I told you guys awhile back that I'm in a Bible Study on Genesis. (Btw, it's officially called CBS, Community Bible Study.) Anyway, today was the story of Leah and Rachel, and I really loved the application of the lesson. It was so, so awesome!! I'll make it quick.
Rachel = beautiful, Leah= homely
Rachel = loved by her husband, Leah= unloved by her husband
Leah gets preggo. She thinks that having children will make her husband love her, but he never does. Eventually she changes her attitude and her mind... instead of focusing on how my hubby doesn't love me, I'll focus on what God has done for me. So she names her 4th kid, Judah, which means praise and reflects her change of heart. All of the rest of her children have names that reflect joy and satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Rachel can't get preggo. But instead of thinking about how awesome it is that she's beautiful and that her hubby loves her, she starts focusing on how she can't have kids... then she finally has a kid, but it's not enough, so she names her kid "Jacob" which means "add" because she wants God to give her another. Eventually she does have another kid, but she dies giving birth to him and the name she originally gave him meant "sorrow." So she dies in sorrow...
The end of the story is like this...
Rachel= still loved by husband, Leah= probably still unloved
Rachel= unhappy, Leah=very happy
Rachel= dies in sorrow, Leah= dies in honor, buried next to Abraham and Sarah, and matron of the line of Judah, which eventually becomes the line of King David and... JESUS!
Moral of the story, as our teacher quoted (and you can listen to the lectures here), that the key to being satisfied is not getting what you want, but (in a very nerdy, Sheryl Crow song type way) it's wanting what you have. (By the way, if you are wondering based on the pictures in that link if I am the youngest person there... it's very possible that I am.)
Anyway, I feel honored that my biblical namesake was so awesome.
So, then, you and me, we should give thanks and be content for all that God HAS done for us (ahem, eternal life in Jesus... among other things), instead of thinking so much about what we don't have. Because really, "Those who fear the Lord lack no good thing."
You're welcome.
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4 comments:
i was reading a commentary on rach/leah and he had an interesting thought that ran counter to what most people thought of leah. he said the "weak eyes" that most people take for homely could mean "gentle" or "tender" in spirit as opposed to rachel the firebrand. he laid out pretty good support for the statement.
http://bible.org/seriespage/i-led-two-wives-genesis-291-30
i've copied and pasted the first paragraph of that section from the link above.
"Few women have been so misunderstood as Leah. Even her name does her a great disservice, for it means “wild cow.”241 The statement that she had “weak eyes” (verse 17) seems to many to portray Leah as a homely girl with pop-bottle glasses, who cannot see three feet in front of her. This kind of thinking is completely unjustified.
First, the word rendered “weak” (rak) is never used in a demeaning way, ...."
i was reading a commentary on rach/leah and he had an interesting thought that ran counter to what most people thought of leah. he said the "weak eyes" that most people take for homely could mean "gentle" or "tender" in spirit as opposed to rachel the firebrand. he laid out pretty good support for the statement.
i've linked the commentary below, along with the first paragraph where he starts talking about it. do a search for that paragraph and start reading from there.
http://bible.org/seriespage/i-led-two-wives-genesis-291-30
"Few women have been so misunderstood as Leah. Even her name does her a great disservice, for it means “wild cow.”241 The statement that she had “weak eyes” (verse 17) seems to many to portray Leah as a homely girl with pop-bottle glasses, who cannot see three feet in front of her. This kind of thinking is completely unjustified.
First, the word rendered “weak” (rak) is never used in a demeaning way, ..."
i was reading a commentary on rach/leah and he had an interesting thought that ran counter to what most people thought of leah. he said the "weak eyes" that most people take for homely could mean "gentle" or "tender" in spirit as opposed to rachel the firebrand. he laid out pretty good support for the statement.
i've linked the commentary below, along with the first paragraph where he starts talking about it. do a search for that paragraph and start reading from there.
http://bible.org/seriespage/i-led-two-wives-genesis-291-30
"Few women have been so misunderstood as Leah. Even her name does her a great disservice, for it means “wild cow.”241 The statement that she had “weak eyes” (verse 17) seems to many to portray Leah as a homely girl with pop-bottle glasses, who cannot see three feet in front of her. This kind of thinking is completely unjustified.
First, the word rendered “weak” (rak) is never used in a demeaning way, ..."
I just wanted to say hi and that I am finally blog reading! And that I am doing a bible study on Genesis now too! Love you!
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