Reading the Bible 20 Gen 29: The Trickster is Tricked

We might look on the story of Jacob and Rachel (or Laban) as a case of reaping what you sow.  Jacob was someone who personified the Trickster Archetype.  He had tricked his brother Esau out of his birthright and blessing and duped his father Isaac into giving him the blessing.  Now he is on the receiving end of this energy.  Laban tricks him into marrying his daughter Leah instead of Rachael whom he had laboured  seven year for.

Laban’s reasoning, ‘This is not done in our country – giving the younger before the first born’ is reminiscent of Abraham’s  justification to Abimelech for passing Sarah off as his sister, ‘Besides she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother’.  Putting aside the issue of incest we can take some comfort that God seems to be able to work through less than perfect men and women.

It is always tricky to determine if your desires are part of God’s plan for you and the world.  A good rule of thumb for me is that if it what you desire it is probably your ego trying to run things and not God; though it is reassuring that God can make lemonade out of lemons.