Eyes
“Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.” (Genesis 29:17).
I have been reflecting on the story of Rachel and Leah. We are told, “Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.” (Genesis 29:17).
This is an important statement, because Leah is described as lacking and Rachel is described as beautiful. Leah’s father had to trick Jacob into marrying her. And Jacob married her but did not want her. He married her but worked for her sister’s hand in marriage.
And this was a weakness in Leah. I can imagine hr life. Nothing she did would ever be good enough when compared with her sister. Nothing she tried would ever be attractive enough when compared with her sister. Her husband would do his duty with her but seek out her sister for joy and love.
I can imagine how lonely poor Leah would have been with a husband who never wanted her. She was a pawn in the games of men. I can imagine how afraid she would have been when her father told her to marry Jacob in place of her sister. I can imagine how she might have cried at the injustice of this treatment. Maybe she was initially happy. After all she was the less beautiful sister and as such possibly expected to have difficulty marrying. Perhaps a part of her gloated in those early days, to beat her sister into matrimony? Maybe that gloating turned to sadness when she realised that her husband would never love her and would always want her sister instead?
And yet, God does not measure worth as we humans do. He does not look to see if our eyes are weak and the form of someone else was beautiful… And God saw Leah’s misery and looked favourably on her and opened her womb…
God looked on Leah and Jacob looked on Rachel. God was not distracted by how people looked or what they said. He could see inside their hearts. Leah was valued for her place in God’s plan and not for her appearance in the story. She was measured in God’s measure of worth not in the measure of humans…
And I have been thinking about this today as I have been thinking about my life and the things that I value and the things that I attribute worth to.
You see, I have many Leahs in my life. And I have many Rachels too. I compare one against another and consider the things of worth in this world without any thought or feeling for anyone else. I look at the eyes as weak when I should be focused on whether I can please my Lord. I think about whether the face and form are beautiful and pleasing to me rather than what is pleasing to the Lord…
And I have been thinking about that today as I struggle to get my priorities right!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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