LIFE SCRIPTS

28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Genesis 29:28‭-‬30 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.29.28-30.NIV.

Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. However, Jacob’s love for Rachel was unmistakeable. Even after discovering Laban’s trickery, he still desired her. He ended up working for seven more years for the sake of Rachel’s hand in marriage. This man Laban was playing the opportunist while Jacob was the victim. When we expect fair treatment but are taken advantage of by opportunists, how should we act? What should we do? These are very hard yet pertinent questions especially in our age where many people are victims of injustice. From this scripture, we see a unique reaction from Jacob. One that doesn’t come spontaneously but only through God’s enablement. He chose to keep his word. He had kept his word the first time even though Laban played the trickster. This second time, he still was determined to keep his word. God was at work in his heart. That person who defaulted oft times to tricks was now determined to do the right thing. That person, Jacob, was in pursuit of something of value to him, his lover, Rachel and would go through thick and thin to win her even if it meant that he suffer yet once again for her. This is the analogy depicting Christ. I remember Christ. The One who loved us so dearly that sought to undergo ridicule, suffering and even death to prepare us to unite with Him on that Day. Jacob’s love for Rachel was true love. Do I love my wife this way? This story highlights something key, always choose to do the right thing. Yes we might be victims of other people’s devices and schemes and we might have fallen on the wrong side of the bargain in the process. However, God’s word encourages us to do right. It doesn’t say that doing right is easy, manageable or convenient. However, doing right is always right before God.
Another observation worth noting is that marriage is not just a uniting of two people alone but a joining together of cultures. Laban was bound to follow his cultural practices. Jacob might not have believed in them but he had no choice. Whereas he desired Rachel he ended up marrying both her and her sister, Leah. It might seem like he struck a bonus now that he was also granted their servants, Bilhah and Zilpah. However, a fast forward into his family life would expose us to the intrigues and tensions in his family. Polygamy is definitely not an answer. It is not in God’s original plan for man.