I Will Be With You - Genesis 29:1-20
INTRODUCTION:
We left Jacob last week having just had an encounter with the Lord. God had spoken to Jacob in a dream and confirmed that he was the son of promise, that the covenant that God had made with Abraham and then with Isaac was now the covenant that God was passing onto Jacob. The land, which Jacob was about to leave in his flight to Haran, God would bring Jacob back to this land and give to Jacob and his descendants the land and they would grow and spread out to the north, south, east and west and fill the land. God promised that all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through Jacob’s descendants because from them would come the deliverer, the Savior of the world. God promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, promising to watch over him and protect him and eventually to bring him back to the land of promise. Jacob made a vow to God that day and you would have thought that would have been a great turning point in the life of Jacob, but as the weeks passed as he traveled those hundreds of miles to Haran he seems to have forgotten his vow and the fact that God said that He would go with him.
As we enter into chapter 29 this morning we find no mention whatsoever of God, no prayer by Jacob asking God for guidance, no gratefulness when God guides him to the right place and the right people at the right time. We see evidence of God throughout this passage, but no mention of His working by Jacob or anyone else. Instead we see selfishness and scheming again by Jacob and as we will see by Laban. God will use Laban as a tool to shape Jacob into the man of God that the Lord wants him to be. It will take many years, but God will refine him. Let’s pray and then jump into this passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 29:1-20 our passage for this morning. Please stand as I read the Word of God and follow along as I read.
Genesis 29:1-20,
“Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east. He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, ‘My brothers, where are you from?’ And they said, ‘We are from Haran.’ He said to them, ‘Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?’ And they said, ‘We know him.’ And he said to them, ‘Is it well with him?’ And they said, ‘It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.’ He said, ‘Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.’ But they said, ‘We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.’ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father. So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things. Laban said to him, ‘Surely you are my bone and my flesh.’ And he stayed with him a month. Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’ Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.’ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.” (Genesis 29:1–20, NASB95)[1]
GOD LEADS JACOB TO HARAN (Genesis 29:1-4)
This passage begins with Jacob nearing the end of his journey, nothing else of significance happened along the way and after weeks of traveling we read he comes to the sons of the east, a term used to describe the people groups east of Israel, although we know that Haran is northeast of Israel this is a term that could describe the people groups from the northeast of Israel all the way to the southeast. The present day countries in those areas are Syria where Haran is located, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and a number of smaller countries.
The phrase, “Then Jacob went on his journey” is literally in Hebrew, “Then Jacob lifted up his feet.” After the promise had been given to him by God, Jacob lifted up his feet and pushed himself to reach his destination. But somewhere along the line over the weeks that it took to travel to Haran the dream began to fade and the weariness of travel must have caused Jacob to forget what God had promised because when he comes into the land of the sons of the east we read nothing about God. If you remember when Abraham’s servant came to Haran all those years before, when he reached the sons of the east he began to pray for God’s direction to lead him to the family and the daughter that Isaac was to marry. God answered his prayer in a very specific way so that he knew that God was guiding him.
While Jacob is not seeking the guidance or direction of the Lord, nonetheless God is directing Jacob’s footsteps and God is putting all the pieces into place to bring Jacob to his relatives.
Upon arriving in the land of the sons of the east Jacob comes upon a well in a field with three flocks of sheep lying down beside it. Moses gives us some insight to what Jacob saw, these flocks were gathered at the well to be watered; the well had a large stone over the opening to keep sand and debris and animals from falling into it and fouling the water. When all the flocks of the area were gathered the shepherds would remove the stone and draw water to water their flocks. There must have been stone troughs around the well to pour the water in. These three flocks have come early in the day and they are waiting for the rest of the flocks to gather. The shepherds must have been together conversing when Jacob approaches them and asks them where they are from. Since there is a well here, there must be a town or city nearby. Remember Jacob had never been here before and knew that he was getting near Haran, but was not sure where it was. The shepherds respond that they are all from Haran. By God’s graceful leading Jacob had at last reached his destination, but we see no gratefulness in Jacob here or anywhere in this passage.
GOD LEADS JACOB TO LABAN (Genesis 29:5-14)
Learning that the shepherds are from Haran he inquires after Laban the grandson of Nahor who would have been the patriarch of the family in Haran, the progenitor of the family. The shepherds know Laban and Jacob asks after his well-being and they say that he is well and if he waits for just a bit his daughter Rachel will be coming with Laban’s flock. As often the case during this time, the youngest of the family would be the one to be in charge of the pasturing and watering the sheep. The shepherds that Jacob was speaking to were possibly young boys or teenagers which may have been why they had to wait to water their flocks because there had to be enough of them so that they could move the rock off of the mouth of the well. It was too large and too heavy for just two or three of them to move. When Jacob hears that Laban’s daughter is coming he suggests that since it is not yet afternoon that they water their flocks and take them back out to pasture. Jacob would like a private meeting with Rachel so that he could tell her who he was without a lot of listening ears. But the shepherds are quick to inform Jacob that they must wait for the rest of the flocks to gather and then with enough of them they can move the rock to draw water for their flocks to drink. While Jacob was still talking with them Rachel arrived with the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother. When he saw them he wasted no time, he did not stop to consult with the Lord, but rather went immediately to the well and by himself moved the stone and watered the flock of Laban. I cannot imagine what Rachel thought or the other shepherds that were waiting there to water their flocks. Rachel must have wondered who is this man was that was doing her work for her. When the sheep had been watered we read that he kissed Rachel and he wept aloud which must have caused Rachel more wonder about this strange man that she had never met. Finally, controlling himself he told Rachel that he was a relative, that he was Laban’s nephew, he was Laban’s sister Rebekah’s son. Leaving the sheep with Jacob she ran home to tell her father that Rebekah’s son was at the well. Again we see God working to bring this all about, but not once when Jacob could have asked for guidance or given thanks to God for directing him to this well, at just the right time so that he could meet his relative. Instead we have silence.
As soon as Rachel reports to Laban he goes running out to meet Jacob. Laban had run to a well one other time when Rebekah had reported that a servant of Abraham was at the well. That time he had found a man with camels laden with gifts used to pay the dowry of Rebekah. Perhaps that was what he hoped to find this time, but upon reaching the well he finds Jacob with nothing but the sandals on his feet. Laban embraces and kisses Jacob and brings him home, once there Jacobs relates to Laban all that has taken place to bring him to Haran. With the information that Jacob gives to Laban he is convinced that Jacob is who he says he is, that he is truly Rebekah’s son that he is truly bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Jacob is accepted into the family as a family member. Jacob stayed in the house of Laban for a month getting to know the family and they had the opportunity to get to know him. Jacob helped out where he could and possibly was quick to offer to help with anything that would bring him in contact with Rachel and during that month he fell in love with this younger daughter of Laban. Again we see God working behind the scenes to bring this all about, the finding of Laban’s family and their favorable acceptance of him and belief that he truly is Rebekah’s son. Laban could have turned him away at the well when he saw that Jacob came with nothing, but God caused Laban to act favorable toward Jacob and to welcome him into his home as family. But again God is not mentioned and God is not thanked for His guidance, direction and protection.
LABAN AND JACOB SCHEME (Genesis 29:15-20)
At the end of the month Laban has a proposal for Jacob, why should Jacob live with them and do work for them and not get paid. Laban offers to give Jacob a job and he asks Jacob to name his pay. Understand that Laban is a schemer just like Jacob and wants to know what he can get for himself by hiring Jacob. By this time he has seen the success that Jacob has with the sheep and how the flock has grown and is healthy. This is because God is blessing Jacob even though we see no acknowledgment of God’s blessing on Jacob’s part. Jacob being the schemer that he is sees this as an opportunity to get what he wants. Moses gives us some information about Laban’s daughters here. Laban has two daughters the older daughter is Leah and we are told that she had weak eyes. What does this mean, one commentator said it possibly meant that she was blue eyed which was considered a blemish among the dominantly dark eyed people of the middle-east. Another commentator said that it meant her “eyes…were visually weak or lacked luster—dull and unimpressive eyes. This was considered to be a great defect among those who admired sparkling eyes that were lively and flashing.”[2] Rachel was the younger daughter and she is described as beautiful in form and appearance. One commentator wrote, “That Leah’s eyes were compared to Rachel’s beauty obviously meant there was no beauty in them and that Leah herself was probably plain in face and form compared to her sister.”[3] Jacob wants Rachel, the beautiful one, for a wife, but knows he does not have what is needed to pay the dowry for her, so Jacob offers to work as a servant for Laban for seven years in exchange for Rachel. Laban found this appealing and agreed that it would be better if he gave his daughter to a relative than some stranger outside of the family. They both believe they are getting the better of the deal, Laban seven years of free service, Jacob gets to be near the beautiful woman that he loves while he works for her father. We are told in verse 20 that the seven years that Jacob served for Rachel only seemed like a few days because he loved Rachel so much.
Again we do not see Jacob seeking God’s direction or asking God what wages he should have asked for, but rushing headlong into a decision to get what he wants. And in doing so we begin to see God using Laban as a tool to shape Jacob’s character. Notice in these last five verses that Jacob became a servant to Laban. The promise had been that the elder son would serve the younger, but before that could happen God in his providence causes the younger to become a servant to shape him into a humble master. Next Sunday we will see Jacob getting a dose of his own medicine when he is deceived.
CONCLUSION:
In this passage we see the hand of God in everything. God in leading Jacob is fulfilling the promises to be with him and to bring him back to the land by giving him a wife not from the Canaanites who lived in the land that God would give him, but a wife from his own relatives which would assure that he had descendants to populate the land as God had promised. God led Jacob safely to Haran and then safely to Laban and caused Laban to act favorably towards him and accept him into the family.
What we see lacking in this passage is any acknowledgment of God by anyone, but most particularly by Jacob who had had an encounter with God on the way. You would think that this amazing encounter would have had him praying and seeking God’s guidance and will for his life, and thanking the Lord for safety, for directing him to the right place, a well which was situated outside of Haran, for bringing him there at the right time just as Rachel was bringing the flock to be watered so that he could connect with his relatives. But we see none of this, we see God working on behalf of Jacob, but no one acknowledging the fact. Even when Jacob was presented with an opportunity to seek God’s guidance and will, he does not and makes his own decision that in the end will bring disappointment and heartache to all parties involved.
This should be a wakeup call to each of us, in our Scripture reading this morning in Hebrews 13 God promised never to leave us or forsake us if we are trusting in Christ. He has promised to be our protector and provider. When we agree with God that he alone is God, and that we are sinners and we can do nothing to atone for our sin and make us acceptable to God and believe that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice who died for our sin and rose from the dead so that we might be acceptable to God, then God is working in our lives whether we acknowledge that or not. So many times I have looked over my past and realized how God has worked. This needs to be acknowledge, we need to be grateful for what God has done for us. Often in the Psalms we are commanded to “Give Thanks!” Paul expressed it this way to the Philippians in chapter 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7, NASB95)[4]
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 55). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.
[3]Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 55). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995