03/01/2026
Evangelist Sheketa Goff
Sunday Morning Worship
March 1, 2026
Topic: " Don't faint"
Subtopic: It was designed to trick you (part 3)
" Through Leah's eyes: from rejection to redemption"
Scriptures
Genesis 29:17
Genesis 29:25
Genesis 29:31-35
Genesis 30:17-20
Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah” (Genesis 29:30). When Leah perceives she is less favored, she finds comfort in bearing children. Genesis 29:31 describes the situation: “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.” Leah names her sons to reflect God’s kindness toward her.
Over time, Rachel grows frustrated by her infertility and offers her maidservant Bilhah to bear children on her behalf (Genesis 30:1-4). Leah later follows the same practice through her maidservant Zilpah (Genesis 30:9-10). These customs, mentioned in Mesopotamian legal texts, reveal a cultural context where childbearing through a servant was considered a legitimate means of preserving an inheritance and lineage.
Eventually, Rachel also conceives by God’s intervention and bears Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). Later, she bears Benjamin, though she dies in childbirth (Genesis 35:16-18). Leah’s children include Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah (Genesis 29:31-35; 30:17-21). Rachel’s children are Joseph and Benjamin (Genesis 30:22-24; 35:16-18). Bilhah’s children are Dan and Naphtali (Genesis 30:4-8). Zilpah’s children are Gad and Asher (Genesis 30:9-13).
By the end of this family dynamic, the two sisters have collectively birthed or facilitated the birth of the sons who become founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. Although much tension emerges, the narrative underscores familial continuity and God’s mercy in working through imperfect circumstances.