Genesis 29:1-30

Genesis 29:1-30

The beginning of Genesis 29 is a picture of obedience. Despite all that Jacob had done in his life, tricking his brother more than once, it now appears as if he is beginning to travel down the right path. He has traveled to see Laban so that he might find a wife, just as he had been instructed. He has not searched anywhere else, and he finds a woman, Rachel, who is of his mother’s family. He then takes it upon himself to help the shepherds out in their daily routines. As they did every day, these shepherds were gathering their sheep together to water them, and Jacob steps up to get the well ready for them that morning. Afterwards, Laban hears of Jacob’s arrival and welcomes Jacob into his home, where Jacob stayed for a month.

At first it appears as if Jacob has really found a good place, staying with family who loves him and in the process of finding a wife from his mother’s family. Jacob even served there without being paid. Because they were family, it appears as if Jacob does not mind working for Laban in exchange for a place to stay. But Laban does not feel right about not paying Jacob (or so it seems). So he asks Jacob what his wages should be, and Jacob replies by asking to have Rachel as a wife. Laban agrees to Jacob’s request, and the two men settle on a 7 year deal. After 7 years of work, Jacob will be able to marry Rachel. Everything appears to have worked out at this point. Jacob has straightened up his life, worked hard in this new land (while working to get back to the Promised Land), and God is fulfilling His promises as well in helping Jacob find a wife.

But when the 7 years had been completed, Jacob became a product of his own deception. After years of deceiving his brother, quite shamelessly, Jacob learned what it felt like to be on the receiving end of deception. At this point in the story, it still seemed as if Jacob had gotten away with his previous actions, but Laban’s trick puts things back into perspective. We may sometimes think that we have gotten away with our sin. We may think that there will be no consequences for actions. We may even go years (as Jacob did) without receiving any consequences. But there are always consequences for our sins, and in Jacob’s case, he received what he had dished out for so long. So Jacob made a second deal with Laban, and Laban gave Rachel to Jacob after another 7 years of service.

Now Rachel was the one that Jacob really loved, for she is the one who Jacob had worked 14 years for. As a result of Laban’s deception, Leah received a lot of grief. She was not loved as much as Rachel (by Jacob), and she noticed it. She knew that she had just been given away to Jacob, and that he had not married her out of love but out of duty. The only reason she was with Jacob was because Jacob wanted to be with Rachel as well. You have to feel sorry for Leah. She has become the latest person to be hurt by Jacob, and just as Jacob endured the consequences of mistreating Esau, he would soon experience some more consequences for his treatment of Leah. But God had promised that Jacob would be the next man in Abraham’s line as He built this nation of people. God was not going to let Jacob down no matter how many times Jacob messed up. God was still there for Jacob, waiting for Jacob to seek repentance and get his life back on track. Thankfully, God is still here for us too when we mess up like Jacob and get off track in life. Like Jacob, He will never leave us, no matter how many times we mess up. All we have to do is turn back to Him in obedience and seek His repentance.

Matt