I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I really feel for Leah in this chapter.
By all accounts, she seems like a decent enough lady. Sure, she’s competitive with her sister as to who can have the most children, but Genesis 29, at least, paints her as a woman that is continually unloved.
It has to be hard to be Rachel’s sister. Rachel is beautiful, she’s strong, she’s industrious; by contrast, almost nothing is known about who Leah is. She’s completely identified as Rachel’s sister.
Leah is further contrasted with her sister in terms of their relationship to their husband, Jacob. Rachel is greatly loved, but Leah is “unloved” (Genesis 29:31).
But just in case you thought I was reading too much into this single word, check out what she names her first four children.
She names the first Reuben, because she claims God has seen her affliction. “Surely now,” Leah says, “her husband will love her” (Genesis 29:32).
The second son Leah names Simeon, because, by her own admission, she is still “unloved” (Genesis 29:33).
Leah names the third son Levi, saying “Now this time my husband will become attached to me.” Surely Jacob will love her now that she’s given him three sons, right? RIGHT?
Sadly, we don’t know. But we do know that Leah does an abrupt about face with her fourth child. She names him Judah, saying, “This time, I will praise the Lord.”
You could probably assume a lot about Leah’s mental state by the time Judah comes around, but suffice it to say that by this point, she’s turned her heart towards God. If Jacob won’t show her any affection, then God will. And, in fact, He has.
It’s a testament to the staying power of God. Even when the things we love the most don’t return that love, God is still there, quietly showing us kindness, day in and day out. Even when we don’t recognize that kindness.
Or, in the case of Leah, especially when we don’t recognize that kindness.