THE ONE NOBODY WANTED!
Genesis 29:16-30
INTRODUCTION: The Word of God is not sentimental or romantic when it speaks on the subject of marriage and the family. Being single can be very difficult but so can being married. The world sees so many broken promises in marriage and become cynical about the need for marriage at all. The church seems to push marriage as the fulfillment of everything God has for his people. The Bible shows us that both marriage and singleness have their strengths and their weaknesses. Jacob was born into a family life that created many problems both for his parents, Isaac and Rebekah, and also for himself and his older brother Esau.
I. ISAAC AND REBEKAH’S FAIRY TALE MARRIAGE!
Isaac was a young man of forty when he married Rebekah. Now years have gone by and no children had been born to Rebekah because of their union. The fairy tale about marriage is “And they lived happily ever after.” As we all know from experience, the reality of married life can often be quite different from a fairy tale life. Genesis 25:20. Twenty years went by and Rebekah had no children. In that society it was a disgrace to a woman not to bear children: Proverbs 30:15-16. People of Rebekah’s day thought a woman that did not have children was cursed from God: Psalm 127:3. Rebekah waited twenty years to conceive but even then there was trouble: Genesis 25:20-26. God said Esau would serve his younger brother Jacob. But Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Isaac. The trouble with Isaac and Rebekah is they played favorites with their children. Jacob gets his father’s blessings by trickery and Esau get hot and wants to kill Jacob.
II. JACOB’S FAIRY TALE: LEAH’S TORMENT!
Laban feels sorry for Jacob at first but it isn’t long and Laban begins to see Jacob as a gold mine. Jacob is a natural shepherd. Both Laban and Jacob are shysters and Jacob let Laban know his weakness. As soon as Laban knows Jacob will do anything to have Rachel as his wife Laban’s extra twenty-five years as a shyster helps him exploit Jacob’s weakness to deal with two of his problems. Laban’s two problems where he was not getting rich as quickly as he wanted and he had a sister that nobody wanted. Genesis 29:16-17; Genesis 29:25. Laban used as an excuse that that was the custom of their land. Genesis 29:26-27. Jacob agrees to Laban’s terms but because of two scheming men, Leah is thrown into a nightmare of a life. The man Leah is married to does not love her and he does love her younger sister Racheal. As Leah begins to have children just listen to the names she gives them: Genesis 29:32: Ruben means “I am seen!” The next son is called Simeon which means “I am heard!” The next son is named Levi and that name means “attached!” The forth son is named Judah which mean’s “praise”. Genesis 29:35.
III. LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR FAIRY TALES!
First the bad news: When you sin, you don’t do sin! Sin does you! The Word of God says when we sin we release a devastating power that affects your life, perhaps forever: Galatians 6:7-8. Sin begets sin. You sin. Sin does you! No matter what we chase after in this life as our Racheal, in the morning it is Leah! We were never meant to find our primary satisfaction in any relationship or by getting anything in this world. We were truly made for something beyond this world. Even the American dream of owning my own house, having a wife or husband and children won’t satisfy us for long. John 3:16-18; Hebrews 12:11. Leah, the one nobody wanted finally learned to stop looking for her meaning and worth with people. The one nobody wanted was wanted by her God! Genesis 29:31. Our God is gracious to those who nobody else wants. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. We are all like Leah in many ways. Leah finally said: “This time I will praise the LORD!” Is it time you and I say “I will stop looking to anyone or anything other to give me what only my God can give me!” Colossians 2:9-10. We must come to find our true value not in what others think of us or even in what we may think about ourselves. We must focus on what our God thinks of us. The great news for us is that God chose us to be His own because He loves us.