So, Jacob
wins out over Esau. The most clever and deserving wins and takes all. Now down
to the business of his own life, Jacob wants to settle down and falls in love
with Rachel, the second daughter of Laban. In order to prove his worth, he serves
Laban for seven years. Then, on what is supposed to be his nuptial night, Laban
gives him Leah, the eldest daughter, not Rachel.
This is why
it’s important to have the lights on at first.
Difficult
since incandescent lighting won’t be invented for a few thousand years, but,
maybe asking for the name or otherwise checking to see which daughter you just
married would be a good idea. There’s a bit of irony here since Jacob has just
been duped in a similar manner to how he duped his father Isaac, minus the
extra body hair.
Jacob
naturally complained, but Laban just said that he couldn’t give away the second
daughter before the first was married off. To him it was an implicit part of
the contract. But now Jacob had to serve for another 7 years in order to marry
Rachel.
Fourteen
years is kind of a long engagement, especially when you spend the time working
for your future father-in-law.