Genesis 29:31 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the birth of four of Jacob’s sons, all born to Leah. Notice that Leah, who was less loved, was the one blessed with children, while Rachel was denied that blessing (Genesis 29:31). God’s providence, in giving his gifts, often keeps a kind of balance. He sets comforts and troubles side by side, so no one becomes too proud or too crushed.

Rachel had no children, but she had her husband’s love. Leah lacked that love, but she was fruitful. It was much the same with Elkanah’s two wives (1 Samuel 1:5). The Lord is wise and righteous in all this.

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, meaning loved less than Rachel, he gave her a child. In this sense, Scripture says we must “hate” father and mother compared with Christ (Luke 14:26). This was a rebuke to Jacob, because he made such a sharp difference between women who were both equally his wives. It was also a check to Rachel, who may have looked down on her sister because of it. And it was a comfort to Leah, so she would not be crushed by the contempt shown to her. In this way, God gives greater honor to what lacked it (1 Corinthians 12:24).

Leah’s children had names that showed her respect both for God and for her husband. She seems very eager for Jacob’s love. She counted the lack of it as her sorrow (Genesis 29:32). She did not scold him for it or make herself harder to live with. Instead, she carried it as a burden, though she had reason to be more patient, since she had helped bring the trouble on herself by joining in the deceit that made her his wife. We should bear more patiently the troubles we bring on ourselves through our own sin and foolishness.

She seems to have hoped that the children she bore would win Jacob’s affection. She named her first son Reuben, which means “See, a son,” saying, “Now my husband will love me.” She named her third son Levi, which means “joined,” saying, “Now my husband will be joined to me” (Genesis 29:34). Mutual affection is both the duty and the comfort of marriage. Husband and wife should each seek to be pleasing to the other (1 Corinthians 7:33-34).

At the same time, Leah gratefully recognized God’s kind care. She said, “The Lord has looked on my affliction” (Genesis 29:32). In other words, the Lord noticed that she was unloved. Our troubles are always before God’s eyes, and they cry out to him. So when he gives us help, relief, or comfort in our distress, we must own his hand in it. We should especially thank him for his pity and tender mercy.

Leah called her fourth son Judah, which means “praise,” saying, “Now I will praise the Lord” (Genesis 29:35). This was the son through whom, according to his human line, Christ came. Whatever gives us joy should also lead us to thanksgiving. New blessings should stir us to praise God for old blessings too. “Now I will praise the Lord” means, “I will praise him more and better than I have before.”

All our praise must center on Christ, both as the reason for our praise and the one who brings it to God. Christ came from Judah, whose name means praise, because Christ himself is our praise. If Christ is formed in my heart, then I have reason to say, “Now I will praise the Lord.”