"And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years."
Genesis 29:18-27
This is a crazy story. It's Jacob dealing with his uncle Laban and negotiating to take his daughter as his wife, for which he serves him seven years. The upfront negotiation seems clear, but at the end of those seven years Jacob sends in his OTHER daughter, which Jacob discovers in the morning. If there was a problem with giving the younger daughter before the elder, you would think maybe he should have brought it up seven years ago... or at least been clear about it when he brought her, but apparently the whole thing was a deception. ... We don't know the exact reasons that Laban did this, but I feel bad for most of the people involved. Leah had it pretty bad. I have no idea if she wanted this to happen the whole time, or whether her father could have found her another husband, or what, but she gets placed in an challenging situation here, where her relationship with her husband *and* with her sister is tainted up front, which had to be hard on her, and likely on everyone. Jacob was cheated, but he was now married quite solidly to a different woman, and "casting her off" would have been super bad. So he's trapped in a lot of ways. And then Rachel too... did she know what her father and sister were doing up front? Talk about a challenging beginning to a marriage.
Later in the story, when Jacob leaves Laban's service, it seems like the women are on the same page about it and perhaps the intervening years helped them work through all of the awkwardness, but honestly, the whole thing was just a scary thing to have to deal with. It likely isn't a direct correllation, since I am guessing that very few of us are in a similar situation, but it does make me think of situations in our lives that seem similarly impossible to deal with... just ultra challenging, and not something you want to touch with a 10-foot pole. But we're in them, and we have to learn to cope, get along with those that seem like our enemies at times, bad family situations, relationships that seem poisoned and we aren't sure if there is a way to get back to something positive. ... Bridges that we have burned and that might not be able to be rebuilt. There are so many ways that our lives twist, whether or not we're doing the twisting.
Today, let's work on some patience and perserverance... finding ways to see the good in our lives, and treating the people around us with gentleness and kindness, no matter the circumstances. Let's take the life that we've been given and make it the best, happiest life we can, despite the occasional plots twists and hurdles. God is still in there rooting for us, and making a way for us to find happiness. Let's follow him and find that joy hidden amidst the challenges. :)
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