Laban replied: it is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. The excuse is the social custom of primogeniture applied to daughters — the older must be given first. The irony is complete: Laban is using the very principle of birth-order priority that Jacob violated in receiving the blessing of the firstborn. The deceiver is now being justified by the very principle he circumvented. The application: the principle you violated to get what you wanted will be cited against you when someone else violates it against you.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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