Genesis 29:1-35

There are some passages of Scripture that just make me shake my head and wonder how in the world could this have happened?  How in the world could Jacob work for seven years in order to marry Rachael and then on the wedding day not be able to tell the difference between her and her sister on the wedding day?  This is definitely a unique love story but I don’t pretend to understand how all of this could happen.  Here are some of the things that stand out to me about Jacob’s love.

IT WAS A PRACTICAL LOVE: It seems that the place to find a wife in Abraham’s family was to go to a well.  That is where Abraham’s servant found Rebekah and where Jacob found Rachael.  It seems that these men were looking for women who were hard workers.  Jacob was simply looking for his uncle and God arranged it so that Rachael would be there at just the right time.  It seems to be a case of love at first sight.  Jacob serves Rachel in a practical way by watering her sheep and tells her who he is and why he has come.  Jacob goes home to and begins to work for his uncle.  When his uncle asks him about wages, he simply asks for Rachael’s hand in marriage in exchange for seven years of work.  I think it is important to look at the practical aspects of life when choosing a spouse.  Jacob was pleased to find a beautiful girl who was not afraid of keeping sheep.  Rachael was pleased to find a man who was willing to serve her and meet her needs in practical ways.  I think true love must be practical.

IT WAS A PATIENT LOVE:  Jacob knew that culturally he needed to be able to support his wife and provide the gifts necessary to the bride’s family.  Since he did not come laden with gifts as Abraham’s servant did when he came for Rebekah and since Jacob could not take Rachael back to his home for fear of his brother Esau; Jacob had to work for the right to marry Rachel.  He worked for seven years that to him passed by like a week because he was so excited about his marriage.  Too often couples are in such a hurry to get married because they claim to have a great love for one another.  The truth is that godly love will always be patient.  Any one that claims to be so “in love” that they simply cannot wait for marriage, is fooling himself.  Lust would be a much better description of their condition than love.  I find myself questioning if I love the return of Christ so much that patiently waiting for it is a constant source of joy.     

IT WAS A PERSISTENT LOVE: I am confounded by the fact that Jacob didn’t recognize that he was marring the wrong girl.  I think that Laban must have put some pretty strong drink in the punch for the party he was throwing for Jacob to be fooled.  The irony of the situation is that Jacob the schemer was tricked by his father-in-law.  There is nothing like the taste of your own medicine to help you see the error of your own way.  Jacob and Laban struck a deal for Jacob to have both sisters and Jacob agreed to work for another seven years in order to marry Rachael.  However, it appears that they agreed that he could marry first and then work the seven years.  It is often a very difficult thing to sort out the correct course of action when sin messes things up.  I believe that Jacob would have been far better off in life had he admitted his own foolishness of marrying the wrong girl and committed to love her as his only wife.  However, there is no denying that Jacob set his heart and his love on Rachael and persistently worked until he could marry her.  That kind of persistence is admirable even if the result was wrong.

IT WAS A PROBLEMATIC LOVE: The fact that he loved Rachael more than Leah and openly admitted it brought great sorrow and division into Jacob’s home.  Having a favorite wife is a problem that no man should have to face, but due to Jacob’s sin and foolishness he found himself in the middle of a war that was totally of his own making.  The wife he loved could not bear children and the wife he did not favor had children one after another.  The result is that both of his wives were jealous of one another and unhappy.  Leah longed for Jacob’s true love and Rachael longed to have children.  It is interesting to note all three of the patriarch’s wives: Sarah, Rebekah and now Rachael were barren for many years of their marriage.  God eventually gave them children, but He desired to teach them to trust Him in very difficult circumstances.  We must never think that the path of trust and obedience will be easy.  God often seeks to form our character through trials and hardships and many times those trials and hardships are of our own making due to our sin.