Favor in Far Away Places
“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?’” – Genesis 29:25 After Jacob stole the birthright and the blessing from his brother Esau, he fled to Paddan-Aram and stayed at the home of his uncle Laban, who was his mother’s brother. When he arrived, he fell in love with Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter. So smitten was he that he agreed to work for seven years to earn the right to marry her. Though he labored faithfully for the entire span, his uncle was crafty and he tricked Jacob by giving him the wrong wife. Upon waking up on the morning after their wedding, he discovered that he had actually married Rachel’s older sister Leah, to whom he was not nearly as attracted. However, because he truly loved
