Lesson 60
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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 29
Series # 6: DECISIONS, DESIRES, DISAPPOINTMENTS, AND DESTINY
Lesson 60: GENESIS 29:1-35 LESSONS FROM LEAH
Genesis 29:1-35 (NKJV) “1. So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2.And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. 3. Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth. 4. And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5. Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6. So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” 7. Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” 8. But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.” 9. Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. 13. Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14. And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month. 15. Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” 16. Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17. Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. 18. Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” 19. And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. 21. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 22. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23. Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24. And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25. So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” 26. And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” 28. Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29. And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30. Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years. 31. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33. Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.”
INTRODUCTION
One of the best teacher is experience. When nothing else can teach us some of life’s most important lessons, experience can. We should learn from our own experiences because the lessons we learn from experience we seldom forget. If a person does not learn from experience is it questionable whether or not they can learn at all. One reason is the lessons we learn from our experiences are deeper and more involved. Experience will take a person by the hand and lead them through the lessons of life.
A more extensive teacher is instruction. You can learn more from instructions than you can from experience. The reason is because you cannot experience everything. The one way in which we can get the depth of experience and the breadth of instruction is when we learn from the experiences of others. In this way, we are able to have the best of both worlds. We can have the depth that only experience can provide and we can have the breadth that only instruction can provide. The Old Testament is literally filled with the life experiences of others from which we are to learn. In addition, if we are able to learn from their instruction they have gain through experience there are some things in life we can avoid.
Let’s look at the experience of Leah so that we may learn about a segment of the members of the church and how we can properly minister to them in times such as these because we are all in one way or another like Leah. There is something about Leah that makes her real which causes us to be able to identify with her needs. Leah was the oldest daughter of Laban, the sister to Rachel and the first wife of Jacob. She had relationships that really was unfulfilling. The Bible says in verse 17, “Leah’s eyes were delicate; but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.” This means that Leah was rather plain, she did not possess the physical attractiveness that her younger sister possessed.
Once on the Andy Griffin show there was a beautiful young lady that Andy was talking to and he commented that she looked like God had spent a lot of time on her. This was true of Rachel but Leah looked as if God did not spend enough time on her. The Bible goes out of its way to give us the impression that because Leah was unattractive her chances for marriage were slim to none. Why else, would her father use her as a ploy to trap Jacob into marrying her? There is something about Leah that makes her the perfect spokes person for most of us when we think about how we are sometimes so under appreciated by others.
Now, what are the lessons, we learn from the experience of Leah? What instructions from Leah’s experience that we can take that can assists us in our spiritual journey? There are three LESSONS FROM LEAH as we view her experiences that I would like to point out which are: DESIRE - DISAPPOINTMENT - DECISION
INTERPRETATION
LEAH’S DESIRE.
Leah had the basic human desire to be loved. Every human, if they are breathing and honest will have to admit that we desire to be loved, unconditionally, unreservedly, unmistakably, passionately, and completely for who we are rather than what we have or have not.
In the 1980’s a rapper by the name of Grand Master Flash said, "One Love, One Love, You’re lucky just to have one Love.” Well Leah was not this lucky; she did not have one love. St. Augustine is said to have quoted, "Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” Love is a basic human desire. We want Love. We need Love. We desire to be loved. In Leah’s case, it was the love of her husband. For some people it is the love of their parents, for some others it is the love of their children. Some people take the love of a husband, parent, or a child for granted, while there are some people still trying to earn the love of a loved one. People are looking for the kind of love that appreciates you regardless of what you do, what you are, or what you have. The desire to have someone to love you is natural and reasonable.
In verse 30 we are told “Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah.” The word translated in the KJV “hate” actually means to love-less. There was no recording of abuse on Jacob part. We are not told that he disrespected her in any way nor did he ever mistreat her. He simply loved Rachel and was tricked into marrying Leah. That did not change the fact that Leah always dreamed of the day that if no one else will love her, her own husband would. Now that day has come, and her husband is madly and openly in love with Rachel. I tell couples all the time “Marry the one you love or love the one you have married.” Leah believed that the love of her husband would make her happy.
We need to be careful about treating some individuals as if they do not deserve to be loved, because the fact of the matter is none of us really deserves to be loved. If we have love, it is only by the grace of God. The truth is that everyone needs to be loved. This why Jesus says, "Love ye one another." It seems like in many churches, folks are notorious for picking and choosing whom they will love and whom they will tolerate. Rachel was easy to love; she was beautiful, and highly favored. Leah was difficult to love because “Leah’s eyes were delicate.”
Very often people in some churches often chose to love those who have the visible things. They have a tendency to love those who can sing, those that can give an awe inspiring speech, those that can stir our emotions, those who can bake wonderful cakes, or those who have a disposable income. Then on the other side of the coin there are those who tend to “hate” or love less, those who have their own opinion, those who ask too many questions and need more information, those who are not satisfied with the way things are but are willing to work hard to make things better. This is seen immediately by prospective new members and those who do not know Jesus and it is a poor witness and a turn off, sometimes keeping a person from accepting Christ. Every church must step in and love Leah and meet this basic human desire to be love.
How can anyone really think that we will enter into the joy of the Lord while bypassing the commandment that he gives? What excuses will Jesus accept, what justification, what reason will Jesus acknowledge on judgment day for breaking the New Commandment that he gives to us? The commandment that on the night he was betrayed, after the supper was ended, simply stated in John 15:12, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Furthermore, just in case Peter, James, John or you and I were not paying attention he repeated himself in John 15:17and said "These things I command you, that you love one another.” We need to learn and understand that the desire to be loved is natural and a reasonable expectation people have of the church.
EXPLANATION
LEAH’S DISAPPOINTMENT
We can learn a valuable lesson from Leah in how she handled Disappointment. Obviously, Leah was experiencing heartbreaking disappointment and I wonder who among us has never experienced disappointment? If there is ever a factor that is consistent among humans it is the fact that in this life people will disappoint us. People will let us down; people will fall short of our expectations. Just to clear up a point, the reality is that we also let other people down; we also fall short of people’s expectations. As frail finite creatures, we disappoint others and others will disappoint us. If humans could met all of our needs then we would not need God. Nevertheless, God is the only individual that can ever meet all of our needs, and He does.
How Leah handled her disappointments is not in the text. However, you if you read between the lines you will discover the key to handling disappointments. It not in fussing and complaining. It not in growing bitter and resentful. It not in being mean and angry. If you want to overcome disappointments, learn this lesson from Leah. Leah took it to the Lord in Prayer. In other words, she prayed about it. Prayer is not just taking our wish list before God it is also taking our disappointments to the Lord. Therefore, my advice to you is if you are experiencing some kind of disappointments then pray.
The children of Israel would have been much different if they had learned this lesson from Leah. Rather than murmuring against Moses, they should have prayed for Moses. A lesson church members need to learn is, rather than complain about the Pastor or the other ordained leaders when they do not meet your expectations is lean to pray for them. Look at the names she gives her first two sons. “32. So Leah conceived and bore a son and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33. Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, (or hated – KJV)…”
We serve a God with all-seeing eyes and all-hearing ears. Verse 31 says “31.When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.” Whenever we place people at the core of our desire, we will be disappointed. However, when we take our disappointments to the Lord in Prayer he will cause us to be fruitful while others are barren. We will be in a time of feasting while others are in a time of famine. We will be in a time of plenty while others are in a time of want. In a recession, cutbacks, and lay-offs you will be receiving promotions, and raises. We need to learn is to take our disappointments to God in prayer.
APPLICATION
LEAH’S DECISION
We need to learn a lesson from Leah about how to make a good decision, after being disappointed. This is a tough lesson to learn, because often it is in a time of disappointment that we make wrong and bad decisions. She made the decision to praise the Lord. We need to realize that praise is 90% mental and 10% emotional. We praise God with our minds before we can ever praise God with our bodies. That is why it does not matter if you are an emotional person or not. It does not matter if you are loud or quiet. It does not matter if you are an introvert or extrovert. It does not matter if you can sing or can only hum. Quite simply, praise is first a matter of the mind. The only pre-requisite for praise is the ability to think. It is the ability to seriously think things over, the ability to think back. Praise is not a reaction. Praise is a Decision. The only question is "Who are you thinking about?"
After her first son was born, Leah thought about Jacob. After her second son, Leah thought about Jacob. After her third son, Leah thought about Jacob. However, we learn in verse “35. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Now I will praise the Lord.’ Therefore she called his name Judah.” Simply put, when we think about the goodness of the Lord, and all that he has done in our lives, and then we can praise God.
I am reminded of a familiar story about a old Baptist church that had an old deacon. This old deacon, was loud with his Amen in service, he was even known for standing up in worship service and shouting, “Praise the Lord, alleluia.” The church had just hired a new pastor with enough degrees to make him sick. They hired him in order to attract more of the sophisticated refined, cultured, and educated members of the community. They saw the behavior of this old deacon as being detrimental to their goals. Therefore, they told the preacher that he needed to go and talk to him about this behavior.
The young preacher went out to the old deacon’s farm. When he got there the old deacon was plowing the field, behind his mules. The young preacher began with some small talk. The old deacon stopped the preacher and said I know why you have come out here. The members have been complaining about my behavior in service. Then the old deacon said, "Preacher, you may not believe this but I have actually gotten better, simply because I can’t move like I use too when I was young. In addition, when you are up there preaching about the goodness of the Lord I begin to think about how good God has been to me. I have one son that is in medical school, I have a daughter that will be graduating from law school this spring, I have been married for over sixty years to my high school sweetheart, and I still have the strength to plow this farm at the age of eighty-four when most of my peers are dead and gone. Every time I think about just how good God has been to me, I have to praise his name. Fact of the matter I’m thinking the good of God right now, and I feel like shouting, if you would hold my mules.”
CONCLUSION
When we really and seriously stop to think about how good God has been to us, whether we feel it is dignified or not, we should praise his name! When you arrive in Heaven, how dignified are you going to be there when you come face to face with the one who went to the cross for you? How proper and polite are you going to think about being when you can reach out and touch the face of God? How stiff and cold are you going to be when you are surrounded by God’s heavenly host and the loved ones who have gone on to heaven before you?
Leah made the decision to praise His name. God is worthy to be praised, through our unmet desires and through our disappointments. God is worthy of our praise always! Leah gives us the perfect time to praise God and that is right Now! She said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” I have made the decision that "Now" I will praise the Lord. All of us need to learn this lesson from Leah and understand that the church must meet every humans basic DESIRE to be loved, we must learn how to handle DISAPPOINTMENT through prayer, and that in spite of our disappointments we must make the DECISION to praise the Lord, NOW.
INVITATION
There Is One Correct Life! There Is One Correct Path!
There Is An Earthly One! There Is A Spiritual One!
Which One Have You Chosen? Yours or God’s?
DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and let me know about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus. Please send me your questions, comments, or responses and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you. I really need to hear from you – so please send me a comment about the Bible Studies to:
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ALWAYS REMEMBER!
The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord. Be faithful to prayerfully prepare and attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word. Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE (10%) through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits. Any other other giving is an offering to a ministry unto the Lord. Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have. Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord. It is on loan to you – so manage it well! There will be an audit one day! Make sure the Books Balance!
All Bible Studies Are Prepared by Pastor Frank Denning And May Be Be Used By Permission.