Jacob's Wives 

Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.  Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.  Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”  Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”  So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.  But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.  (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) (Genesis 29: 16 to 24) 

After encountering Rachel at the well, all Jacob wanted was to marry her.  So, he kept his end of the bargain with his uncle, Rachel's father Laban, to work for him for seven years in return to marry her.  However, he was tricked to marry Leah instead.  To marry Rachel, he needed to work for Laban for another seven years.  It seemed that he was taken advantage of by Laban.  Because Rachel couldn't conceive, there was contention between Rachel and Leah as described below. 

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. (Genesis 29: 31) 

When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”  Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”  Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” (Genesis 30: 1 to 3) 

The result was that both of their servants, Zilpah and Bilhah were given to Jacob as his wives as well.  Between those four wives, Jacob had twelve children, the beginning of the Israel tribe.  Even Jacob had to admit that this was all done by God not by him.  

Indeed, we are just humble human beings made of clay.  We couldn't know the future.  We may plan but there is no way for us to ensure the outcome.  However, God can and will, if we are humble and obedient.  Just like the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, only God could fulfill.  From then on, the nation of Israel was born. 

God could do this to Israel; He could also do it to us.  We could experience God's amazing works through Jesus as Paul described below. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (Second Corinthians 5: 17 to 19) 

Through Jesus, we could be a new creation by God.  We could not only reconcile with God but also be entrusted with the message of reconciliation to God to become a holy nation as described below. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (First Peter 2: 9) 

Emmanuel. 

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