Jacob the deceiver has met his match. After working for 7 yrs for his uncle Laban to marry his daughter Rachel, the master deceiver, Laban, switched his daughters on the wedding night. Jacob wed Leah, not Rachel. Leah knew she was not loved by Jacob and like Hagar, she was taken advantage of by those who used them as a means to an end. Both felt abandoned and alone and in need of affirmation. Both faced circumstances that took away their dignity. You might feel the same and you wonder how God could allow this. Where are you, God? Do you see my circumstances?

As Hagar sat in the wilderness, God came and answered her “why” with words of affirmation. I will make your son a great nation. God saw Leah’s circumstances and heard her words “the Lord has taken pity on my oppressed condition” and then again “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved,” and then again “now this time my husband will show me affection.” But, it was not until the fourth child, Levi, was born that she came to realize the truth of Jeremiah’s words spoken by God: “I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.”

Wherever you are, Beloved, know this truth: you are loved! God will always remain faithful to you even if others are not.