Rachel and Leah: God joined the drama

Jacob’s decision to marry two sisters didn’t come without concerns. First, Rachel was the most loved wife and Leah wasn’t loved. Jacob repeated the mistake of his parents: favouritism. Jacob should have been more knowledgeable about the effects of favouritism and the consequences it brings. However, he was in love with Rachel but Leah was just “a mistake of a wife.” Imagine the joy in Rachel’s heart and the bitterness in Leah’s heart. It was a public display of favouritism and God was not pleased at all. If rivalry between two strange women can be sore, rivalry between two sisters who both feel cheated by their father is worse. Romans 2:11 states that, “God does not show favoritism” and James 2:9 also quotes that, “if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” Therefore, Jacob was not obeying God by favouring Rachel over Leah. Therefore God Himself joined the drama. 

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. (Genesis 29:31)

Remember, the biggest concerns of Jacob’s family had been childbirth. Sarah and Rebekah faced the issue of childlessness for years. When God stepped into the situation,  this is what happened: “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless” (Genesis 29:31). God opened the door of childbirth for Leah. She escaped the familiar trend of childlessness but for Rachel, she remained childless. When you are loved by man, they do their best to make you happy, but when you are loved by God, He gives you the best of the land. Rachel had Jacob but was childless, Leah had God and she had it all. In a few years, Leah’s family grew bigger and Rachel remained the same. “Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now. 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. 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. 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. Then she stopped having children.” (Genesis 29:32‭-‬35).

Leah’s naming patterns remind me of traditional African communities where names are based on situations. Leah was obsessed with getting her husband’s attention that she missed God’s providence in her life. She kept naming her sons after her emotions. When she finally had the fourth son, Leah changed the naming pattern. She said “This time I will praise the Lord” and the child was named Judah. Indeed God deserved all her praise. While Leah escaped from the generational issue of barreness because God showed her mercy, Rachel lived in bitterness. She became envious of her sister and she kept nagging Jacob for a child. “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” (Genesis 30:1‭-‬2). The drama in Jacob’s house was not pleasant and Jacob might have felt the heat of pain and bitterness. He had to live with it. The decision to marry two sisters and  the desire to show favouritism contributed to the heat in his home. 

If Jacob was pressed, imagine Rachel and Leah. The sisters might have been on serious loggerheads and daily, each would have tried to be the best. Rachel was loved but had no children, Leah wasn’t loved but had enough children. What is the next move of this broken family? Will God leave the drama? 
If there is any lesson to learn today, bear in mind that God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11) and, if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers (James 2:9).