Daily Devotions
Genesis
"If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitudes of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul" Psalm 94:18-19
Text: Genesis 29:1-35
CAUGHT ON A TECHNICALITY
Jacob demanded and answer from Laban, now his father-in-law. The agreement they had arrived at had not been properly honoured! He had served seven years for the hand of beautiful Rachel. Instead he found that Leah with the weak eyes (euphemistically translated “delicate”) had become his wife. The explanation had better be good!
“And Laban said, ‘It must not be done so in our country,
to give the younger before the firstborn.'”GENESIS 29:26
If Laban had been sincere about the matter, he could have explained this peculiar custom to Jacob. On the other hand, Jacob could have easily discovered that this custom existed. It is difficult to imagine that he had not discovered this peculiarity concerning the firstborn daughter. He was well and truly caught on a technicality. What could he do? He had already consummated the marriage! If he were to divorce Leah, her life would be all but destroyed! On the other hand, his love for Rachel had not abated at all! The seven years, if anything had served to deepen and strengthen this love.
A WAY OUT?
Laban suggested a way out of this quagmire that Jacob found himself trapped in! The solution proffered was deemed acceptable in those days. The solution was multiple marriage. His father-in-law was the one who suggested the answer.
“Fulfil her week, and we will give you this one also
for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”GENESIS 29:27
Laban’s approach was rather matter-of-fact. He must have had difficulty in finding a suitable groom for Leah. Her physical features were just not comely enough to attract suitors! He must have been glad that he had tricked Jacob successfully into marrying Leah.
He had also counted on two other things. Firstly, that Jacob would have a sense of duty or honour strong enough not to abandon Leah after the marriage. Secondly, he banked on the strength of Jacob’s love for Rachel. Surely, he loved her enough to work another seven years for her hand in marriage. That would mean that Jacob would have put in fourteen years of service for the sake of Rachel! Would Jacob accept this way out?
“HOBSON’S CHOICE”
There was little that Jacob could do to resolve the dilemma he found himself in. He couldn’t abandon Leah. And he truly loved Rachel. He was truly between a rock and a hard place. Jacob must have felt that he had no choice at all. He quietly accepted Laban’s solution.
“Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him
his daughter Rachel as wife also.”GENESIS 29:28