When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me."

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Genesis 29:31-35

Verses 31-35 The names Leah gave her children, expressed her respect and regard, both to God and to her husband. Reuben, or See a son, with this thought, Now will my husband love me; Levi, or joined, expecting, Now will my husband be joined unto me. Mutual affection is both the duty and comfort of the married relation; and yoke-fellows should study to recommend themselves to each ( 1 Corinthians. 7:33 1 Corinthians. 7:34 ) providence of God in hearing her. Whatever supports and comforts us under afflictions, or tends to our deliverance from them, God must be owned in it. Her fourth son she called Judah, or praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. This was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Fresh favours should quicken us to praise God for former favours; Now will I praise the Lord more and better than I have done. All our praises must centre in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended after the flesh from him whose name was "Praise," and He is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

~Matthew Henry

The Bedrock of God’s Love
By Oswald Chambers

Add to your faith goodness . . . and to mutual affection, love. — 2 Peter 1:5, 7 

Most of us don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the supreme preference of one person for another. Spiritually, Jesus demands that our preference be for him (Luke 14:26). When the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God, we easily place Jesus first. But we must also learn to work out what God has worked in: we must act on the love he has placed in our hearts.
Before we can do this, God has to knock our pretensions out of us. Through the Holy Spirit, he reveals to us why he loves us: not because we’re lovable, but because love is his nature. God asks us to show this same love to others. He brings people we neither like nor respect into our lives, then asks that we love them as he has loved us.
We can’t reach this kind of love on tiptoe. Some of us have tried, but we were soon exhausted by the effort. Look within and see how the Lord has dealt with you. The knowledge that God has loved you to the utmost—to the end of all your sin and selfishness and wrongness—will send you out into the world to love in the same way. God’s love for you is inexhaustible. You must love others from the bedrock of this love, not on tiptoe but in a great, abandoned leap.
Neither natural love nor divine love will remain unless you cultivate it. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline. Growth in grace stops the moment you get irritated. You get irritated because there is a person in your life you don’t particularly like. Just think how disagreeable you are to God! Are you prepared to be so closely identified with Jesus that his life and sweetness shine through you all the time?

In Christ Alone / The Solid Rock