Sunday, January 25, 2015

Genesis 29: The Trickster Is Tricked

Jacob had once benefited from dressing up and pretending to be someone else, stealing his brother's identity in order to gain their father's blessing.  How ironic, therefore, that he himself should be tricked into marrying Leah, who had disguised herself so as to be thought to be her sister Rachel!

I mentioned earlier that one should be cautious in determining which biblical models to follow.  This act of marrying off Leah to Jacob when he believed himself to be marrying Rachel is a good example of a terrible practice.  Laban had a bad idea.  Jacob was plainly in love with his beautiful younger daughter, but because Laban wanted the older one married first, he tricked Jacob on his wedding night.

And if you thought Jacob and Esau's sibling rivalry was bad, just wait until you meet Leah and Rachel!

There are some interesting expressions in this chapter of the Bible.  Among my favorites:

  • "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (vs. 20).
  • "When morning came, it was Leah!" (vs. 25)


Every time I read Genesis 29, I feel so badly for Leah.  Can you imagine being married off to someone who plainly loved someone else?  And it's your sibling?  And then he marries her, too, and you feel neglected and abandoned by your husband?  God must have bad for Leah, too, for here are some of the scriptures about the grace He showed her:

  • "When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb" (vs. 31).
  • Leah named her first son Reuben, which means, "Because the Lord has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me" (vs. 32).
  • But she was optimistic.  Her second son she named Simeon, meaning, "Because the Lord heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also" (vs. 33).
  • Yet hope springs eternal.  Her third son was Levi, which means, "Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons" (vs. 34).
  • It sounds like she finally changed her focus from trying to please an impossible husband to recognizing the goodness of the Lord, for her fourth son, Judah, has a name which  means, "This time I will praise the Lord" (vs. 35).


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