INTRODUCTION

The Bible is full of inspiring stories of men and women of valour, courage, loyalty, kindness, love and most importantly faith. We hear of people who lived perfect lives that were pleasing in the eyes of God. Be it Noah, Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, the prophets, or the apostles of Jesus himself. We hear of women who lived their entire lives devoted to God – Mary, Elizabeth, Ruth, Esther, Judith and so many others. We have books and chapters devoted to men and women of faith. This book however is an attempt to delve into imperfect lives, especially women. The notion of Women brings to our mind, a supporting cast in movies or those whose names would appear bottom in the rolling credit. These women have no biblical books or chapters named after them. These are women we do not know much about or are overshadowed by their famous relatives. We talk about Rachel – the woman who was loved by her husband Jacob (he toiled for fourteen years just to marry her). We talk about the faithfulness of Ruth to her mother-in-law. But we have forgotten Leah and Naomi. We talk about Bathsheba’s sin but not her redemption. We know about Joshua’s conquest of Jericho but we don’t delve into the woman who told him the truth. Sarah and Abraham are our beloved, but dear Hagar is not. Samuel’s mother and Tamar are never remembered. Deborah and Jael are possibly for the first time we have heard these names. 

This book is not about the famous! It’s about everyday ordinary women we can relate to! Women: we will find as we live our lives. Women: who may be our neighbours and our friends. These women are like us, just like us who have small stories but are part of the bigger picture of God’s salvation. It is my prayer and wish that all those chosen who will read this book will identify themselves with someone or a situation that you are inspired by. It is my burning desire that this book becomes the turning point of your life. 

Romans 15: 13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

LEAH

The girl no one wanted

Have you looked at yourself in the mirror and not liked what you saw? Do you wonder what creams or remedies you can apply to get a few shades lighter? Or do you envy the tall superstar who has everyone swaying to his or her charm? Do you wish for your acne to disappear while silently smiling and admiring the perfect skin of your friend at a party? We have all been there at some point in life, wishing for a perfect body, perfect skin, perfect height, and a perfect existence. 

John 3:16  tells us, “God loved the world that he gave his only beloved son so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” We hear this verse so often. Yet if we are asked, do we believe God loves us, many of us would say “Yes, but…”. Most of us are unable to connect with the love of God and others due to the influence of a spirit of rejection that visits us through our past generations. St Paul while writing to the Ephesians says “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” (cf. Eph 6:12). Evil spirits are invisible beings that live in the realm of the spirit, and they can speak to us beyond the realm of conscious thought with impressions, feelings, thoughts and ideas. They can trigger things in our lives without us even thinking or knowing about it. Hence, the spirits of rejection cause negative behaviour patterns, personality changes, illness and much more havoc in our lives. God created us foremost for relationship and second for mission. He desires our companionship. His heart longs to connect with our hearts. Yet from the beginning, humans rejected this in favour of what they perceived to be freedom. This resulted in being separated from the intimacy of our Heavenly Father. To effectively deal with the spirit of rejection, we must acknowledge its influence in our lives. We must repent of its influence and realise and affirm the truth that God loves us and that we are not rejected by God. We have believed a lie from Satan that wants to destroy us and our destiny.

In the book of Genesis (Gen 29:15-35), we read about Leah. One of the first mentions of Leah is her appearance. The Bible describes Leah’s younger sister Rachel as beautiful in form and appearance, but Leah is described as having weak eyes. It probably means Leah was unattractive and had lived all her life in the shadow of her beautiful sister. It could also mean she had squint eyes.  Jacob immediately falls in love with Rachel and asks her father’s permission to marry her. Laban asks Jacob to work for him for seven years in return. And Jacob readily agrees (cf. Gen 29:18-20). After seven years, when Jacob asks for Rachel’s hand in marriage, Laban tricks Jacob, gets him drunk and gives Leah as a wife, (cf. Gen 29:21-25).

As a father, Laban knew no one was ever going to marry Leah. He wondered how he was going to get rid of her. And seeing a chance, he did just that. Some theologians describe Leah as the girl nobody wanted. And now the girl that her father did not want is given to a husband who does not want her either. Jacob worked another seven years to receive Rachel as a wife. Meanwhile, Leah gave birth to sons. She must have thought, “If I have babies, my husband will love me, and I will find some meaning in my life.” Instead, having babies and even better – sons, did nothing to improve Leah’s life. 

At first, the names she gave to her son expressed her identity as a rejected wife, daughter and sister. Leah gave birth to her first child, a son named Reuben which means ‘to see’ and she thought maybe now my husband will see me, (Gen 29:32.) She had a second son whom she named Simeon which means ‘Now I will be heard’ (Gen 29:332). She had a third son she called Levi which means ‘to be attached’, most likely to her husband’s heart (Gen 29:34). Yet the Bible points out that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Gen 29:30). Whatever Leah did, it was not helping her get her husband’s attention.  

All that Leah was focused on was getting her husband Jacob to love and approve of her. Earning Jacob’s love was first in her heart. Many of us make that same mistake even today. Because we don’t see our worth in God’s eyes, we try to get approval through people’s opinions or external performances. When that happens, we end up in a vicious cycle of pleasing people and fighting situations. In such cases, nothing you do is ever good enough. However, in Leah’s case, something wonderful happened. She gave birth to a fourth son and named him Judah which means Praise. She declared, “Now I will praise the Lord,” (cf. Gen 29:35). Leah changed her priorities. Instead of focusing on her husband, she shifted her focus to the Lord. 

And yes, God came to the girl no one wanted and made her the mother of his son. Jesus came through the descendants of Judah (cf. Mat 1:2.) When others reject us, it hurts. Yet, the Lord says,  if they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call the members of his household (Mt 10:25). Focus on the Lord, and he will come to you. He loves you and wants you and will raise you high just like he did Leah. 

Lessons from Leah:

1. Focus on praise – King David who is also from the bloodline of Leah wrote “I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are your works, and that my soul knows well (Ps 139:14).
2. Focus on God’s love – Jesus knew God the Father loved him and he affirmed it constantly. And, because of his love, Jesus was willing to endure rejection, torture and even death. 

Proofread and edited by Fr Austin Fernandes SDB.