God’s Rogue Gets Married, Twice!
Notes
Transcript
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.
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.
Introduction
Introduction
One of the things that makes good stories great is you see the characters grow as they face difficult situations.
And the story that Moses tells of Jacob’s life is no exception.
We have followed his life from the time he was born, and now in our 4th part we have come to his manhood.
In the past, when he was under his father’s roof, it seems like all he would do is what his mother told him.
Which is generally a good idea, but in his case, the dysfunction of his family listening to his mother wasn’t the best thing.
But now he’s all on his own.
He was sent to find a wife from those that were his family and not from the people in the land of Canaan.
I want to bring out something about Genesis.
We find as we read through the book, that there are many repetitions of narratives.
Some scholars have used this to indicate that multiple sources were used to compile the book.
But this doesn’t have to be the case.
It was a popular way of ancient literature to use repetition to make a point.
We can see this several in scripture.
This worked with words. When a Hebrew author wanted to something was to the superlative, the best or highest degree, he would repeat it.
Like the angels around the throne of God singing Holy, Holy, Holy.
God’s not just holy, He’s not just holy, holy, He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
And this was used with whole stories as well.
The creation story was repeated, but when it was, it was told from a slightly different angle for a different purpose.
And then there are repeated stories that happened at completely different times, to different people.
Remember when Abraham told 2 different kings that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife? The same thing happened to Issac and Rebekah.
But that doesn’t mean that the stories were compiled from different authors and the names changed to make it fit.
That idea is only to make a preconceived notion that the Bible isn’t really God’s word seem plausible.
It’s not uncommon for the same things to happen to different people at different times.
It would be very probable for Jacob to be sent back to his family country to find a wife, just like Isaac was sent back to his.
The key is to look for the similarities and differences.
Here, if you remember, Jacob is being sent not just because it is time for him to find a wife, he’s being sent away to protect his life!
43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban!
He set’s off on his journey, and find’s God’s grace through a dream that God gave him, as we talked about last time.
Jacob started to follow Yahweh, so all the bad stuff was behind him.
No more drama or pain.
He would walk the straight and narrow until God called him up the ladder forever.
Well, if you read the next several chapters that cover his life after grace, you find out that is not how it really goes.
In fact, much like our lives, it’s the complete opposite.
We find him continuing his journey to the land of his roots, to find a bride.
And we see that the road that we find him on is not made straight and smooth.
And this is the beauty of the way these narratives are told.
As the Bible build its ultimate narrative of Creation to the Consummation of all things in eternity, it can tell that story in a way that builds, but also in a way that we can directly apply to our lives.
And it is important for us to see both!
In many ways, although in a completely different time and culture, Jacob is not too different from us amd our lives aren’t very different from his.
Just like us, first…
Jacob is Directed by Providence v. 1-14
Jacob is Directed by Providence v. 1-14
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.
As we read through this passage, I want you to notice something that is missing.
There is not one mention of God until the end of the chapter when God directly intervenes with Leah.
At no time does the text say Yahweh or Adonai spoke to Jacob, or intervened in his interactions.
No burning bush or cloud on a mountain.
This is similar to the Book of Esther, where there is not one time where God is mentioned.
But, like the Book of Esther, you can see God’s hand working through the lives of His people.
We start this part of our account, with Jacob coming upon some kind of civilization at the end of his journey.
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.
Moses tells us their custom, seemingly randomly, about how they would water their sheep.
Jacob then comes to some shepherds and strikes up a conversation.
He has no gps or map, he needs to know if he’s going in the right direction.
Remember, he’s looking for the land that his family comes from Haran, and then his Uncle Laban.
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.”
Here we see the hand of God’s providence, even though His name is not mentioned.
And even more amazingly, he asks how it’s going with Laban’s daughter Rachel, and they reply, “Ask her yourself! Here she comes!.”
What an amazing set of circumstances!
Basically wandering in the wilderness, he comes up to the land, in the exact area that he needs to be in to find his uncle, and his future wife walks up right to him!
It’s like the Psalms say.
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
Many times a woman’s heart has been won by sweet words, beautiful poetry, gifts of flowers or jewelry.
But Jacob doesn’t have any of these things.
What Jacob has is machismo and bravado.
As she is coming with the sheep, he puffs out his chest and tries to show his macho leadership skills.
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.”
He begins to bark orders to the shepherds who were lounging around instead of, in Jacob’s eyes, doing their shepherdly duties!
He’ll show Rachel that he’s not a lazy bum like these other guys.
They respond and tell him that they don’t do it like that around here.
Then Rachel gets there and he show her a feat of strength to make her swoon.
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.
What a man!
He water the sheep for her, then he greets her (this was done by a kiss), and lifts up his voice and weeps.
Why does he cry?
Because he found what he was looking for.
He just happened to come to the right place, at the right time, and he met the right person.
What else has gone right in his life?
If you look back, not much. He was basically running for his life at that moment.
But this did. This went right.
God used a broken road to bring him straight to her, to borrow a phrase.
And this isn’t just a cheap, feel good cliche (well, not in this instance), it’s the truth.
Every step he took on this journey was guided by the hand of Yahweh.
How often do we take that for granted?
We just run real quick to the grocery store, not even thinking about the tons of steal traveling at speed, that are only feet away from us.
Or how quickly a simple illness can turn serious.
James teaches us that we should not take it for granted.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
God directs every step, but that didn’t mean every step in Jacob’s life was easy.
As we’ll see, they weren’t.
But our next part shows us that even when they weren’t…
Jacob Shows Discipline v. 13-20
Jacob Shows Discipline v. 13-20
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.
Jacob meets his uncle Laban, and is welcomed into his home with open arms!
He stays there for a month and Laban offers him a job.
At this point we’re introduced to his 2 daughters.
We have met Rachel already, but now we get to meet her older sister, Leah.
The bible says that Leah had weak eyes.
There has been much debate over what this means.
The word could be translated as tender or soft.
Some have said it has to do with her eyesight, and some think it’s about the color.
But I think it has to with Jacob’s attraction to Rachel.
Jacob saw Rachel as beautiful of form and face.
But he wasn’t attracted to Leah, so there was nothing in her eyes for him, no sparks there.
Either way, it’s clear to everyone who he loved.
We are given the same fresh start with Laban as Jacob.
He seems to be a gracious uncle and host.
Jacob learns that this is not the case.
As we’ll learn with him.
So Laban acts like he will take on Jacob as one of his workers and pay wages for his service.
Jacob asks to trade 7 years of work, for Rachel’s hand in marriage.
There was a bride price to pay.
Every member of the household had responsibilities for the production of the house, and to lose a daughter was to take a hit in that production.
So it was customary to have an exchange for a daughter to be married.
Not very romantic by our standards, but it was the reality for the grueling life of pretty much all of history.
Jacob, by himself for the first time in his life, puts his nose to the grindstone for 7 years.
This seems like a long time, but verse 20 says
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
But Jacob wasn’t the only trickster in the family, Laban turned out to be a pretty big heel grabber as well.
Jacob gets a little come-uppance with the deal in the next part of the passage.
Jacob is Deceived v. 21-33
Jacob is Deceived v. 21-33
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.
So Jacob did his agreed upon seven years of labor.
He specifically agreed to take Rachel as his wife.
Laban agreed to the deal as well.
So when he finished, he went to Laban and asked for his bride.
Everything seemed to be going well.
There was a wedding feast.
If you have been married, do you remember the excitement of your engagement period?
What about the day before the wedding?
Picture yourself as Jacob.
Seven years, although they seemed short, went by.
All of the culminating on this day! He would finally be able to marry the one he loved!
The one that God had brought him directly to!
They have the feast, but then the deceiver was out deceived!
23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her.
Laban turned out to be a schister too!
Jacob switched with his brother for the blessing, now he gets the wrong sister!
Listen to verse 25.
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?”
Can you imagine waking up from your honeymoon night, yawning and you open your eyes and it was the wrong sister!
Behold it was Leah!
How could this have happened? How could he not have known?
She would have been veiled until the night, and there was much wine at a wedding feast! It was a big celebration.
So he goes to Laban and complains about the deception, but that is rich coming from him!
A man named Sir Robert Watson Watt invented radar. This was crucial technology for war.
His invention was also used in other places, like determining if you are obeying the speed laws!
He was arrested for speeding in Canada one day, and wrote this poem:
Pity Sir Robert Watson Watt,
strange target of his radar plot,
and this, with others, I could mention,
a victim of his own invention.
Laban had deceived him for his labor.
Jacob would work another seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage, the Bible doesn’t say how fast they seemed to go by.
But he also learned that his uncle was a crook and not to be trusted.
A fact that his daughters knew as well.
They complained later about him.
15 “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.
And isn’t this how we all can be sometimes?
Not crooked like Laban necessarily, but forgetful of our own faults when we see them in others.
Completely clueless about our sins, but quick to stand up for ourselves when someone does the same against us.
Aren’t you glad grace found Jacob at his ladder?
Aren’t you glad grace found you at the cross and empty tomb?
What a lovely mirror to hold up to ourselves in Jacob?
Both the mess and God’s work with the mess.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Now we get to the last 4 verses of our passage that we haven’t read yet.
Now God will directly intervene.
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.
God uses the hidden hand of His providence, and sometime the direct hand of His sovereignty in His creation for His glory.
Jacob didn’t treat Leah as a godly husband should, he didn’t love her and it showed in the way he acted to her.
So God blessed her with children.
And if you recognize the names, they are the first of Jacob’s sons that would go on to be the fathers of the tribes of Israel.
I’m not trying to sound like a broken record, but the bible is repeating itself so that we get it through our thick skulls, that God is working His plan out.
A deceiver gets deceived into marrying the wrong sister, the hated bride bears the first children that would become heads of the great nation of Israel.
Every thing is happening just as God intends, although the things that are happening aren’t what the people in the story are intending.
This started out as a getaway from a brother with murderous intent, but ended up with a family that would be remembered for thousands of years!
Christian, don’t get discouraged by your suffering or the sin that is done against you!
Look to the hand of God’s grace and sovereignty over each one of those circumstances.
Don’t take for granted one day of your life, but remember how He cares for you and blesses you in ways that you can’t begin to comprehend.
