Genesis 29

Sunday Morning Bible Study

June 24, 2007

Introduction

 

Do people see Jesus?

Is the gospel preached?

Does it speak to the broken hearted?

Does it build up the church?

Milk – Meat – Manna

Preach for a decision

 

:1-14 Jacob meets Rachel

:1 So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East.

Jacob has been traveling close to 500 miles from Beersheba to find the family of his mother’s brother.  Laban has settled in Haran, and now Jacob is getting close.

:2 And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth.

 

:3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth.

 

:4 And Jacob said to them, "My brethren, where are you from?" And they said, "We are from Haran."

 

:5 Then he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him."

We’re going to be seeing how these ancient people put significance into names.  Sometimes the name had godly, prophetic importance (Joshua means “Yahweh is salvation”), sometimes the name was a description of the child when they were born (Esau means “hairy”) sometimes it simply tells you the state of mind the parents were in when they named their child.

LabanLaban – “white”

NahorNachowr – “snorting”

 

:6 So he said to them, "Is he well?" And they said, "He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep."

RachelRachel – “ewe”

 

:7 Then he said, "Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them."

It seems that Jacob wants to get rid of the other flocks and their shepherds before Rachel arrives.  It is very likely that the other shepherds are either young men like David was, or girls like Rachel.

 

:8 But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep."

Apparently the stone that covered the well’s mouth was too large for them to move.  Their custom was to wait until all the shepherds arrived, then together they would move the stone, water their flocks, and then put the stone back.

 

:9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

Grandpa Abraham’s servant had first met Jacob’s mother Rebekah at a well.

shepherdess – it was not unusual for a girl to tend a flock.  It seems that Laban didn’t have any sons yet (29:16), so the job of tending the flock went to the youngest daughter.

:10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

When Jacob sees Rachel and her flock, it seems he gets this rush of adrenaline and moves the stone at the well all by himself.

 

:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

kissednashaq – kiss; don’t think of this as a big romantic smooch.  The word seems to describe more of a common greeting, father kissing son, brothers kissing each other, in a minute we’ll see Jacob being kissed by his uncle Laban, stuff like that.  Jacob and Rachel are cousins … kissing cousins.

Jacob is weeping because he has finally reached his destination and has even met one of the daughters of his uncle Laban.

:12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father.

I wonder if Rachel had heard the stories of how a stranger once came from Abraham’s family and had met her aunt Rebekah at a well, and ended up taking her off to a distant land to meet her husband.

:13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things.

 

:14 And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month.

my bone and my flesh – apparently this phrase is found in ancient adoption rituals, but Laban is eventually going to treat Jacob more like a slave than a son.

 

:15-20 Jacob works for Rachel

:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?"

Apparently Jacob had been helping out on the ranch.

:16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

 

:17 Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.

delicaterak – tender, soft, delicate, weak; this might mean that Leah had bad eyesight, it might mean that they just didn’t sparkle like Rachel’s eyes.  Some say it means she had blue eyes.

beautifulyapheh – fair, beautiful, handsome

formto’ar – shape, form, outline, figure, appearance

appearancemar’eh – sight, appearance, vision

Rachel had a nice shape and she was easy to look at.

 

:18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."

:19 And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me."

 

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

 

 

Lesson

Love waits

 
 
 

:21-30 Jacob marries Leah and Rachel

:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."

Jacob has paid Laban’s price for marrying Rachel.  His seven years’ work was considered the equivalent of a “dowry”.  According to custom, once a dowry was paid, the marriage was considered legal and final.  When Abraham’s servant gave Laban all the gifts from Abraham, Rebekah and Isaac’s marriage was final, even though they had not even met.

When Jesus died on the cross, He was paying the price for us.  And when you opened your heart to Jesus and accepted His payment for your sins, the marriage was complete.  Even though we haven’t seen Him yet, we are His Bride.

Jacob had paid the price, and now he wants his wife.

:22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

 

:23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

 

:24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

It seems to have been a custom, at least at Laban’s house, to give a servant girl as a wedding present.  When Laban’s sister Rebekah was sent off to marry Isaac, she left with “maids” (Gen. 24:59,61).

:25 So it came to pass 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 you? Why then have you deceived me?"

We might wonder how Jacob could spend an evening with a woman and now know who he’s with.

Keep a couple of things in mind:  There are no electric lights.  Jacob is probably inside a tent in the dark.  Leah may be wearing a veil when she enters the tent.

Lesson

Sowing and reaping

Think of the picture here:
A guy is expecting a blessing with a special person he cares for, only to find out that the person he expected got swapped on him and the blessing went to the wrong person.  Sound familiar?  Which story am I talking about?  Am I talking about how Laban swapped Leah for Rachel, or am I talking about how Rebekah swapped Jacob for Esau?
The trickster has been tricked.  I imagine that at this point Jacob has a good idea as to how Esau felt when he was deceived.
I think we have an amazing example of reaping what you’ve sown.
Jacob was a part of the plan to deceive Isaac, and now he finds himself as the one who was deceived.
We read about it in the Psalms last week, in a passage describing the prophetic curse that would come upon Judas the betrayer.  David wrote prophetically:
(Psa 109:8-16 NKJV)  Let his days be few, And let another take his office. {9} Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. {10} Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. {11} Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor. {12} Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. {13} Let his posterity be cut off, And in the generation following let their name be blotted out. {14} Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. {15} Let them be continually before the LORD, That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth; {16} Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the broken in heart.

I’ve often read that first part of the passage and thought of the viciousness of the curses upon this man who betrayed his friend…until you get to the root of the problem (vs. 16), that the betrayer showed no mercy himself.  He would only get what he gave out.

We see it in other examples in the Bible:
Korah started a rebellion among the Israelites.  He “split” the nation.  And then God “split” the earth and the earth swallowed him.
When the Israelites conquered the Promised Land, they fought against a king named Adoni-bezek.  After they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes.

(Judg 1:7 NKJV)  And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me." Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

You will eventually reap what you’ve sown.  Make sure you’ve sown plenty of good seed.  Make sure you’ve sown plenty of WHEAT seed and not plenty of WEED seed.
(Gal 6:7-9 NKJV)  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. {8} For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. {9} And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
 
 

:26 And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

I wonder if Jacob sees the irony as he, the younger, had talked his older brother into selling his birthright, and then how he had deceived his father by pretending to be his older brother.  But it’s not done that way in this country.

:27 "Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."

her week – our custom is to send couples off on their honeymoon to be alone.  The custom of that day was to hold a week long party with the family and friends.

Perhaps this has a parallel in the future:  When the Rapture of the church takes place, the Groom will take the Bride to His Father’s house.  During the following “week”, the seven year Tribulation period, there will be festivities in heaven, the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb”.

Laban is going to give Rachel to Jacob at the end of the week as long as promises to work for Laban for another seven years.

 

:28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

 

:29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid.

 

:30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

As things will progress in this family, not only will Jacob have two wives, but the maids of each wife will become his “concubines”, in essence giving Jacob four wives.

Some 3500 years later a man named Joseph Smith will use Jacob’s multiple wives as one of his excuses to institute plural wives based on this example from the age of the patriarchs.  The Mormon church will acknowledge that Brigham Young had multiple wives, but they usually deny that Joseph Smith had multiple wives.  Yet according to some scholars who have researched the Mormon temple archives, Joseph Smith had something close to 48 wives in addition to his first wife Emma.

I think it’s interesting to look at what Jesus uses as the example of marriage when He was asked about divorce:

(Mat 19:3-6 NKJV)  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" {4} And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' {5} "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? {6} "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Jesus doesn’t pull from the example of the patriarchs, He pulls from God’s original design in the Garden of Eden.  God made one man and one woman.
This is to be God’s rule for marriage – one man and one woman.

Lesson

What is your marriage based upon?

Jacob is basing his marriage customs upon the society that he lives in.
In the beginning God made the first marriage with Adam and Eve.  Even at the time of the flood, the families that survived on the ark consisted of four men, each with his own wife.
But now, by the time of Jacob, things have degraded to where Jacob doesn’t seem to blink at the idea of having four wives.
Too often people are basing their relationships upon the customs of the world rather than on the Word of God.
It’s now a common practice for a couple to move in and live together before they get married.  The world says you better find out if you are sexually compatible before you get married.  The world says you ought to try it out before you commit.
The Bible has a word to describe sex that takes place outside of marriage.  The Greek word is porneia, and is translated “sexual immorality” or “fornication”.

God’s Word says:

(1 Cor 6:18-20 NKJV)  Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. {19} Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? {20} For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

God says your body belongs to Him and He wants you to use it in the right way.  God wants us to stay pure.  God wants us to flee from sexual impurity.

In the world, it seems to be more and more common for men and women to be unfaithful to their spouse.

An article in yesterday’s OC Register stated that the average U.S. male will have 7 sex partners in his lifetime while the average female will have 4.  The survey stated that 29 percent of men reported having 15 or more partners, while 9 percent of women reported having 15 or more partners.

I’m a little hesitant to share some of those statistics because I’m afraid of making some of you think you have a lot of catching up to do.

What has gone on with our world?  Our nation seems to have driven off the cliff of morality and is heading for a huge crash in the canyon below.

God’s Word says:

(1 Cor 7:2 NKJV)  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

God designed us as one man being married to one woman.  God’s design is that your sexual needs be fulfilled within your marriage.  The world may present a tempting picture with it’s immorality, but it’s all a farce. 

There is no place like home.

Starting Thursday night, Pastor Caleb will be teaching a class on Thursday nights called “Love and Respect”.  It’s aimed at building your marriage.  It’s intended both for those who are married and for those considering marriage.
 

:31-35 Leah starts the baby boom

:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

 

:32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."

We now get a parade of babies being born along with their interesting names…

ReubenR@’uwben – “see, a son”

: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." And she called his name Simeon.

SimeonShim‘own – “heard”

This baby came as a result of Leah praying to Yahweh.

: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 his name was called Levi.

LeviLeviy – “joined to”.  He will be the father of the Levites, the tribe that the priests came from.

:35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

JudahY@huwdah – “praised”.  Judah will be the father of the tribe that David and his ancestors come from, including the Messiah, Jesus.

Note again that Leah mentions Yahweh.

she stopped bearing – During the first seven years of their marriage, Leah will give birth to six sons (30:20) and one daughter.  If she’s not pregnant for a period of time, it’s not for very long.

Lesson

What will you do for love?

While I’m sure some of us guys are going to look at this story of Jacob and his wives fighting over him and think he’s in heaven … it kind of sad to see Leah is trying so hard to earn her husband’s love.
In a way, I have trouble placing blame on Jacob.  He never intended to marry Leah.  He wanted to marry Rachel.
Ideally, a husband is supposed to love his wife as Jesus loves the church.
 
What if your husband doesn’t love you like Jesus loves you?
Find your love in Jesus.