Genesis 29
McGeeCHAPTER 29THEME: Jacob meets Rachel; Jacob serves for Rachel; Jacob is deceivedOver this chapter I would like to write: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal_6:7-8). Probably the title that we ought to put over this chapter is “Chickens Come Home to Roost.” In the beginning of this chapter we will see that Jacob begins to reap the harvest of his evil doing. The passage in Galatians is written primarily for Christians, but it expresses a universal law of God in every age. It is true in any area of life. You sow corn: you reap corn.
You sow cotton; you reap cotton. You sow wheat; you reap wheat. You sow tares; you reap tares. Examples of this principle run all the way through the Scriptures. For instance, Pharaoh slew the male children of the Hebrews, and in time his son was slain by the death angel. Ahab, through false accusations, had Naboth slain and the dogs licked his blood. God sent His prophet Elijah to Ahab with the message that, as the dogs had licked the blood of Naboth, they would lick the blood of Ahab. And that was literally fulfilled. You remember that David found this to be an inexorable law which was applicable to his own life.
He committed the terrible sins of adultery and murder. God forgave him for his sin. Yet, the chickens came home to roost. He reaped what he had sown. His own daughter was raped and his son slain. Even Paul the apostle felt the weight of this law.
He had given his consent at the stoning of Stephen. Later, Paul was taken outside the city of Lystra and was stoned and left for dead. Jacob is the classic illustration of this inflexible law. Jacob had lived by his wits. He was rather cocky and clever. He had practiced deceit. He would stoop to use shady methods to accomplish his purpose. And he was proud of his cleverness. But he will reap what he has sown. As we come to this chapter, Jacob leaves Bethel and resumes his journey. After a period of time (I do not know how long), he arrives in Haran.
Genesis 29:1
We see here the importance of water in that country. It still is a very important item because there is a shortage of it in many places. It must be husbanded and protected; that is why at a certain time during the day the stone was removed from the top of the well, and then everybody watered their sheepeverybody got the water he needed. Then the stone was put back on to close the well. Now Jacob arrives on the scene before they take the stone away from the well. Believe me, he is as cocky as ever.
Genesis 29:4
Oh yes, they knew him. But Jacob didn’t know himyet. But, oh my, Jacob is going to get acquainted with him.
Genesis 29:6
Here Jacob has just arrived in the land and he is telling them how to water their sheep and what they should do! This is typical of him, by the way.
Genesis 29:9
JACOB MEETS RACHELRachel is a shepherdess who takes care of the sheep. This was woman’s work in that day.
Genesis 29:10
I don’t know who told him to water the flock of Laban, but he did it. Jacob is not following anyone’s law but his own. He made the rules for the game as he went through lifethat is, the first part of his life. He has a tremendous lesson to learn, and Uncle Laban is the one to teach him.
Genesis 29:11
This verse has always been strange to me. Frankly, kissing that girl and then weeping is hard for me to understand! However, I am of the opinion that this boy had had a lonely trip from the moment he had left home. We need to remember that from Bethel he had to go up by the Sea of Galilee, then up into Syria. He had to cross that desert. I suppose he had many experiences along the way.
When he arrived, he was very cocky and greeted the men there in a matter-of-fact way as though he had known them all of their lives. He asks them questions, then probably in an officious way takes the stone from the mouth of the well. I suppose when he greeted this girl who was a member of his mother’s family he welled up with emotion and wept. That is the only way I can explain it. But I am sure that the next time he kissed her he didn’t weep!
Genesis 29:12
You will notice that he calls himself her father’s brother. The Hebrew does not make a lot of the distinctions we make today. We’ve got it reduced down to whether a person is a kissing cousin or not, but in that day if you were related, you were a brother. That is the way it is translated here and quite properly so. But in English we would say that Jacob was her father’s nephew and that he was a son of Rebekah, her father’s sister.
Genesis 29:13
I imagine that Jacob had quite a bit to talk about. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he entertained them at dinner with his story of how he tricked his brother to get his birthright, and how he used trickery to get the blessing, and how clever he was. Probably he told about that night at Bethel, too. “He told Laban all these things.”
Genesis 29:14
Laban was convinced now that this was his nephew, and he says, “You’re my relative, so come in and make yourself at home.” Now a month goes by, and notice what happens. Jacob is not working. He’s a nephew from a far country, and he’s come over to visit his uncle. I suppose he felt that he ought to have free room and board there. During that time he’s courting this girl, Rachel. At least, he certainly has been casting his eyes in that direction. And I think she was casting her eyes in his direction, too. Now, I can imagine that it was one morning at breakfast when the next incident took place.
Genesis 29:15
This Uncle Laban is clever. Who had said anything about going to work? Jacob hadn’t. So Uncle Laban is very tactful and says that he doesn’t want Jacob to work for him for nothing. He says that he will pay Jacob. Frankly, you don’t live with Laban a month without making some sort of an arrangement to pay your board. Uncle Laban is a clever one also, and now he is going to deal with his nephew.
Genesis 29:16
Here we are introduced to another daughter, Leah. Uncle Laban has been watching this boy, and he has noted that his nephew has become very much interested in his daughter Rachel, the younger of the two. The next verse tells us why
Genesis 29:17
Rachel was a very beautiful girl. Leah was “tender eyed” which is a way of saying that she was not beautiful at all. In college when we were reading Greek and studying some of the plays of Euripides, when a fellow wanted to say something very nice about his girl, we found in the play that he would call her “cow-eyed.” I always laughed about that and thought that I would turn that over in my mind before I ever considered that a compliment. Well now, the next time you meet a cow, take a look at the eyes, and you will see they are beautiful. Ever since I read that play, I have never seen a cow with ugly eyes. But Leah was not cow-eyed, she was “tender eyed” which meant that she was sort of an ugly duckling. So Laban has these two daughters, and it is obvious that Jacob is in love with Rachel.
Genesis 29:18
JACOB SERVES FOR RACHELWe find Jacob was quite moon-eyed. So that morning at breakfast, when Uncle Laban suggested he go to work, he had something in mind himself. He knew that the boy was in love with the girl; so I don’t think he was at all surprised at Jacob’s answer when he asked what his wages should be. Jacob was willing to work for seven years for Rachel. This man, Laban, was driving a hard bargain.
Genesis 29:19
Laban accepts that bargain. Now this next verse tells us one of the loveliest things that is said about Jacob. Frankly, in the early years of Jacob’s life, the only appearance of anything beautiful or fine or noble is his love for Rachel.
Genesis 29:20
You can just see this man working. I tell you, Uncle Laban had him working hard. He worked out in the cold, out in the rain and in all sorts of weather, but he always thought of that girl Rachel. There she was to meet him after a hard day. He was desperately in love with her.
Genesis 29:23
JACOB IS DECEIVEDNow notice what Uncle Laban is doing At the marriage ceremony in those days, the woman was veiled, heavily veiled, so that she couldn’t be seen. Poor Jacob didn’t see the girl he was getting until the next morning. Lo and behold, it wasn’t Rachelit was Leah! At the moment he saw he had been tricked. I wonder if he didn’t recall something of his own father when he, Jacob, had pretended to be the elder. He deceived his father, and that was the reason he had to leave home.
You see, God does not approve of that type of conduct. The chickens are now coming home to roost. Jacob pretended to be the elder when he was the younger. Now he thinks he’s getting the younger and he gets the elder. The tables are turned now, and it has become an awful thing for Jacob. To Jacob it is a criminal act that Laban has done, but notice how Uncle Laban passes it off.
He is an expert at this type of thing. He tells Jacob that there was a little matter in the contract, a clause in the fine print, that he had forgotten to mention to Jacob. It was a custom in their country that the elder daughter must marry first, and the younger daughter could not marry until the elder daughter was married. But Uncle Laban is willing to be very generous in his dealings; so he has an offer to make.
Genesis 29:27
This week, you see, is another seven years. Uncle Laban is getting his money’s worth, isn’t he? And poor Jacob is really going to school. But he is taking two wives which he shouldn’t have done. He will be in trouble before it is over.
Genesis 29:28
Uncle Laban made Jacob serve twice as long as he originally agreed to. Seven years was long enough, but, believe me, fourteen years is a long time! This arrangement gave Jacob two wives. You may be thinking, Well, since this is in the Bible, God must approve of polygamy. No, God does not approve of everything that is in the Biblethat may startle you. For instance, God didn’t approve of the devil’s lie. God didn’t approve of David’s sin, and He judged him for it. But the record of both events is inspiredliterally, God-breathed. In other words, God said through the writer, Moses, exactly what He wanted to say.
The thing that is inspired is the record of the words God gave to Moses to write down in this Book we call the Bible. In Genesis 29 God gave an accurate record: Jacob did have two wives, and it tells us the way it came about. That is where inspiration comes in. It does not mean that God approved of everything that is recorded in the Bible. Certainly God disapproved of Jacob’s having more than one wife. May I say to you, this man Jacob had plenty of trouble in his family from here on, and it all can be traced back to his own methods which he had used. The chickens are coming home to roost.
Genesis 29:31
Leah is a sad person because she knows her husband loves Rachel rather than her. When she becomes the mother of Reuben, it brings joy to her heart, and she feels that Jacob will love her now. Reuben is Jacob’s firstborn, but he is not the one who will begin the line leading to Christ. Rather, it will be Leah’s fourth son, Judah. Judah was the kingly line. David was in this line, and later on, the Lord Jesus Himself, according to the flesh, came from the line of Judah. Reuben lost his position as the firstborn because of his sin. Levi was the priestly tribe. Leah was the mother of some of the outstanding sons of Jacob.