Daily Devotional

“Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance” (Genesis 29:16, 17). 

Normal human vision is defined as 20/20, which means that a person can see the same objects that other people can see at a distance of twenty feet. For comparison, eagles have 20/4 vision, meaning that at twenty feet away they can see objects as well as a person could at just four feet away. The best human vision is 20/8. These people can see things as well from twenty feet away as most people can see at a distance of only eight feet. 

Leah was the older daughter of Laban, who deceitfully gave her to Jacob in marriage instead of her younger and more attractive sister Rachel. The Bible introduces her as having “delicate” eyes (or “tender eyed” KJV). Leah’s name means “weary,” and she certainly must have been painfully aware that she was not her husband’s first choice during all the years of her marriage. Yet God blessed her with six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun—and a daughter, Dinah. 

Even though Leah was the less favoured of Jacob’s two wives, it was through her that she gave birth to Judah, through whose line Jesus the Messiah was born. Her faith, like her eyesight, might have been delicate, yet she persisted. In less-than-ideal circumstances, Leah cried out to the Lord, “And God listened to Leah” (Genesis 30:17). 

The Bible tells us that God listens to the cries of His people. “In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears” (Psalm 18:6). Even when our faith is delicate, let us never neglect to cry out to our compassionate God. 

Dear Father, strengthen my spiritual eyesight. May I see and believe in Your merciful kindnesses.