This week we
continue the story---or soap opera---of Rachel and Leah. When Alycia asked us to choose one of the
women of the Bible, she said to pray about it and to let her know which our
choice was. Well, I had already chosen
Esther and Judith, two strong women from the Bible, but Alycia told us she would
be doing those two. OK. So back to the list I went! That very night, I sat with the list in front
of me. The name Leah kept “popping” up
at me. I had no idea who she was even
though I’ve been through Jeff Cavins study of the Bible twice. So, I said OK, Lord, if that’s who You want
me to do, so be it. I Googled Leah
immediately and realized why He had picked her for me. I learned three important things about Leah:
1)
She was
unloved and rejected by her husband Jacob.
She
was his second-rate wife.
2)
She had , as
one description called her, “tender eyes”.
My
Bible says she had “lovely eyes”. (Gen. 29:17)
3)
She was a
major matriarch of the Jewish Nation.
This is the
sad story of Leah who proved to be an important link in the lineage of the
Messiah.
Leah was the
older daughter of Laban and Rachel his younger daughter. Scripture describes Rachel as “well formed
and beautiful”. (Gen 29:17) The only
description we have of Leah is that she had “lovely eyes”. (Gen 29:17)
In other translations, however, her eyes are described as “tender” or
even as “weak”. I conclude that she had
beautiful eyes but had poor vision and maybe had to squint in order to
see. (Unfortunately, there were no
contacts or glasses back then.) Laban
was the brother of Rebekah and the uncle of Jacob and Esau. Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah,
was sent by his parents to find a wife from among his uncle’s daughters. (Gen
28:1-2) Jacob first met Rachel at the
well where the shepherds watered their flocks.
Rachel’s beauty was so stunning that we know Jacob fell in love with her
at first sight. He, in fact, kissed her
and burst into tears that very first meeting at the well. (Gen 29:11) Rachel was Jacob’s first and only love all of
his life. Poor Leah seemed to be
destined to marry Esau, the older son of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, which means hairy, was coarse and
ill-mannered. It is said that Leah’s
eyes were tender because she wept constantly in prayer that she not have
to marry Esau. Rachel, on the other
hand, was expected to marry the smooth-skinned and presumably better-looking
and well- mannered Jacob, the younger brother.
According to Leah Kohn, a Jewish author, Leah was a prophetess and saw
prophetically that the two couples were to establish the Jewish Nation by each
woman giving birth to six tribes of the Jewish people. She saw this as God’s plan and was totally
committed to it although not too happy about it. She worried, however, that Esau may not be
interested and that she may not have a share in the building of the Jewish
Nation.
The contrast
in the two sisters is obvious. The
beautiful Rachel was charismatic and appealing.
Leah, on the other hand, was introspective and quiet. She was probably a master in meditation. Rachel Holzkenner, another Jewish author,
states that Leah’s prayers “like a perfectly poised arrow, reach straight to
Heaven…”. And because she did not have
the beauty and charm of her younger sister, she was humble, unassuming, and
obedient. Her obedience to the demands
of her authoritative father is a key factor in the development of her story.
Eventually,
Leah becomes the first wife of Jacob, not Esau’s as she had feared. Unfortunately, she became Jacob’s wife, not
because he loved her and chose her, but because of the conniving of her father
Laban. After Jacob had stayed with Laban
for a month and served him, Laban asked Jacob what he thought his wages should
be. Since Jacob had fallen in love with
Rachel he answered, “I will serve you for seven years for your younger daughter
Rachel.” Laban replied, “I prefer to
give her to you rather than an outsider.
Stay with me.” So Jacob served
seven years for Rachel, yet they seemed to him but a few days because of his
love for her. (Gen 29:18-19) When the
time came for the wedding feast, which in ancient times actually lasted an
entire week, Laban pulled his deception.
He took Leah to Jacob instead of his beloved Rachel. It was the custom for the bride to be veiled
when brought to the bridegroom. Laban
presented the veiled Leah to Jacob at nightfall, and the marriage was
consummated that night. In the morning,
Jacob was amazed that he had not recognized that it was not Rachel
beside him. He angrily confronted Laban
as to how he could deceive him in such a way.
“It is not the custom in our country,” Laban replied, “to marry off a
younger daughter before an older one.
Finish the bridal week for this one, and then, I will give you the other
too, in return for another seven years of service with me.” (Gen 29:26-27) Jacob agreed, and he then “consummated his
marriage with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. Thus he remained in Laban’s service another
seven years.” (Gen 29:30)
The tragic
results of Laban’s deception is that Leah becomes the rejected, unloved wife of
Jacob. Did she realize this would happen
to her? What were her feelings when she
became a part of the deception? First of
all, she must have been afraid. She was
in fear of her father who would literally kill her if she did not do as he
demanded. He was an authoritative parent
and a bully in his treatment of others.
She must have also feared that Jacob would discover she was not Rachel. What would he do to her then? There must have also been hope in her heart
that once Jacob did consummate the marriage, he would grow to love her. She always had that hope. She states after the birth of her second son,
“Now at last my husband will become attached to me…” (Gen29:34) Tragically, that was never the case. I believe Leah loved Jacob in the same
passionate way he loved Rachel. In the
seven years of service by Jacob to her father, Leah fell madly in love with
Jacob. So when she went along with the
deception, I imagine she went with some degree of anticipation to Jacob’s
tent. On the dark side, Leah was jealous
of Rachel and envied her beauty. She had
to resent that she was treated with contempt all of her life no matter how many
children she bore for Jacob. In
contrast, Rachel was always the favored one who was treated with love and
affection. For example, after several
years into the marriage, Jacob wanted to reconcile with his estranged brother
Esau. When Esau agreed to meet with him,
Esau set out to the meeting “accompanied by four hundred men”. (Gen32:7) This frightened Jacob because he didn’t know
Esau’s intent. So in his caravan, he
placed Leah and her children at the front while Rachel and her children were at
the back so they could escape in case Esau attacked them. The rejection and
contempt shown to her by Jacob caused Leah humiliation in front of all of the
family, especially her children.
Nevertheless, she continued to be a loyal wife to Jacob.
“When the
Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained
barren.” (Gen 29:31) In another
translation, the Bible states that God saw that Leah was hated. God was aware of Leah’s misery and was moved
to compassion and pity for her so He gave her the gift of many children. Leah became the mother of the greatest number
of the Tribes of Israel---six in all.
Rueben and Simeon were her first and second sons. After their births, Leah said, “It means God
saw my misery, and now my husband will love me.” (Gen 29:31-32) Sadly, that did not happen. Her third son was named Levi from which
descended the Levites, the priests of the Jewish Nation. Moses, Aaron, and John the Baptist are
descendents from Levi. Her fourth son
was Judah. He was a special gift from
God because it was from him that the Jews descended. It is from Judah that King David, King
Solomon, and Jesus Christ Himself descended.
Leah was given by God the gift that from her son Judah’s lineage would
come the promised Messiah. Leah bore two
more sons and the one and only daughter of Jacob, the tragic Dinah. With the birth of each child, Leah’s hope for
her husband’s love rose, but to her bitter disappointment, his love was only
for Rachel. Not only did Leah feel
Jacob’s contempt, but also her children felt it. They, too, were regarded as second rate to
Rachel’s first-born son Joseph, who was the favorite son of Jacob. Leah’s sons resented Joseph so much that they
almost killed him. Instead, they then
sold him into slavery to the Egyptians.
Whether
Jacob ever loved Leah is unknown. Since
Rachel died fairly early in the marriage, I like to think that as the years
passed by, and they grew old together that perhaps Jacob may have found it in
his heart to love her, not in the passionate way he loved Rachel, but in a
gentler, quieter way. It was Leah who
was with him as he suffered the loss of his parents. When Leah died, Jacob buried her in the
family tomb in Hebron. When Jacob was on
his deathbed in Egypt, he asked to be buried in his homeland. So today Leah and Jacob are buried together
along with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah in what is now known as the Tomb
of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
Leah’s sad
story reminds us that much of the suffering and sorrow in life are caused by
sin. The rivalry between Rachel and Leah
is a result of the trickery and conniving of their father Laban. Jacob had to serve Laban for 14 years because
of Laban’s lies and deception. Rachel’s
suffering and death at childbirth are a result of Eve’s sin in the Garden of
Eden. Leah’s participation in the
deception of her marriage to Jacob, leads to a life of rejection by a husband
who never loved her or her children. The
jealousy and rivalry between Rachel and Leah continued with their children to
the point that it almost cost Joseph his life and his freedom. Our sins also cause us misery and suffering,
but thanks to our Redeemer Jesus, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through this sacrament, we can be healed and
cleansed of our sins. We can find peace
in our hearts and souls. The people in
this tragic story never had the opportunity to find that peace.
There are
two reasons why I can relate to Leah, and why I think God chose her for
me. First, I have issues with my
eyes. When I was in high school in my
senior year, I was chosen as the one with the most beautiful eyes in my class. Well, these so-called beautiful eyes now have
glaucoma which can lead to blindness.
I’ve had five eye surgeries so far and have come that close to losing my
vision first in one eye then the other.
I thank God that I have been blessed with a wonderful ophthalmologist
who has taken good care of my eyes for many years. Because of God’s infinite mercy, many
prayers, and my doctor, I still have the gift of my vision.
The second
reason is that Leah was regarded as second rate by her husband. With me it was not my husband, but my mother
who made me feel second rate. Now I know
in most families siblings feel that their mother lover the other child more
than she loved him/her. But with me, my
mother herself let me know that she considered me second rate because of my
looks. All of my life, she lamented the
fact that I was dark skinned with dark curly (too curly) hair. When I was in high school, she decided I was
also too skinny. I had to drink daily a
tablespoon of some awful-tasting tonic that was supposed to fatten me up. No telling what was in that horrible tonic,
but, fortunately, it didn’t work! Even
as a mature adult when I let the natural curl of my hair show, she told me that
my hair was too curly. Now I don’t want
to leave the impression that I was treated like Cinderella. On the contrary, I had a happy
childhood. My parents were not wealthy,
but we lived comfortably so I always had everything I needed or wanted as far
as material things were concerned. It
was just that I knew my mother loved my brother more because he looked like
her. Even my friends would comment on
how much my mother loved my brother. It
was that obvious. By the way, my brother
and I got along beautifully and loved each other very much. I never resented him because he was always so
good to me. I was always his “baby
sister” no matter how old we got.
As I have
mentioned, my mother pointed out my shortcomings all of my life. My healing from her hurtful remarks came
about when God began to speak to me through Holy Scripture. He led me to realize that He was my Creator
and I was his creature. “God looked at
everything he had made, and found it very good.” (Gen 1:31) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
(Jer 1:5) Then I discovered Psalm
139: “You knit me in my mother’s
womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you
made me; wonderful are your works!” (Ps 139:13-14) I am one of His works. One day He told me, through Scripture, “You
are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you.” (Is43:4) With God’s love through His Word, I have come
to realize that my skin, my hair, and everything else about my appearance are
all from Him. He made me just as I am. I also have a Heavenly Mother who loves me
unconditionally. Mother Mary loves me
just as I am because it is her Son who created me. How can I complain or critisize His work?
My mother
lived to be 97 years old. God gave me
the privilege of taking care of her those last years of her life. Taking care of her in her illness and
weakness gave me the opportunity to heal some of the hurt and resentment that I
had felt because of her harmful remarks.
It was a blessing for me.
Nevertheless, it took a long time for me to forgive her. After she died, I really thought I had
forgiven her, but God spoke to me and made me realize that in my heart the
resentment was still there. It was
through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and speaking to a priest that I was
finally able to find the forgiveness in my heart. Writing this talk has also helped.
Sister
Genevieve of the Holy Face, St. Therese’s older sister Celine Martin, states,
“I look upon my imperfections as treasures, and I summon them to appear at my
judgment, for all my faults are my strength.
Since I regret them, I think that they will draw God’s pity down upon
me; and when he has pity, he also has mercy.”
Because I was told by my mother how imperfect I was, it served to keep
me humble. I see now that it was, in a
way, a gift.
I hope that
you will look for the positive in yourself and others because we are all
precious creatures made by our Creator.
Too often, we women can find our faults and the faults of others too
easily. We are quick to point them out. But when it comes to finding the positive, it
seems more difficult. Your homework for
this week is to daily pay yourself a compliment and thank God for making you
the woman that you are. Call to mind
everything you like about yourself: your
smile, you hair, your love of reading, your green thumb, you kindness to
others, your honesty, etc. Then thank
the Good Lord for that gift. I close
with this prayer:
Lord, I don’t want to be critical
of how you’ve put me together, relying on what others think of me for my sense
of well-being. Make me a woman who is
confident that I am lovable, not because of my outward beauty but because you
have loved me from the moment you called me into being. In
Jesus’ name I pray.
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