The Pain of
Rejection
L
eah was miserable after
being rejected in
marriage
by
her
husband Jacob. She
was still married to him but
unhappy because she felt unloved.
Rachel was the most loved of the
two sisters.
“Jacob made love to Rachel
also, and his love for Rachel was
greater than his love for Leah.”
Genesis 29:30 (NIV).
When Leah became pregnant
and gave birth, she named the child
Reuben, “for she said, it is because
the Lord has seen my misery.
Surely my husband would love me
again.” Genesis 29:32 (NIV).
Like Leah, I know there are a
lot of women praying and hoping
that their husbands would love
them. They live a miserable life
and hope for a change.
Rejection is known to bring
misery, depression, loneliness,
sadness, envy and jealousy. Leah
felt miserable and hoped that after
the birth of her son, her husband
would love her. Although she
Hannah’s Testimonies
14
named her first born Reuben, there
is no evidence that it changed her
husband’s outlook of her. Nothing
had changed so after she had her
second son, she began to shift her
focus off her husband and
recognize that she was being
blessed with children because God
saw that she was not loved.
“Because the Lord heard that I
am not loved, he gave me this one
too.” So she named him Simeon.”
Genesis 29:33.
Leah however was still not
happy although she knew the hand
of God was upon her life. She
wanted validation from her husband
so when she gave birth to her third
son, she named him Levi. She said,
“Now at last my husband will
become attached to me, because I
have borne him three sons.”
Wanting validation from her
husband was not wrong. As women,
we crave for love and a loveless
relationship can drive people into
loneliness, depression, hope-
lessness, suicidal tendencies, self-
pity, anxiety, increased anger and