Israel, who were not only the sheep of His pasture, but the betrothed of Jehovah (“Thy maker is thine husband”), fair through the comeliness that He had put upon her, proves herself barren and without fruit to God, and is practically set aside: “Lo ammi” written upon her. This is typified in Rachel.
Leah the hated one—figure of the Church in its aspect of being gathered from among the Gentiles—is then brought into blessing and fruitfulness; her reproach is taken away, and she who had not obtained mercy, now has obtained mercy, so to speak; and, the result in the names of her children tells its own tale of sovereign grace.
Her firstborn brings out an entirely new thing in God’s dealings. Reuben— “See” or “Behold a son.” The day of bondage is now passed; the servants are no more to possess the house. “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” The servants slew the heir, and now the son had come in and given the freedom of the house, and the title and privilege of sons, to all who received Him; so that we have no longer “the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption” is ours, whereby we cry “Abba, Father.” Your place and mine, beloved—for the “fullness of time” has come. God has sent forth His Son, and we are no more servants but sons; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
How sweetly does her next son carry on the story of grace, and tell us how we are brought into this privileged place! Conceiving again, she bare another son, and called his name “Simeon”— “Hearing”; and so the apostle asks, Was it by works of law or by the hearing of faith, that ye received the Spirit? By the “hearing of faith,” surely; so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by God’s word. “He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath everlasting life.” Simeon typifies God’s principle of action in this present dispensation—grace by the hearing of faith—for it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us.”
Leah conceived again, and bare another son, and called his name “Levi” — “Joined”—for she said, “Now will my husband be joined unto me.” He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit—bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. We are severed from our connections with the first man, and united to a risen Christ in glory: made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; old things have passed away, all things are become new. We are of the new creation—vitally and eternally connected with the second Man, the Lord from heaven, a union now the portion of all God’s children, to be known and enjoyed as their proper privilege.
How fitly does her next born son, the fourth (completing the perfect fruit of God’s grace), bear the name of “Judah”— “Praise”! It is our joy and privilege, as those who are sons of God, by pure sovereign grace—once afar off, now made nigh—to offer up “the sacrifice of praise to God continually” —“that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.” Yea, it is meet that we should praise the Lord, and call upon all that is within us to bless His holy name, since He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In seeking worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth, He has sought and found us; let us then not forget that this is our holy privileged occupation. For if in Levi we get the priesthood, and we are—though after another order —a holy priesthood, to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, still more, we are a royal priesthood (for we are of Judah), and the kingdom is ours in joint-heirship with Christ. He that loved us, and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood, hath made us a kingdom, even priests unto God and His father.
May we not then exclaim, as we enter into the blessed fact that we are sons—and sons by pure grace—in union with a risen Christ, privileged to praise our God as we wait for the kingdom to be manifested: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out, for of him and to him and through him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen!”
H. N.