Tag: laban

Jacob Loved Rachel

Dale Pollard

JACOB LOVED RACHEL 

Genesis 29:18

“Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, ‘I will serve you for seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 

Genesis 29:20

“So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” 

BUT RACHEL WASN’T PERFECT 

“When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister and said to Jacob, ‘give me children, or I shall die!’” 

Genesis 30:1

GOD TRIED TO WORK WITH RACHEL

Genesis 30:6

“Then Rachel said, “God has judged me and has also heard my voice and given me a son” therefore I will call him Dan.” 

What Rachel Knew:

  1. That God Judged Her Heart 
  2. That God Answered Her Prayer 

BUT…

Did she change? 

Did she grow in faith? 

Did she learn her lesson? 

IT DOESN’T SEEM SO 

“Rachel said, “with mighty wrestling I have prevailed against my sister!” And she called her next son Naphtali.”

Genesis 30:8 

“While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.” 

Genesis 31:19 

It seems that Jacob chose Rachel for her looks alone and while Laban fooled him into marrying Leah, she would end up being easier to live with!

Genesis: These Are The Generations (XXXIII)

The Separation Of Jacob And Laban (31:1-55)

Neal Pollard

Things began to heat up for Jacob. His brothers-in-law were bandying about some pretty indicting accusations (1) and his father-in-law’s attitude “was not friendly toward him as formerly” (2). Therefore, God calls for Jacob to leave and return to his homeland under His banner of protection (3). Jacob calls his wives, the sisters Rachel and Leah, to meet him in the field to discuss this situation explaining how God was with him and guiding him in the acquisition of the herds they now possessed (4-16). They not only recognize God’s hand in the situation, but they are eager to depart and feel entitled to all that they collectively owned (16). So it was all decided. 

The exodus (17-21).

Jacob gathers his children and wives and puts them on camels (just another indication of how wealthy Jacob had become), driving his livestock and property to go to Canaan’s land (17-18). The New Living Translation says, “Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving. So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead” (20-21). Remember the nature of these men’s relationship with each other, how secrecy, deception, lying, and outwitting are the words best describing it. Jacob is now on the run! 

The expropriation (19,30,32-35)

Following the example of her husband, Rachel steals her father’s household idol while he is away shearing his sheep (you will notice that the word “deceived” for Jacob in v. 20 is the same word for “stole” in v. 19). This was a labor intensive, yet festive, time, and it would have had Jacob’s in-laws quite preoccupied. Laban will find this theft particularly galling, though he never finds out she was the thief. Jacob did not know either, or he would not have suggested the death penalty for the offender (32).  Cyrus Gordon suggests that taking these teraphim or household gods legally guaranteed an inheritance (“Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets.” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader. Ed. David N. Freedman and Edward F. Campbell. II. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964. 25). Other explanations include that it was used for divination, an activity Laban certainly practiced (30:27) or they were made of precious metal and of great value. More than one of these could be simultaneously true, but whatever their value to Laban he is angry and insistent it be returned. 

The examination (22-35)

Jacob has a three day head start on Laban (22), but the man is determined to catch his son-in-law. It takes him seven days, but he overtakes “in the hill country of Gilead” (23). This is the area where three of Jacob’s sons will desire to make their land inheritance and the place later Old Testament writers allude to as a place of balm, fertility, and green pastures (Song 4:1; Jer. 8:22; Mic. 7:14). 

Here, it is the place of confrontation. Laban is incensed and scolds Jacob for his surreptitious escape (26-28). His stated objection was that he did not get to say goodbye to his daughters and grandchildren. Yet, since God appeared to him and warned him not to take action against Jacob, Laban simply centers his complaint on the stolen teraphim. He searches Jacob’s things and because of Rachel’s crafty ploy does not find it. Jacob admonishes him for his accusation and the tone and tenor of the conversation changes. Jacob has become incensed. 

The exchange (36-54)

It is Jacob’s turn to scold Laban. The essence of his grievance is found in verse 41: “These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.” Yet, Jacob credits God for preventing him from leaving Laban empty-handed and impoverished (42). Jacob’s summary is that “God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night” (42b). 

Laban, now more contrite, urges that the men make a covenant with one another (43-44). Jacob consents (45-46), and the men forge the agreement calling on God to be their witness. Jacob offers a sacrifice and they all spend one last night together on the mountain called Galeed and Mizpah. The next day Laban and company depart from Jacob and his household. Another significant step is taken toward the fulfillment of the land and seed promise first made to Abraham. God has given him victory over one adversary, but looming over the horizon is another. This one will frighten him tremendously! 

GENESIS: THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (XXXII)

OF FLOCKS AND DEALS (30:25-43)

Neal Pollard

Two horse traders lock horns! It is hard to say who was more duplicitous in his dealings with the other, as a case could be made both ways. Now that Jacob has a tent full of children and a virtual harem, not to mention that he had devoted at least a decade and a half of service on Laban’s spread, he is ready to provide for his own household also (30). That will require “income,” and the source of that is the “cattle” (29), “sheep,” and “goats” (32-33). Jacob appeals to his years of service (26), which both men acknowledge had greatly enriched Laban (27,29-30).

Jacob proposes a deal that seems strange to us today and that had to have had the hand of God in it to succeed. Laban wants to know what Jacob wants (31), and Jacob says, “let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages” (32). Some suggest that these were the rarer colors and types of the sheep, lambs, and goats of the time and place. Whether or not it was, it provided clear delineation between the two men’s flocks. Jacob would tend these livestock and take only the offspring as he describes them and the two men agree upon (33-35). Mathews remarks, “In the future any animals that were found among Jacob’s personal herd that were not of the uncommon varieties must be considered stolen (v. 33). Jacob presumed that Laban would periodically inspect his flocks. By this openness, Jacob wanted to avert any unjust charges of fraud leveled against him. He anticipated trouble with Laban’s family, and he was not far from the mark” (NAC, Vol. 1B, p. 499). 

Throughout this process, each man will try to outmaneuver and outsmart the other. Each is trying to have the advantage over the other, and each appears to think he has gotten the upper hand over the other. Laban hurries his animals away from Jacob, a three days’ journey away (36). Jacob engages in selective crossbreeding to result in larger, healthier herds for himself and smaller, feebler livestock for Laban (37-43). Whether or not Jacob’s odd practice with the peeled tree rods and the water troughs was scientifically sound, God allowed it to succeed. The summary statement of the chapter is, “So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys” (43).

Jacob had been a supplanter and schemer his entire life. Time and again, he would get a taste of his own medicine. He had been tricked and conned by Laban multiple times. His own sons would sell him a lie when Joseph is older, one he would believe for many years. The Lord’s name is mentioned only in passing (27,30), but the crux of this situation seems to be two men trying to outfox each other. God is working through time and events to bring about the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. When his in-laws are thoroughly jealous and outraged with Jacob over his scheme, God will lead Jacob and his household away from there and back to their future promised land (31:1ff).

How should we view Jacob’s behavior in this situation? Some see Jacob as trying to produce his own blessings by his cunning and conniving. It is hard to overlook the fact that the Lord, who witnessed all of this, was on Jacob’s side (31:12). Jacob may have been more focused on himself, but God was focused on His eternal plan and His perfect promises. Jacob would continue to reap what he had sown in deceit, but he, like all of us, was a work in progress who needed his faith further refined. That would happen in multiple ways. Jacob would eat the fruit of his schemes.

Of all the lessons we might learn from this, isn’t it much better to trust God’s guidance than to take matters into our own hands? Do we trust Him to take care of our every need and be with us in all our relationships? That does not mean we should not be wise in our dealings with our fellow man, but we should not try and do God’s part for Him.

GENESIS: THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (XXX)

Jacob Gets A Taste Of His Own Medicine (29:1-35)

Neal Pollard

Rebekah urged her son to flee to Haran (27:43), and he arrived in “the land of the sons of the east” (1). Jacob is looking for his mom’s brother, Laban, and he encounters his shepherds tending his thirsty flocks (2-8). Laban’s daughter Rachel, a shepherdess herself, is also with them (9). Jacob assists them by rolling the stone from the well (10). He introduces himself to Rachel, kissing her and telling her their connection as cousins (11-12). Rachel runs back and informs Laban of Jacob’s arrival, news which his uncle welcomes (13-14). Laban extends hospitality to Jacob for the next month while Jacob presumably already begins to work for Laban (14-15). 

We have already received glimpses of character traits in Laban that are on fully display in Genesis 29. As mentioned previously, Laban was not a stranger to materialism (24:29-31,53).  He is always presented by implication as a man striving to get the upper hand or advantage. He is wily enough to win out over a conniving character (Jacob), but he would meet his match with God at a later point (ch. 30). 

When Jacob saw Rachel, he was very attracted to her. We do not know how impressed he was with her personality or spirituality, “but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face” (17b, NLT). Leah was comparatively plain (17a). There is no doubt to anyone, certainly Laban, that Rachel was the one he desired. Moses highlights this by speaking of Jacob’s “love” for Rachel three times over the next several verses (18-30). 

But, Laban lies to Jacob. He exacts seven years of work from Jacob for the promise of Rachel, then promptly sends Leah into his tent on their wedding night. Jacob unwittingly sleeps with her in the dark. The next morning, he is enraged at being tricked and expresses as much to Laban (25). Laban’s excuse is that their local custom was to marry the eldest daughter before marrying a younger daughter. He gives Rachel to him that week, but requires him to work seven more years for her (28-30). You wonder how many times Jacob considered the irony of being treated the way he treated his brother Esau.

It is interesting to see God’s tender feelings for the spurned Leah. Verse 31 says, “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive” (NLT). Leah gives him four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Each name symbolized her triumph is the spousal war with her sister. Reuben means “see, a son,” Simeon means “unloved” or “hated,” Levi means “attached,” and Judah means “praise the Lord.” Interestingly, the Savior of the world would come through the lesser loved Leah than the physically more beautiful Rachel. 

So many departures from God’s will marked this entire interaction. The polygamy, the deception, the selfish desire, and more. Yet, God’s overarching providence was at work accomplish His will. Jacob is being refined and tested, and we will see the growth and progress. But, we leave him in this chapter working through a domestic boondoggle!