There is so much wisdom and peace to be gained through God’s Word. When the world is falling apart, open your Bible and watch God amaze you with how healing His words can be. That happened to me today as I read a passage from Genesis.
If you're familiar with the story of Jacob and Rachel in the Old Testament, then you've probably also heard of Rachel's sister Leah. But if not, let me give you a quick recap.
Basically, Jacob fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work for her father for 7 years in exchange for her hand in marriage. Well, on the night of the wedding feast at the end of the 7 years, the father sent Leah, Rachel's older sister, to Jacob instead. Jacob was intimate with her that night (don't ask me how he didn't realize it was the wrong sister; that's a whole 'nother story 🤨).
When he woke up the next day and realized he'd slept with Leah instead of Rachel, he was angry. The girls' father then promised him Rachel in marriage if he would finish out the bridal week with Leah first and work for him another 7 years. So, because he loved Rachel, he agreed.
Well, as you can imagine, this caused all sorts of drama. The Bible says Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. It even goes so far as to say that Leah wasn't loved by Jacob at all.
Because of this, God blessed Leah with several children. Meanwhile, Rachel wasn't able to conceive for a long time. The sisters became extremely jealous of each other. Leah wanted Jacob's love, and Rachel wanted Jacob's children.
Usually, when we read about this story, we focus on Rachel's desire for a child and God hearing her prayers and finally sending her a baby. But I'd like to talk a minute today about Leah (this is where we get to the part that relates to what's going on in the world).
Here's this woman who, by absolutely no fault of her own, is thrown into a sticky situation. She didn't plot with her father to marry Jacob; that was all his doing.
Basically, she was forced to marry someone who didn’t love her. And then to make matters worse, she was forced to stand by and watch as her husband then also married someone he did love...her own sister!
And then...there's this one little verse:
"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive..." Genesis 29:31
In the midst of the pain, the struggles, and the jealousy, God showed Leah He was with her. He showed her His love. Showered her with it, really. She goes on to have several more sons and one daughter by Jacob.
What's that have to do with us? I'd say we're in a bit of a sticky situation right now, wouldn't you? By no fault of our own. Just like Leah, we've been thrown into a situation that's full of heartache, stress, tension, and worry.
It might seem like God has forgotten us, but He hasn't. He's still here. In the middle of all this Coronavirus mess - the job losses, the illnesses, the deaths, the uncertainties - He's still pouring His love out on us.
You can see it in the people offering to help others, in the businesses coming together to provide much-needed supplies, in the families who now have a chance to spend more quality time together than they probably ever have, in the patients who have recovered from the virus.
I know this is a difficult, scary time. I'm not downplaying that. I've shed my share of tears over the last month. But it's so nice to see this reminder in Leah's story.
No matter what, God's love is still here. We just have to look for it.