Redeemer Church of Oklahoma City

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. –Genesis 29:21-26

Jacob works for Laban seven years so he can marry Rachel. Even their initial meeting is a contrast to what should have been. His mother, Rebecca, met his father’s servant at a well. The servant was wise, prayerful, and acknowledged God’s providential hand. Other than meeting at a well, Jacob has almost nothing in common with Abraham’s servant who was on a similar mission before him. In contrast, Jacob was on the run from his deceit and apparently doesn’t pray one word when he meets Rachel.

He does not claim the gospel promises given to him by his father so Laban could maybe make the right decision. He doesn’t claim the gospel promises given to him by God in the dream of the ladder showing the gate of heaven. He just cuts a deal with Laban, which is mostly financial.

So the seven years are complete and they have a feast, indicated by the Hebrew word to be a “drinking feast.” Jacob having had a bit too much mixed together with the dark of night, and separated by the bridal veil, ends up with Leah, the half-blind rejected girl.

Obviously Jacob was furious and felt betrayed. Are we to feel all that sorry for him? In Genesis 27 two brothers were exchanged by a trick during the dark of night after some eating and drinking and behind the veil of Isaac’s blindness. Jacob’s protest is met by Laban’s cutting remark (paraphrased here): “Where we come from, we don’t let the younger get ahead of the older.” That probably left a mark on Jacob to help him remember that one reaps as he sows.

Is there any gospel in this? It doesn’t look good, but of course there is! This is, after all, “about him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:54). The good news is this: human sin, weakness, foolishness, and all manner of evil cannot thwart the redemptive plan of God.

The girl unwanted by her father, half-blind, and utterly unloved by her husband, Leah, is where we see this. When we read the line above, “And in the morning, behold, it was Leah!” we tend to think of that as Jacob’s profoundest disappointment. Maybe it sounds more like this: “And in the morning—O man—it was the wrong one, Leah, ewww!” But that would be a tragic mistake if we read it that way. Here’s what we should see instead: “And in the morning, behold, it was Leah, the mother of Judah, David, and Jesus Christ the Savior of the world!”

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (1 Cor. 1:27)

And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.

The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
The King of Love My Shepherd Is (Psalm 23)
It is Well with My Soul

This Sunday following the service is our June Community Lunch at the church in the “Tuscan Cafe”. Everyone is welcomed to enjoy.

Sunday school for children (in Genesis) and adults (in Galatians) is continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15. 

Visitors are always welcome!