"What is this thou has done to me? did I not serve with thee for Rachel? wherefor then has thou beguiled me?" (Gen 29:25)
The eeger lad with exuberance on his journey. His stepa must have been lighter as he anticipated the experience of a new country. With the help of the Lord, Jacob immediately found the counrty where his mother's kinfolks lived. The adrenaline must have been flowing in his system, because when he saw Rachel, he was able by himself, to roll the stone from the well's mouth, a task that usually required several men. When he identified himself to Rachel, she was delighted to know him and ran to tell her father.
Jacob the schemer met his match in Laban, his mother's brother. Jacob remained as a guest for a month, but after that Laban suggested that a contract be drawn up for work. Jacob proposed that he work seven years for Laban's daughter, and at that time she would become his wife. However Jacob did not count on Laban's craftiness.
The wedding feast was a great one, with all the customs of that day. The morning after the wedding had been consumated in the darkness of the tent, Jacob discovered he had slept with Leah, Laban's elder daughter, rather than Rachel. Of course he raised a great objection, but Laban showed him the "fine print" in the contract and explained ti was the custom of their country never to give the younger daughter in marriage until the firstborn was wedded. As a result, Jacob had to serve another seven year term for Rachel. Naturayyl, Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. However, God blessed Leah with many children. It was a long time before Rachel even bore her first child, and then she died giving birth to her second one. Some great lessons stand out to be learned from this story.
1. God leads His children along.
How refreshing for us to know that in spite of our shortcomings and sins, God can use us. The Lord had chosen Jacob as the channel through which the Messiah would come. If we had been choosing, no doubt we might have picked Esau, for in many ways he was a more likable character. Yet Jacob, with all his indesirable traits, had a nature sensitive tp God's will. He did not always act in accordance with this knowledge, but he genuinely loved God in spite of his personal ambition and inconsistant nature. Esau, on the other hand, was a worldly wise sophistcate who felt no need for religious affiliation or divine support.
God blesses us when we are earnestly trying to do His will. He will lead us if we will just keep ourselves in tune with Him. He does not count our mistakes, but only our intentions. His is always ready to wipe the slate clean and give us a fresh start. The land of Laban was the place of "begiining again" for Jacob. We too can know the joy of starting afresh if we honestly seek the Father's face and His will.
2. The Web of Deception is a Tangled One.
A poet wrote, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Jacob learned this truth firsthand. He started out as a supplanter. Nothing mattered to him except getting what he wanted. He did not care if he hurt anyone in securing the things he felt he must have at a given moment. Then he met someone who operated from the same base. Experts do not agree as to whether or not we inherit emotional qualities, but we cannot help bur wonder if Jacob's "craftiness" was from his mother's side of the family. After all, she helped him in deceiving Issac, and now we see that her brother has the same characteristics. Even Jacob the schemer was not going to gain the upper hand with Laban, because Laban had more resources to work with and therefore had Jacob at a disadvantage.
What do you imagine Jacob thought the morning after his wedding when he found Leah in his tent? Do you suppose that he saw any relationship between the darkness of the tent the night before and the darkness of his father's eyes when Jacob tricked to receive his blessing? The similarities are too great to go unnoticed. Jacob must have felt great remorse. We do not, however, see any repentance at this moment. Sin had stalked its victim! Jacob was now getting a dose of his own medicine.
3. God Always Sends Compensation.
The relationship between Jacob and his wives as an interesting one. God blessed Leah with children, which was the greatest honor that could come to a woman of the day. A man from Israel, reflected the feeling of his people even to this day as he suggested that Rachel was the "beauty Queen" who did not want to work, While Leah was the better of the two. Also, Rachel died earlier and was buried by the side of the road near Bethlehem. She never enjoyed the blessings and fruits of old age. Leah, however lived a long time and was finally buried in the cave of Machpelah with Jacob, her husband, and the other two patriarchs and their wives. Nearly four millenia have passed, but the grave of Leah is still honored. Also, God sent the Savior through one of Leah's sons, Judah. Life indeed has a strange way of sending compensating blessings for our inadequacies and adversities.
Jacob's life is a strange mixture, a paradox, a dilemma. On one hand he was a schemer and suffered for it. On the other hand, God stood within the shadows and kept watch over Jacob. He overruled Jacob's mistakes and sins and blessed him in spite of them. Aren't you Happy that we serve a God who, because of His mercy, forgives our sins?
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