There is a tradition that Genesis was written by Moses but I came across this verse this week.
There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.Genesis 49:31
The likelihood that a witness to Jacob’s death wrote this portion of Genesis leads to the conclusion that Moses was not the original author of Genesis although he could have collated the stories at a later date. It leads me to wonder if it could have been written by Esau (what a great redemption story) however it is thought that it was Joseph. That is worth investigating further another day!
Leah was the first wife of Jacob, the daughter of his Uncle Laban, married to Jacob by a deception. She was unloved by Jacob because Jacob loved her sister Rachel. Leah was the reject.
The Living Bible says;
Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely, and in every way a beauty.
Genesis 29:17
Yes a man can easily fall for the way a woman looks. Some versions say Leah had weak eyes possibly meaning cross eyes or maybe short-sighted, other versions say tender or gentle eyes, so the Living Bible leaves me with more questions than answers!
Our eyes are called the windows of the soul. Jesus said;
“If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!"
Matthew 6:22-23
Judging by her eyes, Leah wasn’t beautiful like Rachel whom Jacob loved but she was lovely on the inside. But Leah was the reject. She lived with a lot of pain.
There is something about Communion that we sometimes overlook. Jesus was a reject. He was rejected by his brothers, by his people and even abandoned by almost all those he loved at his arrest, trial and execution. When we share in Communion, we remember him by the bread which is broken signifying his broken body and by the wine which signifies his blood, his life poured out for us. He can identify with any rejection we face more than we can identify with his suffering.
People are selfish. They may reject you when they don’t get what they want or when it gives them an easy out. Jesus said don’t be surprised when the world rejects you. They rejected him also.
Getting back to that 1st verse. Leah the unloved was buried with Abraham. Rachel died in childbirth and was buried near to Bethlehem.
Leah was the mother of Rueben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. And David and Jesus were from the tribe of Judah. So Leah has her place in the royal line, of equal honour with Rachel who was buried at Bethlehem.
God delights to take the one that was rejected and give them a place of honour. Which is what he did for Jesus, making him the cornerstone of the Church and what he will do for you!
Incidentally, we need to be careful what we let in to our soul through our eyes. What appears as light from our TV, phones and laptops is often darkness - the devil is an angel of light don’t forget.
