God’s Values
“When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” (Genesis 29:31)
How many times must something happen before it becomes a pattern? Once? Twice? Three times? For God, our passage today demonstrates a pattern as plain as the black and white tiles on a chess board. Our God pours forth His most precious grace on those whom we deem the least worthy of it. In our passage this morning, we all remember how Jacob loved Rachel, but Leah was of “weak eyes.” In layman’s terms, she was nothing to look at. Jacob’s frustration at Laban’s deception could only be matched by his disappointment over Leah’s new status. We get a sense of just how great this disappointment was by how she named her children, don’t we? Not even her abundance of children could provoke Jacob’s love for her. Oh, but how different is God’s love!
We see this pattern demonstrated over and over again. What of Abraham? He chose the least likely elderly man to father a nation. And of Jacob? He chose the younger over the older. What of Israel? He chose then because they were the fewest of all the peoples of the earth (Deut. 7:7). Paul highlights this pattern in 1 Corinthians: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God.” (1:27-29)
Is this not displayed preeminently in Jesus Christ? “He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isa. 53:2-3) The One whom we despised was the prized pearl of heaven, sent for us and for our salvation. What marvelous grace! God overturns all of expectations, as if His primary aim is to break our trust in man so that our only trust is in Him.
Our value system stands in stark contrast with that of the true God, doesn’t it? It is high that we reassess our values. Who are the people we avoid? Where do we hesitate most to take the gospel? Who do we write off, and who do we exclude? If we find that our favor and affections belong to a relatively small circle of peers who are just like us, it may be that our values and God’s values are on two vastly different scales. It may be time to ask God to provide a change of heart for us.
