Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Today I read Genesis 29 where Jacob meets Rachel and agrees to work for his uncle Laban for seven years. This story has always baffled me because the way it is written makes Laban out to be quite duplicitous. And perhaps that is really the way he was, I don't know. I know though that in my mind, the Lord cannot be pleased with Laban because Laban was not honest and up front with Jacob.

As the story is written Laban makes a bargain with Jacob to work for him for seven years and that he will give his younger daughter to Jacob for a wife. At the end of the seven years they have a wedding feast and the marriage takes place however Jacob is not aware that he is actually marrying Leah, the elder daughter, I assume because some kind of veil. Why Rachel would not tell Jacob or how Laban could be so cruel as to not let Rachel attend her own sister's wedding I don't know. Or perhaps it was the culture and Rachel really didn't care, I don't really know. But Jacob goes in and performs his husbandly duties that night and does not realize that it is not Rachel until the morning. When he confronts Laban, Laban tells Jacob that it is against their custom to marry the younger daughter before the elder is married.

Now, I do believe that if Laban had been upfront and honest about all this and told Jacob, look you can marry Rachel but you have to marry Leah too, Jacob would have agreed for love of Rachel. But Laban felt the need to trick Jacob, lie to him, go back on their bargain, and all for the sake of a custom! Now, I understand that in some cultures custom and ritual is everything to them, but Laban, as far as is implied, was a worshiper of God. It just blows my mind how he could have thought that his behavior was ok in the sight of God? I mean this is deception of the worst sort!

And unfortunately the victim in all of it, is Leah. How horrible to have that first night with your husband and then to find out he was only that way because he thought you were someone else! However, Jacob must have had some feelings for Leah because she bares him 4 sons and we don't know how many daughters. So despite Rachel being his favorite, we can see that Jacob did not completely neglect Leah.

The one thing Laban does do that is slightly honorable, is even though he requires yet another seven years of service, he does not make Jacob wait the seven extra years to marry Rachel. He has Jacob spend the week with his new bride, Leah, and then he gave Rachel to Jacob to marry and he serves out his additional seven years after the fact. It is a strange tale indeed and I personally would not want to be Laban on judgment day! Until tomorrow.