Genesis 29:13-35

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be wedded to...

There is a law of compensation in life. According to that law, people who are deficient in one respect are given some counterbalancing benefit in another. The law prevents anyone from having everything. What one person lacks in beauty, she may make up for in practical wisdom. A man who is not well-coordinated in athletics may have a better disposition than if he were. Poets are not always practical, and artists are not always good managers of their finances.

When God saw that Jacob...