Genesis 29:22-30
So Laban brought
together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came,
he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her.
And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.
When morning came,
there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I
served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
Laban replied, “It is
not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older
one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one
also, in return for another seven years of work.”
And Jacob did so. He
finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be
his wife. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel
as her attendant. Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love
for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another
seven years.
Comments
Jacob’s life was shaped by deception. He took advantage of
Esau to gain his inheritance and deceived Isaac to gain the blessing intended
for Esau. Jacob was then deceived by his uncle Laban and ended up with an
unexpected wife.
This story is clearly
set in a time and place far different from our own. Leah and Rachel played no
role in choosing a husband for themselves; everything was arranged by the
father for the benefit of the father. Laban’s adherence to a custom unknown to
Jacob led to Jacob having two wives instead of one. Jacob was too drunk on his wedding night to know who came into his tent. Jacob had back to back
honeymoons with his two wives and ended up loving one more than the other. How
unfair it all seems!
A modern retelling of Genesis would almost certainly have
Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, Jacob, Leah, Rachel and Laban at various times crying out,
“It’s not fair!” This is not the way God intended life to be, and yet God consistently
used the unfairness of life to shape the grand narrative of redemption.
Reflections
Although the culture and traditions of Genesis seem strange
to us today, the unfairness of life is all too familiar. What has been your experience
in this regard? In what positive or negative ways has unfairness shaped your
life?
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