Title: Leah's Blessing
Contents
Leah's blessing (Genesis 29:31-35)
Questions for Introduction - 1) Anyone can receive blessings. 2) Blessings are not received by anyone.
Which statement is correct? Both are correct.
1) The door of blessing is open to anyone. It's not just someone special.
2) Blessings are not received by anyone. You need to prepare a vessel to receive.
From that perspective, I want to look at Leah's blessing today.
1) Leah did not have the conditions to be blessed. But I was blessed. (Fertility, Judas)
2) It is because Leah prepared the vessel of blessing.
Jacob's maternal uncle, Laban, had two daughters. The eldest daughter is Leah and the second is Rachel. Leah was ugly and not intelligent. Besides, my eyes were bad, so I frowned and looked at other people, making my ugly face look even more ugly. So, looking at the conditions, Leah was a woman with poor conditions.
However, her younger brother Rachel had a pretty face and a beautiful figure. He was smart and wise. So Jacob became interested in Rachel, loved him, and worked hard for his uncle Laban for 14 years without pay to marry her.
Leah forced her to marry without love because her father Laban put Leah into Jacob's room instead of Rachel on the night of the wedding.
Although Leah was Jacob's first wife, she was despised and despised by Jacob, who only loved her younger brother. It's sad that he's ugly, bad-eyed, and unwise, but he's also hated by his husband and not treated like a wife, so how lonely and sad he must be.
But he was blessed by God. God loves Leah more than the clever Rachel. He produced many children and received great filial piety from his sons. Why? Because she had faith in God.
Because she had the qualities of Leah's blessing that I would like to tell you today. Looking at the blessed people (those who testify) Oh! You're far from me... Don't think so. Don't say that.
Let's look at ourselves this time! How poor, incompetent, poor, and feeble are you? But if we have faith in God, I believe we will have the same blessings as Leah.
This morning, I introduce Leah, who is the representative of the poor and the representative of the poor, and I hope that anyone who feels the same lack of Leah at this time today will receive grace through Leah. I hope that you will receive the secret of blessing through Leah.
1. Leah relied only on God.
Her younger brother Rachel believed only in her beauty and wisdom and did not rely on God. He worshiped the idol and left his father's house, but he took the idol and ran away, even following his father to find it.
Later, Leah has four sons, but what should she do because she cannot have children? (30:1-8, graciously explained)
While Rachel relied on her beauty and talent, Leah, the ugly and incompetent, relied on God alone. So, I always thought centered on God and searched for God's will. Even after having a son, he was not proud of his own abilities, but rather thanked God for His grace.
Remember Hagar, Abraham's concubine. God promised to give Abraham a son, but when the promise was delayed, he slept with Hagar, his concubine, and gave birth to Ishmael.
But didn't Hagar, who was only a maidservant to Sarah, Abraham's wife, become a concubine and give birth to a son, Ishmael, disregarding Sarah, the original mistress and wife of Abraham's house? On the topic of concubine.... After all, Hagar who forgot the topic, is not chased away with her son Ishmael?
But she's not Rachel's maidservant, she's her sister. Besides, she is not a concubine, and although she was not loved by Jacob, she is the first wife. But Leah, like Hagar, does not ignore Rachel, who is barren. It's not arrogant either. I don't even get embarrassed.
"Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, saying, "The LORD has afflicted me, and now my husband will love me." And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I do not have a gun, this is also given to me." He gave him, and he called his name Simeon” (Genesis 29:32-33).
Even if her husband loved her and did not give her for her sake, even if she despised her younger sister for being ugly, she was thankful that God recognized her and lived with comfort. Ah! God has counseled my affliction... Ah! God took pity on my lack of intelligence... It means that I lived like this.
That's right! This is the secret to being blessed and being loved by God. “Even if people don’t recognize me, even if people don’t respect me, my husband despises me for being ugly and doesn’t treat me like a wife, but only our God knows me, knows my afflictions, and knows my foolishness.” I believe that this is the truth that will bring you compassion and blessings.
The time of Jeremiah's activity was a time when sin was at its peak. Because of that sin, our God wanted to destroy Israel in Babylon. Jeremiah knew this and foretold the imminent destruction of the people.
This was hated by the political and religious leaders of the time. Not only that, the Israelites hated the prophet because they did not repent in Jeremiah's proclamation to repent because the nation was destroyed, but wanted the nation to be destroyed.
The persecution Jeremiah suffered because of it was beyond words. He was imprisoned and locked in a waterless well. There were many dangers of being killed. False prophets appeared, saying that the country would never perish, and their popularity was great.
Jeremiah himself couldn't have wished for his kingdom to be destroyed, right? Therefore, Jeremiah's anguish and discouragement could not be expressed in words.
With a people who do not listen, leaders who hate him, and he does not want to perish himself, he decides that he will never preach the message again.
But then, his attitude toward God is wrong. So Jeremiah decides. And confess to God.
“When I say that I will no longer proclaim the Lord, nor speak his name, my heart burns like a fire, and my marrow burns, and I am exhausted and cannot bear it” (Jeremiah 20:9).
Even if I am not popular with the people, even if I am hated or killed, I will only preach the word of God. Only God needs to know my heart. Then, with tears in her eyes, she preached the gospel of the Lord. That is why Jeremiah's nickname is the prophet of tears.
Even if no one recognizes me and lacks like Leah, please rely on our God alone. In the name of our Lord, I pray that you will become true saints who look only at our God and long for God's comfort and blessing. Then I believe that I will be able to enjoy the blessings that Leah received.
2. Leah was a person of unconditional love.
Leah was indebted to her husband. Whatever the reason, Jacob worked as Laban's servant for 7 years in order to marry his younger brother Rachel.
How would Leah feel with her husband by her side? And when she married Rachel, Leah didn't even look at her. How lonely Leah must be and how vulgar and resentful her husband and brother must be.
Despite this, he still loved his God-given husband. And every time I gave birth to a son, I lived a beautiful life, hoping and hoping that now my husband will love me.
“Now my husband will love me.” (Genesis 29:32)
“And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said, I have begotten him three sons, and from now on my husband shall be united with me.” And he called his name Levi.
Leah waits for Jacob. Someday my husband will love me Don't give up. She waits for her husband with love. That is Leah's love for Jacob.
No matter how much love you give, you give unchanging love to your husband who doesn't respond. This is catastrophic love. It is not love to receive, but love to give. And I believe that our God will give overflowing blessings to those who show this love.
We received the love of Jesus to tear Himself apart. Therefore, we too must live by giving this love to our neighbors, to our families, and to the saints. And love to give solves all problems. If you have this love, your weaknesses, mistakes, and blemishes can be turned into beauty. and God's