Genesis 29:15-30
Jacob finally reaches the land where his mother, Rebekah, is from. He sees some shepherds at the well and asks them if they know Laban, his uncle. They reply that they do know Laban, and then inform Jacob that Laban’s daughter, Rachel, is now approaching the well with her father’s sheep.
Jacob runs to Rachel, rolls away the large stone so that she can water the sheep, and introduces himself. Rachel runs back home and tells Laban, and Laban comes and invites Jacob to his house, and ends up staying there for a month. This brings us to this morning’s passage.
Jacob falls in love with Rachel and agrees to work for Laban for seven years so he can marry her. But at the end of seven years, Laban tricks Jacob and he ends up married to Leah, the older sister. When confronted by an angry Jacob, Laban’s excuse is that the custom of the country is for the older daughter to marry before the younger daughter. He offers to also give Rachel to Jacob after a week, if he commits to work Laban for an additional seven years. Jacob agrees, and his life with four women – Leah and her maid Zilpah, and Rachel and her maid Bilhah – begins.
When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb but kept Rachel barren. Leah gave birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.
A baby war ensues and in Genesis 30, we find that Rachel, since she was barren, demands that Jacob use her maid, Bilhah to have babies. Bilhah gives birth to Dan and Naphtali. Not to be outdone, Leah gives her maid, Zilpah to Jacob and she gives birth to Gad and Asher.
Then Leah gives birth to two more sons – Issachar and Zebulun – and a daughter, Dinah. Rachel finally gets pregnant and gives birth to Jospeh. We also find in Genesis 35 that Rachel gives birth to Benjamin, and Rachel dies while giving birth.
In summary, thirteen children – twelve sons and one daughter – are born to Jacob through four women:
- Leah – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah
- Bilhah (Rachel’s maid) – Dan and Naphtali
- Zilpah (Leah’s maid) – Gad and Asher
- Rachel – Joseph and Benjamin
Eventually we will learn that Jacob will receive the name, Israel, from the LORD, and Jacob’s twelve sons will become ancestors to the twelve tribes of Israel. Later in the story of the nation of Israel, there is no tribe called Joseph, but there will be the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim – They are the two sons who will be born to Joseph in Egypt and will be considered half-tribes.
Joseph will play a major role later in Genesis, and from the list of mothers, we see why Joseph will have special regards for Benjamin. Benjamin is the only full brother among his siblings.
So far in Genesis, we see a pattern where contrary to human custom of giving priority to the oldest offspring, God seems to favor the younger, with no explanation given. God accepts Able’s offering but rejects Cain’s – Cain was the older brother. Abraham’s firstborn son was Ishmael, and although God blessed him also, the one chosen to carry on the promise was the younger son, Isaac. From the time Esau and Jacob were in their mother’s womb, God chooses the younger, Jacob, to carry on the promise to Abraham.
When Jacbo falls in love with Rachel, the younger daughter, it seems that the pattern of the younger sibling being chosen is continuing. However, when we look at which children came from which mother, we see that this is not the case. Even though Rachel’s sons end up playing major roles, it is Leah’s sons that have a primary role in Israel’s history. Moses and Aaron will come from the line of Levi, which means that the savior and liberator of Israel, as well as the priestly line will come through Leah’s sons. Also, through Judah will come David, Solomon and Jesus. God blessed the unloved Leah.
Rachel, the beloved of Jacob, also has offspring that play major roles. Joseph will end up becoming prime minister of Egypt at a time of crisis caused by a prolonged drought and ends up saving not only Egypt but the surrounding countries and the future of the nation of Israel. Also, Paul, from the tribe of Benjamin will end up becoming the greatest evangelist and the author of 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament.
In the narrative about Jacob, we see people trying to secure a piece of God’s promise. They scheme, lie, cheat and trick people so that they can have a better future. Rebekah wanted to make sure that Jacob gets all the blessings by lying and tricking her husband and her elder son. Jacob goes along with his mother’s schemes and puts them into action. Laban wants the piece of the future for himself and both of his daughters, so tricks Jacob into marrying Leah. Jacob tries to make a deal with God at Bethel, and then will scheme himself into becoming wealthy.
For us who were born into the New Testament period, we do not have to worry about being part of God’s kingdom. We do not have to compete with others to be a part of it. We do not have to scheme, cheat or trick others to make our possibilities better. Thanks to the work done on the cross by Jesus Christ, anyone who is willing to accept Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior can be a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
When we reach high school age, we start thinking and planning for the intermediate future of joining society and the workforce. The type of work we think we want to do will determine whether we will continue with schooling or not. It will also determine what kind of income we will most likely have, which in turn will determine what we will most likely be able to afford in the type of housing, location, vehicles, lifestyle, etc.
If we marry and start a family, we will start planning for the future of our children – What we can provide for their future education, wedding, etc. As the children start to get older and they enter society as adults, we start focusing on when to retire and how to prepare for that.
Once we retire, we no longer focus on our own long-term future, since our remaining time on earth is getting shorter, so our focus turns to our short-term future, as well as the future of our kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Like Rebekah, Jacob, Laban, Leah and Rachel, we are all concerned about the future, and we will do what we can to secure it. But a lot of what will happen is not under our control. Sometimes things work out the way we plan, but other times, they go in an unexpected direction. This could be due to no fault of our own – Illness, economy, environment, politics, etc.
We cannot control the future, nor stop it from coming. There is a part of us that is excited for the future, but there is also part of us that fears it. However, one thing about the future that we can be sure of is that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then our spiritual future is assured. And even though we cannot assure our children’s or our grandchildren’s or great grandchildren’s salvation and eternal life, we can devote ourselves to the be the best witnesses to them, so that they too can be saved.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano at our August 20, 2023 worship.)
Japanese Congregational Church 