The Bible never hides the mess that happens when sinful people collide. It doesn’t take much to recognize that since Adam and Eve were promised a descendant who would crush the head of the serpent, the story of God’s people is one of dysfunction. All who make up Jesus’ family tree include broken and messy people.
When we come to Genesis 29, we meet Jacob—a deceiver—and Leah, the woman no one wanted. But their story began long before this moment. God had promised Abraham that through his descendants would come a child who would bless all nations. That promise passed to Isaac, and before his twins were born, God declared, “The older shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23).
Jacob deceived his aging father, stole his brother’s blessing, and fled for his life. Alone in the wilderness, with only a stone for a pillow, God met him in a dream. “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go” (Gen. 28:13–15).
God didn’t appear to Jacob because he finally got his act together—He showed up in Jacob’s mess. That’s the beauty of grace: God steps into our brokenness, keeps His promises, and accomplishes His plan through imperfect people. Later, God gave him the name Israel, but for the purpose of this sermon, we will continue to refer to him as Jacob (Gen. 35:9-21).
Outside of Eden We Want Rachel (Gen. 29:1-20)
When Laban heard his nephew had arrived, he “ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house” (Gen. 29:13). Jacob stayed with his uncle for a month, and during that time he fell in love with Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel (v. 18).
Why did Jacob love Rachel? The text tells us: “Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in figure and appearance” (vv. 16–17).
We’re not told exactly what it means that Leah’s eyes were “weak.” Some think she was cross-eyed or simply lacked the beauty that her younger sister possessed. Whatever the case, the contrast is clear—Leah was plain, but Rachel was striking. Even their names hint at the difference: Leah may mean “wild cow” or “gazelle,” while Rachel means “ewe” or “lamb”—a softer, more affectionate name. Rachel was beautiful, and Jacob was captivated.
When Laban offered to pay Jacob for his work, Jacob didn’t ask for wages—he offered seven years of labor for Rachel’s hand. Laban agreed. “So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days” (Gen. 29:20, NLT).
Rachel was the apple of his eye—the treasure of his heart. To Jacob, life with Rachel promised the happiness he had always longed for. And isn’t that what we all want? On this side of Eden, every heart searches for a “Rachel”—someone or something we believe will complete us. We might not call it Rachel, but we chase it in our stories, our dreams, and our longings. We don’t want Leah. We want Rachel.
If the Bible repeats something, we need to pay attention to it. But, if the Bible repeats something three times, it elevates it to the superlative degree as something super important. Three times we are told of Jacob’s love for Rachel:
“Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’” (Gen. 29:18)
“So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days because of his love for her.” (Gen. 29:20)
“So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.” (Gen. 29:30)
Guess how many times we are told that Jacob loved Leah. Zero. In fact, when it comes to love, here is what we are told: “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children” (v. 31).
Outside of Eden We Get Leah (Gen. 29:21-30)
After Jacob completed the seven years he had promised his uncle, he was ready to receive what his heart had longed for. “Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may have relations with her.’ So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast” (Gen. 29:21–22).
Finally, Jacob believed life was about to become sweet. The wedding celebration began, the food was served, and the wine flowed freely. When the bride was brought to him—veiled and under cover of night—Jacob, likely feeling content and confident, welcomed her. “Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her.... So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah!” (Gen. 29:23, 25a).
Morning light brought a brutal truth. The woman beside him was not Rachel—the love of his life—but Leah, the weak-eyed daughter whose very name meant “wild cow.” Jacob was furious. He had been deceived—just as he had once deceived his brother Esau. His dream of happiness, shattered. “And he said to Laban, ‘What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?’” (v. 25).
But Laban, the master manipulator, calmly replied, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years” (vv. 26–27).
Jacob was trapped—used for free labor once again. He was tricked into taking the daughter he hadn’t chosen, and bartered into another seven years for the one he loved. Unfortunately for Leah, she was stuck in the middle of all the drama.
Outside of Eden There is Still Hope
The marriage that Jacob was tricked into began with a week-long celebration. Laban insisted Jacob complete the festivities with Leah, giving enough time for her to become pregnant. Yet Jacob was eager for the days to end, and as soon as the week was over, he immediately married Rachel. Driven by the selfish motives of both Jacob and Laban, Leah found herself trapped—caught between their desires and loved by no one. Leah was rejected, while Rachel was cherished.
The striking irony in Leah’s story is that, while she was overlooked by everyone else, God loved her: “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children” (v. 31). Despite God’s blessings with each child, Leah’s deepest longing, which was for her husband’s love, remained out of reach. After every birth, Leah hoped that her husband would finally love her, yet that hope was continually unfulfilled. Consider how Leah responded after each of her first four child were born:
- “Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.’” (v. 32)
- “Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.’ So she named him Simeon.” (v. 33)
- “And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore he was named Levi.” (v. 34)
- “And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the Lord.’ Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.” (v. 35)
I wish Leah’s story ended with her praising the LORD, but it didn’t. She continued to seek Jacob’s affection by giving him what Rachel could not—children.
Just as Sarah gave Hagar to Jacob, Rachel followed the same pattern when she could not conceive, unwilling to trust God’s timing. What followed was a rivalry between Leah and Rachel, each striving to win Jacob’s love by giving him more sons. Both even gave their servants to Jacob, and through them, four more sons were born.
In time, God blessed Leah with two additional sons and a daughter, yet her longing for her husband’s love was never fulfilled (see Gen. 30:19–21). Rachel, meanwhile, bore only two sons—Joseph and, finally, Benjamin, the only son Jacob named.
“Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, ‘Do not fear, for you have another son!’ And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin” (Gen. 35:16–18).
Application
The irony in Leah’s story is striking: although she was overlooked by her father, unloved by her husband, and scorned by her younger sister, she was shown favor by God. Leah became the mother of seven children, including Levi and Judah. Through Levi, the priestly lineage was established, and through Judah, the royal line was formed—a line that ultimately led to the birth of Jesus Christ!
The promise God made to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... was Leah’s promise. Listen to the prophetic blessing pronounced upon Judah by Jacob in Genesis 49:8-10,
As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches, he lies down as a lion,
and as a lion, who dares to stir him up?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
The ugly wife was loved by God! Leah couldn’t have seen it then, but the beauty God would bring through her lineage is staggering. Her name may mean weary, exhausted, gazelle, or even wild cow—yet through her would come the Deliverer promised to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham and Sarah, to Isaac, and now to Jacob. She was the wife no one loved or treasured, except God Himself.
From Leah’s sons came the tribe of Levi, the tribe set apart to oversee the worship and sacrificial life of Israel. From the Levites, God appointed the High Priest, chosen from Aaron’s line, to mediate between God and His people. Upon his chest he wore a sacred breastplate adorned with twelve precious stones, each set in gold and engraved with the name of one of Israel’s tribes. The first stone, sardius—a deep red ruby—represented Reuben, whose name means “Behold, a son!” The last stone, jasper, represented Benjamin, meaning “son of my right hand.”
Leah’s legacy was not measured by Jacob’s affection but by God’s covenantal love. Through the unloved wife, God brought forth the priesthood that pointed to the Great High Priest—Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Now, permit me to show you something from Revelation 4-5. In Revelation 4, John is invited to see the heavenly throne room of God. Notice what it is that John sees:
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
John is ushered into heaven’s throne room, and what captures his attention is that the One seated on the throne radiates with the colors of jasper and sardius—the first and last stones on the High Priest’s breastplate. This is not accidental imagery. It is intentional revelation. What shines from the throne is He who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. When you pair the meanings of those names— “Behold, a Son” and “Son of My right hand”—you hear the gospel proclaimed from the very throne of God.
Who is this Son at the right hand of the Father? Revelation 1:17–18 gives the answer: “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades.” The One radiant like sardius and jasper is none other than Jesus Christ. And how do we know He sits at the right hand of the Father? Because Paul— who himself was from the tribe represented by the jasper stone—declares in Romans 8:31–34: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” This is the One who is worthy to open the scroll in the Father’s hand.
Revelation 5:5 tells us, “...behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” The elder tells John to look at the Lion of Judah. But when John turns, he doesn’t see a lion. He sees a Lamb. “A Lamb standing, as if slaughtered...” (Rev. 5:6). Jacob chased after a beautiful woman whose name meant “sheep,” but through Leah—the unloved, weary wife—would come the Lamb of God. The Lamb who stands before the throne as the triumphant Redeemer. And all of heaven erupts in worship: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12).
What is the point of Leah’s story? God redeems what is ugly, weary, and rejected. He takes what the world despises and uses it to accomplish His glorious plan of redemption. This is why the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song to Leah’s descendant: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
And here is where the story turns deeply personal. We are Leah. We are the unlovely bride. We are the weary, broken, and undeserving. But instead of being repulsed by us, Jesus loves us. He makes us His Bride. Paul writes, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).
Leah’s story ends not in sorrow, but in the songs of heaven. The woman who was unloved became the vessel through whom the Lamb of God would come. The tribe she bore would point to the Great High Priest, and the Son of her body’s lineage would one day stand at the right hand of the Father. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” That is our story too. If you belong to Christ, then your shame, your weariness, and your rejection are not the end of the story. The throne is. The Lamb is. His love is.
