Lessons from Leah Genesis 29:31-35
The best teacher is Experience. When nothing else can teach us some of life’s most important questions, Experience can. We should learn from our own experiences, Experience is the best teacher. 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 experience are deeper and more involved. Experience will take a person by the hand and lead them through the lessons of life.
Although Experience is the best teacher, Instructions is a more extensive teacher. You can learn more from instructions than you can from experience. The reason is simple. Why? Because you can not 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 that they have gain through experience there are some things in life we can avoid.
Let us look at the experience of Leah in order to 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 some way or another Leah. There is something about Leah that makes her real and causes us to be able to identify with her needs. First, 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 Leah [was] tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. 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 in 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 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’s experience that I would like to lift-up. DESIRE - DISAPPOINTMENT - DECISION
The first lesson we need to learn is 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, completely and 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. The kind of love that appreciates you regardless of what you do or what you have. The desire to have someone to love you is natural and reasonable.
In verse 30, it says that Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved 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 anyway or 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 will one day. Now that day has come, and her husband is madly in love with Rachel. 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, for the fact of the matter none of us deserves to be loved. If we have love, it is only by the grace of God. Everyone needs to be loved. This why Jesus says, "Love ye one another". Church folks are notorious for picking and choosing whom they will love. Rachel was easy to love; she was beautiful, and highly favored. Leah was difficult to love because she was tender eyed. The Church folks often chose to love those who have the visible things. Those who can sing, those that can give an awe inspiring speech, those that can stir our emotions, those who can bake, those who have disposable income. We hate those who have their own opinion, those who need more information, those who are not satisfied with the way things are but are willing to work to make things better. The church must step in and Love Leah, meet this basic human desire to be love. Do we really think that we can we will enter in to the joy of the Lord and bypass the commandment that he gives. What excuses will he accept, what justification, what reason will Jesus acknowledge on Judgement day for us 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." And just in case Peter, James, John or you and I was not paying attention he repeats himself in John 15:17, "these things I command you, that you love one another. We need to learn that the desire to be loved is natural and a reasonable expectation people have of the church.
The second lesson we can learn from Leah is how to handle Disappointment. Obviously, Leah was experiencing disappointment, who among us has never experienced disappointment? If there is ever a factor that is consistent among humans is the fact, in this life people will disappoint us. People will let you down; People will fall short of our expectations. Just to clear up a point, the reality is that we also let 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. God is the only individual that can meet all of our needs. How did Leah how her disappointments? It 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.
She 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. If you are experiencing disappointments then pray. How different the children of Israel would been if they would have learned this lesson from Leah. Rather than murmuring against Moses, they should have prayed for Moses. Churches rather than complain about the Pastor or the Ordained leaders when they do not meet our expectations we need to lean to pray. Look at the names she gives her first two sons. Reuben, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. Simeon, because the LORD hath heard I was hated. The LORD looked and the LORD hath heard. We serve a God with all-seeing eyes and all-hearing ears. Because LORD looked and heard, Leah was fruitful while Rachel was barren. Whenever we place people at the core of our desire, we will be disappointed. But when we take our disappointments to the Lord in Prayer he will cause you to be fruitful while others are barren. You will be in a time of feasting while others are in a time of famine. You 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. The second lesson we need to learn is to take our disappointments to God in prayer.
The final lesson we can learn from Leah is 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. What was the good decision Leah made? 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. For quite simply Praise is a matter of the mind. The only pre-requisite for praise is the ability to think. 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, Leah thought about Jacob. After her second son, Leah thought about Jacob. After her third son, Leah thought about Jacob. "Oh, Lord" But, after her fourth son, Leah said, "Now I will praise the Lord." Simply put, when you think about the goodness of the Lord, and all that he has done in your life, then you can praise God.
As I move to my close, 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 shout Praise the Lord, alleluia. The church had just hired a new pastor with several degrees. 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 detrimental to their goals. So, 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. And 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.
When think about how good God has been to use we should praise his name. Leah made the decision to praise his name. God is worthy to be praise, through our unmet desires, through out disappointments. God is worthy to be praise. Leah gives us the perfect time to praise God and that is right Now. Now I will praise the Lord. I have made the decision that "Now" I will praise the Lord. We must learn 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.
