Leah: Lesson 3

OK, this is the last one until next Thursday! I hope the suspense doesn't kill you.... ;)

In the last lesson, Leah learned that she needed to praise God, not just acknowledge Him. She realized that having children was a blessing rather than just a way to get Jacob to love her. This focus change was her launching pad to freedom, however her attitude of praise didn't last long.

When Rachel realized that she couldn't have any kids of her own for Jacob, she became very jealous of her sister. What?! I know you are thinking, how can Rachel be jealous of Leah when she has EVERYTHING? The answer is competition.

We all know how people can be, especially girls. Would you look at her outfit, it is soo cute! I wonder where she got that....Did you see that hunk of junk for a car? Good thing I have a nice ride. NO! You are not going to win this game of ping pong, I'M going to win no matter what! Uhmm..no, that is MY boyfriend, go find your own! You can find competition EVERYWHERE, everyone does it.

So what does Rachel do? Well, she wants Jacob to be happy, so she tells her maid Bilhah to go sleep with him. What?! OK, 1) what kind of name is Bilhah? and 2) How weird is that?! Now both Rachel and Leah are sharing a husband with 3 people. I'm sorry, but that just makes everything WORSE in my opinion. But Rachel was desperate to keep Jacob's love. So Bilhah has a baby, which Rachel names Dan(Vindication). She figured God took my side and vindicated me; he listened and gave me a son. When Bilhah got pregnant again, Rachel said, "I've been in an all-out fight with my sister-and I've won!" So she named him Naphtiali(Fight). Can you say WOW?

But wait, there's more!

Leah was unable to have any more children. So when she saw Rachel giving her maid to Jacob, guess what? She gave her maid Zilpah (another weird name I have nooo idea how to pronounce). Zilpah had a son for Jacob, which Leah named Gad (Lucky). When Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, Leah said, "A happy day! The women will congratulate me in my happiness." So she named him Asher(Happy).

See what this turned into? An all-out war between two sisters over their husband. Leah didn't want to lose the advantage she had, and Rachel wanted to win Jacob over entirely. Out of jealousy, they started a competition, which lead them both away from God. You see, even though Leah looked Innocent, she had the wrong motive in this. She was so consumed in herself and what she wanted; all it did was drive her deeper into a self-focused way of thinking.

So here is my question, is life a competition for you? What are you most insecure about?
Any other thoughts?