Women of the Bible
Leah
Scripture References: Genesis 29:16-35; 30:9-21; 35:23-26; 49:31; Ruth 4:11
About Leah
Leah means “weary” “dull” “yearning”
Leah was Rachel’s older sister.
Leah was Laban’s eldest daughter, also Rebekah’s niece.
Leah had six sons and one daughter. She was the mother of Judah through whom the Savior, Jesus Christ, would come (Revelation 5:5).
Leah was the one that was buried with her husband Jacob.
Her Situation
Read Genesis 29:16-25
It is noted that Leah was not as “beautiful” as Rachel was. “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
It must have been difficult for Leah, being the eldest, to be passed by. When Laban came to her with the plan to deceive Jacob, she willingly entered into the scheme.
“For the first time, sly Jacob, who had deceived his own father and cheated his brother, felt poignantly the pain of being deceived himself. And so it is with us. We do not see the harm in a bit of cheating, lying or gossiping until we are cheated against, lied to and gossiped about ourselves. Until we ourselves are injured, we do not see how mean and evil it is to injure someone else.” -Frances Vander Velde
A woman’s greatest attractiveness will always be found in 1 Peter 3:3-4
1 Peter 3:3-4
And let not your adornment be merely external -braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality or a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
We are never going to be able to compete with the standards of the world, but the beauty that we can possess the world will never have. (share about the makeup products for Avon)
These scriptures teach us that every woman has an opportunity to be attractive.
● The beauty of your heart -CHARACTER: the person that you are when no one else is looking, the person that you are in your private thought life. (Look over Thinking Biblically handout)
● Gentle and quiet spirit -this is what GOD treasures. Care about what He cares about.
● WORK ON inner beauty -take thought, time and preparation to be beautiful on the inside every day. This will spill over and literally you will be more beautiful!
Her Heartache
Read Genesis 29:30-31
Genesis 29:31 “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved...”
Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah.
Women deeply desire to have an intimate and loving relationship. Every day Leah had to live with a man who didn’t love her. His attention and affections were for Rachel.
Psalm 34:18-19
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Leah was used. She was a pawn in the hand of Laban’s deception...only to be rejected. Nothing that happens to you goes unnoticed by God.
2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His....
God’s desire is that our hearts are completely for Him, then He will move powerfully! We stay stunted spiritually when we are only partially trusting God.
Psalm 33:18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness.
Ask God to give you a true fear of Him! Fear of God will show GREATLY in your actions!
2 Chronicles 20:12
O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.
It’s like saying “God, whatever, you’re in control. What can I do? Do YOUR thing.” :-)
Her Sons
Read Genesis 29:32-35; 30:9-21
In verse 16 Leah wasn’t exactly showing Jacob reasons for desiring her. Both Leah and Rachel were consumed with what they thought was going to satisfy them in life. When you manipulate people with emotions or corner them, it will be extremely difficult for them to have genuine love and concern for you.
The names Leah gives her sons reveal what God was doing in her heart.
Leah’s SONS:
Reuben means “Behold a son!” -this reveals her gratitude to God.
Simeon means “Hearing” -her she gives credit to God for answering her prayers.
Levi means “joined, attached”-she assumes that because of her sons Jacob would now be drawn to her.
Judah means “Praise” -here Leah decides to submit to God’s control and just praise Him!
Jacob had sons through Leah’s maid Zilpah and Leah was happy naming them Gad which means “how fortunate” and Asher which means “happy”. When Leah saw God was not doing what she wanted Him to, she stepped in herself and this was when she became proud and foolish.
Issachar means “he will bring reward” -Leah is looking for the blessing of God and not God Himself.
Zebulun mean “to reside” “dwell with” -Leah decides to remain where she is spiritually and seek God for what He can give her.
Leah had bought into the doctrine that God was there to serve her and didn’t want to live like she was there to serve God.
“I feel that we must repudiate this great, modern wave of seeking God for His benefits. The sovereign God wants to be loved for Himself and honored for Himself, but that is only part of what He wants. The other part is that He wants us to know that when we have Him, we have everything -we have all the rest. Jesus made that plain when He said, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you’ (Matthew 6:33). It seems that Christian believers have been going through a process of indoctrination and brainwashing, so that it has become easy for us to adopt a kind of creed that makes God to be our servant instead of our being God’s servant.” -A.W. Tozer
What are the things hindering you from having a pure pursuit of God? A.W. Tozer goes on to share “Actually, anything or anyone that keeps me from knowing God in this vital and personal way is my enemy. If it is a friend that stands in my way, the friend is an enemy. If it is a gift that stands between us, that gift is an enemy. It may be an ambition, it may be a victory in the past, it may even be a defeat that still overwhelms me -any of these allowed to stand between the Lord and myself becomes an enemy and may keep me from further knowledge of God.”
**Take a moment to think of things in your life that are your “enemies” when it comes to your furtherance of intimacy in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Do not only be interested in what God can give and in what God can do for you! Ask God for a heart to seek Him for Himself and recognize the “enemies” that will hinder that in your life. We cannot combine the mindset of the world with our relationship with God it will only keep us from the truth.
Life Lesson
Seek the Lord to know Him for Himself. He IS what you need.
Colossians 3:3-4
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
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