Jacob left Beersheba. One night, he had a dream that there was a ladder extending from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on it. In his dream, the Lord told him that He would bless him with the blessings of Abraham, give him the land where he was laying, and be with him through his journey. When Jacob woke up, he took the rock which he had been resting on and set it up as a pillar to the Lord. He also made a vow that if God would be with him and provide for him, the stone would become God’s house and the Lord would be his God.
One day, Jacob arrived at a well with flocks and shepherds. He asked them if Laban was alive and doing well, and they said he was. They also pointed out Laban’s daughter, Rachel, who was a shepherdess. Jacob went over to Rachel and his uncle’s sheep. He rolled the stone away from the well so the sheep could be watered.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
He told Rachel who he was, she went to go tell her father, and Laban brought Jacob into his home.
14 Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
Jacob continued to work for Laban. A month later, Laban asked him what he would charge for his work.
18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
20-21 Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Then Jacob said, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.”
Laban brought everyone together for a wedding feast, but when evening came, he gave Leah to Jacob instead. Jacob lay with her.
25 When morning came, there was Leah!
Jacob asked Laban why he deceived him, and Laban replied that it was custom to give away the oldest daughter first. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jacob had done to him something similar to what he did to his own father. I believe that as we plant, so shall we reap.
Laban told Jacob to finish the bridal week with Leah, and that if he worked another seven years, he could have Rachel too. Jacob agreed to work, finished the week, and then took Rachel as his wife.
The Lord is compassionate.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
Leah gave birth to 4 sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, and hoped that with each child, Jacob would become attached to her and love her.
Rachel became jealous of Leah, so told Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
30:2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
Rachel followed in Sarah’s questionable footsteps and gave Jacob her maidservant to be his wife and have a child for him. The first son was named Dan, and the second son was name Nephtali “since I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”
It’s amazing how jealous and competitive women can get with each other over a man. If these heroes of faith were dealing with such things, I think we should be more accepting of the humanity that arises in similar situations. In todays world, we may not have multiple spouses at once, but this definitely arises when there have been multiple spouses or partners.
Leah saw that she had stopped having children so she gave her maidservant to Jacob to be his wife, and that woman gave birth to a son named Gad. Then the servant had another son, and he was named Asher.
14-16 During wheat harvest, Reuben went into the fields and brought Leah some mandrake plants. Rachel asked Leah for some, but she replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant. She named that son Issachar. Leah bore another son and named him Zebulun. Later, she gave birth to a daughter, Dinah.
Rachel finally had another son and named him Joseph.
I have often heard men wonder why “they could have multiple wives in the old testament, but can’t now.” Let this story serve as a reminder of the struggles and trials that can arise in these kinds of situations. God is big enough to bring peace and harmony to any complex family situation, but I think there is also something to be accepted and expected from these situations as well.
Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. If there is any jealousy or bitterness, let it be released right now. Please give joy and contentment and patience to all reading this. Let us know that You are good and sovereign.
A Walk Through The Bible 