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Gut reaction

I really like the way you put things sometimes.

The Jews are his chosen people. We are the adopted step-children. I think He does love us the same - but the Jews are still called His people. I think it's similar to your kids. You love them the same, but differently.
 
I'm on my phone so I won't write a ton, but as regards His chosen people consider Is 43:4-7, especially 7.

Also as an adoptive and birth parent, I can fully agree that it is easier to love those born to you, no matter their personality, than those who come later. I just think that we were all born to our creator, but some don't know it yet.

I fully agree that we should treat everyone we're responsible for differently, because every person has different needs. My old boss, back when I taught preschool, would frequently remind us that "fair is not the same."
 
GloryGirl said:
I'm on my phone so I won't write a ton, but as regards His chosen people consider Is 43:4-7, especially 7.

Also as an adoptive and birth parent, I can fully agree that it is easier to love those born to you, no matter their personality, than those who come later. I just think that we were all born to our creator, but some don't know it yet.

I fully agree that we should treat everyone we're responsible for differently, because every person has different needs. My old boss, back when I taught preschool, would frequently remind us that "fair is not the same."
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I'll look up that scripture when I get a chance (getting ready for work).

And I'm going to use that "fair isn't the same". Much nicer and more positive than my usual "Life isn't fair. Accept and adapt".
 
Let's not forget that Leah's marriage was formed in dishonesty. That was probably the root of her insecurities. Imagine how a woman would feel if her father had to resort to this tactic to get her married. Knowing that her husband preferred another would be horrible to live with. How much better is it to know that your husband has the capacity to love you while loving another as well. This is not a "polygynous" relationship as we understand it. This is a man dealing with deception on the greatest level.

Sweet Lissa
 
Good point Lissa. He's only with Lean because he was duped but is "doing right by her". I tend to forget that at times!
 
The story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah is fascinating to me. To loosely quote a commentator on this, Jacob's supposed disdain for Leah was probably in part misdirected frustration that should have been directed toward Laban.

As I was reminding myself of some of this story, I ran across two Jewish traditions that I found interesting. First, Leah and Rachel were twins. While Leah was older, it was only by minutes, and that is why Laban was able to pull off the bait and switch. No, it isn't biblical, but it sure sounds reasonable. Second, Jewish tradition says that while Leah was just as desirable as Rachel, Jacob, in part, chose Rachel because Leah was assumed to be destined to marry Esau. Again, not biblical, and I am not sure it even adds anything to the story, but intersting nonetheless.

The main point I want to make though is that we often come down hard on Jacob, but we forget that he could have divorced Leah, but he didn't. He seemed to have cared for her just as he cared for Rachel. Were mistakes made? Yep. But yet it is honorable, in my opinion, that he didn't send her back to Laban, as she would have been less desirable to others as a wife then.
 
I never understood all of the criticism of Jacob. I thought he did a pretty good job all things considered. He obviously didn't ignore Leah. She kept having kids after all. He obviously wasn't perfect but the story isn't the horrible cautionary tale again polygamy.
 
Well, for me, before he even left home he did a relatively good job of painting himself as the villain of the story. It's hard not to sympathize with Esau when reading the story for the first time as a child. Esau was wrong for trading away his birthright, for sure. BUT HE WASN'T THE JERK FACE THAT SUGGESTED THE TRADE.

I'm sure there are many sides to the story, but the fact that Jacob and Rebekah conspired to burn Esau at every opportunity is inescapable.

It makes it real difficult to sympathize with Jacob later on. "Oh, you got tricked by a close family member into something that would have negative repercussions the rest of your life?? HOW DOES IT FEEEEEEL?"
 
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Lol, excellent point slumber. He wasn't sympathetic. Of course no one comes off well in that story when you think about it, even Leah went along with the initial deception.
 
It's an interesting tale. I'm with @Slumberfreeze, because, other than the generalized notion that we're all broken sinners, the deception Jacob participated in with his mother against Esau is insufficiently condemned in Scripture, and one almost has to make one's own inferences about the Leah/Rachel/Laban thing being Jacob's karma.

This is the most discussed scripture in my family, and it's ironic that that is so. Our youngest daughter, who is the most violently vocally opposed to polygamy, consistently declares it to be her favorite Bible story. She had been years into her oppositional stand to being in a plural family when I pointed out the juxtaposition of that and the Rachel/Leah story being her favorite story. She declares that it's just so beautiful that Jacob was willing to require of himself that he treat the initially undesired sister so well in face of having been cheated and required to work another 7 years before obtaining Rachel as his wife as well. She also points out that, when it was time to go, Leah was firmly bonded to Jacob and took his side against the father with whom she had colluded.

I think my daughter's fascination with this is something she inherited from her mother: she observes a man being that overwhelmingly devoted to being with a woman that he will endure for 7 additional years what most men would just walk away from. She wants to be a Rachel to someone's Jacob, but she'd also be the one to collude with a parent to trick a potential beau.
 
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