[Read Genesis 29:31-35]
I’ve heard a new phrase going around lately that seems to be pretty relevant: “a low-trust environment.” This phrase has been used to describe various situations, but it is increasingly being used to describe our current cultural situation. We are increasingly living in a low-trust environment.
It’s easy to understand why that’s the case, isn’t it? This past week someone got hold of my credit card information and tried to buy a bunch of chicken and waffles somewhere down south. We’re surrounded by schemes and deceptions that are trying to trick us or trap us or steal from us. Every time we go online, we have to be careful about where we click and what we click on because it may be a virus or a scam or some sort of phishing. People are constantly calling or texting us, trying to trick us into giving them money or information. It puts us on edge so that we begin to lose trust in everything, always wondering if something is a scheme or a scam.
We’ve also increasingly seen public leaders lying and manipulating in order to get their way, or in order to work their way into positions of power and authority. That erodes our trust. We’ve watched people we’ve respected over the years—people we’ve trusted—fall into scandal and reveal that they had been lying and deceiving us. That erodes trust. We’re barraged with marketing campaign after marketing campaign, always trying to manipulate us into buying their product. That erodes trust. It’s no wonder that we’re in such a polarized society. It’s hard to trust anybody.
Not only does lying and manipulating cause a low-trust environment, but it also puts us in positions of fear and anxiety. We live worried about falling into a trap or scheme. We are fearful of being led astray. We are anxious about being deceived. Low trust environments are always filled with fear and anxiety. Which also means they are filled with LONGING—longing for something different, something better.
This is a big part of the season of Advent. I’ve mentioned over the years that Advent is a season of waiting—which it is—but it’s really more than that. It’s better described as a season of longing. We’re not just waiting for something to happen. Rather, we’re stuck in a position we don’t want to be and we’re longing for something to happen—something to change. That’s what we’re also going to see as we go through the life of Judah. The life of Judah is a life that begins and ends with a sense of longing—longing for something better that is coming.
In order to understand Judah’s birth, It’s really important for us to understand Jacob’s life leading up to this moment. Jacob has been doing Jacob things from his birth. His name means something like “he grabs hold of” and, nuanced at times to mean, “he takes over” because he came out of his mother’s womb holding onto his brother’s heel. He “took over” and “grabbed hold of” his brother’s inheritance. He “took over” and “grabbed hold of” his brother’s blessing from Issac. He comes into Haran, sees a pretty girl named Rachel, and does what he can to “grab hold of her” and “take things over” by tending Laban’s flock. There’s a strong theme throughout Jacob’s life that he’s someone who takes charge and gets things done—he makes things happen—and often he’s doing these things in his own strength and in his own wisdom.
Yet, on his way to Haran, God meets him in a vision and promises him, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 28:13–14, ESV). It’s a beautiful promise by God. A promise, to be honest, that causes many people to ask, “Why Jacob? Why give this promise to Jacob?” That’s a question you’ll also be asking throughout this series, “Why Judah? Why give this promise to Judah?”
Most commentators think that Jacob hears this promise, then takes matters into his own hands—trying to fulfill it on his own. He sees Rachel as the one who will give him enough offspring to fill the earth. He literally takes matters into his own hands as he removes the massive stone from the well when he meets her. He takes matters into his hands, when he commits to working seven years for her hand in marriage. It seems like his plan is working perfectly, until it isn’t.
Laban is also someone who gets things done and takes things into his own hands. There’s an earlier line in this story where Laban says that Jacob is bone of his own flesh, which likely is talking about their relation, but many commentators also believe there’s a play on words here where he’s saying something like “We’re cut from the same cloth.” Jacob is about to be outplayed at his own game.
When the seven years are up and Jacob is ready to be married to Rachel, Laban gets him drunk and switches out Rachel for Leah on the wedding night. We’ve already been told that Jacob loved Rachel, but wasn’t excited about Leah. So, understandably, Jacob is upset and he and Laban work out a deal so that he can have Leah and Rachel as wives. Then we read this ominous line, “[Jacob] loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.” (Genesis 29:30, ESV). Things are not looking good. Talk about a story filled with lying, scheming, deceit. Talk about a situation where there is a low-trust environment.
This is why there is so much longing in this passage. We’ve seen Jacob longing for things and grasping for things. Eventually, we’ll see Rachel longing for things and grasping for things. We’ll also see Leah longing for things and grasping for things. Yet, in the midst of all this longing and grasping, the Lord is at work.
Leah is longing to be loved by her husband. She’s aware that Jacob isn’t very excited about her. She knows that Jacob wants Rachel and is wanting God’s promises to be fulfilled through Rachel. She feels like someone who’s been kicked to the curb and thrown aside. Then we read, “When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” (Genesis 29:31, ESV). That’s a powerful verse, especially when combined with the verse before it. When combined we read that Jacob loved Rachel, but Rachel was barren—the one Jacob thought would fulfill God’s promises of offspring like the dust of the earth was barren. Yet, the one Jacob isn’t thrilled with is the womb that God opens. Eventually, she will have six of the twelve children herself. But here, at the beginning, she has the first four one right after the other, and it didn’t come about because of Jacob’s planning and scheming or deceit, it came because God saw Leah and met her in her longing.
Yet, God also teaches Leah something very important in this. Notice how her responses change throughout this morning’s passage. We first read, “And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”” (Genesis 29:32, ESV). She gives credit to the Lord for giving her this child, but it’s deeply connected to her longing for her husband’s love. Maybe NOW he’ll love me. But it doesn’t change anything. Then we read, “She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.” (Genesis 29:33, ESV). Notice how this response still has a mixture of acknowledging God, but also a reference to her longing for her husband. Again we read, “Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.” (Genesis 29:34, ESV). Same thing again, but even more so attached to this longing for her husband’s love and attachment.
When she has Judah, things change dramatically. We read, “And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.” (Genesis 29:35, ESV). I think this is very significant. She says, “This time I will praise the Lord,” and she never mentions her husband or her longing. She just praises the Lord for seeing her and meeting her in her longing. One commentator says, “She may not enjoy her husband's affection, but God has given her four sons, and she must be thankful for that. "This time I shall praise the LORD"; here, as in the psalms, lament turns to praise.” (Wenham, 244).
Here’s what I really appreciate about this lesson. Leah is still longing. We see it come up later, and we see her begin to grasp for things in the midst of that longing. But here, in this moment, she is longing for something greater, but also praising and thanking her God. It has the feel of what the Apostle Paul will later call “…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…” (2 Corinthians 6:10, ESV). This is what Advent is all about—learning how to praise God for what He is doing here and now—even in the midst of difficulty, even in the midst of hardship, even in the scheming and deceit—yet still longing for the greater thing God has in store. That’s much of the story of the Old Testament—learning how to praise God for what he’s doing in the midst of the mess while longing for the greater thing he has in store.
That’s also what is beautiful about how this part of the story connects with God’s overarching plan. In the midst of Leah’s longing, God is carrying out a plan that is much bigger than she even realizes. One of these children is named Levi. Guess who is eventually born from Levi? Moses, the one who is writing this book and who eventually was used by God to lead his people out of slavery and lead them in the desert. The children of Levi will eventually be given the priesthood and placed over the tabernacle and temple of God. They would serve as the mediators between God and men for thousands of years.
Even more beautiful is the birth of Judah from Leah. Judah’s line will run down to King David—the man after God’s own heart, and the man who’s kingdom will never end—and ultimately to the Messiah, Jesus Christ who lineage traces all the way back through David, through Judah, to Leah—the unloved woman, who longed for something greater—and eventually received that greater thing in Jesus Christ. It all begins in this place of longing with Leah.
This reminds us of something very important—and really the theme of this narrative, and most likely the theme of this entire series. It flows from some of the questions I received when I said we were looking at the life of Judah for Advent: “Judah? Why Judah? He was a mess! Why are we looking at him for Advent?” One of the beautiful through lines in this story—and throughout the life of Judah—is that God is at work, carrying out his plans and his purposes, in the midst of the mess. In particular to this story, even when people are scheming and lying and deceiving, they can’t overcome or detour God’s plan. One commentator says it very well, “Leah, the unwanted and unloved wife, gives birth to the forebears of four important tribes in Israel…As later Israel read this story of Laban's deception and Jacob's wrong choices, they would have become aware of a deep mystery: their sovereign Lord can fulfill his promises even through human deception and scheming.” (Greidanus, 313).
Here’s why this is such an important reminder for us, especially in our current cultural moment. In low-trust moments like these—when we’re filled with anxiety and fear and longing—it’s hard for us to believe that anything good can come of this. We see all of the lying and deceiving and scheming and begin to lose hope that God’s plan is being accomplished in the world. Yet, this is a reminder for us that even in a low-trust environment, we have every reason to put our wholehearted faith and trust in our God. He has been carrying out his plans and purposes in the midst of messy, manipulative situations for thousands of years, and nothing has changed now. Right now, in the midst of all of our current craziness, God is carrying out his plans and bringing about something greater than we could ever ask or imagine. That’s happening right now. We can trust him.
And because we can trust him in these moments when things don’t make sense, it also enables us to praise him in these moments. We can praise him because we KNOW that he is at work carrying out his plans and purposes. So, we praise Him for the things we see—and don’t see—as he carries out his plan. But we also praise him while longing for the greater thing he is bringing about. We learn to be a people who trust God, always praising Him, and always longing for the greater things he has in store.
For us now, that means knowing that God sent his son to be born into this mess—and through deceit and lying and scheming—his son laid down his life for the forgiveness of our sins. Then, he rose again, showing us that he has even greater things in store. So, we can praise God that he has forgiven us of our sins and is setting us free from our sins. Yet, we also long for the day when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, and he will put an end to all of the lying and scheming and deceiving of this world and his kingdom will fully come and his will will be fully done. And we long for the day when Jesus will completely free us from our sins and we will spend eternity with him in heaven. All of our longing in this life and in the next is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the son of David, from the line of Judah, from the unloved and longing woman, Leah.