Leah and Rachel's struggles have much to teach us about being a wife. I want to first explore each woman and her struggle separately and then conclude with how the Lord has used these two women to teach a lesson I did not anticipate. Let’s take our first look at Leah. I think it is important to point out that her name means "weary". Leah was not a chosen wife but one thrust upon her husband out of trickery. In those times, it was proper for the older daughter to marry before the younger. However, in this case the groom preferred the younger daughter. As a result, Leah felt unloved. She spent her entire marriage desperately trying to get her husband to love her. Once she gave birth to her son she felt as if finally her husband would love her.  She was so confident of this that she named her son Reuben which means “the Lord has seen my affliction”. Sadly, she was wrong. As we see today having a child does not heal a marriage. I suppose the idea that women will do anything … [Read more...]