Yaakov the Trickster met his match when he fled to find sanctuary with Lavan. This would be one of Genesis's great moments of poetic justice; Yaakov, the younger, had swindled his older brother out of his blessing (see our earlier entry, A Justified Conspiracy); And now Lavan would swindle his younger daughter, the one favored by Yaakov, out of her marriage, bringing Leah, the older one, to Yaakov on their wedding night! And when Yaakov angrily confronts Lavan the next morning, Lavan's response hits home;
That is not how we do things here; Giving to the younger before the older.
As if to say, We all know what happened between you, your mother, and your brother. We don't stand for that here. The older gets what's theirs, and the younger wait their turn.
And as these men of power conspire, the vulnerable pay the price.
Here is a slightly edited version of the story which tries to draw attention to some subtle details that might be missed in the earlier storyteller's version. (Gen. 29:18-30:25)
A brief commentary follows.
Lavan and Yaakov negotiated.
Yaakov said, "I will work for you for seven years for Rochel, your younger daughter!"
Lavan responded; "Better that I should give my daughter to you than that I should give her to a stranger. I agree!"
So Yaakov worked for seven years, so as to merit marrying Rochel- but they were in his eyes as just a few days, because of his love for her.
When the seven years were over, Yaakov claimed his wife.
Lavan made a big party, and that night, he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Yaakov, and he came to bed with her.
But in the morning- Look- It was Leah!
So Yaakov said to Lavan, "What have you done to me! We all know that I worked for you to marry Rochel; You cheated me!"
But Lavan said, "That is not how we do things here; Giving to the younger before the older. Work another seven, and you’ll get Rochel, too."
He did so, and he loved Rochel more than Leah.
Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved, so He opened her womb. But Rochel was barren.
Rochel saw Leah bear for Yaakov six sons. And in bitterness, she said to Yaakov, "Give me sons; For if not, I'm as good as dead!"
And Yaakov's nostrils smoked with anger at Rochel, as he responded, "Am I in place of Elohim, that I'm the one holding back your womb from bearing children?"
She then gave her maidservant to him, thinking to be built up through her. And she saw her own maidservant bear him two sons. But she was not consoled. And she saw Leah’s maidservant bear him two sons. And she saw Leah bear him a daughter.
And finally, the time came when Yahweh remembered Rochel, for He heard her cry, and He opened up her womb. And she conceived and bore a son! And she said, "Elohim has removed/asaph my shame!"
And she called his name Yoseph, saying, "May Yahweh add/yoseph for me yet another son!"
Commentary
The Israelites believed that offering Yahweh gifts, or sacrifices, would win His favor. But while most of the sacrifices in the Israelite literature were living beings, one of the ancient poets said something eternal and profound;
You do not desire slaughter, else I'd give it; Burnt-offerings find no favor before you; But the Great Sacrifice of Elohim is a broken-spirit; a broken-and-crushed heart, Elohim will not despise. (Psalms 51:16-17)
The fact that this would be declared during a time when the whole priestly cult was dedicated to the uninterrupted spilling of blood every single day of the year is nothing short of incredible; Here is one of those ancient Israelites who was truly attuned to the voice-of-Yahweh.
And it seems that the storyteller of the Yaakov-Lavan conflict was in agreement; For when Leah sees that her husband does not delight in her, Yahweh cannot withstand her sorrow, and so blesses her womb so as to help her win over her husband's love. The consequence is that Rochel, while favored by Yaakov, is neglected by Yahweh... for a time. But eventually, her heart, too, becomes too crushed for Yahweh not to notice; And she finds the same favor in his eyes found by her older sister, years before.
My take-away from this is that it is during those moments of the most intense despair- may they be few- that one truly has cause to delight in the fact that there is a Compassionate One who not only watches and listens, but who Acts; For such despair can be the most powerful weapon one can yield in appealing to Yahweh-Above, the El-of-Mercy-and-Grace.
This also ought to cause us to open our own ears. Who is it, in our spheres-of-influence, who is bearing the most pain? Who is crying the loudest? By listening, and by championing the downtrodden, we are partnering with Yahweh in doing His work.
Woe to those who not only plug up their ears and refuse to help, but are themselves the cause of agony and sorrow.
Woe to those who pay for the innocent to be imprisoned; Exploited; Tormented; Butchered.
Woe to those who sit at tables with the flesh of the vulnerable on their plates; For the cry of each of their victims is louder than the cries of Leah and Rochel combined; Louder, seventy-fold, than the cries of the victims of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Woe to those; For Yahweh hears.
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