Genesis 29:18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
The transactional nature of women as property to be given at the whim and will of men angers me greatly, though I know that is “just how it was” at that time in that place. I wonder what Rachel thought of all of this. Did she like Jacob? Love him? Want this marriage? Clearly, it didn’t matter.
Genesis 29:19 Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.”
But it does put Jesus’s view of women and their role in His ministry in a new light. During His active ministry, women were still seen as second-class citizens, yet He doesn’t treat them that way. Similarly, sinners and tax collectors were all-but-outcast, yet Jesus considered Himself a friend of sinners.
Genesis 29:20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
Precious Savior, It’s really easy to get sucked into the status quo, to accept what the world accepts and reject what the world rejects. Yet Your life, Your ministry showed us another way. Help me to see others as You see them, to love others as You love them. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
Genesis 29:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”
Have a blessed day.