.jpg)
Last week we ended off with Leah praising God for her son Judah but there’s more to Leah’s story. Leah was with Jacob for 7 years and for 7 years she tried to earn Jacob's love.
When you belong to the Father, you don’t have to earn His love. God's love is a gift. It's the greatest gift of all.
Love Is the Greatest Gift
Paul spoke about this in 1 Corinthians 13
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
God’s love will last forever. In today’s world, people fall in and out of love like it’s the thing to do but not God, His love will forever be. He has a strong love for his children.
I’m a tell you how God’s love is so strong, though he saw Leah's pain and moved on her behalf, He also remembered Rachel.
Sisters In Rivalry
Now Rachel watched Leah have children with Jacob over and over and she became jealous.
Jealousy happens to so many of us women. We get jealous of one another and then we start competing against each other and this is what happened to Leah and Rachel.
Rachel said to Jacob one day, "give me children or I will die!" and Jacob got upset with her and said "am I God? He’s the one withholding children from you." Rachel gives Jacob her servant to marry him so that she could have a child through her. And when she conceived a child, Rachel said “6 “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[c] 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings[d] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.[e]
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.[f] 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.[g]
Now this goes on and on and this is considered a rivalry, two sisters competing against one another but let share with you about what scriptures say about competition:
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Now the interesting part is that Leah was still hoping that Jacob would be attached to her, she was competing for his love but Rachel was not. Rachel was confident in Jacob’s love for her but Rachel was competing for children but God remembered Rachel and opened up her womb where she herself gave birth to a son and she named him Joseph.
Competition
Ladies, how many of you felt the need to compete with other women on purpose or privately? A lot of us can raise our hand to this one question but I have discovered that if we rest in the love of God, this competitive spirit would not be alive. We would be so built up in the Lord that another woman would not drive us to the point of competing. We would have godly wisdom to know that God loves us and he will turn things around for our good.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God is Love, He's no Respecter of Person
In this story, you wonder why God remembers Leah and Rachel in such a way that he answers both of their desires and meets them where they are. You come to understanding that God works on behalf of you as an "individual."
Romans 2:11- King James Version (KJV)
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
In Acts 10:34 Peter said “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.
How many of you are familiar with this kind of situation? The man that you was in love with had a child outside of your relationship and you're left wondering how? Why? God could’ve allowed for it to happen for many reasons but scriptures say “God shows no favoritism”.
When we come to an understanding that the woman who we are competing against has feelings, emotions and a heart just like yours, you come to realize that she is not so different from you and we start to process things in a different way.
These sisters were hurt, they were competing against one another, they had a hard time in marriage with Jacob but through it all God was still there for Leah, Rachel and Jacob.
Do you understand that these women birthed the 12 Tribes of Israel? Do you understand that God had his hand in this working his good out according to the covenant that was made between God and Abraham? We never know if God is fulfilling a promise for someone else.
Genesis 17 English Standard Version (ESV)
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham,[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
Ladies do you understand how strong the Father’s love is for his children? He is a covenant keeping Father, how stands true to his word. He looks at us as a singled heart person who will show himself might on our behalf.
Be Encouraged! Rejection does not define us. God's Love will keep us and it will forever remain.
See you next week!
Comments