VAYETZE

“…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?" (Gen 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 God says it a little different. You reap what you sew. Yet still, maybe an even better way to put it is be sure your sins will find you out. With the same trickery that Jacob had once played on Esau, now Jacob was getting played. Originally Laban had agreed that if Jacob 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, Jacob asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage.
When the agreement between Laban and Jacob was made, I am guessing the small print wasn’t read. The small print stated that within the area of Laban’s clan, the youngest could not marry before the oldest. That would have been good to know beforehand. But maybe it was read and just excused, after all he was smitten. Nonetheless, Jacob married and took his bride into the marriage chamber. In the morning he realized it was Leah he had wed and became upset with Laban, 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? (Gen 29:25).” Laban worked to explain the details of their culture, the fine print so to say, and in the end Jacob agreed to finish the wedding week with Leah 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 Leah 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, Leah had gentleness in hers. But Jacob’s heart was for Rachel. Seeing that Leah was unloved, lacking sparkle in Jacob’s eyes, God opened Leah’s womb and hindered that of Rachel. Could we again be seeing the deceiver becoming the deceived? Was he just doing the marital duties with Leah to fulfill an agreement only, and not out of love? If so, it seems as though God was aware of this and closed the womb of the one Jacob truly loved. Yet, the battle for Jacob’s love and devotion which was proved through the birth of sons was underway.
In time the nation of Israel was being birthed just as God had promised, as not only did Leah and Rachel engage in the child war, but they brought their maidservants into the battle as well. In just a short time Jacob was father to a number of sons. Let us briefly look at these sons and learn a little about them.

REUBEN - Re’uven – birthed of Leah. His name means “See a son!” Leah believed that with a son, that she would be loved finally, or at least a little less than she was compared to Rachel. She also believed that the LORD had seen her affliction and had had mercy on her.
SIMEON - Shim’on – birthed of Leah. His name means “The LORD has heard”. Still knowing she was not as loved as Rachel, she believed the LORD had again heard her cry, and this time had had pity on her in giving another son.
LEVI – Leivi – birthed of Leah. His name means “joined”. With now three sons, Leah hoped that she would now be joined with her husband, Jacob.
JUDAH - Y’hudah – birthed of Leah. His name means “praise,” saying that with the birth of this son, praise would be given to the LORD.
DAN - Dan – birthed to Bilhah (Rachel’s maidservant). His name means “God has vindicated”. Rachel felt that since she was unable to have children, she too would have them through her servant, and in this she would be honored as a mother.
NAPHTALI – Naftali – birthed to Bilhah. His name means “wrestling”. This name stems from the wrestling over Jacob’s love between Leah and Rachel.
GAD – Gad – birthed to Zilpah (Leah’s maidservant). His name means “fortunate”. Once Leah stopped having children, she used Zilpah to continue her family, declaring how fortunate she was to continue her sons through her servant.
ASHER – Asher – birthed to Zilpah. His name means “happy”. In naming him Asher, her thought was that women would see her as blessed.
ISSACHAR – Yissakhar – birthed to Leah when traded with Rachel for mandrakes, believed by many to be an aphrodisiac and fertility drug. His name means “God has given me my wages”.
ZEBULUN – Z’vulun – birthed to Leah. His name means “dwell, living together”. In this meaning, Leah felt that Jacob would now want to dwell with her.

However, not one of these ten sons came from the woman Jacob had wanted to marry from the start. What we find in the end is that God had compassion on Leah, the one who seemed not to be so loved. But this same God who had compassion of Leah is recorded as having compassion on Rachel as well in Genesis 30:22. “Then God took note of Rachel, heeded her prayer and made her fertile.” Through Rachel would come the final two sons of Jacob.
JOSEPH – Yosef – birthed to Rachel. His name means “may he add”. With the birth of Joseph, Rachel finally felt as though God had taken her disgrace away, and in time would add other sons.
BENJAMIN – Binyamin – birthed to Rachel. His name means “son of my right hand”. As Rachel lay failing in health with the delivery of her final son, she named him Ben-Oni (son of my grief). However, Jacob changed his name to Benjamin (Gen 35:16-20).

What stands out to me in this list of children is that while Jacob did not have children with the wife he longed to have them with till the end, God was still in control. God, putting all the pieces in order, allowed Jacob's line to expand and thus fulfill the promise he had given to Abraham years before. Let this stand as an encouragement to us also that while at times what we are in may be different than we hoped and expected, God is still...and always...in control.