When problems arise, we need to go to God about them. If not, trying to solve them on our own can often turn problems into disasters!
Our title asks, “Who says, ‘Two are better than one’?” Well, the Bible does! Here are the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” Yes, it’s a wonderful thing to have a godly marriage partner who stands by you through thick and thin. Of course, husband and wife already make two. Though he was tricked, Jacob already has a wife. And three are definitely not better than two! God’s plan from the beginning was one man and one woman for life. Jacob had sealed a covenant with Laban’s daughter, Leah, and he should have stood by it. In fact, the Word of God declares that one of the things God delights in is the person “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Ps 15:4). Today people lightly say, “I married the wrong one.” Well, they may have been the wrong one before the wedding, but once married, they are the right one! Jacob, however, was not satisfied, and agreed to the solution offered by Laban—to take both daughters as his wives. If the girls were competitive before, imagine the household afterwards! It was double trouble for Jacob. Had he not learned from the favoritism of his mother and father for him and Esau? Now he does the same thing, favoring Rachel, the younger, over her older sister, Leah. Laban tacks on another seven years, and back to work Jacob goes. He doesn’t have to wait seven more years for Rachel’s hand, however. One week later, another marriage is consummated. No one would blame Jacob if he kept a light burning that night, would they! But what a sad chapter, even with two weddings! Leah, we read, “was unloved” (v 31), but watch as the Lord comes to her rescue!