Written by Elesa Goad Mason, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Texas
Have you ever loved something or someone so much that you knew in your soul God had a plan for your life with your greatest desire in it? Well, even if you don’t, Jacob did— at least when it came to love. In the beginning of Genesis 29, Jacob begins his journey to find a place to work and live, with his mother’s brother Laban. He needed to find a place to “hide out” to avoid his brother Esau’s anger and desire to kill him for pulling off the successful “deceit of the century” of his father, Isaac, for Esau’s birthright and blessing as the oldest son.
Fear took him there, but love at first sight kept him there in Harran. After staying with his uncle for a month, Laban approached Jacob about a paid position working for him.
Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” (Ge 29:18)
Laban readily agreed, and the beautiful wedding was set in motion. However, upon waking up after the wedding night, when the alcohol wore off and the veils were removed, to his dismay, Jacob realized that he had bedded Leah, the older sister, instead of his heart’s desire.
Therefore, he was tricked into an additional seven years. The next morning, Jacob’s ranting led Laban to agree to let Jacob marry Rachel after he completed Leah’s one-week marriage bed, but only with the guarantee of seven more years of labor. I often wonder why Jacob was so shocked at the whole plan. After all, wasn’t it his own deception and struggle for redemption that landed him there in the first place?
By marrying both daughters, he created a very complex, eclectic family of his own. Both women competed for his love and attention. In biblical times, the sign of a successful wife was a fertile woman who could bear many children for her husband, particularly males who would carry on the name as well as the bloodline of the father. Leah, the older daughter of Laban, was described as tender-eyed, while the younger, Rachel, was described as lovely in form and beautiful. It was well known that Jacob deeply loved Rachel and was silent about his feelings toward Leah.
This rivalry leads to the birth of twelve sons, who become the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. The birth of these sons symbolizes the continuation of Jacob's lineage and the fulfillment of God's promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars.
I often wonder how taking circumstances into our control, such as Laban deceiving Jacob with the “wife switch” wedding ordeal, shows the glory and compassion of the Lord in ways we could never imagine. Leah may have thought she was getting quite a catch, but in the end, she turned out to be unloved and unwanted. God showed Leah empathy by opening her womb to six sons for Jacob, who had no idea during his lifetime what she really did for him… More than 30 generations later (Mt 1), Jesus was born through the line of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son through Leah. Who knew!? God knew!
God uses our unmet expectations to meet His needs— His plans for us. The smile across the grocery store, moving out of the way of an impatient driver, helping a stranger who appears to be in need are ways in which we may have no idea that we are meeting God’s expectations of us. And that’s just the little stuff. When children run away, when marriages fail, when dear friends pass away much sooner than we think they should, God has a purpose and a plan for everything in our lives and decisions.
When we just can’t understand why our plans aren’t turning out the way we had hoped they would, we must believe that God may be changing the wedding ceremony from the dress rehearsal for a reason.
Find a way to encourage those in your lives, including yourself, to trust in the journey deviations that God places in our path to fulfill His desire for salvation for everyone (2Pe 3:9).
