An Unloved Wife
Genesis 29:31-35
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Genesis 29
Jacob's Children
31 When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, [1] for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. [2]
34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. [3]
35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD ." So she named him Judah. [4] Then she stopped having children.
In Old Testament times, men sometimes married more than one woman at a time. But today bigamy is uncommon. Or is it? What about the man who is married to a woman and work? Or the one who marries a wife and a hobby? How does a woman cope with sharing her husband?
God saw Leah's misery and gave her children. Is this the solution for us? Have another baby? Focus on our children? Pour all our passions into their lives?
What is God's truth here? That Leah could replace the lack of a husband's love and attention with children?
Or is the deeper truth that, no matter what our circumstances, only God can fulfill all our needs and desires? No child, no husband, no pursuit of any kind can ever take his place. God calls us to look to him for the ultimate meeting of our needs.