Genesis - Patriarchs: Jacob - week 3

FRIDAY STUDY & DEVOTIONAL

Genesis 29:21-24 is odd for modern readers with vastly different wedding customs than that of the ancient east. We probably read this and wonder, “How on earth did Jacob not notice the woman he was marrying was not the woman he thought he was marrying?” The quick answer is Leah was certainly veiled, and it’s pretty dark outside at night when you live in the middle of nowhere without light pollution. Also, Jacob was probably drunk, since wedding ceremonies were big feasts of celebration lasting days. Yet, one might also wonder where Rachel was during the switch and why she didn’t come rushing into the tent to reveal that the jig was up. But those questions, as honest as they may be, miss the point of this text: marriage is significant.

When the deceit is discovered, and Jacob wakes up the next morning next to dull-eyed Leah instead of Rachel, Laban offers a lame cultural excuse as if that justifies his betrayal. But it is too late, what is done is done. Jacob cannot un-have-sex-with Leah. They can’t annul the marriage and divorce wasn’t a thing like it is now. That is because of what a marriage is. It is not a tax shelter or some casual arrangement between two parties of consenting adults. It is a covenant between man, woman, and God, that reflects the unbreakable nature of God’s Word. As we know, though man may break the covenant, God does not. Therefore, marriage, and sex within marriage, are sacred and soul-binding things.

It certainly isn’t casual for Jesus whose bride is the church. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Jesus loved his bride to the point where he went to the cross for her, and he did so not because he was going to get something out of it, but so that he could sanctify and purify the church through the Word that we might be presented as he is without spot or blemish. You are not a casual relationship for Jesus. You are so much more.

REFLECTION & NOTES

Have you ever been cheated out of something you worked for or deserved? How did that make you feel and how did you respond?

Betrayal can cause some deep wounds and pain. How can Jesus relate to this?

Pray and ask God for continued healing and forgiveness. What would it look like to walk in forgiveness rather than the hurt from being cheated or betrayed?