Genesis 29:26

• Like Isaac, Jacob was given food and wine (compare 27:25). He could not see in the darkness (compare 27:1). He became confused by clothing (compare 27:15) and misled by touch (compare 27:23).

• The marriage had already been completed (the husband and wife had come together as one; 29:23; compare 2:24). Because of this, Jacob was bound to Leah.

• It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older: Laban's words are a reminder of what Jacob did when he, the younger son, pretended to be his older brother to gain the blessing (chapter 27). Now Leah, the older sister, pretended to be the younger sister to get a husband. God gave the deceiver a dose of his own deception as a discipline in his life.

Jacob looked forward with joy to marrying Rachel, but this hope became a time of testing. Laban acted with shrewdness (clever but not honest behavior), and Jacob was disciplined (corrected and trained). Jacob and his mother had deceived his father and brother to gain the blessing. Now Laban, his mother’s brother, deceived him.

Jacob experienced the results of his own dishonesty through 20 years of hard work, suffering, and being misled while serving Laban (31:38).

In God’s fair judgment, people receive what they do (Galatians 6:7). Laban’s actions helped Jacob see his own tendency to deceive others. God often brings people into the lives of believers to discipline them. But Jacob was determined, and God greatly blessed him with a large family and many possessions during this time of service (30:25–43).

• These chapters describe how God fulfilled his promise by greatly blessing Jacob with a family and possessions. God also disciplined Jacob, leaving him to struggle with Laban for many years. Laban was Jacob’s match in deception, and thus a means of correction.

• The story of Jacob and Laban is similar to Israel's later stay in Egypt. Jacob struggled while serving his uncle but finally emerged with a large family (the founders of the 12 tribes) and great wealth. In Egypt, the Israelites suffered under their oppressors, but they also flourished, becoming a great nation of 12 large tribes and escaping with great riches.