Why Did Jacob (Abraham’s Grandson) Wake Early On His Marriage Morning In Bed With His Future Wife’s Sister, Leah?

Jacob had received Isaac, his father's birthright blessing after his mother, Rebekah, and he deceived Isaac even though by Jewish law, the right belonged to the eldest son. Jacob's brother was Esau who later rebelled against his father and married a daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son by his wife's handmaiden. Years later, after the birth of Jesus, Jacob was apparently chosen by Almighty God to be within the generations of Jesus--- who was accepted by non-Jews as the anticipated Messiah.

After the blessing, Jacob went to another tribe of Israel to seek a wife from Laban, his mother's brother. On the way, he stopped at a large well where sheep owners went daily to water their sheep. The first to arrive there with her sheep was Rachael, daughter of Laban.

The rock that covered the well was too large for her to move. So, Jacob moved the stone, was enchanted by her, and kissed her. After learning who he was, she ran to tell her father, Laban, who hurried to meet his nephew, embraced and kissed him, and invited Jacob to their home.

Jacob began to work for Laban, who, of course, knew that Jacob had come to seek a wife as the joy of his life and the mother of his legitimate sons. (Men of Israel always had children by their concubines and supported them.) Laban had two daughters. One was the beautiful Rachael. The older was Leah, not as pretty as her sister, and with a condition that gave her low eyesight.

When asked about his desired wages, Jacob asked that he be given Rachael as his wife. Jacob and Laban agreed that he would rather give her to Jacob instead of another man someday. A younger daughter could not be given to a man until all of her older sisters were with husbands. True to his character, Jacob worked the 7 years. Laban, dishonestly and deceitfully sent Leah, not Rachael to Jacob's tent so that , after the big feast to be planned, Jacob probably would know who was in the bed. (Perhaps Jacob deserved this because he had his father's birthright as a result of deceit.)

And so it happened as Laban planned that Jacob awoke to find that his wife was Leah. He had to work for Laban for another 7 years before Laban gave Rachael to him. God blessed Laban with children (including one daughter named Dinah) but Rachael was barren so could not give Jacob a son for many years until God let her conceive and Joseph was born---Jacob's favorite son and the one God chose to continue the lineage to the one born as Jesus, the Son of God.

(Genesis 29).

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