THE LEAH MENTALITY

    A few years ago, after reading the story of Leah and Rachel in the book of Genesis chapters 27 through 49, the Lord showed me that many women, saved, and unsaved, have what I call the "Leah Mentality."  You are probably saying, what in the world is that! Well, I see it as the mentality that you have to "lobby" for a position in a man's life and for his love and attention. It also involves thinking that having a child, or children, will cause a man to love and respect you, and want you for a wife or permanent partner. But most importantly, it describes a woman that does not recognize when she is wonderfully blessed by the Lord. She is not capable of realizing that she is special in the eyes of the Lord because she stays before Him in prayer. She is overlooking the fact that her prayers are being answered!  She doesn't see the compassion the Lord has toward her because she is being mistreated, used, and her heart is broken. This woman does not sense the Spiritual touch of the Lord's hand on her life, because she constantly longs for the touch of a man...a man that desires, and loves another woman, is thinking only of himself, and has not learned to follow God's plan! 

    Let's talk about Leah  for a minute.  Leah is the oldest daughter of Laban, and the wife of Jacob. Gen. 29:7, says that Leah was "tender eyed", but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. I have always heard that tender eyed meant that Leah was cross-eyed, but after researching the term, it seemed  that it could mean that she had "weak eyes", or "soft eyes", "cow eyes", if you will, which was her only good physical quality. But Rachel was considered to be strikingly beautiful all the way around. Leah was used from the beginning, by her own father in a scheme. The scheme involved the man that she would spend years trying to make love and want her...Jacob!

    Here we have two sisters, that will become rivals over a man that had deceived his father, Isaac into giving him the blessing that really belonged to his brother Esau. Because of this trick, the trickster left home, fearing for his life because of  what he had done, and went to his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia, to find himself a wife. But, as we all know, you reap what you sow! The trickster got tricked! He met Rachel, fell in love with her. And because he was penniless, he bargained to work for  seven years to marry her. But on the wedding night, the father of the bride played a trick on Jacob in order to get him to work longer...he substituted Leah for Rachael! Because Jacob truly loved Rachel, he agreed to work for seven more years to have her. This meant that poor Leah had to live in the shadow of her own sister...she had to put up with knowing that her husband, didn't want her, thought she was ugly, and would do everything he could to be with the woman that stole his heart! Her own sister!

    I feel that this had to really hurt Leah and give her some self esteem issues. And as for Jacob, he does finally get Rachel, and though his heart may have been with Rachel, he had no problem allowing his body to constantly find its way to Leah! But it is clear, Jacob prefers Rachel, and he demonstrates this fact. But God blesses Leah, he has compassion on her and opens her womb! While Rachel was barren. Right away, Leah begins to have children, but this does not change the way Jacob feels. 

    This is why I feel Leah's mentality should be pointed out: Leah is so insecure in her relationship or lack there of, that she demonstrated her high hopes to win Jacob's love and devotion, The name of her sons tell the story. She names her sons:

• Reuben, which means "See, a son."
• Simeon, which means "God heard that I am unloved."
• Levi, which means "Now my husband will be with me."
• and the fourth son Judah, which means "Thanks! and Praise."

    Now, the battle gets nasty! Rachel is so jealous...note she  is the one who has the man's heart, but that's not good enough for her either, so she lends her man to her maid to have two children! So, what does Leah do? Because she is no longer as fertile, she has her maid bear two sons! Leah is still desperate for the attention and love of her husband, Jacob, that she makes a bargain with Rachel to give her the mandrakes her son Reuben found in return for a night with Jacob. Mandrakes were said to have fertility-inducing powers and, they were also known to be an aphrodisiac. So, she HIRES her own husband, and guess what!? The mandrakes work! The woman has two more sons!! What are their names...let's see:

• Issachar, which means "God have given me my hire" and
• Zebulon, which means "Now my husband will honor me" AND, SHE ALSO HAS A DAUGHTER, Dinah!

    Looking at Leah made me see so many today who have the same negative things happening or has happened in their lives, too: 

• She was used as a substitute.
• She was a part of a trick or game.
• She competed for a man's love and attention.
• She used having children to try to win a man.
• She paid for sex!
• She is blind to the presence of God in her life.

    But let me show you the POSITIVE things about Leah, that she didn't even recognize!:

• God had compassion for Leah because she was hated, and Jacob preferred Rachel. He blessed her with six sons, which was considered to be a GREAT BLESSING, because in those times women were valued for their ability to have boys (children in general, but especially boys).
• She was the blessed one of the two sisters.
• Rachel competed in the spirit of jealousy, but Leah just wanted to be loved.
• She was Jacob's FIRST wife, nothing could change her position.
• Rachel was barren but Leah was blessed to have many children long before Rachel had one.
• She demonstrated what God loves, and that is truth. Rachel resorted to being a thief and a liar.
• She was blessed to out live Rachel.

    To further show that Leah was indeed the blessed one, she was the one that was given the great honor of being in God's plan to be the mother of the two tribes that played the most important role in Israel's history! The tribe of Levi, which is the tribe of Priesthood, and the tribe of Judah, which is the tribe of royalty! JESUS CHRIST, THE PROMISED SEED CAME THROUGH THIS TRIBE! Also, when Leah died, Jacob, her husband, seemed to finally see what God's plan was for him. He honored her and had her buried beside where he was to be buried...with family, in the Cave of Machpelah with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah...but not Rachel. Leah was a favored Woman of God! GODLY AND BEAUTIFUL  IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD!

 

    Leah! If I could talk to you now, I would say, you may not have been blessed and loved by the man you wanted, you may not have been beautiful in his eyes and in the eyes of the world around you, your man may not have given you the status you wanted, but girl...

YOU ARE THE BLESSED ONE!! YOU HAVE THE MAN THAT CAN GIVE YOU EVERYTHING, CARING FOR YOU! LOVING YOU AND PROVIDING FOR YOU! GOD ALMIGHTY!

    So, to the Beautiful Women today that may have the "Leah Mentality", to those who may know someone who has this mentality, even to those who are saying, "She was crazy!" "That couldn't be me!" Or this one, "I don't need no man that bad!", all while denying and hiding the real facts...after reading my paraphrased version of this story, open your spiritual eyes! See yourself through the eyes of God! Take a long hard look at all the ways you ARE BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED!  Embrace what you have and who you are! Be thankful for what IS and LIVE! DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE...LIVE IT!

    Those of you that are living the privileged life of being saved, and to those who are not yet save, and I am declaring and decreeing Salvation over your lives...YOU ARE  A GODLY AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN! You just have to KNOW IT and ACT LIKE IT!

BLESSINGS!

Pastor Sheila