Leah- An Unloved Mother

Sara Hanna
May 17, 2025
6 min read

Those of us who are blessed to have sisters are all too familiar with the drama that comes with sisters. Happy times, hormones, hopes, husbands, and more can create quite the joy, as well as uncomfortable situations at times. This "Sister Saga" between Leah and Rachel could have made a best seller with their lives as weddings woes, husband drama and trials, baby battles and pure conniving. This week we will learn much from these two sisters born to Laban and married to Jacob. If you aren’t familiar with the story, you can find it in Genesis chapters 27-35, 49:30-32 and 50. You may want to go back and read it - there is SO MUCH in their story that I can’t cover in a short blog. You won't be disappointed in going back to read the entire saga in Genesis 29-50.

A few bits of information about these sweet sisters will help you understand their story. Rachel is the younger sister, beautiful, Jacob’s first choice for a wife, greatly loved by Jacob, resented by and also jealous of her older sister, lived a shorter life, and died giving birth to her second son. Leah is more tenderhearted, not as beautiful as her sister, a seemingly pawn in her father’s hand, Jacob’s first wife but not his first choice, hangs onto hope for love, mother of seven in a loveless marriage, and was part of the lineage of Jesus through her son Judah.

Such differences in the lives of these sisters make you wonder what they possibly had in common. Here ya go- they were married to Jacob at the same time, lost trust in their father, and possibly the most important thing is that they had prayers answered by God. Here is the spoiler already: this week’s focus is about this woman of prayer despite feeling second best, unwanted, and experiencing various trials. Her prayers went from focusing on her husband and herself to pleasing God. Can you imagine the emotions, words, actions and heartbreak these three caught up in this love triangle were experiencing? This triangle was conceived by Laban (the girl’s father) but it affected the entire family. These girls really couldn’t change their circumstances due to the period that they lived in.

Jacob met Rachel at the well. It was love at first sight and Jacob seals it with a kiss that first day. Jacob offers to work 7 years for Laban (Rachel’s father) in order to marry Rachel and Laban agrees. Fast forward 7 years and we find a wedding planned, guests invited, a feast and drinks for all. A beautiful sight until Jacob wakes up the morning after and realizes that he didn’t marry the love of his life but married her older sister (Leah)- who was apparently not quite as radiant as Rachel. Right now, you are thinking, how did Jacob not know who he was marrying. Some background information is that one of the customs at Middle Eastern weddings at this time is that the bride remains completely hidden by heavy veils both during and after the ceremony. There was also much wine at wedding celebrations so this may have contributed. I have no definite answer, but I think I’ll ask that in heaven.

Jacob confronts his father-in-law who reminds Jacob that it is customary to marry off the older daughter first. Jacob then works out a plan with Laban to work another 7 years for Rachel’s marriage and marries her about a week later. Of interest, Jacob only had 1 week with Leah as his wife before marrying Rachel as well. Then he began working the 7 years as payment. Can you imagine the interactions at this time between these sisters? The words? The emotions? Genesis 29:30 says, "his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah."How sad for Leah to feel second best and only have 1 week with her husband before her sister was married to him.

Leah continued to love and desired to please Jacob for years to come. She really wanted to experience love from her husband. What must their lives have been like? There was quite the competition over who would have the most sons for Jacob as well as an encounter between the sisters regarding mandrakes for fertility, but you'll have to do some reading of the story to learn more about this. Leah was less loved, but eventually has six sons and a daughter with Jacob while Rachel has two sons and dies after the birth of her second son.

With each birth of Leah's sons, we see a glimpse of her spiritual state. God knew the hearts of both sisters and God’s plan all along was for Leah to be a part in the lineage of Christ. God blessed Leah with the firstborn son of Jacob. His name was Reuben and after birth Leah said, “The Lord has looked upon my affliction, and now my husband will love me.” After the birth of their second son, Simeon, Leah said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, He has given me this son as well." And finally, after the birth of their third son she proclaimed, “This time I will praise the Lord.” These three statements tell us so much about her heart. Through what was likely the hardest time of her life, Leah continued to focus on and pray to God.

Leah so badly wanted to experience true love from her husband, but through prayer and leaning on God she was able to embrace life without that. Leah learned to love the Lord even more as the years passed. She praised God for her blessings (her sons) and God blessed her as the mother of Judah. I love the strength that Leah had and the prayers and praise that give us a glimpse into her heart.

Again, we can trace the lineage of Jesus back to Leah. Isn't that just like God to make the unloved His focus! The Bible doesn’t say that Jacob ever loved Leah. Rachel may have had the upper hand while she was alive, but her life was short, and she was buried in a tomb alone while Leah was buried with her husband and his parents, Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 49:31). Although Leah likely felt "second best" and unloved here on earth, she found comfort in the love of God and His provision. God showered His love on her in such a way that one of her sons (Judah) is in the lineage of Jesus. Not to brag on Leah but that's some testimony!

S weet sister, you may be in a situation that isn't what you thought you were getting into. You may feel unloved or mistreated. You may not understand why you feel "tricked" into a situation, that you were not given all the facts, why you have tried so hard to experience love in the way you thought you would. But hear me when I say, "God knows!" God has a plan, and it may be that later you will see His plan. For now, trust Him. Pray. Pour your heart out to Him. Leah never saw the big picture - her lineage which included the Savior of the world. She took her eyes off of her own situation and focused on praising the Lord. She knew her position in the family but never walked away or gave up. She focused on God. When you take your eyes off of your circumstances and focus them on God, you'll begin to praise Him in the midst of the storm and find peace that can only come from Him. Peace comes from a relationship with Christ, and not from anything else! Prayer not only touches God's heart, but it changes our hearts. God is ALWAYS with us in every situation waiting on us to reach out to Him. The biggest take away from this story is GOD'S LOVE is for us! He gave His Son; Jesus came to give His life. I don't think we will ever be able to grasp just how great His love is for us. It's a gift, we must be willing to accept that great gift and all that comes with it.

Below is a chart of the sons of Jacob that became the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob did have children with concubines (all part of the baby competition) and were also part of the tribes.