The Birthright Prevails

"And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he [Jacob] went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah, Zilpah his maid for a handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? Did I not serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave Rachel his daughter Bilbah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." (Genesis 29:21-30)

ZING!

That is the sound of Jacob experiencing divine retribution. And all because Leah is the firstborn and therefore has the firstborn's right to marry before her younger sister. Then again, we were told in the previous scripture passage that Leah is called "tender-eyed" which is a term meaning that she has "blue eyes;" something that was considered to be a flaw at that time in Mesopotamia. Thus, she was not considered to be a beautiful woman, while Rachel most definitely was beautiful. Knowing Laban as we now do (a conniver that is no match for the conniver that Jacob is), perhaps he used her birthright to help "marry off" a daughter who otherwise might never find a suitor. I feel certain this is the case.

But as testimony to Jacob's love for Rachel, he does not quibble with Laban over it for long, because immediately Laban has offered him Rachel for the very reduced price of: only seven MORE years of labor. Any other man would have turned away from that offer in disgust, but Jacob loved Rachel and was determined to have her. And we know that when Jacob wants something he can be very determined until he gets it. I believe this is a character trait that God can use, actually, and one that He would like to see in all of us; especially in our pursuit of the things of God.

There are two things to take note of in this passage of scripture.

The first is the use of the phrase "fulfill her week." This passage reads a bit differently in the NIV version in which Laban asks Jacob to "finish this daughter's bridal week" (the honeymoon period, in a sense). Fulfilling Leah's bridal week and then receiving Rachel, entails upon Jacob another seven years of work. We might then say that this one week actually represents seven years for Jacob. In some mysterious way that I cannot fully connect, there IS still a connection, like a little clue here of some sort to another passage of scripture we will get into further in our study when we get to the Book of Daniel. This use of the term "week" will be used more distinctly to actually mean seven years in an angelic revelation given to Daniel, a future descendant of Jacob.

In Daniel 9:24 is a reference to" 70 weeks" which is actually seven years times 70 weeks (or 490 years). The Israelites, Daniel is being told by the angel Gabriel, will remain in Babylonian captivity for 70 weeks; in reality it was 490 years. This wasn't an error on the part of Gabriel who was delivering his message from the Lord to Daniel. It is the proper definition of the term "70 weeks" which he used. We will get into that more when we get to Daniel. But understand that this also is speaking of a "week" of seven years.

The other thing to note is the two handmaids that are given to both Leah and Rachel. These two handmaids are important later on; for from Leah and Rachel AND Zilpah and Bilbah will come all twelve of the sons of Jacob who will form the twelve tribes of Israel.