'''CHAPTER FOURTEEN: JACOB AND RACHEL'''
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JACOB AND RACHEL
One of the servants overheard Esau’s desire for revenge, and told Rebekah. She warned Jacob and came up with a plan for him to stay with her brother Laban, who lived far away in Haran.
Jacob argued, “But I don’t want to leave. This is my home.”
But Rebekah, fearing for his life, convinced Jacob to leave. Now all she had to do was convince Isaac of her plan.
“I don’t want Jacob to marry foreign women the way Esau did. If he marries one of these idol-worshipping local girls, what good will my life be?” she said to Isaac.
She then explained that Jacob should find a wife among her brother’s household. “The same way Abraham found a wife for you years ago,” she reminded him.
Reluctantly, Isaac agreed. So he sent Jacob off to Laban’s household, far away in the land of Mesopotamia.
Esau took notice of how Jacob obeyed their parents by searching for a God-fearing wife. After he admitted to himself that his idol-worshipping wives did not please his parents, Esau went to his uncle Ishmael and married his daughter Mahalath.
Staircase to Heaven
During his journey, Jacob came to a certain place and stayed the night there. Not having a soft pillow to sleep on, he used a large flat stone.
Though it was hard, it was still comfortable. Jacob fell fast asleep and began to have a strange dream.
He dreamt that a great ladder or staircase extended from the earth, all the way up into heaven. He saw angels climbing up and down the staircase.
Standing above it, God said to Jacob, “I am the Ever-living God of Abraham and your father Isaac. The land on which you now rest I will give to you and your descendants. Counting the number of your offspring shall be like counting the dust of the earth. And you shall spread in all directions. Through your descendants, all families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God had just enlarged the size of the Promised Land to include the whole earth!
In the dream, He promised to protect and guide Jacob no matter where he travelled, and to eventually bring him back home safely.
When he woke up, Jacob feared God. “The Eternal is in this awesome place, and I was not aware of it,” he said. “This place is the house of God and the gate of heaven!” (Genesis 28:10-17).
Early the next morning, he took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it up as a pillar. Then he poured oil on it and called the place Bethel, which means “House of God” (Gen 28:18-19).
Afterward, Jacob vowed that if God kept His promise to protect him and provide for his needs and someday bring him back home, “then the Eternal shall be my God. And all that He gives me I will tithe to Him” (Gen 28:20-22).
Rachel and the Well
Jacob continued his journey to Haran and eventually came to the land of Mesopotamia. When he came to a well in a field, he noticed that three flocks of sheep were lying near it, waiting to be given water. A large stone covered the mouth of the well, preventing the sheep from getting their drink.
Jacob asked the herdsmen of the flock where they came from.
“We are from Haran,” they answered.
Jacob felt relief. He now knew that his long journey was nearly finished and that Haran was nearby.
He asked the men, “Do you happen to know Laban, son of Nahor?”
“Why yes, we know him.”
“Is he alive and well?” Jacob asked them this because he had never met his uncle Laban and it had been many years since Rebekah had seen him.
They said, “Yes, he is well.”
Then one of the herdsmen pointed across the field to a young woman who was leading her sheep. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “Laban’s daughter Rachel is coming to the well with his sheep.”
Even from a distance, Jacob could see that Rachel was quite beautiful (Genesis 29:1-6). He wanted to speak to her alone, so he tried to convince the herdsmen to hurry up and remove the stone from the well and water their flocks. The herdsmen refused (Gen 29:7-8).
Meanwhile, Rachel came to the well with her flock. Realizing that she was family to him, and taken in by her natural beauty, Jacob rolled the stone away and watered her sheep. Then, overcome with joy, he gently greeted Rachel with a kiss and told her who he was.
“I am Jacob, son of Rebekah, your father’s sister.”
Rachel was so happy and excited that a family member had come such a long distance to visit her, she ran home to tell her father (Gen 29:9-12).
“Father, father!” she shouted. “Your sister’s son is here!”
Laban could barely believe his ears at the good news. So many years had passed since he had seen his sister—and now her son was here!
“Where is he? Bring my nephew inside so I can greet him!”
Rachel was speechless. She suddenly realized that, in her excitement, she had left Jacob standing at the well.
When she explained this to her father, Laban ran out to meet Jacob.
He gave his nephew a giant bear hug and a kiss, and then brought him to his home.
Laban told Jacob, “We are family. Stay with us. My home is your home.”
Jacob Hears Wedding Bells
Jacob stayed with Laban, his sons, and his daughters (Rachel and Leah), helping them take care of their flocks and other livestock. By the time one month had passed, Laban realized that Jacob was faithful, hardworking and attentive to his sheep. In fact, Jacob was becoming a more valuable worker than Laban’s entire household of servants.
Not wanting his nephew to leave him, Laban said to Jacob, “You are family to me. I can’t allow you to serve me for nothing. Name your wages. How much should I pay you?”
But Jacob did not want money. He wanted something that was far more precious to him: “I will work hard for you seven years. In return, you will give me your daughter Rachel to be my wife.”
Hearing this, Laban was pleased. Not only would he have a diligent servant, but a son-in-law, too. He quickly agreed to Jacob’s price (Gen 29:15-20).
During the next seven years, Jacob worked hard for Laban. As he watered, fed and protected his uncle’s sheep, the flocks grew quite large. This is because, just as it is today, when a man fears and obeys God, his hard work brings success. God was blessing Jacob’s diligent labor, and Laban was receiving benefits from it.
Laban should have followed his nephew’s example and put God first in his life. But instead, he worshipped idols.
Fearing that he would lose Jacob when the seven years were finished, Laban came up with a plan to keep his nephew working for him even longer.
Because Jacob was deeply in love with Rachel, the seven years seemed like only a few days to him. But when the time had come, Jacob demanded that he be allowed to marry her right away.
So Laban and his household of family and servants made a great wedding feast, which lasted a full week. During the wedding ceremony, the bride’s face was covered with a long, expensive veil. It was not until after they were married that Jacob saw the face behind the veil.
It was Leah!
Jacob was shocked—then angry. He rushed to Laban, his new father-in-law, and demanded that he explain himself.
“Why did you deceive me? I served you seven years for Rachel, not for Leah! Why have you held Rachel from me?” (Gen 29:21-25).
Laban knew that Jacob would be angry, so he already had a crafty answer to give him.
“It is the custom of our land that the firstborn gets married first— and Leah is my firstborn daughter. I’m sorry, my son, but I’m bound by tradition.”
“Why didn’t you explain this to me before the wedding?” said Jacob.
Laban did not bother to answer. Pretending to feel pity for Jacob’s situation, he said, “How about this—keep Leah for your wife and I will also give you Rachel as your second wife.”
“Really?” Jacob said, surprised.
“By all means, my son…Of course, I cannot give Rachel away for free. All that I ask is that you serve me another seven years. But don’t worry about having to wait seven more years to marry her. You can marry Rachel right now and work off the years that you owe me later.
All I ask is that you wait a week and spend some time with Leah” (Gen 29:26-27).
Just as Jacob had deceived Esau and Isaac, Laban had deceived him. God was teaching Jacob a bitter lesson: Lying never pays. Like many people today, God knew that Jacob had to learn this through hard, painful experience.
Jacob gave in to Laban’s scheme, and married Rachel the following week. Jacob may have had to work another seven years, adding to his uncle’s wealth, but he was happy to finally be married to the woman he loved (Gen 29:28-30).
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