Genesis 29:32- 30:24
"Jacob" means "trickster," and he had tricked his brother Esau out of both the birthright and the blessing. Now the tables are turned, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had worked 7 years for Rachel, and ended up with her sister instead! So Laban also let him marry Rachel, and work 7 more years!
And God is building the House of Jacob, the Tribes of Israel. We see eleven of his sons born in these two chapters. We also see the rivalry and competition between these two sisters: dysfunction in the families of these people God chose and used for His purposes.
And He still uses even us, with our own dysfunctional families today. Relationships are and have always been so messy! We do what we can, and sometimes we make matters worse, but sometimes we can smooth over some of the rough spots. The most we can do is to pray for our family relationships that they can be healed.
We can also be encouraged, knowing that God uses our imperfect selves and families for His own purposes, and we will only find out the whole story, the Big Picture, when we are in that wonderful Eternity God has planned for us, and see how all the dark and shining threads wove together in that grand tapestry.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
