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GENESIS 29
Jacob came to live and work with his extended family and was tricked into marrying Leah. -- (DATE: From 1714 to around 1700 before Christ)
DISCOVER Genesis 29: Arriving at his destination in Mesopotamia, Jacob came upon a group of shepherds waiting to water their flocks from a well sealed by a heavy stone. Coming close, Jacob inquired, whether he is in the right place and if they knew of Laban here. Affirming his questions they told him that Laban’s daughter Rachel was just coming up with her father’s flock of sheep. When he saw her, Jacob moved the stone seal from the well alone (which, by the description given usually needed multiple people to move) and watered Rachel’s herd. He then went and properly introduced himself to his cousin under tears of joy. Hearing this, Rachel immediately went to inform her father of their relative’s arrival, who didn’t hesitate to invite Jacob to his house, where Jacob told him of himself, his father and mother, Laban’s sister. -- Seeing that Jacob had already worked for him, by watering his sheep, he asks his nephew what he desired in payment for his efforts. Laban had two daughters, the elder Leah, who had bad eyesight, and the younger Rachel, who was beautiful. So Jacob offered that he would work for his uncle for the coming seven years for him to get the hand of his younger daughter in marriage. Seeing that Jacob would be a good match for her, Laban agreed, leading Jacob to work hard and full of vigor in anticipation of getting his beloved Rachel as a wife. -- When the seven years were over and Jacob had been eager to consummate his marriage with Rachel, Laban held a great feast for him. But when the time came, he brought his eldest daughter Leah to Jacob’s tent, who was too eager to notice this until the next morning had come. Furious Jacob confronted Laban, who justified his deceit by telling him that he could not give his second daughter away in marriage before he had married off the first one, and so convinced Jacob to remain married to Leah and work another seven years to also get Rachel as his wife. -- When God saw that Leah suffered hatred from the people around her, due to her father’s trickery, he showed her mercy and made her fruitful, while closing off the womb of her younger sister. In the following years Leah bore four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, for her husband Jacob, hoping each time that this would lead him to love her and make her indispensable for him. (NOTE: Jacob tricked his twin brother Esau and his father Isaac to legally become the firstborn son. Now this deceiver was himself deceived by his future father-in-law. This teaches us: Do not do to others, what you do not want others do to you.)
PRAYER: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us insight into how you began to fulfill your promises to Abraham and Isaac. You promised them multitudes of offspring, but they each only had one single son, whom you chose as heir of your promises to them. But now, with Jacob and his wife Leah, you began to unfold your plan of building a nation from Abraham and Isaac. Thank you that you love those, who are weak and despised, heaping your grace upon them more than on the strong and honored. We learn this from the testimonies of the despised Leah and the desired Rachel. You are truly a loving Father, full of mercy and grace to the weak and despised. Amen.
QUESTION 29: How did Leah and Rachel differ from each other?