Genesis 29
Notes
Transcript
Background
Last week we saw the sending of Jacob off to Rebekah’s side of the family. Though Isaac was the sender, Rebekah was the instigator, in an effort to save Jacob’s life from Esau. Jacob began his travels, and in doing so had a vision of God and a ladder to heaven.
1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east.
2 He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.
3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”
5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”
6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”
7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.”
8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept.
12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.
We left off with Jacob after he had a dream, and making a vow to God in response. This took place in Bethel, which was what Jacob renamed the place.
Recall that God promised to Jacob that He would be with him as he goes away from his father’s household.
Jacob arrived in an area around Haran where water was made available to the shepherds.
This was most likely a different well than the one which Abraham’s servant went to in 24, as this was a well in the field specifically for flocks.
The stone on the well was supposed to keep the water safe from contamination or theft.
Jacob established that his uncle was doing well, and one of his daughters, Rachel, is introduced.
Jacob moved the stone single-handedly, which was most likely rather large if it was blocking the well from intruders.
He also watered Laban’s flock, which was Rachel’s job. It was unusual for a stranger to do this.
Jacob then identified himself to Rachel, revealing that he is family. This sent Rachel running off to find her father.
The kiss Jacob gave to Rachel was a greeting kiss, not inappropriate for that time.
This interaction is almost verbatim with Rebekah’s story:
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold,
23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?”
24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”
25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.”
26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
28 Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
God has thus far blessed Jacob, and provided an opportunity for success.
13 So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things.
14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face.
18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.”
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
Again, similarities to what we saw in Rebekah’s story, with Laban running out to meet the guest, only now Laban is running the household.
After Jacob relays the story to Laban, he acknowledges they are family, and Jacob stayed a month.
This may have been intentional, though initially Rebekah had told Jacob to only stay a few days.
44 “Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides,
The goal of the trip was, in fact, to gain a wife.
Within that month time span, Jacob served Laban and his household, and so Laban wanted to take care of his relative and so offered wages to him.
This was Jacob’s opportunity to acquire what he came for: a wife.
Not only that, but Rachel was quite beautiful. Unfortunately, she was not the oldest daughter of Laban.
As we’ll see shortly, this matters. Culture back then would have focused on the blessing and birthright of the firstborn.
Nonetheless, Jacob, in his love for Rachel, commits to work for 7 years so he may obtain her as a wife.
Because of his love for her, Jacob’s time there flew by.
A believer’s motivation should be in a desire to serve God.
A believer’s motivation should be in a desire to serve God.
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
Our motivation should match that of Christ’s.
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her.”
22 Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast.
23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her.
24 Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.
25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?”
26 But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.
27 “Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.”
28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.
29 Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.
30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.
Jacob has now finished his obligation, and is ready to receive his compensation and presumably move on.
As a tradition, there was a wedding feast.
In that time/place, the wedding was made official through consummation.
Laban knew this, and used it to his advantage. He hid his oldest daughter’s identity from Jacob under the cover of night, and sent her in for the consummation.
Jacob was blinded with passion and did not pay attention to what he was doing. He was deceived much like he deceived his father and stole the blessing.
Jacob discovers the deception in the morning light, and confronts Laban.
Laban was unapologetic about his deception, much like Rebekah was in her scheme to deceive Isaac. In his mind, there was good reason to perpetrate the deception.
He does offer Rachel to Jacob as well, but sets the price as equal to what he already worked: 7 more years.
The difference this time, though, is that Jacob will receive Rachel before he puts the work. Perhaps Laban knows Jacob can be trusted, or maybe it is motivation to stay. Either way, Laban is getting 7 more years out of Jacob.
The wedding tradition lasted one week, and once it was concluded, Jacob was allowed to have his bride, the woman he worked for.
This is really a terrible situation all around - Laban’s treachery, Jacob’s lack of care for Leah but being bound to her in marriage, Leah’s emotional damage.
Jacob’s favor for Rachel over Leah is a tragic story, but God ends up using it for the creation of the nation of Israel.
31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.”
33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.
34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi.
35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
An interesting set of circumstances plays out here over the course of the next 7 years. Rachel, like her mother and paternal grandmother, is barren.
Rebekah was incapable of bearing Isaac children until he prayed for her, 20 years later.
This is extremely significant, as the wife who bears children is the one who is blessed.
3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn.
17 “But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
Leah bears 4 sons Jacob, and she was fruitful because God saw that she was unloved.
The word unloved is actually better translated as hate. This concept is not the same as it is in English - it is more about favoring something more.
As we’ve seen in the past, only God is in control of opening or closing a womb.
God sees our circumstances and knows our sufferings.
God sees our circumstances and knows our sufferings.
Jacob suffers at Laban’s hand what Jacob did to Esau.
The sons that she bears will be troublesome for them later on, but for Leah she is both vindicated and blessed because of her children.
In this case, Rachel actually was victimized as well, as she knew that Jacob wanted to marry her and not Leah. She is also barren
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
A believer’s motivation should be in a desire to serve God.
God sees our circumstances and knows our sufferings.
Next week, we will continue with the story of Jacob in Haran.