†. Gen 29:24 . . Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his
daughter Leah as her maid.
Zilpah didn't say anything either. In fact she very likely assisted Leah to
bathe and prepare for her wedding night. Poor Jacob. He was so defeated. It
was like the whole world, and even the stars above in their courses, were
out to get the old boy that night.
†. Gen 29:25 . .When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to
Laban; What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for
Rachel! Why did you deceive me?
There is really no one to blame for this but Jacob himself. They say to never
look a gift horse in the mouth. But I think your wedding night has to be the
exception. For crying out loud, you'd think the man would have enough
sense to make sure the woman in his bed was the one who was supposed to
be there. Yes, Laban was a rascal. But then so was Leah, and so was Zilpah;
and Rachel too. And maybe this gave Jacob cause to remember how he
tricked his own dad back home into giving him Esau's blessing. There's an
old saying: What goes around, comes around.
†. Gen 29:26 . . Laban said; It is not the practice in our place to
marry off the younger before the older.
Our? To whom does "our" refer? You mean all those wedding guests? Don't
tell me they were all privy to the scam too? Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw. By golly;
they were, weren't they? Jacob was probably well aware of local customs
having lived in "our place" for seven years already. So Laban was just
reminding him how improper it would have been to marry off Rachel ahead
of Leah. Perhaps Jacob expected the locals would make an exception for him
because he paid for Rachel. But no; local custom was local custom, and even
Mr. Silver Spoon In Your Mouth was going to have to accept it. Jacob may
have had his way uncontested back at the well; but this time? Nope.
†. Gen 29:27 . .Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we
will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven
years.
Apparently the groom had seven days to change his mind. And in Jacob's
case, he certainly had a valid reason to annul the marriage. But Jacob was
an Ethan Frome kind of guy. I don't think he wanted to hurt Leah, and
maybe even felt partially responsible for her predicament. That's a crummy
reason to marry a girl, but I don't think Jacob could have lived with himself
if he threw Leah back now. After all, Jacob was her first love, and it's not like
she was used goods or anything, at least up to this point.
Who were the "we" that would give Rachel to Jacob? Probably Laban's sons.
Dads and brothers were the ones to give away brides in that culture. But
what chutzpah that weasel had! Should Jacob serve another seven years?
Jacob should've stood up to Laban, collected his legitimate bride, and gone
home. He was so strong when he and Rebecca tricked Isaac. But now; no;
now he's going to cave.
†. Gen 29:28-29 . . Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the
one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife. Laban had
given his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.
Maidservants weren't just female commodities. They were actually a part of
the household, and often treated with a pretty fair degree of respect.
Note: although Jacob had to serve another seven years to own Rachel; he
only had to wait for Leah's bridal week to conclude to take Rachel home with
him.
†. Gen 29:30 . . And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he
loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven
years.
Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, Jacob's situation led to some
favoritism. And in this case, I think Jacob began spending most of his time
with Rachel and leaving Leah out in the cold; so to speak; viz: she was in the
unenviable limbo of a burden to her husband. However, since Jacob chose to
keep Leah, he was morally obligated to treat her as if he loved her, even if
he really didn't.
†. Gen 29:31 . .The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened
her womb; but Rachel was barren.
God didn't make Rachel barren. She was already that way. And Leah was
too. In fact, every one of the matriarchs were barren women. It must have
been in their genes. But The Lord elected to repair Leah and leave Rachel
out of whack for a while longer.
I really don't think what The Lord did was punishment against Jacob and
Rachel. I think it was a countermeasure to force Jacob to pay a little more
attention to Leah. It's very important for spouses to bond. Allowing Jacob to
focus too much of his attention on Rachel would soon make Leah the odd
man out; and a very lonely woman.
But why would God do that-- take an interest in Leah's problems? Because,
as Hagar discovered, Abraham's god is a sensitive god who sees people
(Gen 16:13-14). And it seems very obvious to me that He was sympathetic
to Leah's circumstances.
And that tells me something. It's true that Leah was in on the scheme to
trick Jacob. But God didn't get upset with her for that. In fact, it looks to me
like He was actually very pleased that she married Jacob. After all, it was
through Leah that the man predicted in Dan 7:13-14 would come, not
Rachel. I believe that is very significant.
I would even go so far as to say that Leah was the one God Himself would
have picked for Jacob if he had only sought a wife in the very same manner
that Abraham had sought one for Isaac. But no. Jacob took matters into his
own hands, came to Haran in person, and fell in love with the wrong girl.
Well; he ended up marrying Leah anyway in spite of his feelings for Rachel;
just like his dad ended up blessing Jacob in spite of his feelings for Esau.
Most guys have visions of the girl they would like to marry. She's young,
gorgeous, shapely, and compliant. But the reality is: most will never find a
girl like that. So they settle for what they can get and become resigned to
missing out on life. Big mistake. Leah was no less a woman just because she
wasn't Miss Haran circa 1770 bc. And when the chips are down in life, your
very best friend had better be your wife. Beauty means nothing when a man
is out of work, or coming down with cancer. That's when guys need a faithful
friend, not a love pet.
Unbeknownst to Jacob, he was destined to father the twelve primary tribes of
Israel. Up to now, It had been one patriarch fathering just one descendant. But
that all changed with Jacob. The nation of Israel quite literally started with him.
(chuckle) That guy lived solo for better than eighty years of his life and then
all of a sudden, WHAM, in just one week's time, four women moved in with
him. Then, in just seven years time, he had a posse of juveniles running
around the house. Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw
Cont.
/
daughter Leah as her maid.
Zilpah didn't say anything either. In fact she very likely assisted Leah to
bathe and prepare for her wedding night. Poor Jacob. He was so defeated. It
was like the whole world, and even the stars above in their courses, were
out to get the old boy that night.
†. Gen 29:25 . .When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to
Laban; What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for
Rachel! Why did you deceive me?
There is really no one to blame for this but Jacob himself. They say to never
look a gift horse in the mouth. But I think your wedding night has to be the
exception. For crying out loud, you'd think the man would have enough
sense to make sure the woman in his bed was the one who was supposed to
be there. Yes, Laban was a rascal. But then so was Leah, and so was Zilpah;
and Rachel too. And maybe this gave Jacob cause to remember how he
tricked his own dad back home into giving him Esau's blessing. There's an
old saying: What goes around, comes around.
†. Gen 29:26 . . Laban said; It is not the practice in our place to
marry off the younger before the older.
Our? To whom does "our" refer? You mean all those wedding guests? Don't
tell me they were all privy to the scam too? Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw. By golly;
they were, weren't they? Jacob was probably well aware of local customs
having lived in "our place" for seven years already. So Laban was just
reminding him how improper it would have been to marry off Rachel ahead
of Leah. Perhaps Jacob expected the locals would make an exception for him
because he paid for Rachel. But no; local custom was local custom, and even
Mr. Silver Spoon In Your Mouth was going to have to accept it. Jacob may
have had his way uncontested back at the well; but this time? Nope.
†. Gen 29:27 . .Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we
will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven
years.
Apparently the groom had seven days to change his mind. And in Jacob's
case, he certainly had a valid reason to annul the marriage. But Jacob was
an Ethan Frome kind of guy. I don't think he wanted to hurt Leah, and
maybe even felt partially responsible for her predicament. That's a crummy
reason to marry a girl, but I don't think Jacob could have lived with himself
if he threw Leah back now. After all, Jacob was her first love, and it's not like
she was used goods or anything, at least up to this point.
Who were the "we" that would give Rachel to Jacob? Probably Laban's sons.
Dads and brothers were the ones to give away brides in that culture. But
what chutzpah that weasel had! Should Jacob serve another seven years?
Jacob should've stood up to Laban, collected his legitimate bride, and gone
home. He was so strong when he and Rebecca tricked Isaac. But now; no;
now he's going to cave.
†. Gen 29:28-29 . . Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the
one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife. Laban had
given his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.
Maidservants weren't just female commodities. They were actually a part of
the household, and often treated with a pretty fair degree of respect.
Note: although Jacob had to serve another seven years to own Rachel; he
only had to wait for Leah's bridal week to conclude to take Rachel home with
him.
†. Gen 29:30 . . And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he
loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven
years.
Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, Jacob's situation led to some
favoritism. And in this case, I think Jacob began spending most of his time
with Rachel and leaving Leah out in the cold; so to speak; viz: she was in the
unenviable limbo of a burden to her husband. However, since Jacob chose to
keep Leah, he was morally obligated to treat her as if he loved her, even if
he really didn't.
†. Gen 29:31 . .The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened
her womb; but Rachel was barren.
God didn't make Rachel barren. She was already that way. And Leah was
too. In fact, every one of the matriarchs were barren women. It must have
been in their genes. But The Lord elected to repair Leah and leave Rachel
out of whack for a while longer.
I really don't think what The Lord did was punishment against Jacob and
Rachel. I think it was a countermeasure to force Jacob to pay a little more
attention to Leah. It's very important for spouses to bond. Allowing Jacob to
focus too much of his attention on Rachel would soon make Leah the odd
man out; and a very lonely woman.
But why would God do that-- take an interest in Leah's problems? Because,
as Hagar discovered, Abraham's god is a sensitive god who sees people
(Gen 16:13-14). And it seems very obvious to me that He was sympathetic
to Leah's circumstances.
And that tells me something. It's true that Leah was in on the scheme to
trick Jacob. But God didn't get upset with her for that. In fact, it looks to me
like He was actually very pleased that she married Jacob. After all, it was
through Leah that the man predicted in Dan 7:13-14 would come, not
Rachel. I believe that is very significant.
I would even go so far as to say that Leah was the one God Himself would
have picked for Jacob if he had only sought a wife in the very same manner
that Abraham had sought one for Isaac. But no. Jacob took matters into his
own hands, came to Haran in person, and fell in love with the wrong girl.
Well; he ended up marrying Leah anyway in spite of his feelings for Rachel;
just like his dad ended up blessing Jacob in spite of his feelings for Esau.
Most guys have visions of the girl they would like to marry. She's young,
gorgeous, shapely, and compliant. But the reality is: most will never find a
girl like that. So they settle for what they can get and become resigned to
missing out on life. Big mistake. Leah was no less a woman just because she
wasn't Miss Haran circa 1770 bc. And when the chips are down in life, your
very best friend had better be your wife. Beauty means nothing when a man
is out of work, or coming down with cancer. That's when guys need a faithful
friend, not a love pet.
Unbeknownst to Jacob, he was destined to father the twelve primary tribes of
Israel. Up to now, It had been one patriarch fathering just one descendant. But
that all changed with Jacob. The nation of Israel quite literally started with him.
(chuckle) That guy lived solo for better than eighty years of his life and then
all of a sudden, WHAM, in just one week's time, four women moved in with
him. Then, in just seven years time, he had a posse of juveniles running
around the house. Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw
Cont.
/
