Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 29 before reading the devotional below.
Love is a funny thing. It makes us do all kinds of things, and in today’s chapter Jacob is willing to work for seven years to marry Rachel. The trouble with a pre-electric society is that you can’t see who you’re sleeping with in the dark, so on Jacob’s wedding night Leah (the oldest daughter) comes in instead. Jacob has to work another seven years for Rachel, who apparently was quite worth it.
God is only mentioned in the story once. He sees the competition between Leah and Rachel and decides to get involved. Verse 31 says, “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.” Leah has three sons: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. These names are important in Israel’s history, and you’ll see these names later when you read about the 12 tribes of Israel. Levi becomes the tribe designated for the priesthood. God’s intervention in today’s chapter means that Leah is the mother of the entire line of Jewish priests.
Here’s your freedom for today:
If you are brought low by the world, God will elevate you.
Perhaps you’ve felt like Leah: less than, unloved, and unwanted. God notices you. He sees. He’s not going to forget about you, and he certainly doesn’t agree with any concept of you being unlovable. God loves you, and he’s more than able to tip the scales in your direction. Maybe it doesn’t seem like that right now, just like Leah may not have felt any more loved after she had her three sons. But she was given favor, and an important place in history. God’s looking for people who the world rejects to build his kingdom. Being unpopular is sometimes a spiritual blessing in disguise.