Dialogue with Trypho
Chapter 134: Jacob's Marriages Represent the Church
If the teachings of the prophets and of Himself move you, it's better for you to follow God rather than your imprudent and blind leaders, who still allow each man to have four or five wives. If anyone sees a beautiful woman and desires her, they refer to the actions of Jacob, called Israel, and the other patriarchs, claiming it isn't wrong to do such things. They are miserably ignorant on this matter. As I mentioned before, some arrangements of significant mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort.
In the marriages of Jacob, I will explain what arrangement and prophecy were fulfilled, so that you may understand that your teachers never considered the divine motive behind each act, only the base and corrupting desires. Listen to what I say. The marriages of Jacob were symbols of what Christ was about to accomplish. It was not lawful for Jacob to marry two sisters at once. He worked for Laban for one of the daughters; being deceived in obtaining the younger, he worked another seven years.
Leah represents your people and synagogue; Rachel represents our Church. For these and the servants in both, Christ even now serves. While Noah gave the two sons the seed of the third as servants, Christ has come to restore both the free sons and the servants among them, giving them the same honor if they keep His commandments. Just as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity.
It was foretold what each should be according to rank and foreknowledge. Jacob worked for Laban for speckled and many-spotted sheep; Christ served, even to the point of the cross, for the diverse and multi-formed races of humanity, acquiring them through the blood and mystery of the cross. Leah was weak-eyed, for the eyes of your souls are extremely weak. Rachel stole the gods of Laban and has hidden them to this day; we have lost our ancestral and material gods.
Jacob was hated by his brother for all time; we now, and our Lord Himself, are hated by you and by all men, although we are naturally brothers. Jacob was called Israel; and Israel has been shown to be the Christ, who is, and is called, Jesus.