JACOB IN HARAN
Initially, Jacob received a warm welcome into Laban’s household. He became one of the family and part of the team that ran the affairs of Laban’s family business.
After a month in the household, Laban offered to pay Jacob wages for his work. Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, Laban’s younger daughter, so he asked for HER hand in marriage, not knowing that he, the deceiver, had set himself up to be deceived.
After seven years of hard work, he finally got his reward, only to find that the wily Laban had palmed Leah, the unattractive older sister, on to Jacob in the dark. Jacob was incensed but, because of his love for Rachel, he pledged another seven years to pay for her to be his wife.
Genesis 29:28-30 NLT
[28] “So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. [29] (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) [30] So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.”
God blessed Leah with four sons to compensate for Jacob’s disdain, the first four ancestors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel was barren, which would have increased the tension in Jacob’s household.
Four little boys running around in their home got to Rachel so she did the typically human and cultural thing. She gave her maid, Bilhah to Jacob to bear children for her.
Genesis 30:1-8 NLT
[1] “When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” [2] Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!” [3] Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.” [4] So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. [5] Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. [6] Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” [7] Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. [8] Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”
There seemed to be no end to the rivalry between the sisters but, in this chaotic and unpleasant family situation, God was busy building the foundation and framework of His nation.
Leah, too, climbed on the bandwagon, adding another servant into the already messy situation.
Genesis 30:9-13 NLT
[9] “Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. [10] Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. [11] Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!” [12] Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. [13] And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”
Now Jacob had four wives to contend with, with all the rivalry and confusion this situation would inevitably bring with it.
Genesis 30:14-21 NLT
[14] “One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” [15] But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.” [16] So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. [17] And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. [18] She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” [19] Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. [20] She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” [21] Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.”
Ten sons, three mothers and one barren, favourite wife! What a recipe for chaos. Finally, God blessed Rachel with her own precious son, Joseph, who would later play a dramatic role in the lives of his brothers.
Genesis 30:25-26 NIV
[25]”After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. [26] Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
So, Jacob was eager to return home but Laban refused to let him go, offering him an even bigger reward is he stayed longer.
Genesis 30:27-28 NIV
[27] “But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” [28] He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
Jacob asked for all the animals in Laban’s flocks of sheep and goats that had discoloured coats. Laban agreed, and separated out the animals Jacob had requested, removing his own far away so that Jacob couldn’t be get at r them. So, Jacob once again devised an ingenious plan to defraud his uncle, enriching himself at his uncle’s expense.
Genesis 30:37-39 NIV
[37] “Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. [38] Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, [39] they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.”
Now, added to the mix was the hostility of Laban’s sons towards Jacob. There was no end to Jacob’s trickery as he manipulated Laban’s animals to enrich himself. Laban’s sons were suspicious of him and complained to their father. Laban’s changed attitude towards him, setting him on course to turn to Canaan.
Armed with God’s promise of His presence and His commitment to bless him, Jacob gathered his family and possessions and set off secretly while Laban was out of town.
When Laban returned and found the house strangely empty and quiet, he was angry and set off to them back. However, God warned him to leave the alone. He finally caught up with them and said his farewells after a stern rebuke.
What do we learn from this season in Jacob’s life? Perhaps the most evident is the mess we make when we leave God out of the mix. The longer Jacob stayed under Laban’s roof the more complicated his life became. Gid blessed him with children and possessions but his relationships, the most important aspect of human life, were in tatters.
Jacob left Laban under a cloud of mistrust, resentment, and hostility and set out with misgivings to collide with the same attitudes as he faced Esau.
How would he handle a situation of his own making?
To be continued…