Unattractive and foisted on a husband who did not want her, Leah pined for a kind of love she never received. Her heartache is revealed in the names she gave her sons.

Her first son she named Reuben (which means "see, a son"), for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me" (Genesis 29:32). But he didn't.

She named her second son Simeon ("heard"), for she said, "The Lord has heard that I am unloved" (v.33).

When she gave birth to her third son, she named him Levi ("attached"). "This time my husband will become attached to me" (v.34). But he didn't.

Leah named her fourth son Judah ("praise"). She said, "Now I will praise the Lord" (v.35).

Jacob never loved Leah the way he loved Rachel. But it seems that in the end her longing for love was satisfied by the Lord and His perfect love. I'm certain she had times of great loneliness and days when her heart must have yearned for human love. Yet God was always there to comfort Leah.

If you feel unloved, don't run from your pain or try to get love through wrong means. Instead, devote yourself to knowing God and loving Him. Allow Him to meet your deepest needs. Then give Him all the praise!  —David Roper  — David H. Roper