-- We once again return to Leah giving birth to two more sons (her 5th and 6th).
-- Now that the family has been through a time of trying to make things happen on their own through their maidservants, they get back to producing the final four sons through Leah and Rachel.
-- These 2 final sons are in the same place. They speak of God’s response to us. Leah’s first four sons were of what we give to God, her final two are of what God gives to us.
-- We find many places in Scripture, where these two sons are linked together. Read Deuteronomy 33:18-19 which is Moses’ blessing on each of the tribes.
-- The danger is that sometimes we are not in the right place to receive.
Do you remember Leah?
1. Leah
a. Leah was tender eyed. This doesn’t mean she wasn’t attractive, she just didn’t turn a lot of heads. She had her own qualities, but wasn’t highly favored.
b. The name Leah means weary.
i. Over the life of the church, weariness is one of the biggest barriers and obstacles to the life that the church is designed to have.
ii. Weariness will cause you to stop short of the mark. It will cause you to miss out on what is truly available.
c. The name Leah means impatient.
i. The church is often guilty of jumping the gun and going after things before she is ready.
d. The name Leah means grieved.
i. Grief in and of itself is part of life, but the issue with the church is that she often takes on way too much grief and hurt.
ii. A major danger and pitfall in the church is to try and do whatever is necessary to avoid grief and hurt.
e. The name Leah means to be offended.
i. It is impossible to not be offended in life. The issue is how we deal with that.
ii. An offended church becomes quite destructive to themselves and to others around them. Hurting people hurt people.
Leah’s Final 2 Sons:
ISSACHAR
-- Issachar means there is recompense or repayment or reward.
-- “Recompense” = to make amends to someone for loss or harm suffered.
-- “Reward” = a fair return for good or bad behavior.
-- Leah became pregnant on a night with Jacob that she essentially purchased from Rachel.
-- Leah made a declaration that God had rewarded her. However, we don’t hear God say that.
-- The issue is that Leah recognized the benefit of intimacy with Jacob, yet she still behaved as Leah before and after. For Leah, the intimacy was never enough.
-- Issachar speaks of a reward and while he may have ultimately been good for the entire nation of Israel, we have no guarantee that he was a reward to Leah for her behavior.
-- There truly is reward available, but if we aren’t careful, we can miss out on that reward.
ZEBULUN
-- Zebulun means honor or to be exalted.
-- Leah named him declaring that finally Jacob would treat her with honor
-- Many people take a false humility approach and in doing so sometimes even shun the honor God.
-- God wants to honor His own. But, what if we live as though God’s honor and God’s favor isn’t enough?!
-- Why do we look for honor, favor and approval from places that don’t even matter?
-- The misconception here is that it is what you do that causes the favor or honor of the Father. Jacob was drawn to Rachel. He was drawn to the ewe/sheep.
-- If we aren’t willing and able to be sheep of His pasture, we will continue to search and search for what makes Him happy without truly finding it.
Bring it Back to Leah:
-- Leah gave birth to many good things, but the danger was that if she didn’t get her heart and attitude right, she was going to ultimately miss out.
o Gifts
o Communication with God
o Unity with God
o Praise
o Reward
o Honor
-- How unfortunate it is for so many to be a part of producing good things, yet they miss out on the enjoyment of those good things by allowing weariness, impatience, grief or offense to set in.
-- I DON’T WANT ANYONE ELSE ENJOYING THE FRUIT OF MY LABOR.
-- Somewhere along the line, Leah got it right!
-- Leah was the one who was ultimately buried with Jacob. The tomb held Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebekah, and Jacob & Leah (Genesis 49:31).
