Genesis 29:15-20

2008.Nov.21 14:24

Young and In Love

Read Genesis 29:15-20 | Full Chapter

Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
(Genesis 29:15-20, NASB)

I think this is the first example in the Bible of the “in love” phenomenon. Jacob is clearly infatuated with his attractive cousin. Enough that he’s willing to work without pay for seven years in order to marry her. But, of course, there’s more than just that going on here.

In Genesis 3:17, God tells Adam, " And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food" (Genesis 3:17, CEV) . To Eve, He says, " You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you." (Genesis 3:16, CEV) . While you don’t see either of these curses exactly in this narrative, they do feel at least relevant. I’ll leave the difficulties experienced by Jacob’s wives for later; I do want to look a little at Jacob here.

He’s working for his uncle without pay. On the other hand, he probably receives food, lodging, etc, so it’s not like he’s getting a raw deal. Nor does he seem intent on changing this. His one concern appears to be marrying Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel, and Jacob proposes that the “price” be seven years. I’m surprised that he didn’t say, for example “one year” and negotiate up. Seven years would be a long time to wait to be married, and working for only room and board would not help. Other the other hand, he may figure that seven years will be needed for Esau to calm down regardless.

Much of the interaction between Laban and Jacob will regard Jacob’s work for his uncle. For Laban, ensuring that the skilled labor sticks around seems to be a motivating factor in all his dealings with Jacob. That’s where I see the curse of toil come in. Certainly, much good comes of all this for Jacob, but I can’t imagine that he doesn’t spend a lot of time frustrated.

Before I leave this section, I want to go back to the “in love” bit. This does strike me as a college age guy sees a woman and “falls in love with her” and is willing to do whatever for her, or at least write badly rhyming songs about it. Yes, Jacob does make a commitment, showing that his desire to marry Rachel has at least some depth, but I think it’s telling that the commitment he makes is not to her. Then, there’s almost no mention of their courtship, so I am clearly guessing.

Genesis 29:9-14

2008.Nov.14 05:00

Reunion

Read Genesis 29:9-14 | Full Chapter

While Jacob was still talking with the men, his cousin Rachel came up with her father's sheep. When Jacob saw her and his uncle's sheep, he rolled the rock away and watered the sheep. He then kissed Rachel and started crying because he was so happy. He told her that he was the son of her aunt Rebekah, and she ran and told her father about him. As soon as Laban heard the news, he ran out to meet Jacob. He hugged and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him everything that had happened. Laban said, "You are my nephew, and you are like one of my own family." After Jacob had been there for a month…
(Genesis 29:9-14, CEV)

In a lot of ways, this is just a very happy moment. Jacob has made it back to his relatives. And is still alive, too. He gets to meet his uncle, Laban and cousin, Rachel, and they receive him gladly. Jacob even has an opportunity to show off his usefulness, by watering Laban’s flock.

It’s almost a little daunting when there’s just a purely happy moment in the Bible. So much of it is evidencing humanity’s failures, and while God’s grace and love follows, there’s that inherent feeling of conflict. Even here, I’m thinking about the coming difficulties between Jacob and his uncle. Indeed, this may be the last time Laban is presented in a largely positive light. Also, upcoming is the anger and jealousy between his wives.

Is conflict inevitable in the face of such happiness. Some probably is, because we are after all human, but I don’t think these major life-long conflicts are. Behind this happiness, there is too much scheming. The seeds for disagreement are not happiness nor are they “just because we’re human”. Rather, a lot of it will come from Laban’s deceptions, his intent on doing things his own way. And Jacob’s similar intent for that matter.

The problem is not them being happy, but that the happiness seems false. Or, at least, Laban in particular seems to value his outward appearance and profits more than the quality of his relationships.