THE DECIEVER DECEIVED

“In the morning Ya’akov saw that he was with Le’ah, and he said to Lavan, ‘What kind of thing is this that you‘ve done to me? Didn’t I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?’”
Genesis 29:25

The old saying that what comes around goes around may not be too far from the truth. I would venture to say, though, that Adonai says it a little different. You reap what you sow. Yet still, maybe an even better way to put it is be sure your sins will find you out. With the same trickery that Ya’akov had once played on Esav, now he was getting played. Originally Lavan had agreed that if Ya’akov worked in his field for seven years, he could have the prize of his daughter Rachel. So smitten with Rachel was he, that he worked for those seven years. To him the Torah records they felt like only a few days. When it came time to collect the wages for his tarry, Ya’akov asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage.
When the agreement between Lavan and Ya’akov was made, I am guessing the small print wasn’t read. The small print stated that within the area of Lavan’s clan, the youngest could not marry before the oldest. That would have been good to know. But maybe it was read and just excused, after all he was smitten. Nonetheless, Ya’akov married and took his bride into the marriage chamber. In the morning he realized it was Le’ah he had wed and became upset with Lavan, asking, “What kind of thing is this that you‘ve done to me? Didn’t I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?” Lavan worked to explain the details of their culture, the fine print, and in the end Ya’akov agreed to finish the wedding week with Le’ah and then marry Rachel the following week in exchange for another seven years of toil.
It didn’t seem to end there, though. The Torah records that Le’ah had weak eyes. Let us not read that wrong. The Hebrew word here is RAK. I have been taught this description of weak eyes means she wasn’t cute. But the true term here is ‘tender’. While Rachel had a sparkle in her eyes, Le’ah had gentleness in hers. But Ya’akov’s heart was for Rachel. Seeing that Le’ah was unloved, lacking sparkle in Ya’akov’s eyes, Adonai opened Le’ah’s womb and hindered that of Rachel. Could we again be seeing the deceiver become the deceived? Was he just doing the marital duties with Le’ah to fulfill an agreement only, and not out of love? If so, it seems as though Adonai was aware of this and closed the womb of the one Ya’akov truly loved. Yet, the battle for Ya’akov’s love and devotion which was proved through the birth of sons was underway.
In time the nation of Isra’el was being birthed just as Adonai had promised, as not only did Le’ah and Rachel engage in the child war, but they brought their maidservants into the battle as well. In just a short time Ya’akov was father to Re’uven, Shim’on, Levi, Y’hudah, Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher. However, not one of these sons came from the woman Ya’akov had wanted to marry from the start.
I guess the point that I am working to make in all this is twofold. One, we can never pull a fast one on Adonai. He doesn’t fall for our tricks as easily as we do. He is able to see the heart of man and avoid the cunning tricks we attempt to play. We may think we are getting away with our trickery, much like Ya’akov might have believed, but in the end it comes back around. But another point can be seen in this account as well. Adonai has compassion on those who seem to not be so loved. Having dealt with rejection for years growing up, I sympathize with Le’ah. When I read her story I see how she was not forgotten or unloved by Adonai. This gives me the assurance I need to go forward, just as I hope it does you.

Genesis 29:18 - 30:13