks: her conviction that God provided these children in response to her affliction and unloved condition, her hope that the births would cause her husband to love her, and her praise to the LORD for what he had done. The explanations connected with each son’s name are not linguistic etymologies (word history), but explanations of wordplays.

Reuben - To see, to spy, to reveal

The Lord saw her Affliction

Simeon - to hear or to listen

the Lord heard that Leah was she was neglected

Levi - to accompany, to join oneself to

the husband that neglected her will be forever connected to her

Judah - praise, object of praise

Now Leah praises the Lord

Through all of this, she does not feel elevated

Jacob still loves Rachel more, even though she has given him no children

this is a truth that she will live with her entire life

this does not mean that she is not taken care of, Jacob becomes a very rich man

but no matter what he does for her, no matter how he feels about her, she will always be second

She does not know that through her line will come all the priests and kings

the Levites - Priests and those who work in the temple, descendants like Moses and Aaron

Priests would be descendants of Aaron

there is no way that she ever knew

Is God’s compassion enough, is his grace enough

I know it is enough for salvation, not my question

I am not asking a theological question

is it enough for us… to live a life where we feel unloved

knowing that God uses each and everyone of us in ways that we do not see with results we will not see until we are with him in glory

lets go a little deeper with that thought… if there was never any good that comes from your pain in this life

you do not see the kingdom advanced, there are no priests and kings coming from your line

is he enough

The Elevated Son

Jesus understood what it meant to be unloved and undesired

Isaiah 53:2–3 CSB

2 He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.

Exalting Jesus in Genesis Genesis 29:31–30:24

Keller also points out that Jesus doesn’t just come as the son of Leah but comes like Leah herself:

Exalting Jesus in Genesis Genesis 29:31–30:24

He became the man nobody wanted. He was born in a manger. He had no beauty that we should desire him. He came to his own and his own received him not. And at the end, nobody wanted him. Everybody abandoned him. Even his Father in heaven didn’t want him. Jesus cried out on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (“The Girl Nobody Wanted,” 70)

Isaiah 53, the suffering servant.

He was despised and rejected

His family did not believe in him at first

they attempted to get him to stop saying the things he was saying

his brothers attempted to get him to go to Jerusalem for passover

it was known the religious leaders wanted to shut him up

either by arrest or death

the people were mixed

some did not believe

sure they believed he was a teacher, from God and did some good things, but not the messiah or at least not the messiah they wanted

some believed because they experienced miracles

they believed because their bellies were full of the bread he provided but only would follow as long as they were full

These were the Jewish people who were looking for a messiah to come

they sound like us

so many do not want the biblical Jesus, they want the Jesus that they make up and makes them feel good

“The Jesus I worship would… or would never…”

so many will worship as long as they can keep the comforts of this world

if we are stripped of all that we have grown accustomed to, will you still love him and worship him

He was crushed for our sins

despite all the rejection he faced, he went to the cross for us

by his wounds we are healed

a careful reading of Isaiah 52-53 and you understand that the healing the prophet is talking about is our healing from sin.

As a result of his humility, he was exalted

Philippians 2:9–11 CSB

9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.