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Sermon preached on Genesis 29:1-30 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 1/28/2024 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
We continue our Genesis series and our study of the life of Jacob. We pick up where we left off with Jacob leaving the Promised Land and headed for Haran. He was doing this because he was on the run for his life from his brother Esau who was furious with him for deceiving him and stealing the blessing. He also was simultaneously doing this to pursue a wife from his mother’s side of the family which still lived in Haran where she was from. Last week, when Jacob was just getting started on his journey out of the Promised Land, we saw God appear to him at Bethel with that stairway to heaven dream. There, God graciously promised to be with Jacob and to bring the promises of the Abrahamic covenant to pass through him and his seed. Yet, we noted, that Jacob was still learning to know God as his own God, and not just as the God of his fathers. This passage continues to observe God’s work in Jacob’s life, even as Jacob is still growing in his faith.
Let us begin in our first point to consider Jacob’s arrival here as he has been journeying out of the Promised Land toward the land of Haran. As we begin, let us recognize how this chapter is a reprise of sorts of chapter 24. Remember, back then, Abraham sent his most senior and trusted servant to go to Haran, to his family back there, in order to find a wife for Isaac. This chapter reprises that scenario for this next generation as Jacob goes to the same family to look for a wife for himself. There are both similarities and differences and this invites us to learn from the comparison. But if I could summarize the difference, it is that Abraham’s servant repeatedly acknowledged God’s providential provision and it left everyone else also taking about the LORD and praising him. In contrast, we do not see Jacob explicitly recognizing God’s provision in this passage, and really no one is talking about the LORD at all. Yet, the discerning student will recognize with me today that indeed the LORD is at work through this chapter, even if Jacob may not be quick to verbally acknowledge it yet. But then again, if we are thinking about spiritual maturity, it should not surprise us that such a senior servant of the godly Abraham would be more spiritually mature than our young man Jacob who is just getting started in life. But God is not finished with Jacob yet.
So then, we see his arrival in verse 1. He had been heading toward Haran, and while he has not yet finally arrived there, he is apparently near enough to it to begin to meet some people from the area, as we see him meet some shepherds from Haran in verse 4. So, our passage starts off with him basically arriving at his destination. Let us not take this for granted. This was a long journey, something like if you were walking from here to Los Angeles. There would have been various dangers on the way, especially if you are traveling alone. Given that we saw him recently sleeping on a stone for a pillow, he presumably did not have a lot of supplies with him either. But yet, here he has made it safely through this long journey.
And yet, notice what more happens here. Not only has he safely arrived and immediately finds people who are even from Haran, but they also know his family. Remember, Laban, son of Nahor, is his uncle, his mother Rebekah’s brother. Verses 5-6 show him inquiring and they not only affirm that they know him, but they point out that his daughter Rebekah is just now arriving with her flock of sheep! Just coincidence? Surely, not!
Just think of how Abraham’s servant would have responded to a situation like this. He would have been praising God for bringing safely to that area, through that long trip. He would have been praising God for how God led him straight to his family, even his future wife. That is basically the sort of thing that happened in Genesis 24 and Abraham’s servant did praise God for it. But we don’t see Jacob doing that. But let us acknowledge it right now. Remember, last passage God told Jacob at Bethel that he would be with him and would keep him wherever he went, Genesis 28:15. Today’s chapter begins by showing God keeping that promise, even if the passage doesn’t explicitly connect the dots for us. We are supposed to recognize it, and we are to hope that Jacob is starting to recognize it too.
It is not that Jacob doesn’t appreciate how wonderful this is. Look at his emotional reaction in verse 11. When he finally meets Rachel, he kisses her and weeps loudly. To clarify, this was not a romantic kiss, but a fraternal kiss of greeting and kinship love. But there we see how Jacob recognizes how amazing this was. What a journey he had to get there. He might have wondered if he’d ever make it all the way to Haran, and even if he did, if he’d ever actually find his family up there. But he makes it safely and immediately meets his family. While we don’t see him explicitly praise God, his emotions show he knows how significant this was.
While we are considering his arrival, let us also note this little side story about the stone that is covering the well. In case it wasn’t clear, what is going on here is that there is some large stone that covers the well, and it requires a number of people to normally move it. So, several shepherds with their flocks would periodically meet there and move the stone together so they could then water their flocks before heading back out to pasture. In verse 7, Jacob sees that the sheep should be out pasturing at that moment, but they explain the situation to them. Well, then in verse 10, Jacob moves the stone away all by himself. Why is this mentioned here? Well, it serves two purposes. One, like how Rebekah showed her virtue to Abraham’s servant, this in reverse shows Jacob in a virtuous light. I’m glad for a change to see him showing care for others, including his extended family’s flock of sheep. Surely this shows some growth on his part. But a second purpose is that surely we should recognize where Jacob got such strength. Like the later Samson, Jacob was operating by the Lord’s blessing. The LORD gave Jacob such strength that day. As another example, if we were to look ahead to the next generation, we’ll see Joseph also outside of the Promised Land, and it is clear that wherever Joseph went, God was with him and prospering him. The text will make that clear for such a man of God like Joseph. But here, we should see that even though Jacob isn’t recorded as acknowledging it, surely God’s blessing is with him, allowing him to move that stone. God is further keeping the promises he gave Jacob at Bethel. Even if we don’t see Jacob thanking God for it, God will be faithful to his promise, for he cannot deny himself.
Let us turn now in our second point to see Jacob meets the family. After Jacob introduces himself to Rachel, she brings him back to her family, presumably in Haran, and especially to her father Laban, verse 13. You have to then love the warm welcome Jacob receives from his uncle Laban. Laban runs to meet Jacob. Laban embraces Jacob and kisses him, i.e., more familial love. Laban brings Jacob back to the house. And then Laban gives this great exclamation in verse 14, that Jacob is his bone and flesh. In other words, Laban recognizes Jacob as family and receives him not as a house guest but as a family member. The most immediate result of this is Jacob staying for a month, verse 14.
Again, think of how this is a blessing to Jacob. Jacob didn’t have anywhere else to go. Last we saw is he was sleeping on a rock. Jacob presumably didn’t have endless food and other supplies. He needed to be welcomed and received like this. Yet, again, we can point to the silence of Jacob in terms of acknowledging God’s blessings. Again, I might not been so adamant to point this out, if it weren’t for the similar situation when Abraham’s servant met this same Laban back in Genesis 24. At that meeting, it was also very joyous, and Abraham’s servant kept testifying the blessed providence of God in bringing everything about. It resulted in even Laban speaking of the LORD’s work. But that is not what is happening at this point. Neither Jacob nor Laban are recorded as speaking of God here. But I do believe Jacob is taking note. I do believe Jacob is beginning to recognize the blessed hand of God in his life, even if for now he doesn’t call it out aloud yet.
We also learn in this section of the passage that Laban actually has two daughters. Rachel is the younger sister of Leah. But we also learn in verse 17 that while Rachel was very beautiful, Leah was not so much. There is a bit of idiom in verse 17, but New Living Translation tries to bring out the sense, saying, “There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.” Rachel catches Jacob’s eye, you might call it love at first sight. Though it certainly raises the question if Jacob is more concerned with outward beauty than he should be. Again, you can recall Abraham servant’s finding of Rebekah was concerned not just for outward appearance but that the girl showed virtue as well.
So then, after Jacob is there for a month, Laban comes to him to talk business. Apparently, Jacob had been earning his keep, so to speak, because their conversation starting in verse 15 implies that he had been serving Laban, apparently helping with the flocks. Laban says that Jacob should be paid for his work, even though they are family. Jacob then seizes that opportunity to address why he came in the first place. Jacob proposes that he work for the bride price to marry Rachel. That was the custom of that time, that the father would be given a bride price to marry his daughter. They agree on seven years of Jacob’s work, almost a sort of indentured servitude sort of relationship. At the end of seven years, Jacob would be able to marry Rachel, or at least that is what they agree to.
Let us then again appreciate the hand of God here. Jacob had set out to find a wife among this family. Here, those plans are progressing. While we could acknowledge Jacob’s efforts for that, let us simultaneously give glory to God, for, “He who finds a wife, finds a good thing, and receives favor from the LORD,” Proverbs 18:22.
This leads us then to our third point for today, to consider how Laban then deceives Jacob. For Jacob’s part, he works hard to fulfill his side of the bargain. Verse 20 explains how easy it was for him to do this, because of his great love that he had for Rachel. That love made the time pass quickly. So then, in a blink of an eye, the seven years were up and Jacob is going to Laban and asking for his wife so he can marry her.
That is when the tables are turned on Jacob, and he himself experiences what it was like when he deceived his father Isaac for the blessing. It is important that we see this very obvious point. The way Jacob had tricked his father comes back to haunt him here as Laban does something very similar to him now. Just think about how similar things were.
First, Jacob is tricked by a limitation of sight. Remember, Jacob had deceived his blind father by pretending to be his sibling? Now, Jacob is tricked by someone he couldn’t see held out to be her sibling. We should remember that brides wore veils. Likely the wedding chamber where they spent the night was also dark. And we should not discount the possibility that wine contributed to this too, since they did have a big feast. And so, it is not until the next morning with the light of day and a clear head that Jacob discovers he had actually been married to Leah.
Second, notice that when Jacob complains to Laban, that Laban’s response is that custom demanded the rights of the firstborn over the second born. Leah was the older, and Laban says that custom required she be married first. Now, if I am Jacob, that kind of answer doesn’t really excuse Laban, because Laban could have been up front seven years before when things were negotiated. Yet, if you are Jacob, that answer surely stings. Because when Jacob deceived his father to get the blessing, it was in fact the normal custom that Esau the firstborn was to receive that blessing. It was Jacob’s deceit that circumvented established custom. But now established custom fires back.
And we might then note how Laban’s self-interest comes across in the aftermath. Laban is more than willing to also let Jacob marry Rachel. He will even give her in marriage as soon as Leah’s weeklong marriage celebration is over. But Laban will require another seven years of labor from Jacob in exchange for Rachel. This suggests that Laban was not merely concerned to marry his older daughter first, but really he wanted more work out of Jacob. Yet, Jacob himself had set his own self-interest first when he cheated his brother out of the blessing by deceiving his father. On a side note, this is another example of God’s blessing in Jacob, that God clearly prospered Jacob’s service so that Laban recognized he had a good worker that he didn’t want to lose. Laban would not have been interested to keep Jacob on for another seven years if he wasn’t a blessing to his business.
This all being said, I think we are supposed to see this as God’s chastening hand upon Jacob. God allows Jacob to experience firsthand what he did to his father. This would have difficult ramifications that came from it, which we’ll see in the next passage of the family dynamics that would come from him having not only two wives, but even two competitive sisters as wives. But surely God taught Jacob a lesson here that Jacob needed to learn. We know that chastening is never pleasant at the moment, but in due time God can have it yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in someone. So, while this was a challenge for Jacob, I trust he ultimately recognized God’s hand in training him in godliness even through this.
Let me give a related aside here when we come to the final verse in our passage. In verse 30, we see that after he ended up married to both Rachel and Leah, that he loved Rachel more than Leah. In other words, he had a favorite wife. That favoritism will cause problems in the home. It will later come to be expressed in favoring Rachel’s first son, Joseph, over all the other sons. In Jacob’s past, he should have been able to see how parental favoritism caused problems in his own home growing up. But apparently, he wasn’t ready to learn that lesson yet. My aside here is to say that as much as I am pointing to ways that Jacob is growing and learning through this passage, Jacob’s growth is by no means some simple upwardly linear line. As we keep studying his life, we’ll see his growth tends to happen more like two steps forward and one step back. Yet, we can relate to that.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, I hope the lesson for today has become clear. God was providentially at work and caring for Jacob in this passage, just as he promised at Bethel. God is not even mentioned in these verses, but the mature will see it. Our comparison of this chapter with back in Genesis 24 with Abraham’s servant, helped us to recognize this, even if Jacob didn’t. This is not to say that Jacob wasn’t beginning to recognize God’s hand. In the next few verses, we’ll finally see the LORD’s name mentioned in this chapter, when Leah, Jacob’s new wife, uses it. Surely, Leah learned about the LORD through Jacob, so I think that says something about what God is doing in Jacob’s heart. But, yet, it is less loved Leah that is recorded as observing how the blessings she experiences in bearing a child are a result of the LORD’s blessing in her life. She alone in this chapter is explicitly recognizing here divine blessing via providence, and serves as a contrast to Jacob.
And so then of all the good things God does for Jacob here, the best thing is surely the one thing he would have been least likely to recognize. I refer to the gift of Leah as a wife. Because jump ahead and look at how the chapter ends. The last verse of the chapter records how Leah bears Jacob a son named Judah. In other words, it is through Leah that God will bring the ultimate blessing to Jacob, because it would be through the lineage of Judah that Jesus Christ would be born.
This is the gospel in seed form, brothers and sisters. All that God does here, in providentially providing for Jacob and family is moving forward God’s plan of redemption to come in Jesus. Had God not sustained Jacob and so provided for Jacob, none of that would have come to pass. But God’s providential plans were at work. The wise will recognize them and glorify God.
Let us then take that as our application today. While Christ has already come, there are yet things God is doing right now redemptively, to consolidate his victory through Jesus. God continues to work with blessing in our lives. Jacob so experienced this when outside of the Promised Land, with the hope that God would one day bring him back. God is so working for us, while we too are not in the Promised Land, but are pilgrims on the way to the ultimate Promised Land to come. Let us be looking to wisely discern how God is at work. Let us look to give him the glory and acknowledge the good things he is doing in our lives. Let us be thankful. Indeed, God is using this passage today to help grow us in our faith, that we would be more quick to such praise and gratitude.
Amen.
Copyright © 2022 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
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