THE 'EYES' HAVE IT!

Scripture:Genesis 29:16-18 - And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel, and said 'I will serve thee [Laban]seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter."

It has been stated, even sung about, how 'beauty is only skin deep' [yeah, yeah, yeah!]. And we've heard how you can't judge a book by its cover. These remind us that beauty, as well as blessing may not always be of the obvious. After all, it is the red of the apple which captures us, yet it's the inward apple that feeds. We might consider the ends of a good sports season to be the winner's trophy, only to later reflect on the value of many tough practices where you learn more about yourself and others, where the deeper things of respect and friendship develop from. You learn of the power of cooperation, and the place for appreciating good leadership that prompts commitment. You come to know that this life as a platform endorses the greatest gain through somebody's strain.

It seems apparent that Jacob was absolutely smitten with Rachel from the start, and was not so bashful about it. The Bible illustrates for us a Rachel who is stunning [even while tending sheep], who is 'well-favoured', which is vague but distinctly good. In contrast, we have Leah, whose name means 'weary', which as a given name implies that even in infancy something about the baby was not so applaudable, or perhaps the birth was difficult. Rachel was Laban's 'baby girl', and the object of Jacob's passion. Leah was the older daughter, who was less loved by Jacob than Rachel[Genesis 29:30]. Both became wives. And while Leah was not directly described as ugly, compared with Rachel's overflowing beauty, one would conclude that she at the least was plain, with eyes which were likewise unimpressive, weak. Further, into their stories, we find Leah to be the fertile one, however, without the love, her conceiving was most likely the result of Jacob's obligation as her husband, much like tending to an undesirable job. In Genesis 29:31 we note that Leah was hated. With all this said, by some Jewish accounts it is Leah, not Rachel, who is considered godly, with God 'hearing her' [prayers], and subsequently her praise. Each son named by her has a name that implies praise of God.

Her praying so vigorously, and being so diligent allows her the distinction of being the fourth and last matriarch in the Jewish Bible, being noted as a prayer warrior, and a model of thanksgiving. Some would say that her weak eyes were the result of many tears, yet she held on, while in the shadow of her younger sister. She held on with the strength of knowing God as merciful and gracious, even when circumstances were hard. At the end of life, it was Leah, not Rachel, that was buried with Jacob in the cave of the Patriarchs, regarded as the head of his household. Her legacy, not so romanticized, and easy to underestimate: kings and priests, with Judah, Levi, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, David, Solomon, and Hezekiah to note... she was the biological mother of six of the twelve tribes of Israel, with Jesus as well being a part of that lineage[Matthew 1:1,2].

Through her legacy, with Jacob, 'in thee and in thy seed shall all of the families of the earth be blessed' is part of the fulfilled promise. [Genesis 28:13,14]

When we know that God can do anything, we can lift up the impossible, and while waiting, be grateful. Bless you, Leah, for your faithful example, and your quiet, radical hope.

Prayer:  Thank you LORD, for your faithfulness and loving kindness to show yourself and how you are, and that you care, and how you bless outside of the limelight those whose private and personal prayers, carry such a reach that many of us may not ever know. Some have been in our lives, while others are present now, and for the future, we cannot see, there comes that stranger that will become a friend, that brother or sister in the faith that shall matter so much, as indeed you've no shortage of your own angels to touch us while in our trouble, even when that trouble is of our own bringing. Thank you so much for the blessings of then, now, and yet, all beneath your hand. Glory, Hallelujah, and Amen!

(by Dr. McNeal Brockington)