The Ole Switcheroo - Genesis 29:24-30

29:24-30 - It comes in the middle of wedding celebrations, but Zilpah was given to Leah as a handmaid by Laban, which meant that Zilpah was now Leah’s personal property, not Jacob’s. I have often wondered just what Zilpah and Bilhah’s thoughts and feelings about being given as handmaids and then accessory wives. It’s definitely a testament to God’s ability to take unfortunate circumstances, such as slavery or servitude, and use them to accomplish his purposes, such as creating several of the tribes of Israel. And it’s also important to note that while God doesn’t want or need these unfortunate circumstances in order to accomplish his will, he still greives for anyone’s pain or suffering and that all will be made right in the end, I know that sounds glib, but it’s a vital principle to know and understand as much as possible.

Jacob takes Leah into the tent, thinking that she is Rachel, and they consummate their marriage, but “in the morning, behold it was Leah.” Jacob is understandably and rightfully furious, but I can’t help but think of what poor Leah was feeling when she was so publicly rejected. Anyway, just like Jacob deceived his father Isaac to obtain the birthright blessing, Laban deceived Jacob to rid himself of Leah, serious consequences in both instances. Jacob demands of Laban, “what is this thou hast done unto me?” Laban responds kind of blithely, “it must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.”

If this was really the case, which it might have been conventionally, Jacob would have seen this coming before getting married. If this truly was the hard and fast, unchanging rule of their time, then the night before his wedding, or at any time in the previous 7 years, Jacob would have confronted Laban and asked, “hey, I know I’m doing all this work so that I can marry Rachel, but if Leah isn’t married first there will be a problem, what are we going to do about that.” I mean at that point Jacob had lived in that land for over 7 years, this isn’t something that he never would have heard about, this shouldn’t have been brand new information to him at this point, so either Laban is overstating the significance or Jacob is just an unobservant idiot.

I read somewhere that marriage contracts were written out anciently and would have likely been the case here, which means that Jacob would have signed a contract for Rachel not Leah, meaning that if he so chose he could negate the marriage. But there are several aspects he needs to take into consideration. Jacob has the upper hand legally because Laban violated the terms of their contract, so Jacob could probably walk away from Leah without recourse. However, Jacob still wants to marry Rachel, which would still require Laban’s permission and if Jacob broke the marriage with Leah, it’s unlikely that Laban would allow Rachel to marry him, and because Rachel was so beautiful, surely she had many marriage options.

And while it seems that no one is caring about Leah and her feelings, she did still consummate the marriage with Jacob meaning that she would probably have an even more difficult time finding another man to marry her because we all know how absolutely crucial the bride’s virginity plays here. We know that Laban had no plans for either of his daughters to be cared for after his death, as we’ll see in upcoming chapters, and with Leah being unable to marry up to that point, regardless of his anger, it is possible that Jacob considered the fact that Leah would have basically been thrown to the wolves at that point if he broke the marriage contract. Considering that he might have kept the marriage, not only to have Rachel, but also to protect Leah, is something I need to think about when deciding my feelings toward Jacob.

While in negotiations, Jacob has his legal right to annul the marriage to Leah, but Laban presents his terms, “fulfill her week,” or basically, keep the marriage with Leah and pretend that this was the plan all along, “and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.” Laban really hit a home run here with his negotiation skills, Jack Donaghy would be proud. He’s managed to rid himself of two daughters, two servants, and guarantee free skilled labor from Jacob for another 7 years, he really made out like a bandit here, at the expense of almost everyone else, so I think we can confidently say that Laban sucks.

Jacob agrees to Laban’s terms, celebrated the week with Leah, then Laban “gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.” Laban gives Bilhah as a servant to Rachel, making her Rachel’s property instead of Jacob’s, and Jacob “loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.” It’s interesting how in life there can be instances where you anticipate a certain outcome, plan for it, pray over it, work for it, and everything is going perfectly, then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everything is flipped on it’s head and you feel like you’re kicked in the face, like there is a point in your life “before” and “after.” I bet Jacob envisioned his wedding night with Rachel for the whole 7 years he worked for Laban, then laying there on his actual first wedding night with Rachel, I bet he felt like his whole life had been turned upside down.