The loved and the unloved ..

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Genesis 29:31

Jacob, a man of God, married two women whose names were Leah and Rachel. He loved Rachel more than Leah. Laban deceived Jacob by giving Leah instead of Rachel, for whom he was toiling for. Hence, Leah became a second option in the life of Jacob. God saw how Leah was unloved and He opened her womb, blessed her with children. The only reason on why God blessed Leah was because she was unloved or she was not loved.

We might not be loved by the world. The world may hate you. But there is a God who sees this. Like Leah, if we are denied the love we deserve, the respect we want, the care we wish. Then remember there is a God who sees, who can bless the way He blessed Leah who bore six children out of twelve sons of Jacob. She yearned for her husband’s love when she bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi. God blessed her till she realized to praise His name. That is when she named Judah which means “This time I will praise the Lord.” God will make sure that we realize that there is a God above, who loves us even if we are not loved on this earth.

God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Genesis 30:17

The other two sons that were born to Leah was when God listened to her. That’s how God’s love work. He will shower his blessing and love till we realize His love. But after that it is up to us on how we respond to that. Are we loving Him back? Are we in good relation with him? Ultimately, God will reward us for the injustice we suffered. Jacob buried Leah where his ancestors were buried that is in the cave of the field of Ephron, the Hittite. Thus, showing the respect and love she deserved in the end of the day.   

Now talking about the loved one that is Rachel. She was loved by Jacob. God loves her too. She bore Joseph and Benjamin. But the thing that hurt us is the fact that the sons of the unloved will remain unloved. Loved one flourishes and prosper in the eyes of the unloved ones. But the truth is they too go through pain and suffering. Rachel bore Joseph. She named him so that the Lord add to her one more son. But when the other one came in her life, she named him or Benjamin “son of my trouble”.

In our lives we may be expecting many blessings. But remember never regret those blessings. Never see those blessing with contempt. Sometimes people wish for somethings so much but once they get their hands on it, they waste it away.  

Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. Genesis 49:22, 23

Joseph was loved by Jacob. But then God snatched this loved son from the arms of his father and made him a slave. He lived a lonely life but God was with him. From there God raised him to be a lord of Egypt. The loved one also will be the target of the archers. He will be shot with hostility.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder. Genesis 49:27

Benjamin was loved by Jacob. He was under the protection of his father and his eleven brothers. He never spoke a word in his adventurous expedition to Egypt, for his brothers spoke on his behalf. People were ready to sacrifice for this man’s life. He was truly like a wolf hunting in packs.

Hence, even the loved ones have two extremes. Some may have to suffer like anything. Some may have all the protection in the world. But the root to all of this is, stay closer to God. Take up the cross given to you and follow Him. For both the loved and the unloved are trained by God in the QUIVER OF GOD.