05 Apr A love to remember: Gospel to the unloved

Genesis 29:15-35

Genesis 29:15-30 – ¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. ²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” ²² So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. ²³ But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. ²⁴ (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ²⁵ And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” ²⁶ Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” ²⁸ Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

Have you ever done something extremely stupid in the name of love? Raise your hand if you do. If your hand is not raised, you haven’t lived long enough. Let me be honest. I have plenty of story of stupid things I’ve done in the name of love. But I won’t tell you the recent ones to maintain my dignity. I’ll share with you one from back when I was in elementary school. When I was in elementary school, I was short, chubby and nerdy. But I was in love (or so I thought). I had a crush on a girl in my class. However, I had one big problem, and I used the word big literally. My problem was called Yakub or Jacob. Yakub loved to bully me and make fun of me. And Yakub was at least twice or three times my size. I am not lying. He was really big and fat. One day, he made fun of me in front of the girl that I had a crush on, and I had enough. So, I pushed him, ran few steps backward, turned toward him, and I ran as fast as I could toward him and I did a karate kid jump kick. In my mind, what would happen next was that he would get a taste of my powerful jump kick, fall back a few meters and realise that he should never mess with me. But in reality, when my beautiful jump kick landed on him, rather than having him fall back, I was the one who bounced back and fell over. He was that big. And from that day forward, I always ran and hide whenever I saw Yakub. Stupid thing I did in the name of love.

I read a story of one guy who fell so in love with a girl. And not long after they started dating, the brother of the girl, or whom she said was her brother, went into the hospital and needed kidney transplant. So, to impress the girl, the guy donated his kidney. Later after the operation, he found out that the guy was not her brother but her ex-boyfriend that she was still in love with. Shortly after the operation, she broke up with the guy who donated his kidney so she could marry her ex-boyfriend. Anyone want to share their story?

The passage for today is a story of crazy things people do in the name of love. I learned this story as a kid, but I never truly understood the beauty and complexity of the story until I read Keller’s book “Counterfeit gods.” So, I am highly indebted to Keller for this sermon. Many things I am going to say is based on the book but with my way of communicating it. I can’t talk and preach like Keller and I am not going to try. I’ll sound very dumb if I try. Last week we talked about God’s original design for marriage. But it is very important for us to understand that the Bible speaks of both the blessings of marriage and the difficulties of marriage. The Bible is extremely balanced. And we need to be Biblically balanced. Why? If we are not careful, we can expect too much from marriage and it can destroy us. Marriage is a good gift from God. But the moment we turn marriage into the ultimate gift, marriage will destroy us. For you singles, falling in love is great. God is the one who wired you to fall in love. But the moment you make him or her your ultimate satisfaction, it will destroy you. And in my pastoral ministry, I have seen nothing that can destroy a person’s life like love. And this story has all the elements that would make a great Korean Drama or Netflix series. I want us to look at the story and learn how to have Biblical balance on love and marriage.

I’ll separate it into three sections. The hope of true love; the disillusion of true love; the fulfilment of true love.

The hope of true love

To understand the weight of the story, we need to understand Jacob’s background first. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca. So, he was the grandson of Abraham. “Father Abraham had many sons…” God promised Abraham that through his descendants, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And not only that but when we read the book of Genesis as a whole, we know that God will save the world through Abraham’s family. Out of Abraham’s descendants, will come the Messiah who will save the world. With another word, God is saying, “In every generation, there will be a messianic seed, because someday, out of your family will come one person, one figure, one of your descendants, one of your seed, who will be the Messiah, who will end sin and death in the whole world.” Therefore, in every generation, there will be one child, one man, one leader of the family, who carries the Messianic seed. He will receive a special blessing. We know that Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. But Isaac was the chosen son and not Ishmael. It’s not hard for us to accept because Isaac was the son of Abraham’s legitimate wife, Sarah. But here lies the problem. Isaac and Rebecca gave birth to twin boys, Esau and Jacob. Who will be the one who carries the special blessings?

Culturally speaking, the one who came out first is considered the first-born and will inherit the blessings. Yet God in his sovereignty said that he has chosen the younger over the older. Isaac and Rebecca knew this. It’s crystal clear. So, Esau came out first. But then something odd happened. As if, Jacob knew the importance of being first-born, Jacob came out holding Esau’s heel. Jacob was a fighter. Even his name means “heel-grabber.” The other meaning of his name is “deceiver.” I don’t know why anyone would ever name their baby that way. “Oh, the baby is cute. What is his name?” “His name is Liar.” But these two meanings sum up Jacob’s life. Jacob spent most of his life fighting and deceiving people. Even in his birth, he tried to fight his twin brother over the right of being first-born. Although Isaac knew that God has chosen Jacob over Esau, Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob. Esau was a macho man. Esau spent his life hunting in the wilderness. His favourite TV show was probably Men Vs Wild. While Jacob was a mommy boy. He spent his time at home watching “Crash landing on you.” Jacob knew that his dad loved Esau more than him. So, he cheated Esau of his blessings. When the time came for Isaac to give his blessings, Jacob pretended to be Esau and deceived Isaac. Jacob came to Isaac and said, “Dad… ehemmm… Dad, I bring you the food that you requested.” “Who are you?” Isaac replied. And Jacob said, “I am Esau, your firstborn.” At that time, Jacob stole both Esau’s identity and blessing. When Esau found out, he was angry and wanted to kill Jacob. Then Jacob ran away to the house of his uncle, Laban, to hide from Esau. Rather than giving him the satisfaction that he desired, the blessing led him to be separated from his family.

So Jacob lost everything. He lost his family, his home, his money and he also thought that he lost his destiny. He was an empty man. Until he saw Rachel. The Bible said that Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. If the Bible said you are beautiful, you must be beautiful. And Jacob fell in love at first sight with Rachel. This is interesting. Jacob did exactly what many people do today when they are disappointed with life. They search for meaning in life in finding the one true love. Someone who will fulfil all their longing and make their life worth living. So, Jacob did what many men do to impress the girl. He showed off his muscle. “Let me help you with that… kaboom.” And he began to talk to her and found out that Rachel was his cousin. Now, in our days, that is a big no straight away. But this is the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, you swipe right when you see the picture of your cousin. Long story short, Jacob ended up working for his uncle, Laban. Laban asked, “how much should I pay you?” and Jacob replied, “I don’t need money. I’ll work for you for seven years for free and give me Rachel in return.” Now, this was a huge sum of money. It was customary in those days for the bridegroom to pay a certain amount of money to marry the bride. And the bride price was about 30 shekels. The monthly wage was about 1.5 shekel. Do the math. So Jacob only needs to work for about 2 years for Rachel. But Jacob was head over heel in love with Rachel that he offered to work for 7 years. Jacob was obsessed with Rachel. Can you see it? Because now Jacob had lost everything. And he thought, “If I have Rachel as my wife… If only I have the love of my life… then my life will make sense. Then I am somebody. Then my life is meaningful.”

Laban realized what happened and took full advantage of the situation. Notice that Laban never said yes to Jacob’s proposal. He only said, “It is better that I give her to you than any other man.” That is a very vague answer. It’s like receiving an email that said, “Free holiday to Japan*” with a very tiny asterisk next to it. You guys know what I am talking about right? That holiday to Japan is not free at all. But Jacob did not see the asterisk. Jacob only heard what he wanted to hear. This is what love can do to you. I’ve met a lot of girls who were convinced that her boyfriend loved her very much. Everyone around her knew that was not the case. Her boyfriend was just using her. But when you are in love, you only see what you wanted to see. And this is what happened with Jacob. He did not realize that Laban was taking advantage of his obsession with Rachel.

Why did Laban do it? Because Laban had another daughter. Rachel’s older sister. Her name was Leah. And the author of Genesis did not write much about Leah. And he did not have to. In two short verses, we know everything we need to know about Leah. It is brilliant. Genesis 29:16-17 – Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Pay attention to the contrast. We are told that Leah’s eyes were weak. What does it mean? It cannot mean that Leah had bad eyesight because then it would say, “Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel can see really, really far.” It does not say that. But Leah’s eyes were contrasted with Rachel’s beautiful appearance. With another word, Leah was not beautiful in form and appearance. It must mean that somehow her eyes made her unattractive. Maybe when she looks to the right, her other eye looks to the left. I don’t know but I know that she is ugly. Another hint we have is in the meaning of the name Leah. In Hebrew, it literally means, “cow.” It doesn’t matter what culture you are from, calling someone a cow is an insult. If your name or baptism name is Leah, my bad. Come to me for a new name.

So, we have two sisters who are very different. One is beautiful and one is ugly. One is a swan and the other is an ugly duckling. One is the pride of the family, the other is the shame of the family. I mean, if you grew up with a sibling who is so much better than you, you know how it feels. People always compare you to your sibling. I know exactly how it feels. My sister, she is everything I am not. She is beautiful, she is kind, she is diligent, trustworthy, obedient, talented and smart. I love her but growing up with a sister like that is a pain in the butt. People always compare me with her. Any sibling knows how it feels? So, Leah grew up in the shadow of her beautiful sister. And her dad was thinking, “How can I marry her off? Who wants to be with my older daughter?” Laban saw Jacob’s desperation and saw a chance.

Now, let’s think about Leah. It is very possible that Leah loved Jacob. Why? If Leah did not love Jacob, why would she agree to marry a man who was head over heels in love with her sister? It did not make any sense. Leah must have wanted to escape Rachel’s shadow. And she saw Jacob as her way out. She saw Jacob as the answer to her longing. She saw Jacob as her meaning in life while Jacob saw Rachel as his meaning in life. Both of them hoped that true love would answer their deepest longing.

The disillusionment of true love

Let’s switch the camera back to Jacob. Listen to this verse. Genesis 29:20 – So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Did you see that? Seven years felt like a few days to him because of the love he had for her. That is insane. Husbands, do you want to work for seven years for free for your wife? One of the things that I like to do when a guy asks me if he can approach a girl that he likes, I like to test him. If I don’t think he is ready for a relationship, I usually tell him to wait for six to 12 months. Be a friend for a year and if you still feel the same then you can go for it. And let me tell you, 4 out of 5 fail this test. But Jacob worked for seven years for Rachel. I mean, seriously. How much do you have to love someone to make seven years seems like a few days? Jacob was not just in love; he was overdosed with love.

When seven years had passed, Jacob came to Laban. Genesis 29:21 – Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” Wait. What did Jacob just say? He went to Laban and literally said, “Give me Rachel now because I want to have sex with her.” Guys, I am not married but let me give you a piece of advice. It does not matter how much you love her or how desperate you are, do not try this with your future father in law. It won’t go well with you. It shows us how desperate Jacob was for Rachel. So, they had the wedding celebration. And the custom of those days was to have 7 days of celebration. And what happened next was bewildering. When the first day of celebration was over, Jacob had sex with his wife. After seven years of hard work, Jacob finally got what he wanted. Or at least he thought so. Until the next morning when he woke up and opened his eyes, he had a heart attack. “O my gosh babe. You look just like your sister without makeup. Wait, you are her!” I love the way the Bible put it. Genesis 29:25 – And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! I mean, the Bible just so cool and calm and told us, “behold, it was Leah.” But can you imagine what Jacob felt when he saw Leah in his bed? “This is not it. I didn’t agree to marry Leah. I wanted Rachel, not Leah.” So he went to Laban and demanded an explanation. “Why did you do this to me? I didn’t ask for Leah. I wanted Rachel. Why did you deceive me?”

Now, pay attention to Laban’s answer. It was short but it was a punch in the face for Jacob. Genesis 29:26 – Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. For many years, I always wondered how easy it was for Jacob to let this matter go. If I was Jacob, I would not accept Laban’s explanation. This is a fraud. This is illegal. I have done my part and it is only right I received my reward. And yet Jacob did not argue at all with Laban regarding the matter. Why? Because Laban said, “It is only right for us to honour the firstborn in the family.” This statement cut deep. It was Deja-vu. Jacob remembered how he had stolen the right of the firstborn from his older brother. My friend, do not believe the lie that sin has no consequences. Sin has its way to get back at you and hit you in the face. So, Jacob agreed to work for another 7 years for Rachel. But this time he did not have to wait to the end of another seven years to get Rachel. Jacob got Rachel on credit. He got Rachel after the seven days of the wedding celebration ended and then he worked to pay her off.

That’s Jacob. Now I want to switch the camera back to Leah. What happened to Leah? Leah was thrown into a living hell. Anyone feel sorry for her? All her life she grew up in the shadow of her gorgeous sister. And her only way out was to marry Jacob. She dreamed about being a wife to a husband who loves her and raise children together. And then she was married. But her husband did not love her. Her husband loved another woman. Leah was a daughter whom her father did not love and a wife whom her husband did not love. She was unloved. This is a Korean drama to another level. Can you imagine being Leah? She thought Jacob was the answer, but it only threw her into a living hell. In fact, this is worse than if she was never married. Because the person in whom she put her hope in was in the arms of the woman whose shadow she tried to escape. And now she was stuck in that shadow for all of her life. She was in living hell.

Let’s hit a pause button on the story and see what we can learn from it. Number one, all of us are seeking for something to satisfy us. Jacob thought the answer was Rachel and sex. Leah thought the answer was Jacob and family. But both were wrong. All of us, without exception, are seeking for something to satisfy us. And this is the number one problem with us. What is the root of a husband leaving his wife for another woman? What is the root of wife having an affair with another man? What is the root of brother hating one another for money? What is the root of anger you feel when your boss overlooks you for a promotion that you deserved? What is the root of parents trying to control their children’s future? What is the root of children rebelling to their parents? What is the root of your anxiety? What is the root of your fear? What is the root of emptiness you feel inside of your heart? Can I tell you the answer? You are thirsty. Your heart is thirsty. That’s the root of every problem. Your heart is thirsty, and it cries out for a drink that can satisfy it. But it finds none. This is how Jeremiah puts it.

Jeremiah 2:12-13 – Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

So this is God’s diagnosis of the human condition. First, we said no to the fountain of living waters. This is the water that can quench our thirst. This is the water that if we drink of it, we won’t be thirsty again. This is the water like no other. But we rejected this water. We said we do not need this water. So first, we have forsaken the living waters. Second, we tried to create cisterns for ourselves. We tried to find our own waters. But the cisterns are broken, and it can hold no water. That is why we are thirsty. We rejected the one true fountain of living waters and the cisterns we created to replace it are broken and it can hold no water. Which lead us to the second truth we can learn.

Number two, nothing in this world can satisfy us. Derek Kidner says it beautifully. “Behold in the morning, it was Leah. This is a miniature of our disillusionment, experienced from Eden onwards.” With another word, from the moment Adam and Eve lose Eden, our hearts are craving for Eden but nothing can give us Eden. No matter what it is, what we think is Rachel will always be Leah. We think that if we have the best husband or wife, it will satisfy us. Behold, it was Leah. We think that if we have the best career, the best job, the best holiday, the best family, our hearts will be satisfied. Behold, it was Leah. Whatever we think was Rachel will leave us questioning, “Is this it?” So hear me loud and clear. Is it wrong to desire a wife, husband or children? Of course, it is not. That desire is given to you by God. It is good for you to desire a relationship, marriage and family. But never think for one second that relationship, marriage and family can solve your longing. Lonely, insecure single people will become lonely, insecure married people. It is not wrong to desire those things, but it is wrong to idolize marriage, relationship and family. How do you know if you idolize something? You can’t live without it. You think that you cannot be happy unless you have it. And this will, in turn, destroy what you have. If you idolize your spouse or children, you are going to crush them. No person is enough to meet all your expectations. You cannot stand imperfection in your spouse or children because you are looking to them for what only God can give you. They have to be good and they have to do according to what you want, or you feel like you don’t have a life. You cannot handle mediocrity in the relationship and that is idolatry. If you are single, you idolize relationship in thinking that he or she will complete you. You have this picture of marriage that will fix every broken thing in your life. And you will be disappointed. No one can fix you. Ask those who are married if you don’t believe me. Marriage is a good thing, but it won’t fulfil your longing. Every Rachel in this world is in fact, Leah. Let’s continue with the story.

The fulfilment of true love

Genesis 29:31-35 – ³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² 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.” ³³ 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. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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.

What fulfils the hope of true love? The answer lies in Leah, what God does in her and for her. One of the things Hebrew scholars notice is that in all of Leah’s statement, she was calling on the LORD as Yahweh instead of Elohim, the generic Hebrew word for God. So even though she was struggling and confused, she was nonetheless reaching out to a personal God of grace. Even so, she still idolized her husband and used the LORD to get what she wanted. Leah gave birth to many sons and the name of each son had a specific meaning.

First son – Reuben – “I am seen.” She was saying, “The LORD had seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Second son – Simeon – “I am heard.” She was saying, “The LORD heard that I am not loved. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Third son – Levi – “I am attached.” She was saying, “My husband will surely become attached to me now that I have borne him three sons.”

Do you see what happened? Leah was using the LORD to get the affection of Jacob. She desperately wanted the love of her husband, but it never happened. Let me say this as lovingly as I can. You can know about the LORD and still worship your idol. You can know about the LORD and still used him to get what you really want. Knowing about the LORD does not guarantee you know the LORD. But here is what’s amazing about the LORD. He knew that Leah wanted the love of Jacob more than him but he still opened her womb and enabled her to give birth to many sons. Until one day, it finally clicked for Leah. Something radically changed in Leah. She gave birth to a fourth son. This time she stopped looking to her children to get Jacob’s affection. She stopped looking to Jacob for her meaning in life. She tried and it did not work. The marriage did not work. The first son did not work. The second and third son did not work. Instead, she said, “I will praise the LORD.” The name of the fourth son was Judah. And then she stopped having children. My friend, this is the beautiful. Don’t miss it.

If you look at this story and try to find a human hero in this story, you will get upset. This story is really messed up. Jacob is not the hero of this story. He was a player. Leah is also not the hero of the story. She was a desperate housewife. This is what the Bible gives you. The Bible gives you, again and again, men and women who continue to make mess after mess, who do not deserve God’s grace, who do not seek God’s grace, who do not appreciate God’s grace even after they have received it. Why? Because the hero of the Bible is not them but God. The story of the Bible is not about people who worked hard to climb up the ladder of heaven but a God who climbed down the ladder to save his people. Jacob did not deserve God’s grace, but God chose him. Jacob did not seek God; it was God who sought Jacob. The same with Leah. Leah was not looking for God. It was God who sought Leah. Genesis 29:31 – When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Let me rephrase it. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, the Lord loved Leah. This is the gospel. When the world did not love Leah, the Lord had his eyes on Leah. The Lord looked at Rachel, the beautiful woman, and Leah, the ugly woman, and he chose the girl who was unloved and unlovely. He said to her, “I am your true husband. I am the only one who can love you perfectly. And I am going to give you Judah.” Why Judah is very important? Because Judah is the chosen seed. Because it is through the line of Judah that the lion of Judah will come forth. It is through Judah that Jesus will be born. Leah had no idea what the Lord was doing. All she knew was that nothing in this world can satisfy her longing. So rather than keep trying to look to other people to give her what she wanted, she looked to the Lord. And she found her answer in the Lord and she praised the Lord. And the Lord looked at Leah the unloved and said, “I am going to make you the great grandmother of Jesus.”

This is the story of the gospel. This is our story. The Bible describes Jesus as the Bridegroom. Here is the problem. We are Leah. We are ugly. We have weak eyes. We are sinful. We are unloved. But when Jesus saw that we are unloved, Jesus loved us. When no one wanted us, Jesus wanted us. And he did not love us because we deserved his love. There is nothing intrinsic in us that drew his attention. Jesus loved us simply because of his grace. So, what did he do? Jesus came to us. He came to earth and died for us. Jesus lost his beauty and he became ugly. He lived the life that we should have lived, and he died the death that we should have died so that we who believe in him may become his bride. This is the gospel. The world might think that we look like Leah but to Jesus, we look like Rachel. We are beautiful in his eyes.

But the gospel does not finish with we are ugly but beautiful in Christ’s eyes. The gospel says that one day, we will be beautiful inside out. 1 John 3:2 – Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Hear me loud and clear. Right now, we are not who we are supposed to be. Right now, we are still filled with flaws and weaknesses. Right now, we still have many ugly sides in us. What we will be has not yet appeared. But a day is coming. When Jesus comes again. At that time all our flaws will disappear. All our weakness will be no more. All our ugliness will be transformed. All we can see in us is beauty. When Jesus appears again, we shall be like him. This is the power of the gospel. Christ does not love us because we are beautiful, but we will be beautiful because Christ loves us. Christ loves the unloved and the unlovely. But Christ loves us too much to leave us the same. When Christ is done with us, we will look just like him. So, you might not like what you see in me today. But just wait. One day, I will be just like Jesus.

Let me conclude with this. It does not matter whether you are married or single, every relationship will disappoint you. Every hope of true love in this world will fail you. Your marriage will fail you. The more hope you put on an earthly relationship, the more it will destroy you. Every Rachel will turn out to be Leah in the morning. I am not saying that you should love your spouse less, but I am saying that you should love Christ more. You have to put your hope in the one who came down from heaven for you. Until you make Christ your true love, you will be frustrated with the imperfection of earthly love. But when you see how much Christ has loved you, you no longer need other’s love to fulfil you. You no longer look to earthly love to be your saviour because you already have the Saviour. Now you can freely love your spouse. Your joy is in the fact that you already have Christ. Judah! “This time I will praise the Lord.” Christ is the reason for your praise. One last question and I am done. What or who is the reason for your praise? Unless it is Christ, you will wake up with Leah in the morning.

Discussion questions:

1. Have you ever done something stupid in the name of love? Share your story.
2. “When you are in love, you tend to see what you only want to see.” What does it tell us about the importance of wise counsels?
3. Sin always has its consequences. Explain the difference between the consequences of sin and the penalty of sin in the light of the gospel.
4. Read Jeremiah 2:12-13. According to the LORD, what are the two problems of humankind? Can you see these two problems as the root of your sin? Explain.
5. Genesis 29:31 – When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb. What does this verse teaches us about God’s character?
6. Explain the importance of Judah in the grand story of the Bible.
7. Take time to pray for one another. Pray that he or she will be able to put their hope in Christ rather than the “Rachel” of this world. Pray that God might use them to be an extension of his love in this difficult time.