Genesis 29:10

The Bible says in Genesis 29:10-20, “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. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.”

Jacob loved Rachel. Jacob had obeyed the spiritual principle of looking among believers to find a wife. God had blessed Jacob’s journey, and had brought Jacob and Rachel together in a way that was very similar to how God brought Isaac and Rebekah together years before. However, events got much more complicated in Jacob’s life, because Laban would not allow Jacob to marry right away. Laban insisted that Jacob work for seven years before marrying Rachel. Jacob agreed to do this, and the Bible says in Genesis 29:20, “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” We see a couple of good things about Jacob’s character here. He definitely had a lot of endurance and patience. Instead of demanding that things be done his way or demanding instant gratification, Jacob was willing to wait until things worked out properly. One of the problems in this day in which we live is the unwillingness to wait for God’s will. We live in a day when many people demand instant gratification.

Notice what Jesus said about the last days in Matthew 24:4-14, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” The way to get through a difficult situation is to endure it until it ends. Unfortunately, out of selfishness or self-will some people run away from their problems instead of patiently and prayerfully enduring the difficulties and trusting the Lord to solve the situation in His way and in His time.

Jacob was willing to work seven years before marrying Rachel. This shows us that he was a hard worker, and that he understood the value of working for something in order to obtain it. Hard work and its successful results will fill a person with the satisfaction of achieving honorable accomplishments. However, in the age in which we are currently living many people prefer getting something for nothing. A lazy person causes many unnecessary hardships for themselves, their friends, their families and for the society they live in. God created this world with the requirement that man must work for what he obtains. That has been true since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The Bible says in Genesis 3:17-19, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Jesus worked. He said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Those who refuse to work are held in very low esteem in the New Testament. The Bible says in Second Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” It also says in Second Corinthians 3:12, “Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”

The Bible says in Genesis 29:21-28, “And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.”

This was a very strange situation. Jacob thought that he was marrying Rachel, but the day after his wedding night Jacob awoke and discovered that he had actually married Leah, the oldest daughter. This is one difficulty that men in our modern world do not have to worry about because of the invention of the light bulb. Although, today we could jokingly say that upon seeing their wife for the first time without her makeup on, some men might have briefly wondered if they had married the wrong woman.

But on the serious side, it is important to notice that Jacob agreed to work another seven years so that he could marry Rachel. How many believers today are willing to wait fourteen years to see their dreams fulfilled and their prayers answered? There will always be some things that God wants us to wait for. To wait upon God is to prove that we have faith in Him and faith in what Jesus will do, instead of relying upon our own actions. Many marriages would have turned out much better, if the believers involved had been willing to wait upon God’s choice and God’s time.

Jacob married both Leah and Rachel. Some people look at this and think that the Bible condones polygamy. But look closer. When God first created Adam, God brought one wife to him: Eve. God said in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” That is “wife” in the singular, not “wives.” Jacob had more than one wife and it resulted in trouble for him for the rest of his life. Of course, the wives were jealous of each other; and their children ended up being jealous of each other also. God’s perfect plan for marriage is one man and one woman united for life. Such a marriage is based on love and on a common faith in Christ.

Concerning the circumstance of Jacob being married to both Leah and Rachel, the Bible says in Genesis 29:29-35, “And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.” This is a passage of scripture that shows that God is compassionate and empathetic with every person. God sees our pain. He knows what we are experiencing, and He cares even if some of our sufferings are caused by our own failures. “God is love.” God saw that Leah was not held in high esteem by her husband, and the Lord was compassionate towards her. To make up for the animosity that she had received, the Lord gave children to Leah. Whenever a child is conceived; that life has been given by the Lord God Almighty. He is the life-giver, and all life comes from Him. God has a purpose for every life that has been born into the world. The sons that were born to Leah were the building-blocks for the nation of Israel. Of course, Judah was in the lineage of the Messiah, who would come into the world to die for our sins. We will see later that some of these sons of Jacob had terrible faults and failures as we all do, but God’s plan was still at work. Years earlier Abraham had put his faith in God’s promises. God honored that faith, and God kept His promises no matter how much others failed in the coming generations. God always keeps His promises. That is why these sons were born to Leah. God’s promises were being fulfilled.

God cared about Leah. It says in Genesis 29:31, “And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb.” And God also cared about Rachel. The first part of Genesis chapter thirty tells about other children that were born to Jacob, but notice verse 22 in Genesis 30. It says in Genesis 30:1-22, “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.”

God will remember you also in whatever are your sorrows and difficulties. If you trust in Christ, the fulfillment of your hopes and dreams can be realized.

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