Leah: A Desperate Housewife
“And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban,
What is this thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?” Genesis 29:25
I’ve never watched the television show Desperate Housewives. Not one minute of it, but I’ve seen the commercials. That’s enough for me. I can’t imagine living in a neighborhood of catty, conniving women. I wouldn’t want to live there, and if I found myself surrounded by such woman, I’d do everything I could to move.
The concept of desperate housewives isn’t new. We have a glimpse of two desperate women wanting the attention of the same man when we read the life of Jacob and his marriages to Leah and Rachel.
What must it have been like for Leah? She couldn’t remove herself from the situation her father placed her into. Her father had given her in marriage to a man who had eyes only for her sister, a man who when he found he’d been tricked into the marriage, immediately set about to marry the woman he loved? And in some ways, Leah’s sister was as bad as the woman of Wisteria Lane.
Genesis 29:31 tells us that God saw that Leah was unloved—that Jacob had no feelings for her. His true affection belonged to Rachel. Leah could have resorted to conniving, as Rachel later did when she wanted Leah’s mandrakes. She also could have decided to make Jacob’s life miserable as Rachel had done when she demanded from Jacob things that were not his to give. “Give me children, or else I die,” she said. Instead, Leah quietly endured. This desperate housewife turned her attention to God.
And because God saw that Jacob loved Rachel and not Leah, He chose to bless Leah with children while Rachel was unable to bear children for a time. With each birth of her first four sons, Leah’s conversation with God showed the depth of her desperation:
Leah named her firstborn Reuben, which literally means, See, a son. Then she said, “Surely, the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.” Can’t you just imagine this woman’s broken heart crying out, “Lord, my husband doesn’t see me”?
When she gave birth to her second child, she said, “Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore give me this son also,” and she named this son Simeon, which means, Heard. In other words, Leah was saying, “Lord, my husband doesn’t hear me.”
Her third son, Leah named Levi, which means attached, and she said, “Now, this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons.” How sad it is to know that Leah was actually saying to the Lord, “Father, my husband’s heart is not joined with mine.”
And still in the face of Jacob’s lack of devotion, Leah continued to have faith in the Lord. When she conceived her fourth son, she named him Judah, which means Praise, and she declared, “Now will I praise the LORD. “
Leah may never have come to terms with the fact that her husband’s affections belonged to Rachel. In naming her younger sons it was clear she still longed for Jacob to love her, but Leah, a truly desperate housewife, gave her sorrows over to God, and God blessed Leah with children, and through the lineage of this quiet woman of prayer, the world received a blessing. . .Jesus Christ.
MEET FAY LAMB AND FIND OUT ABOUT HER LATEST BOOK
Fay Lamb works as an acquisition/copyeditor for Pelican Book Group (White Rose Publishing and Harbourlight Books), offers her services as a freelance editor, and is an author of Christian romance and romantic suspense. Her emotionally charged stories remind the reader that God is always in the details. Because of Me, her debut romantic suspense novel is published by Treble Heart Books/Mountainview Publishing.
Fay has a passion for working with and encouraging fellow writers. As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), she co-moderates the large Scribes’ Critique Group and manages the smaller Scribes’ critique groups. For her efforts, she was the recipient of the ACFW Members Service Award in 2010.
In 2012, Fay was also elected to serve as secretary on ACFW’s Operating Board.
Fay and her husband, Marc, reside in Titusville, Florida, where multi-generations of their families have lived. The legacy continues with their two married sons and five grandchildren.
Because of Me:
Not your typical Christian fiction.
Michael’s fiancée, Issie Putnam, was brutally attacked and Michael was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Now he’s home to set things right.
Two people stand in his way: Issie’s son, Cole, and a madman.
Can Michael learn to love the child Issie holds so close to her heart and protect him from the man who took everything from Michael so long ago?
Available through all fine book retailers, Amazon.com, and Mountainview Publishing, a division of Treble Heart Books.
Purchase the book at Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Because-of-Me-ebook/dp/B00722KIME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327670357&sr=8-1
Or at Treble Heart Books at: www.trebleheartbooks.com/MVLamb.html
Purchase the book at: http://www.amazon.com/Because-of-Me-ebook/dp/B00722KIME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327670357&sr=8-1
In marriage to her own husband who was committed to marriage with her, Leah could have gotten out of the shadow of her beautiful little sister. but her father placed her firmly in that shadow for the rest of her life, or the rest of Rachel's as it turned out, when he tricked Jacob into marrying Leah first.
ReplyDeleteI've read a lot about the women mentioned in the lineage of Christ in Matthew. Since Leah isn't mentioned there, I guess I never thought about her being in that lineage as well.