We all know that lying is a sin that brings about severe consequences. We get so deep into believing our own lies sometimes that they become our truth, our reality. For some reason many people justify it by categorizing them as little lies, harmless lies or insignificant, and the famous lies of omission. Let’s travel into our biblical past to an event that let’s us see the consequences of lying in the life of Leah wife of Jacob. Turn to Genesis chapter 29-30 to read about this event in our biblical history. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham. The man God had blessed to become a father of many nations. Jacob migrated to his uncle Laban’s land escaping the wrath of his brother Esau. You see Jacob had deceived his brother Esau and his father Isaac by pretending to be his brother Esau upon Isaac’s death bed. Isaac was very old & couldn’t see. Jacob disguised himself with wool skins & fur to trick his father in receiving the “first borns” blessing instead of Esau. Previously, Esau had sold his inheritance to Jacob in exchange for a delicious meal. When Esau discovered that his brother Jacob had deceived him out of his first born “blessing”, Jacob fled to his uncle Laban’s land in fear for his life. Esau was so furious with Jacob that he planned to kill him. There Jacob met Rachel a shepherd girl, daughter of Laban. She was the younger sister of Leah. Jacob fell in love with Rachel and offered to work for Laban for 7 years in exchange for Rachel in becoming his wife. The bible says that for Jacob, the years were as days for he truly loved Rachel.
As I read this, I realized that this courtship lasted for 7 years. That’s 7 years of friendship, 7 years of a growing love with the expectation that one day Rachel would be his wife. Everyone knew that Jacob loved Rachel. It was no surprise to Leah. But what happened? Lies, insecurities, deceit, backstabbing, and disloyalty happened. Why did Leah not get married during this time? The bible didn’t say that Leah was ugly. It just said she had weak eyes or delicate eyes. Couldn’t Laban have arranged a marriage for her? There are just some details we will never know.
Jacob’s 7 years of literally a labor of love had completed. But something went terribly wrong. Did Jacob not pray to God for his marriage? Was he reaping the consequences of his deceit? We don’t know the answers to this, we can only speculate.
Imagine this: It was the night of Jacob’s wedding. The women during that time had the custom of putting veils over their heads during special events & weddings. Jacob eagerly waited for his bride Rachel when Leah walked into his tent instead. It must of been dark but Leah remained quiet. She did not utter a word. She did not reveal her true identity to Jacob. A lie of omission again was being experienced but this time it was Jacob who was on the receiving end. What was Leah thinking? Why was she betraying her sister in such a horrible way? Why did she deceive Jacob? She knew he loved her sister Rachel. She could have spoken up. She could have refused to marry him or at least express to her father her contempt & disapproval. She could of tried to convince her father of the wrong that he was committing. What had happened during the 7 years as she watched the romance and courtship between Jacob & Rachel? Was she envious? Resentful? Insecure? Had Leah fallen in love with Jacob from afar and would do whatever to have him?
The bible says that Leah had weak eyes but Rachel had a lovely figure and was very beautiful. Was Leah jealous of her sister Rachel? Many may speculate that she was forced to do this act of deceit by her father Laban but this is the same Laban that had asked his sister Rebekah if she wanted to marry Isaac, Jacob’s father in the past. The custom of asking the woman if she agreed to a marriage was an option. We may never know the reason, but lies were present everywhere and lies have a way of birthing horrible consequences.
The next day Jacob realized that he had made love to the wrong sister and that he was tricked in marrying Leah instead of Rachel. But the deed was done and there was no turning back. Jacob married Rachel one week later and agreed to work for Laban for another 7 years. Leah quickly realized that she was not loved. Jacob loved Rachel. Leah was now in second place. She felt unloved and rejected. She was experiencing the consequences of her actions. Leah tried to win Jacob’s love & affection by giving him many sons. But it didn’t work and Leah lived in a continual state of misery. The rivalry between the sisters was apparent and only escalated as we see things turning horribly wrong in the life of Joseph son of Jacob & Rachel. Jacob demonstrated favoritism with his son Joseph above all the other siblings.
Through and through we see God’s mercy & grace in the life of Leah, Rachel and Jacob. We see how God is a God that restores and redeems us. God does what He says He’ll do.
As for Leah, we see the consequences of the sweet little lies that she told herself to the point that she actually believed her own lies as we read in Genesis 30:15. She actually accuses Rachel of stealing her husband. Ladies, we can’t make anyone love us. We can’t force anyone to want us. We can’t scheme, manipulate, and trick anyone to marry us. We have to love ourselves enough to trust that God has a plan for our lives. When we begin to increase in faith, the joy of the Lord, knowledge of the Word, wisdom, self-love, confidence, others will see this too. When we realize who we are in Christ, we realize that we are wonderfully and fearfully made. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all done things that we have been ashamed of. We haven’t always been secure and confident. Sometimes this takes time.
There are always consequences to lying. Let’s not repeat the suffering of Leah. Let’s learn from her mistakes and realize that through Christ Jesus, we have been redeemed, restored, and revived. He lets us live in His presence. He no longer only speaks to a few but in Christ, He will speak to your life through the Word, dreams, sermons, and even other people in every day conversations. This is the good news of the gospel. Jesus saves and redeems us and He call us His own. We are loved, cherished, and He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. We have the confidence in knowing that “all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”.