Photo © Unsplash/Rod Long
Now Jacob undoubtedly was a wise guy
who'd certainly crafted a few clever crimes,
yet Laban still planned to leave him high and dry,
proceeding to alter his earnings ten times.
But there was a Witness who saw all these things,
and He had a masterful plan up his sleeve—
to stealthily, secretly pull a few strings
and give Jacob more wealth than he could believe.
Poor Laban was waging an ill-fated war:
Whatever he gained, Jacob always had more.
Photo © Unsplash/Will O
Jacob wanted Rachel to wed.
Laban gave him Leah instead—
Makings of a Gordian Knot.
Of the two, Leah's working womb
Had Rachel spending days in gloom,
Though she had the love Leah sought.
We don't esteem our position,
Chained, as we are, by ambition:
We always want what we ain't got.
*Nove Otto: A poem with nine lines, eight syllables per line, and a rhyming scheme of aacbbcddc.
GENESIS 31
In this chapter, Jacob complains that Laban has changed his wages ten times. "However," Jacob said, "God has not allowed him to harm me. If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young." (vs 7-8)
