If the song “Macho Man” had been written in the days of Genesis, I’m pretty certain that Jacob would not have been playing it on his iPod. In fact, it seems like Jacob took the woosy way out every time he got a chance. He stole his brother’s blessing, and then he fled out of fear. When he met Rachel for the first time, he broke down in tears (29:11). It’s interesting to me that the man whose name was “He Cheats” (the meaning of the name Jacob) was cheated in life when it came to consummating his first marriage. Laban, the father-in-law, dealt with Jacob in the same way that Jacob dealt with everything else in life: using deception. It seems like there’s a strong lesson to be learned here about being honest and straightforward with one another. Sadly, as is often the case with sin, the casualty of sin was the one who got caught up in the middle of it*. Often those who are caught in the middle are the ones who suffer the most as was the case in this story.
* – some might argue that Leah was part of the crime because she pretended to be her sister in bed. Given the role of women in this day and age and the circumstance, it doesn’t make sense in my mind that she would choose the option without the prodding of her father.
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