Devotional: Rghteous Favor

Righteous Favor

"So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come..." (Genesis 30:33).

Now that's a mouthful! If you didn't know the context of this statement, so many things come to mind regarding what it could possibly mean. For example, if spoken by someone puffed up and full of themselves, it would reflect self-righteousness. If spoken by someone confident in the redemption offered by Jesus Christ, it would reflect humbled justification. But here in the Book of Genesis, these words were spoken by a frustrated man needing to draw upon the character of God.

You probably know the story of Jacob and how he loved Rachel and made arrangements with her father Laban for her hand in marriage. He agreed to work seven years in exchange for the woman he loved. This was quite a commitment. For seven years (that's equal to eighty-four months or three hundred and sixty-four weeks, however you want to look at it), Jacob worked and waited to have Rachel as his wife. But in a twist of deceit, Rachel's father veiled her older sister Leah as the bride. His reason? "It must not be done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn" (Genesis 29:26). This may be true, but can you imagine the disappointment Jacob felt?

I've also tried to put myself in the shoes of Leah. She must have felt rejected and unwanted. I imagine her sister Rachel had spoken to her regularly of her love for Jacob and anticipation of their marriage. Leah may have been jealous of Jacob's attraction to Rachel because she had no one courting her -- and she was the oldest. But either way, this was not a match made in heaven. Jacob, however, took a deep breath and pulled on the teachings of his father Isaac, which had been passed down to him from his father, Abraham. Jacob came from a lineage of godly men. He had been taught honor, integrity, and righteousness.

Therefore, Jacob made a decision that his integrity would not be based on the integrity (or lack of) another.

So in another arrangement, Jacob agreed to work another seven years for Laban in exchange for Rachel. Thankfully, Laban agreed Jacob could take her for his wife first and then work off this commitment. Laban told Jacob, "Enjoy your week of honeymoon [with Leah], and then we'll give you the other one also. But it will cost you another seven years of work" (Genesis 29:27, Message). Jacob went from being dreamy and single to being overworked and the husband of two wives. Somehow the two women arranged to trade off time with Jacob, but it was no secret he preferred Rachel over Leah. But despite his natural feelings, Jacob maintained his integrity by giving Leah equal turns. And out of compassion, God blessed Leah with many children.
Over the next seven years of service to Laban, Jacob became the father of eleven sons and one daughter between his two wives. And because of Jacob's integrity, God blessed the house of Laban also. His flocks had increased under the watchful eye of Jacob. Laban was no fool. He knew it was the hand of God upon Jacob, although it's unfortunate Laban couldn't see why God favored him so.

God does not have favorite children. God blesses all who put their trust in Him and operate as He would. Just recently a friend of mine who comes from a large family, said she asked her mom never to tell her if she had a favorite child (she didn't want to think it wasn't her). She laughed at her mother's answer. "I don't have favorites. I love all my children the same. I just get along better with some than others." Isn't that true with God? He loved Jacob and Laban equally, but His favor extends to the ones who honor Him through obedience and sacrifice. Jacob sacrificed his own will. He could've taken Rachel and run away with her, forsaking his commitment and justifying his actions based on his first seven years of service to Laban. He could have rejected Leah and spent all his time with Rachel. But Jacob did neither of these things.

The Bible says, "The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; [but] the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin" (Proverbs 11:3, Message). After fourteen faithful years, Jacob asked Laban to release him from service. And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake" (Genesis 30:27). Like so many people, Laban wanted favor without having to pay the price for it.

Laban told Jacob to name his wages and he would pay. I'm sure Laban thought Jacob's price would be too big and therefore he would have to stay longer in order to grow the flocks even more than he had already. Laban was right, but he underestimated God's way of doing things. Jacob simply asked for all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats. Laban must have thought Jacob was a fool to make such a request; the speckled and spotted were always the inferior. But Jacob said, "Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me" (Genesis 30:32-33).

In a clever and profound move by Jacob, after the speckled and spotted were removed, he peeled strips of bark off of tree branches and set them before the watering troughs where the pure white flocks came to drink. When these conceived and later gave birth, all their young were streaked, spotted, or speckled. Why? Because what you see is what you get!

There is much more to this story, but the principle I want us to learn is this: "[When] the righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him" (Proverbs 20:7). Jacob left the house of Laban in his integrity and with great prosperity (wives, children, and a large flock). God confounded the wise by making the spotted flocks strong and the pure flocks weak. And that's how God operates -- When everything seems to follow a certain pattern, God will turn it around in your favor when righteousness (honesty and integrity) precede you. So when it looks like life is dealing you a bad hand, never underestimate God's favor on those who maintain their righteousness.