“Seeing Through Different Eyes”
Leah Sermon
Genesis 29:16-35
16 Now Laban had two daughters;
the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was graceful and beautiful.
18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go to her, for my time is completed.”
22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.
23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.)
25 When morning came, it was Leah!
And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”
26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”
28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.)
30 So Jacob went to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah.
He served Laban[c] for another seven years.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben- which means, “See- a son” - for she said, “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction, surely now my husband will love me.”
33 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” and she named him Simeon- which means, “has heard.”
34 Again she conceived and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi- which means, “will be joined.”
35 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord,” therefore she named him Judah- which means, “I will praise.” Then she ceased bearing.
***
Jon Tyson tells the story of William Randolph Hearst, the influential American newspaper magnate who transformed journalism through mass appeal and sensationalism.
As Hearst’s empire began to grow, he became an avid art collector and he wrote about several pieces of art that he wanted to add to his collection.
So he commissioned one of his agents to travel the world and find this art.
He had to have it.
Months go by. He hears no report.
And then the agent returns with good news: the art has been found!
But it was found in one of Hearst’s own warehouses.
He had purchased it years before, but never got around to putting it on display, and had sent somebody around the world looking desperately for what was already his.
(This quote from sermon on Oct. 21, 2024: “Formed: Sanctification,” preached by Jon Tyson at Church of the City NYC).
Have you ever known someone who searched everywhere for something- maybe not a work of art- but for belonging, or validation? Greatness or recognition?
What kind of love and peace and meaning have you searched for in your life, and where have you gone looking in pursuit of that quest?
***
Laban had two daughters, we’re told. The older one, Leah, had something with her eyes, but Rachel was lovely of form and beautiful—the kind who turned the heads of local shepherds.
And so, as we learned last week, Jacob fell for Rachel- and worked for her father Laban for seven years in order to earn her hand in marriage. We are told “the years seemed to him but a few days, because of his love for her.”
It surely wasn’t the first time Rachel had been chosen over Leah—
Leah was used to being in her sister’s stunning shadow.
Hebrew names are always full of descriptive and symbolic meaning, and Leah’s name meant “cow,” while Rachel’s meant “little lamb.”
What do you think it was like for Leah in middle school? Or at the local barn dance?
I’ve always felt for Leah.
Who hasn’t at some point been the unchosen one?
The one someone else was told they had to be nice to, or pick for the team, even though it wasn’t their first choice?
Who hasn’t at some point been passed over for the promotion, rejected by a love interest, or left out even within your own family?
We’re so used to being viewed through a certain set of eyes—a cultural lens focused on youth and beauty, influence and wealth, charisma and accomplishment.
We just forget that those aren’t the only set of eyes.
The Hebrew adjective “rakh,” or “rakkhot,” is mentioned only once in the entire Bible, and it’s used here to describe Leah’s eyes.
Scholars have puzzled over this little word for centuries, because its meaning is so ambiguous.
Depending on which Bible version you read, “rakkhot” may alternately be translated “weak,” “delicate,” “lovely,” or “nice.”
The Amplified Bible says, “dull looking,” the King James says, “tender eyed,” and the Contemporary English simply says, “her eyes didn’t sparkle.”
So which is it? Is it only Leah’s eyes that are pretty, but the rest of her isn’t?
Or are her eyes her signature unfortunate feature—weak, blind, or cloudy?
A minor detail, yes, but an important one, if this is the only characterization we’re given of Leah, the only rationale for her being unwanted.
The story continues, and you know how it goes… Laban tricks the trickster Jacob, suddenly declaring it isn’t the custom to marry off the younger daughter before the older, and besides, he doesn’t mind having Jacob around for seven more years of free labor.
So when the wedding night comes, sly Uncle Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel!
Jacob somehow doesn’t figure it out till the next morning, at which point he is rightfully upset.
Now here we have to pause, “How on earth could Jacob not have known, that the woman in his marriage tent is not Rachel?”
Speculations abound:
He could’ve enjoyed too much wine at the wedding feast.
The bride could’ve been heavily veiled.
Jacob could’ve fallen asleep from all the hard labor and the whirl of festivities.
We don’t know.
But Laban told Jacob he could have Rachel as his second wife in a week, if he agreed to work seven more years. Jacob said, “Whatever it takes,” and married his beloved Rachel, whom he did work the seven extra years for.
And it may not surprise you to know that the same Hebrew word for “co-wife,” can also be translated “trouble.”
And trouble it is.
The two sisters compete and compare, for everything from fertility herbs to time with Jacob, to the race for childbearing.
In those days, having children was a woman’s job, her worth, her primary role in society.
So you can imagine what urgency these sisters feel, to become mothers.
And lo and behold, we’re told that this time, it’s Leah who’s favored.
Genesis says that God sees Leah, and opens her womb again and again, while beloved Rachel remains barren—at least for a while.
But it’s not enough for Leah.
It’s her husband’s favor she wants: each time she delivers a son, she laments her lack of attention from Jacob.
She names her first son Ruben—meaning, “He has seen my misery,” and says, “Surely now my husband will love me”;
Her second son she names Simeon—meaning “One who hears,” and says, “The Lord has heard that I am unloved”;
She names her third son Levi—meaning “attached,” hoping “Now at last my husband will become attached to me.”
But as so often happens, the more desperate she is for the man’s love, the less he has for her.
***
How often do we say to ourselves: “Now my boss will notice my efforts; now my spouse will be impressed with me; now my neighbors will approve of me; now my children will appreciate me; now God will love me…”
But something shifts with Leah’s fourth son, Judah.
His name simply means praise.
“This time,” says Leah, “I will praise the Lord.”
By the fourth son, Leah’s given up trying to win her husband’s favor. She sees the futility of her efforts, a chasing after the wind. This time, she declares, she will turn her gaze heavenward- and praise.
***
Sometimes we search the world for that rare masterpiece of belonging, only to find it’s been in our own warehouse all along.
Jon Tyson asks, “What if this, is the story of our Christian life? A desperate search for what is already ours in Jesus, but remains un-accessed?”
How would it change the way you show up in the world, if you actively believed Christ’s love and calling were already yours?
***
A quick cataloging of the verbs in Genesis 29, presents a stark contrast between the men in Leah’s life, and God.
We’re told that her father Laban gave, took, and brought his daughters like so much property.
We’re told her husband Jacob loved, served, worked, and completed time only for the pretty girl he liked.
But we’re told that GOD saw, opened, looked, heard, and blessed his daughter Leah, by whom he is eventually praised.
***
Leah’s uncanny eyes, finally see the truth.
And when we finally realize how God sees us, we in turn see differently.
We begin to notice the others who’ve felt alone, looked over, and cast out.
We begin to ask, “What is God giving birth to in me? And how do I help others feel that belonging and love? What’s the larger story I’m a part of here?”
***
I wish I could tell you that from that point on, Leah was good. Satisfied in God, praising the Lord, and loving her sister.
But this is real life, and Leah goes up and down in her sense of contentment and peace. The Bible doesn’t paint a real compelling case for non-monogamy, as it were.
I wonder… what might’ve helped Leah sustain her praise, and rest in her sense of self-worth?
Sometimes choosing to “Praise the Lord” when you’re sinking in emotional quicksand - or asking God for new vision when your own eyes are clouded with tears, is about going to the spiritual community God gave you- or a trusted friend or relative- and saying “Help! I can’t do this by myself: I need prayer, I need a listening ear, I need a few words of wisdom, I need your support. Remind me who I am. Remind me who God is. See for me, because right now I don’t have the vision.”
Friends, trust me on this. I’ve been there.
And when you ask for help- then, out of your tired, weak, but tender eyes, your people can draw out the delicate and lovely and gentle—so you can see again.
***
When Leah’s gaze turns from self-pity and striving for man’s favor, she finds the courage to praise the Lord. And the birth of her fourth son Judah carries greater significance than she could possibly imagine.
The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, quotes one of the prophets- “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”
Did you catch that? It’s from Leah’s son Judah, the one named after her praise- that generations of descendants come… leading up to the birth of a baby who would change the world. A baby who would grow up to be a spiritual ruler, shepherd, healer, and Savior.
The Lord Jesus himself chooses to enter the world through the channel of Leah’s praise. And nothing would ever be the same.
***
I close with the story of George Matheson. He was a Scottish theologian and preacher in the late 19th century.
A childhood illness meant that as he reached young adulthood, his eyes got progressively worse.
When he told his fiancée how bad his vision was getting, and that the doctors confirmed he would soon be blind, she broke off the engagement.
Not long after, Matheson was asked to officiate his sister’s wedding. She was his best friend and housemate. On the eve of her celebration, he was so crushed in spirit, recalling his own planned-for wedding that never came.
And so, on that anguished night in 1882, Matheson was alone in the parsonage facing the prospect of living alone without his sister or his much-beloved fiancée.
Turning to God in prayer and tears, Matheson said he suddenly felt struck by song lyrics.
He wrote those words down in five minutes, and said it was the only hymn he ever wrote, that required no editing.
It’s called “O Love, That Wilt Not Let Me Go.”
Let us stand and sing together, #446 in your red hymnal.