Genesis 29:1–31:55

Here the second period of Jacob's life begins. He is now a stranger, a servant working for wages, the victim of deceit and self-seeking on the part of Laban, his relative — and a close relative in character too. You cannot mistake the payback that runs all the way through it: the measure he used on others is measured back to him. But you also cannot miss that in the way it is handed out, God is speaking to the heart and conscience of the wanderer. There is justice in God's government, but also the correction of a holy love.

But he goes on. Grace sets the corrected saint on his journey, and with some eagerness too, until "he came to the land of the people of the east," until he reached Padan-aram, the place his mother's advice had sent him to — and no doubt the place God's own hand had now led him to.

Jacob, strengthened by his dream, goes on with his journey to the land of his relatives. The opening phrase is a rare one. The nearest thing to it describes the priests leaving the bed of the Jordan for Canaan (Joshua 4:18), and that does little to support the eagerness people read into it here.

In Genesis 29 we find Jacob taking up his journey again, and God's merciful hand shows itself at once, directing him and opening his way. God guides his steps to the very well where his uncle Laban's sheep were watered, and where he met his cousin Rachel. Laban's house gave him a warm welcome, but there he found himself in the hands of a man who matched him in trickery.

As we have just seen, in Genesis 28 Jacob completely fails to grasp what God is really like. He meets all the rich grace of Bethel with an "if" and a poor little bargain about food and clothing. We now follow him into a scene of non-stop bargain-making. "Whatever one sows, that will he also reap." There is no escaping this. Jacob had not yet found his true level in God's presence, and so God uses circumstances to correct him and break him down.

He met Rachel at the well, among the flock, just as Eliezer met Rebecca — and Eliezer was only Isaac's representative. But Jacob was the poor man, Isaac the wealthy. Isaac could enrich Rebecca with gold earrings and bracelets, a pledge of the fine estate he had waiting for her. Jacob has only his hard work and the sweat of his face. Isaac was the son and heir; Jacob was a man who had made himself poor, and must find his own way through the wear and tear of life as best he can, with God's help. Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep (Hosea 12:12). It was about to prove hard service. But he starts at once, and keeps at it for twenty long years.

Jacob's life divides into three parts: in the land, exiled from it at Padan-Aram, and returning again. These match, very plainly, the three great periods of Israel's national life. We know the last one only from prophecy, but we know it as surely as any history could tell us.

In Genesis 29 Jacob takes up his journey again, and the merciful hand of God shows itself at once, directing him and opening his way. God guides his steps to the very well that watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. There he met his cousin Rachel.

Here, as usual, Jacob is under God's providential care, even though we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. This is His sure direction, unseen and unnamed. Yet we may note the difference from Eliezer's clear prayer of faith and immediate worship in Genesis 24, and from God's prompt answer.

A well was of course the most likely place to meet people. Three flocks of sheep were nearby, waiting for water. They could not drink until someone removed the huge stone from the mouth of the well. The stone was plainly needed to stop people or animals from falling in by accident. Their practice was to wait until all the flocks had gathered. Then the shepherds would roll the stone away, water the flocks, and put the stone back in its place.

The principle that stands out is this: the stone is the law. It holds back the blessing that man is going to receive from God, and that alone keeps back what God has to give. Man feels he deserves something as long as he tries hard enough. But the stone still lies on top of the well, keeping the water from coming out.

Take up again the view of Jacob as a picture of Christ in His earthly character. He comes to the people of the East, where three flocks wait around a well that is still closed. When it is "high day" he opens the well and waters the waiting sheep. "When all the flocks were gathered there" — Jew, Gentile, and Church of God: at least these three plainly stand out for special recognition and favour.

What a striking lesson this is! The energy of faith and love can remove great obstacles and bring blessing before the time of "restoring all things." We see this in the present age of the grace of God… So the church has been wonderfully blessed before the time of the worldwide blessing.

Jacob — faulty, foolish, failing — takes on this mighty work without knowing what he does. He lifts it off the ground of grace and lays it on the shoulders of his own faithfulness! Look at him, in unwise haste, while it is still high day and the flocks not yet gathered, rolling the stone from the well's mouth and watering Laban's sheep. Abraham's servant did not act like that. He waited and prayed and wondered in silence, and let the young woman hurry and run and draw water for him and for all his camels. Nor did the meek and lowly One act like that. In tender grace and patient long-suffering He refused to fulfil a single wish — as Messiah, Son of Man, or Head of all things, with His bride the church — until the due time came and the Father's will required it.

The stone was clearly needed to stop people or animals from falling into the well by accident. Their practice was to wait until all the flocks were gathered. Then the shepherds would roll the stone away, water the flocks, and put the stone back in its place.

Jacob was puzzled that the shepherds were still waiting to water their flock. They tell him they could not do this until enough shepherds arrived to roll the stone from the well's mouth. When all were gathered there they would do it and water the sheep. There is a picture in this of people waiting for the time of universal blessing, which will take place in the millennial age.

Take up again the view of Jacob as a picture of Christ in His character on earth. He comes to the people of the East, where three flocks are waiting around a well that is still closed. When it is "high day" he opens the well and supplies the waiting sheep. Isaiah prophesies of the future time when "Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria… whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." "And when all the flocks were gathered there" — Jew, Gentile, and Church of God. At least these three nations stand out for special recognition and favour.

The principle that stands out is this: the stone is the law. It holds back the blessing that man is going to receive from God, and it alone keeps back what God has to give. Man feels he deserves something so long as he tries hard enough. But the stone still sits on top of the well, and it keeps the water from coming out. The same thing appears in the stone on the grave of Lazarus (John 11:39-40).

What a striking lesson this is! The energy of faith and love can remove great obstacles and bring blessing before the time of "the restoring of all things." This is what we see in the present "dispensation of the grace of God."

Without knowing it, faulty, foolish, failing Jacob takes on this mighty work. He moves it off the ground of grace and places it on the shoulders of his own faithfulness. Look at him! In unwise haste, while it is still high day and the flocks are not yet gathered, he rolls the stone from the well's mouth and waters Laban's sheep!

This was an ancient city in Mesopotamia. Terah and his family moved there from Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham stayed there on his way to the land of Canaan, until his father died. The descendants of Nahor, Abraham's brother, also settled there, so people called it the "city of Nahor." Gen. 24:10... The name means "road" in Accadian. It was probably so called because the caravan routes of Syria, Assyria, and Babylonia crossed there.

By questioning the shepherds, Jacob finds that he has come to the right place. Their home was at Haran. They knew Laban also, and that he was well (vv. 5-6). More than this, at the very moment Laban's daughter Rachel was coming with her flock of sheep to the well.

In Genesis 29, we find Jacob taking up his journey again. The merciful hand of God is at once obvious, directing him and opening up his way. God guides his steps to the very well where Laban, his uncle, watered his sheep, and there he met his cousin Rachel. Laban welcomed him warmly into his house, only for Jacob to find himself in the hands of a man who was his equal in trickery.

We have men here, not Jehovah, or Elohim, though surely God was behind it all.

As so often with Jacob, he is here under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Then Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure but unseen and unnamed direction. Yet we may note the difference from Eliezer's clear prayer of faith and immediate worship in Gen. 24. There is a difference too in God's prompt answer, and in the bride's ready response. She set out to join a man she had never seen but trusted, and for him she left all her existing family ties.

We are now called to follow Jacob as he moves out from under his father's roof. We see him as a homeless and lonely wanderer on the earth. It is here that God's special dealings with him begin. Jacob now begins to realise, in some measure, the bitter fruit of his conduct towards Esau. At the same time, God rises above all the weakness and folly of His servant. He displays His own sovereign grace and deep wisdom in His dealings with him.

Jacob goes out from Beersheba (v. 10). This is a striking picture of the nation Israel, the sons of Jacob, because Beersheba means "the well of the oath" and Haran means "mountaineer." Israel has in effect left the ground of God's unconditional promise and has chosen instead the mountain of law-keeping, as though this could ever bring the blessing of God! All the time Jacob was in Haran, he kept a character of selfish bargaining. In the same way, Israel today remains in a state of self-righteousness.

How strange that devout eyes, in the past and in our own day, should see a picture of Jesus in Jacob's journey and arrival in Haran! They see the Son of God and Heir of all things, despised and rejected by men... Here we have a man who leaves the land of promise after the saddest failure. Yet he does not leave without blessings in grace, for in the dark night Jehovah assured him of His care. At most he pictures the earthly side of the Lord.

In Genesis 29, Jacob takes up his journey again. The merciful hand of God is clear at once, directing him and opening up his way. God guides his steps to the very well where the sheep of his uncle Laban were watered, and where he met his cousin Rachel.

Jacob is here under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Then Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure direction, though unseen and unnamed.

It is here that God's special dealings with him begin. Jacob now begins to feel, in some measure, the bitter fruit of his conduct toward Esau. At the same time we see God rising above all the weakness and folly of His servant... He might not have had to flee to Haran, had he allowed God to act for him.

Very often, those called the son of so-and-so are not necessarily his children at all. They may be his grandsons, or even his grandnephews. In other cases the head of a clan counts as the father of a generation, and all the generations in between are left out.

Son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah, and father of Leah and Rachel. His prompt hospitality towards Abraham's servant shows a heart the Lord had prepared in answer to prayer. But why he took the lead instead of Bethuel, his father, is not revealed. In his dealings with Jacob, Laban was scheming and unscrupulous. Jacob met this with craft of his own.

They had been brought into a certain measure of light, and into a certain standing by profession... But since that is so, since this is a professing household, set in some sense apart from the dark state of the men of the world, it is serious to notice what kind of visit the Spirit makes to it. It will prove to be a separating power... the Spirit may need to visit a respectable professing family with the very same energy as a more worldly or idolatrous family.

Yet we may note the difference from Genesis 24. There Eliezer prayed a clear prayer of faith and worshipped at once. God answered him promptly. And the bride responded readily. She set out to join the man she trusted without seeing him, and she left for him all her existing ties of nature.

In Genesis 29, we find Jacob resuming his journey, and the merciful hand of God, directing him and opening up his way, is at once clear. His steps are guided to the very well where the sheep of Laban, his uncle, were watered and where he met his cousin Rachel.

Three flocks of sheep were nearby, waiting to be watered. Someone first had to move a huge stone from the mouth of the well (v. 2). The stone was clearly there to stop people or animals from falling into the well. Their practice was to wait until all the flocks were gathered. Then the shepherds would roll the stone away, water the flocks, and put the stone back in place.

Look at him! In unwise haste, while it is still high day and the flocks are not yet gathered, he rolls the stone from the well's mouth and waters Laban's sheep! Abraham's servant did not act like this. He waited and prayed and wondered in silence. He let the young woman hurry and run and draw water for him to drink and for all his camels. Nor did the meek and lowly One act like this. In tender grace and patient long-suffering, He refused to fulfil a single wish until the due time and the Father's will required it. That was true in every role — as Messiah, as Son of Man, or as Head of all things with His bride, the church.

Jacob was puzzled that the shepherds were still waiting to water their flock. They tell him they could not do it until enough shepherds were there to roll the stone from the well's mouth. There is a picture in this of men waiting for the time of universal blessing, which will take place in the millennial age.

Take up again the view of Jacob as a picture of Christ in His earthly character. He comes to the people of the East, where three flocks wait around a well that is still closed. When it is "high day" he opens the well (Gen. 29:7-10), and the waiting sheep get their water. Isaiah prophesies of a future time when Israel will be third with Egypt and Assyria, and the Lord of Hosts will bless them. All the flocks were gathered there — Jew, Gentile, and Church of God.

How strange that devout eyes, both long ago and in our own day, should see a picture of Jesus in Jacob's journey and arrival in Haran! They see the Son of God and Heir of all things, despised and rejected by men. They see Him leaving heaven's glory to become a wanderer in the world, to work out redemption, and to join the church to Himself. Here Jacob rather stands in contrast with Isaac. Here is a man who leaves the land of promise after the saddest failure, but not without blessings in grace. He is at most a picture of the earthly side of the Lord.

It is clear that we must be near the well of life ourselves, if we want to become a channel of living water to others. What a privilege to roll away the stone from the well's mouth and water the Lord's flock when it is gathered! It means being so under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we give out the truth at the right time.

Three flocks of sheep were nearby, waiting to be watered. They could not drink until a huge stone was moved from the mouth of the well. The stone was clearly there to stop people or animals falling in. Their practice was to wait until all the flocks had gathered. Then the shepherds would roll the stone away, water the flocks, and put the stone back in its place.

Jacob was puzzled that the shepherds were still waiting to water their flock. They tell him they could not do it until enough shepherds were there to roll the stone from the well's mouth. Once all had gathered, they would roll it away and water the sheep. There is a picture in this of people waiting for the time of universal blessing, which will take place in the millennial age.

The principle that stands out is this: the stone is the law. It holds back the blessing that man is going to receive from God, and it alone is what really keeps back what God has to give. Man feels that he deserves something as long as he tries hard enough. But the stone still lies on top of the well, stopping the water from coming out.

In verses 1-14 we have a picture of the blessing still to come to all creation. The stone is rolled away from the well mouth so that water may gush out. This is the flowing out of the Spirit of God, God pouring out His Spirit on all flesh.

When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother's brother, and the sheep of his mother's brother, amazing strength came over him, and he rolled the stone away by himself. What a striking lesson this is! The energy of faith and love can remove great obstacles and bring blessing before the time of "the restoration of all things."

Taking up again the view of Jacob as a picture of Christ in his earthly character, we find him coming to the people of the East. There three flocks wait around a well that is still closed. When it is "high day" he opens the well and the waiting sheep get their water… "All the flocks were gathered there" — Jew, Gentile, and Church of God.

Jacob is here, as always, under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure direction, though unseen and unnamed.

It is perfectly clear that we must be near the well of life ourselves if we want to become a channel of living water to others. What a privilege to be made able to roll away the stone from the well's mouth and to water the Lord's flock when it is gathered together — to be so guided by the Holy Spirit that we minister the truth at the right time.

In Genesis 29, Jacob takes up his journey again. At once we see the merciful hand of God, directing him and opening up his way. God guides his steps to the very well where his uncle Laban's sheep were watered, and where he met his cousin Rachel.

As usual, Jacob is here under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure but unseen and unnamed direction. Yet notice how different Genesis 24 is. There Eliezer prayed a clear prayer of faith and worshipped at once. God answered promptly, and the bride responded readily.

Rachel — A ewe

Jacob came and asked the shepherds if they knew his brother-in-law, and they pointed out Rachel coming with her sheep to the well. It is very likely that her sheep were fewer than the number of the other sheep. We have something of the thought here: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

Then Rachel arrives with her father's sheep (v. 9). When Jacob saw Rachel, his uncle's daughter, and his uncle's sheep, amazing strength moved him. He rolled the stone away by himself (v. 10). What a striking lesson this is! The energy of faith and love can remove great obstacles. It can bring blessing before the time of "the restitution of all things."

He was a stranger, unknown, and seeks Rachel only — he would have her alone. As a rule, no one can water the flocks until someone opens the well. But He opens it and waters Rachel's flock. Rachel here is His Jewish flock and bride, chosen and beloved. It was His — was His flesh and bone — He was a Jew.

How strange that devout readers, both long ago and today, should see Jacob's journey and arrival in Haran as a picture of Jesus! They see the Son of God and Heir of all things, despised and rejected by men, leaving heaven's glory to become a wanderer in the world, to carry out redemption, and to marry the church to Himself. Here it pictures instead a contrast with Isaac. Isaac is the only son of his father, the dead and risen bridegroom. Eliezer's guidance fetched his bride for him, and she must pass through the desert to be His bride in the heavenly places. At most Jacob pictures the earthly side of the Lord.

His introduction to Rachel was at the well, among the flock, like that of Eliezer to Rebekah; and Eliezer was only Isaac's representative. But Jacob was the poor man, Isaac the wealthy. Isaac could enrich Rebekah with earrings and bracelets of gold, pledges of the fine estate he had for her. Jacob has only his toil and the sweat of his face. "Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep" (Hosea 12:12). And he was about to find it hard service. But he starts on it at once, and continues at it for twenty long years.

As usual, Jacob is here under God's providential care, even though we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure but unseen and unnamed direction.

The principle that stands out is this: the stone is the law that holds back the blessing man is going to receive from God. That alone keeps back what God has to give. Man feels he deserves something as long as he tries hard enough. But the stone still lies on top of the well, stopping the water from coming out. We see the same thing in the stone on the grave of Lazarus.

How striking a lesson this is! The energy of faith and love can remove great obstacles and bring blessing before the time for "restoring all things." This is what is seen in the present "stewardship of God's grace." The Lord Jesus, in pure love and devotion to God, has shown the strength of that love toward the church, His promised bride, and toward the sheep of God's flock. He showed it in the great sacrifice of Himself, in His resurrection power, and in already having "raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).

Jacob was puzzled that the shepherds were still waiting to water their flock. They tell him they could not do it until enough shepherds were there to roll the stone from the well's mouth. When they had all gathered, they would do this and water the sheep. There is a picture in this of men waiting for the time of universal blessing.

Faulty, foolish, failing Jacob takes on this mighty work without knowing what he does. He lifts it off the ground of grace and lays it on the shoulders of his own faithfulness! Look at him, in unwise haste! It is still broad day, the flocks are not yet gathered, and he rolls the stone from the well's mouth and waters Laban's sheep. Abraham's servant did not act this way. He waited and prayed and wondered in silence. He let the young woman hurry and run and draw water for him and for all his camels. The meek and lowly One did not act this way either. In tender grace and patient long-suffering, He refused to fulfil a single wish until the due time came and the Father's will required it — as Messiah, as Son of Man, or as Head of all things with His bride the church.

It is clear that we must be near the well of life ourselves if we want to become the channel of living water to others. What a privilege to roll away the stone from the well's mouth and water the Lord's flock when it gathers! What a privilege to be so guided by the Holy Spirit that we minister the truth at the right time.

In Genesis 29, Jacob takes up his journey again, and God's merciful hand shows itself at once, directing him and opening up his way. God guides his steps to the very well where the sheep of his uncle Laban were watered, and there he met his cousin Rachel.

Jacob is under God's providential care here, even though we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. This is His sure direction, unseen and unnamed. Yet notice the difference from Genesis 24. There Eliezer prayed a clear prayer of faith and worshipped at once, and God answered promptly. The bride responded readily too: she set out to join a man she had never seen but trusted, and she left behind all her family ties.

The warmth of family affection then fills the scene. Jacob kissed Rachel, weeping for joy, and told her that he is the son of Rebekah, her father's sister. Of course they had never met, but family ties can be surprisingly strong even so. Rachel left the sheep and ran to tell her father the good news of a relative from a far country.

This is a touching scene, and Jacob's quick emotional outburst fits his nature, and so does Laban's. But two things are missing here: the deep communion with God… and the heart wholly taken up with the risen bridegroom's glory. In the unique story of Isaac and Rebekah both are clearly there.

Jacob loved Rachel, and he kissed her and wept aloud. Then when Laban came he kissed Jacob. Their souls were happy to be with one another. But was that the way they parted from one another? No, it was not. Later on, when they did part, Laban kissed his daughters and their children, but it does not say he kissed Jacob. Sometimes we get to know each other too well — that is, we learn where each of our difficulties lie. For if I get to know my brother very well, I get to know myself a little better too. And if my brother is wrong in various ways, this only shows me what I am myself.

He was a stranger, unknown, and He seeks Rachel only — He would have her alone. In general, no one can water the flocks until the well is opened. But He opens it and waters Rachel's flock. Rachel here is His chosen and beloved Jewish flock and bride. It was His — His own flesh and bone — He was a Jew.

How strange that devout eyes, both long ago and today, should see Jacob's journey and arrival in Haran as a picture of Jesus… leaving heaven's glory to become a wanderer in the world, to carry out redemption, and to marry the church to Himself! Here we have a man who leaves the land of promise after the saddest failure, though not without blessings in grace… At most he pictures the earthly side of the Lord.

In Genesis 29, Jacob resumes his journey. At once we see the merciful hand of God directing him and opening up his way. That hand guides his steps to the very well where his uncle Laban's sheep came to drink, and where he met his cousin Rachel. Laban received him into his house with an eager welcome. But there he found himself in the hands of a man who was his equal in trickery.

Family affection then fills the scene. Jacob kissed Rachel and wept for joy. He told her that he is the son of Rebekah, her father's sister. Of course they had never met, but family ties can still be very strong. Rachel left the sheep and ran to tell her father the good news of a relative from a far country (v. 12). Laban also ran to meet Jacob and embraced and kissed him. So he welcomed him into his home as his own "bone and flesh" (v. 14). How good it would have been if this attitude had lasted all through their relationship! But when they parted 20 years later, the atmosphere was hostile rather than friendly.

Yet we may note the difference from Genesis 24. There Eliezer prayed a clear prayer of faith and worshipped at once. God answered him promptly. And the bride responded readily: she set out to join the one she trusted without seeing him, and left behind all her existing ties of nature for him.

Sometimes we get to know each other too well — that is, we learn where each of our difficulties lie. If I get to know my brother very well, I get to know myself a little better too. And if my brother is wrong in various ways, that only shows me what I am myself.

I cannot help thinking that the beginning of chapter 29 is a picture, and that now Jacob takes on the character of Christ… He was a stranger, unknown. He seeks Rachel only — he would have her alone. In general, the flocks cannot drink until the well is opened. But He opens it and waters Rachel's flock. Rachel here is His Jewish chosen and beloved flock and bride. It was His — was His flesh and bone — He was a Jew.

As usual, Jacob is here under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure but unseen and unnamed direction.

In Genesis 29 Jacob takes up his journey again. At once we see the merciful hand of God directing him and opening his way. God guides his steps to the very well where his uncle Laban's sheep were watered, and where he met his cousin Rachel. Laban received him into his house with an overflowing welcome. But there Jacob found himself in the hands of a man who matched him in deceit.

Rachel left the sheep and ran to tell her father the good news of a relative from a far country (v. 12). Laban also ran to meet Jacob, and embraced and kissed him. So he welcomed him into his home as his own "bone and flesh" (v. 14). How good it would have been if this attitude had lasted through their whole relationship! But when they parted twenty years later, the atmosphere was hostile rather than friendly.

The next morning, before they parted, Laban kissed his daughters and their children. But there is no mention of his kissing Jacob, as he had done when they first met (Gen. 29:13).

It is no accident that Laban offered hospitality so readily. He had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister's hands. He had heard her report of what Abraham's messenger said to her. He came at once to the man, who was still standing by the camels at the spring. His welcome sounded warm and pious — as such people tend to sound when honour and advantage are certain. The later history shows that Laban was a grasping man and an idolater.

Remember the contrast with Isaac the heir, the son who stayed in his father's house. His father sent the honoured servant Eliezer to represent them both, with fitting equipment and rich gifts for the bride. Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to commend him but his relationship and his service. And Laban was not slow to see the value of so capable a man for interests dearer to him than anything else.

It is striking to see how he gets back into an atmosphere so completely suited to his moral make-up. The bargaining Jacob meets the bargaining Laban, and both strain every nerve to outwit each other. We cannot wonder at Laban. He had never been at Bethel. He had seen no open heaven, with a ladder reaching from there to earth. He had heard no magnificent promises from the lips of Jehovah.

There he must bow to the divine discipline that had already forced him to leave his father's house and the recent unhappy influence of his mother. So it is with each of God's children. Grace is sovereign in calling even the most difficult people. But they pass under a moral government that notices every fault, so that they may share in His holiness. Compare John 15, Hebrews 12:5-11, and 1 Peter 1:15-16.

The same kindred: "you are my bone and my flesh," Genesis 29:14; "he is our brother, and our flesh," Genesis 37:27.

Here, as usual, Jacob is under God's providential care, even when we hear only of the shepherds of Haran. Rachel appears, and Laban follows. It is His sure but unseen and unnamed direction. Yet notice the difference from Genesis 24. There Eliezer prayed a clear prayer of faith and worshipped at once. God answered promptly, and the bride responded readily.

Family affection fills the scene. Jacob kissed Rachel and wept for joy, telling her that he is the son of Rebekah, her father's sister. Of course they had never met, but family ties can still be very strong... Laban also ran to meet Jacob and embraced and kissed him. So he welcomed him into his home as his own "bone and flesh" (v. 14). How good it would have been if this attitude had lasted! But when they parted 20 years later, the atmosphere was hostile, not friendly.

It is remarkable to see how he settles back into an atmosphere that suits his moral makeup so exactly. The bargain-making Jacob meets the bargain-making Laban. Both strain every nerve, as it were, to outwit the other. Nor can we wonder at Laban, for he had never been at Bethel: he had seen no open heaven... You cannot expect worldly men to show anything but a worldly spirit, and worldly principles and ways.

After Jacob had stayed there a month, serving Laban, the question of his wages came up. He loved Rachel, so he agreed to serve seven years for her. Verses 23-30 tell us how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years, and Laban had a plausible excuse for acting as he did. We cannot fail to see here the working of the government of God. It illustrates our Lord's words: "with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." It was Jacob's turn now to complain of being cheated.

He is now a stranger and a servant for hire. He is the victim of the deceit and self-advancement of Laban, his relative — and near kin in character too. The retribution is impossible to mistake all the way through: the measure he has dealt out to another is dealt out to him again. But we cannot miss this either. In the way it is dealt out, God is speaking to the heart and conscience of the wanderer. There is governmental equity, but also the chastening of a holy love.

As to Laban, he was a thorough man of the world when Jacob entered his house, and so he was when Jacob left it. In all his dealings, from first to last, he eyes his own advantage. He has to admit that the hand of God was with Jacob; but he would make that hand, through Jacob, serve himself... For twenty years he saw the hand of the Lord, and the working of His grace and power, in his own house and before his own eyes, day after day. Yet he remained a man of the world.

They had been together one month, with Jacob apparently working for his uncle. Then Laban realised that Jacob should have wages for his service, and asked what Jacob would like for wages. Here again Jacob's character as a bargainer stands out. Laban had a daughter older than Rachel, but she was not as attractive. Jacob was drawn only to Rachel and offered to work for Laban for seven years to earn Rachel as his wife.

Remember the contrast with Isaac the heir, the son who stayed in his father's house. Remember too the honoured servant Eliezer, sent to represent him and his father, with a fitting escort and rich gifts for the bride. Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to recommend him but his relationship and his service. And Laban was quick to see the value of so capable a man for interests dearer to him than anything else. So the bargain was soon struck, and Laban accepted Jacob's warm offer at once.

Laban welcomed him into his house with open arms, but there Jacob found himself in the hands of a man who matched him in deceit.

And here is where Jacob makes a serious mistake. I used to feel very sorry for Jacob when Laban deceived him and he got a wife he did not want — he wanted Rachel, not Leah. But do you know where Jacob went wrong? He got Leah by bargaining. Jacob badly misrepresented the relationship that gives the most beautiful picture of the bond between Christ and the church. That bond is one of pure grace. Jacob brought it down to the level of a merely legal thing instead of recognising it as a thing of pure grace.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong in placing a monetary value on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift by grace. Grace should always come first in the sacred relationship of marriage.

We cannot fail to see in this the working of God's government. It illustrates our Lord's words, "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." It was Jacob's turn now to complain of being cheated.

He has Himself gone into the distant land, and has worked and suffered reproach and wrong for her. In all this, Jacob sets forth the true Bridegroom. The Lord Jesus Himself has borne the heat of the day alone. He had nowhere to lay His head, like Jacob. He was away from His Father's house and from the place of His inheritance. He was wronged again and again in a world which, like Laban and his house, always seeks its own.

See the contrast with the Bridegroom. He longs deeply for the bride, yet He is content to be cut off and have nothing. He refuses to serve the world for hire. He is content to be a stranger to His brothers, a foreigner to His mother's children. He serves His Father in the appointed place. He becomes obedient to death. He loves the wages of righteousness. He has a right to all, yet takes none, so that He might receive all in resurrection.

Rachel, "sheep," seems to stand for the meekness and patience of true discipleship. That is the very opposite of Jacob's self-willed and unrestrained temper up to now. But he must get her through unwanted Leah. Her name, "wearied," suggests the "tribulation" that works "patience" out.

His uncle's deception might well have reminded Jacob of his own past. He had deceived a relative himself — his own father. Such things have a way of recoiling, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that those who take on the character of deceivers will very likely be deceived themselves (2 Tim. 3:13). Here too Jacob learned, painfully, the rights of a firstborn. He had ignored those rights in the case of his brother Esau.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were totally wrong in placing a mercenary value on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift by grace. Grace should always come first in the sacred relationship of marriage.

And only after years of toil could Jacob claim her as his own. By day the heat consumed him, and the frost by night; and sleep left his eyes. But love lightened the burdens and sweetened all the bitterness of those long years. "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Gen. 29:20). This is the only phase of his life in which Jacob appears as a picture of our Lord. He is the One "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and (His toil ended) is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

I have no doubt that Leah represents the Gentiles, and Rachel the Jews.

Here we find the picture in Rachel: so long wooed yet withheld, so long barren, so great a cause of sorrow and anxiety, and yet so greatly and endlessly loved... Leah (who is regarded as picturing the Gentile) was the first one Jacob got, but she was not the first one he sought... Even so, she is the most fruitful. She is honoured in the births of Judah and Levi — the Ruler and the Teacher, King and Priest.

Rachel (meaning "sheep") pictures the lovely state of soul that believers would like to reach: humble submission to God. She was the desire of Jacob's heart. But in struggling to get Rachel, he only got Leah, whose name means "wearied." Leah is a picture of what I really am, not what I want to be... I may try hard to make myself different, only to find myself "stuck" with what I really am, as Jacob was "stuck" with Leah! This is the struggle of Romans 7, where "I" is seen fighting against "I."

Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah (Weariness), and the name of the younger was Rachel (Ewe). And the eyes of Leah were tender... And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes a few days, for his love to her.

Rachel did not belong to Laban. Both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong to put a price on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift, by grace. Grace should always rule in the sacred relationship of marriage.

His uncle's trick might well have reminded Jacob of his own. He himself had deceived a relative before — his own father. Such things have a way of recoiling, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that those who form the character of deceivers will very likely be deceived themselves (2 Tim. 3:13). In this case too Jacob painfully learned the rights of a firstborn, which he had ignored in the case of his brother Esau.

It is not Elohim here, but Jehovah, God in special relationship and moral dealing. He looked on the sorrowful and despised wife. He gave the comfort of a son not to Rachel but to Leah, the one "hated" by comparison. Rachel, happy in her husband's love, stayed barren!

She was 'tender eyed,' and not as beautiful as Rachel. But God blessed her: she bore Jacob six sons and one daughter. So she became the mother of the heads of the important tribes of Reuben, Levi, and Judah, as well as of Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Rachel represents Israel, Messiah's first object of love on earth. But this fails by no fault on His part. And He has Leah. She represents the call of the Gentiles — the nations — in the meantime, during Jacob's servant state and great sorrows, when "more are the children of the desolate than of the married wife, says Jehovah" (Isaiah 54:4, compare Gal. 4).

Rachel typifies Israel, Christ's earthly bride. Jacob first sought Rachel, but received Leah. In the same way Christ came first to Israel; and when Israel rejected Him, He first received the church. Leah, like the church, is the fruitful one. Later, loved Rachel passes off the scene, like Israel after the Millennium, and Leah remains as Jacob's companion in the land of promise.

Rachel (meaning "sheep") pictures the lovely state of soul in humble submission to God that believers would like to reach. But in struggling to get Rachel, Jacob only got Leah, meaning "wearied." Leah is a picture of what I really am, not what I desire to be. I may try hard to make myself different, only to find myself "stuck" with what I really am, as Jacob was "stuck" with Leah! This is the struggle of Romans 7, where "I" fights against "I."

Although Jacob loved Rachel so much, beautiful and well favoured, was she completely trustworthy? No. Later she stole her father's idols, hid them in her tent, and deceived him. This is like our own hearts. The lesson is this: the desire to reach a high spiritual state has in it the elements of idolatry and of deceit. A person who wants to reach a certain state will try to deceive himself into thinking he can make it... There can be no perfection while we remain in the flesh.

The sum paid by a man to the relatives of the woman who becomes his wife. Genesis 34:12; Exodus 22:16-17; 1 Samuel 18:25: compare Hosea 3:2. When Leah had her sixth son, she said devoutly, "God has endowed me with a good endowment." Genesis 30:20. The dowry which Jacob gave for his wives was seven years' service for each. Genesis 29:18, 27.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong to put a mercenary value on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift by grace, and grace should always be uppermost in the sacred relationship of marriage.

Remember the great contrast: Isaac the heir, the son who stayed in his father's house. His father sent the honoured servant Eliezer to represent Isaac and himself, with a proper escort and costly gifts for the bride. Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to recommend him but his relationship and his service. Laban quickly saw the value of so capable a man for interests dearer to him than anything else. So they soon struck the bargain, and he accepted Jacob's warm offer at once.

Only after years of toil could Jacob claim her as his own. In the day the drought consumed him, and the frost by night; and his sleep left his eyes. But love lightened the burdens and sweetened all the bitterness of those long years. "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her." This is the only phase of his life in which Jacob appears to be a type of our Lord. Christ "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." His toil ended, He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The story of how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years is given to us in verses 23-30, and Laban had a plausible excuse for acting as he did. We cannot fail to see in this the working of the government of God, and an illustration of our Lord's words, "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." It was Jacob's turn now to complain of being cheated.

I have no doubt that in the two wives we have the Gentiles and Israel: Rachel first loved on the earth, but not possessed; but Leah the fruitful mother of children. Rachel had children also afterwards on the earth. Rachel, standing for the Jews, is the mother of Joseph, and later of Benjamin — that is, of a suffering Christ glorified among the Gentiles while rejected by Israel, and of a reigning Christ.

It is remarkable to see how he slips back into a setting that suits his character so completely. The bargain-making Jacob meets the bargain-making Laban, and you can see them both straining every nerve to outwit each other. And we cannot wonder at Laban. He had never been at Bethel. He had seen no open heaven, with a ladder reaching from there to earth. He had heard no magnificent promises from the lips of Jehovah, granting him all the land of Canaan and a family beyond counting. No wonder he showed a grasping, low spirit. He had nothing else to fall back on... But Jacob had seen and heard all this at Bethel. To find him struggling with a man of the world, and trying that way to build up property, is especially humbling.

The contrast with Isaac is striking. Isaac was the heir, the son who stayed in his father's house. The honoured servant Eliezer was sent to represent Isaac and his father Abraham, with proper supplies and rich gifts for the bride. Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to offer but his family tie and his work. And Laban was quick to see the value of such a capable man for the interests he cared about above everything else. So the bargain was soon struck, and Laban accepted Jacob's warm offer at once.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong to put a money value on a wife. When the Lord made a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift of grace. Grace should always come first in the sacred relationship of marriage.

The seven years during which Jacob had to serve for his wife "seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had for her." His heart was in it, and the years flew past like days. Love annihilated time. The story explains the great secret of the power of a love that fills the whole heart.

In his exile he reaps what he had sown; as he deceived his father, so Laban deceives him. He had taken unfair advantage of his brother Esau's hunger. Now his uncle Laban takes advantage of his position, and Jacob has to work hard for his wages.

Laban wronged Jacob gravely, in a matter that must touch a man's heart... But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn, through his own wounded heart, how vile self-seeking deceit is. So He allowed it, and He would use it for chastening and for good in the end.

Only after years of hard work could Jacob claim her as his own. By day the heat wore him down, and by night the frost; and sleep left his eyes. But love lightened the burdens and sweetened all the bitterness of those long years...

To say in your heart that the Lord delays His coming is a very clear, though silent, way of saying you do not want Him to come. He is not the ruling desire. Jacob served seven years for his wife, and they "seemed to him but a few days, because of the love he had for her." His heart was in it, and the years flew by like days. Love wiped out time. The story explains the great secret of the power of an all-absorbing object of affection.

He waits and longs for the Lord because he loves Him who first loved us... One person may know prophecy very well and have none of that hope; another may be full of the hope and know nothing about prophecy... If you love someone, you delight to see them. Being away from the person you love is hard. There may be very good reasons for the delay, but the delay tests your patience, and the hope that the one you love will come back soon is the greatest joy.

He had to bear the weight and heat of a long, hard day before he could take Rachel as his own. The law of her people, the law of her country, and the greedy demands of Laban had put him on these terms. He had to endure sun by day and moon by night, to work night and day, and to have his exile stretched out — or go without his Rachel.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were wrong to put a money value on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift by grace, and grace should always rule in the sacred relationship of marriage. Still, Jacob was willing to work seven years for all this because of his deep love for Rachel.

Then came the humbling test of the younger daughter, offered on the same terms of long service. To Jacob those years seemed like only a few days, because he loved her. But we must not measure this case, any more than others in Old Testament times, by the light the Saviour later shed on marriage, as on everything else.

By day the heat consumed him, and the cold by night, and his sleep fled from his eyes. But love lightened the load and took the bitterness out of those long years... And this is the only phase of his life in which the patriarch Jacob appears to picture our Lord, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Jacob's seven years of service for Rachel pictures Christ becoming a servant to win the church. This pictures a service that never ends, gladly taken up to keep her. The more we think about the depth of love and the height of devotion here, the further beyond our understanding they seem.

I have no doubt that Leah represents the Gentiles, and Rachel the Jews.

It appears that Rachel was the first beloved wife, but in fact the last to enjoy, and bear the fruits of, the relationship... Leah before this is the mother of many sons, as there are before Israel comes into full and happy view.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong to place a mercenary value on a wife. When the Lord created a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift by grace. Grace should always rule in the sacred relationship of marriage. Still, Jacob was willing to work all those seven years because of his intense love for Rachel. In fact the time seemed very short to him compared with the prospect of having her as his wife. When the time was completed he asked Laban to give him Rachel now (v. 21).

Jacob had to serve seven years for his wife. They "seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Gen. 29:20). His heart was in it, and the years flew by like days. Love wiped out time. The story explains the great secret of the power of an all-absorbing object of affection. Let us weigh this carefully. It is very clear that no such object governed the heart of the evil servant. He did not love his Lord, and he did not care about His coming.

Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to recommend him but his relationship and his service. Laban was not slow to see the value of so capable a man for interests dearer to him than anything else. So the bargain was quickly struck and Jacob's eager offer instantly accepted. But then the full time of service for his bride arrived. The crafty uncle put on a wedding feast in Jacob's honour, yet he had no scruple about the cruel trick of swapping Leah for Rachel, the one Jacob had wanted from the first.

Here the second period of his life begins. He is now a stranger and a servant working for hire. He is the victim of deceit and self-advancement by Laban, his relative and morally his close kin too. The retribution runs all the way through, and no one can mistake it: the measure he handed out to another comes back to him. But it is just as impossible to miss that God, in the way He deals it out, is speaking to the heart and conscience of the wanderer. There is governmental fairness, but also the chastening of a holy love. Bethel is proving itself true. The Father disciplines every son He receives.

Then comes Rachel, "beautiful in form and appearance." Only after years of toil could Jacob claim her as his own. By day the drought consumed him and the frost by night, and sleep fled from his eyes. But love lightened the burdens and sweetened all the bitterness of those long years. "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Gen. 29:20). This is the only part of his life where Jacob pictures our Lord. He is the One "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and (His toil ended) is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Here the outcast wanderer has nothing in his favour but his family tie and his service. Laban was not slow to see the value of so capable a man for interests dearer to him than all others. So the bargain was soon struck, and Jacob's warm offer was accepted at once. But the full time of service for his bride arrived. Then the crafty uncle, under all his show of a wedding feast in Jacob's honour, felt no shame in a cruel deceit. He put Leah in the place of Rachel, the one his heart had wanted from the first.

Verses 23-30 tell how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years. Laban had a plausible excuse for acting as he did. In this we cannot fail to see the government of God at work. It illustrates our Lord's words, "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Now it was Jacob's turn to complain of being tricked.

There are two things Jacob has to learn on this memorable occasion. First, for his comfort: all his failures will not alter God's purpose to bless him in sovereign grace. Second, for his correction: God's sovereign grace will not hold back God's chastening hand because of his failures... He still has to go on as a lonely wanderer. He must spend long years of toil and hard service in the house of a stranger, because of his sin against his father and brother. He has to reap what he has sown.

He had deceived his father and cheated his brother. In turn he was deceived and cheated by his father-in-law, and later by his own sons. But all this only makes God's grace to him shine the brighter.

Laban wronged Jacob deeply, in a matter that must touch a man's heart. And Leah was without doubt a willing party to the cheating breach of the marriage agreement about Rachel. She could and should have told Jacob the unworthy trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn more deeply, in his own wounded affections, how vile self-seeking deceit is. So He allowed what He would use for chastening and for good in the end.

I have no doubt that in the two wives we have the Gentiles and Israel. Rachel was loved first on the earth, but not gained. Leah was the fruitful mother of children.

Rachel (meaning "sheep") pictures the lovely state of soul that believers would like to reach: humble submission to God. She was the desire of Jacob's heart. But in struggling to get Rachel, he only got Leah, meaning "wearied." Leah is a picture of what I really am, not what I want to be.

So Laban made a marriage feast for them. When evening came — and with it darkness, with only very dim light at best — Laban had Leah go to share Jacob's bed with him. Jacob had no suspicion of this until the morning. Perhaps he had drunk too much wine at the feast. But he was not prepared for such dishonest deception from a close relative.

If he were honest, he would at least have told Jacob this when they made the agreement seven years earlier! Maybe Laban made up this rule in his own mind and then treated it as his country's custom! Surely, if it had been the usual custom, Jacob would have heard of it during those seven years. But Laban knew that the best way to get Jacob to continue working for him was to do just what he did.

Laban had a believable excuse for acting as he did. But we cannot miss the working of the government of God here. It illustrates our Lord's words: "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." It was Jacob's turn now to complain of being beguiled.

The deception by his uncle might well have reminded Jacob that he had once deceived a relative himself — his own father. Such things have a way of coming back, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that people who take up the character of deceivers will very likely be deceived themselves. Here too Jacob learned, painfully, the rights of a firstborn — rights he had ignored in the case of his brother Esau.

You cannot mistake the repayment running through it all. The measure he gave to another is measured back to him. But you also cannot miss that, in the way it is handed out, God is speaking to the heart and conscience of the wanderer. There is fairness in God's government, but also the chastening of a holy love.

Laban wronged Jacob badly, in a matter that must touch a man's heart deeply. And Leah, beyond doubt, agreed to the cheating that broke the marriage agreement about Rachel. She could and should have told Jacob the shabby trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn, in his own wounded love, how vile selfish deceit is. So He allowed what He would use in the end for chastening and for good.

Jacob got Leah by bargaining. In doing so he badly misrepresented the marriage relationship, which pictures the relationship between Christ and the church so beautifully — a relationship of pure grace. He brought it down to the level of a mere legal deal instead of seeing it as a thing of pure grace. What was the price here? Seven years of wages. It was completely wrong; a wife is worth far more than that.

Rachel is a picture of Israel, Christ's earthly bride. Jacob sought Rachel first, but received Leah first. So Christ came first to Israel; Israel rejected Him, and He received the church first. Leah, like the church, is the fruitful one.

So they soon struck the bargain, and Laban took Jacob's eager offer at once. But when the full term of service for his bride was up, the crafty uncle put on a wedding feast in Jacob's honour. Behind all that show he had no scruple about the cruel deceit of putting Leah in the place of Rachel, the one Jacob's heart had wanted from the first.

Verses 23-30 tell how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years, and Laban had a plausible excuse for acting as he did. We cannot fail to see here the working of the government of God. It illustrates our Lord's words: "With the measure you use it will be measured to you." Now it was Jacob's turn to complain that someone had tricked him.

Laban wronged Jacob badly, in a matter bound to cut a man to the heart. Leah was beyond doubt a willing party to this cheating breach of the marriage agreement about Rachel. She could and should have told Jacob the unworthy trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn something deeper. In his own wounded heart he would feel how vile self-seeking deceit is. So God allowed it, and He would use it for chastening and for good in the end.

Servant of Leah, and through her Jacob became the father of Gad and Asher. Gen. 29:24; Gen. 30:9-12; Gen. 35:26; Gen. 37:2; Gen. 46:18.

Rachel, "sheep," seems to stand for the meekness and patience of true discipleship. That is the very opposite of Jacob's self-willed and unrestrained temper up to now. But he could only win her through unwanted Leah, whose name, "wearied," suggests the "tribulation" that works out "patience." And even then, before Rachel had a child, and in despair of ever having one, the maidservants came in — Bilhah, "terror," and Zilpah, "a dropping" (as of tears).

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in scoring points of strife. Leah was drawn into the snare, and through Zilpah she would match that advantage. The names she gave Zilpah's sons, Gad and Asher, do not carry the contention that ruled Rachel's spirit; but they fall far short of the faith Leah showed in naming her own sons.

This order speaks to us of man's plans acting according to his own thoughts, outside the thoughts of God. We see these plans in Laban's giving his daughters to Jacob and in Rachel and Leah giving Jacob their maidservants.

God's institution of marriage was the union of one man and one woman — the two, and only two, becoming one. What is more than this is not of God, but comes from human lust. Jacob's two wives gave their maidservants to their husband, and so he had four wives. God reckoned the twelve sons of these four women equally as sons of Jacob, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not have blessed the offspring of these unions, but He did.

When evening came, darkness fell with it, and there was only very dim light at best. Laban sent Leah to share Jacob's bed, and Jacob suspected nothing until morning. He may have drunk too much wine at the feast. But he was in no way ready for such a shameless trick from a close relative.

Under the government of God, Jacob found himself in the hands of a man even more selfish than himself. God's discipline fit his case remarkably well, and it came through his marriage. He was deceived over Laban's two daughters, just as Isaac had been deceived by his two sons. Age had blinded Isaac; the strange marriage customs of the east blinded Jacob.

Such things have a way of coming back on a man, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that people who take on the character of deceivers will very likely be deceived themselves (2 Tim. 3:13). Here too Jacob learned, with pain, the rights of a firstborn — rights he had ignored in the case of his brother Esau.

First, for his comfort, he will learn that all his failures will not change God's purpose to bless him in sovereign grace. Second, for his correction, he will learn that God's sovereign grace will not hold back God's chastening hand because of his failures. The sovereign grace of the Lord will not set aside the faithful government of the Lord... He has to reap what he has sown. If Jacob deceives his father with the skins of goats, then in the years to come his own sons will deceive him with the blood of a goat.

Here it was the LORD dealing with Jacob, so that he would judge himself. He would learn from his own experience how hateful it is to give in to deceit — even when the aim was to gain the birthright or the blessing over a godless brother... In this way a person gets used to the fact that he has to do with God in the little things of life, as people count them, as well as in the greatest.

Leah was without doubt a willing party to this cheating breach of the marriage agreement over Rachel. She could and should have told Jacob what a shameful trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn, in his own wounded heart, how vile self-seeking deceit is. So He allowed what He would use in the end for chastening and for good.

Rachel represents Israel, the Messiah's first object of love on earth. But this fails, and through no fault of His. And He has Leah, who stands for the call of the Gentile nations that comes in between, while Jacob serves and suffers greatly.

Jacob confronted Laban about his deception in giving him Leah instead of Rachel. Laban calmly replied that in his country the younger daughter must not marry before the elder. Honesty should have told Jacob this seven years earlier, when they made the agreement! It may be that Laban invented this policy in his own mind and then treated it as his country's custom. For if it really had been the usual practice, Jacob would have heard of it long before seven years had passed. But Laban knew the best way to keep Jacob working for him: he told Jacob he could work another seven years for Rachel.

Genesis 29, 30 and 31 record Jacob's stay in Haran. It turned into a duel of cunning between Jacob and his uncle Laban. Under the government of God, Jacob found himself in the hands of a man even more selfish than himself. There was a remarkable fitness in God's discipline over his marriage. Laban deceived him about two daughters, just as two sons had deceived Isaac. Age blinded Isaac; the marriage customs of the east blinded Jacob.

His uncle's deception might well have reminded Jacob that he had once deceived a relative himself — his own father. Such things have a way of coming back, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that people who take on the character of deceivers very likely end up deceived themselves. Here Jacob also learned a firstborn's rights the painful way — rights he had ignored with his brother Esau.

Jacob comes into Padan-Aram. Many of us have lived there, morally. It is where Laban's house is. There speculation and trying to get on without God are everywhere. There Jacob uses his own skill and wits to get ahead, breathing all the while an air that lowers the glory of Christ. No sense of the pre-eminence of Jesus is tolerated. God sets out the principle, "He does away with the first in order to establish the second" (Heb. 10:9). Laban says, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn." It is a serious thing to live, in our affections, in a scene that will not put the second before the first!

When did God ever choose the firstborn of flesh? All through Scripture He sets aside the one who looks to have a claim by birth. In this way everyone learns that blessing comes entirely by grace. Not Cain, but Abel; not Ishmael, but Isaac; not Esau, but Jacob.

Here too we see the righteous government of Jehovah. Laban badly wronged Jacob in a matter that must touch a man's heart deeply. Leah, beyond doubt, went along with the broken marriage agreement over Rachel. She could and should have told Jacob the shabby trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn more deeply, in his own wounded affections, how vile self-seeking deceit is. So He allowed what He would use for correction and for good in the end.

When Jacob confronted Laban about giving him Leah instead of Rachel, Laban calmly answered that in his country the younger daughter must not marry before the elder. An honest man would at least have told Jacob this when they made the agreement seven years earlier! Perhaps Laban invented this rule himself and treated it as his country's custom! If it really were the usual custom, Jacob would have heard of it long before the seven years were up. But Laban knew that this was the best way to keep Jacob working for him. So he told Jacob he could work another seven years for Rachel. What could Jacob do? His heart was still set on Rachel, so he accepted this unfair treatment, and in the end got her as a wife too.

However, the deception of his uncle might well have reminded Jacob that he himself had before deceived a relative, his own father. Such things have a way of recoiling, under the governing hand of God. It is striking that people who take on the character of deceivers are very likely to be deceived themselves (2 Tim. 3:13). Here too Jacob learned the hard way the rights of a firstborn, which he had ignored in the case of his brother Esau.

Here Jehovah was dealing with Jacob so that he would judge himself. Jacob had to learn from his own experience how hateful it is to give in to deceit. That was true even when the aim was to gain the birthright or the blessing over a godless brother, who cared only for himself and never had God as a living object before his soul. God makes such experience profitable to a weak or careless soul. In this way a person gets used to dealing with God in the small things of life, as people count them, as well as in the greatest.

There are two things Jacob has to learn here. First, for his consolation, he will learn that all his failures will not alter God's purpose to bless him in sovereign grace. Second, for his correction, he will learn that God's sovereign grace will not hold back God's chastening hand because of his failures. The sovereign grace of the Lord will not set aside the faithful government of the Lord. Jacob's circumstances do not change. He still has to go his lonely way as a wanderer. He still has to spend long years of hard work and bondage in a stranger's house, because of his sin against his father and brother. He has to reap what he has sown.

Jacob loved Rachel first, yet he had to wait for her and serve the week over again after Leah was given to him. Surely this has a clear bearing on the Lord's relation to Israel, whom He loved first. In the meantime the Gentile, once passed over, has taken her place, with rich results in His grace.

Jacob went for Leah and secured her at the cost of rigorous service, and she first shared with him the days of toil before having part with him in the wealth and glory which he acquired.

Rachel (meaning "sheep") pictures the lovely state of soul, in humble submission to God, that believers would like to reach. She was the desire of Jacob's heart. But in struggling to get Rachel, he only got Leah, whose name means "wearied." For Leah is a picture of what I really am, not what I want to be. … I may try hard to make myself different, only to find myself "stuck" with what I really am, as Jacob was "stuck" with Leah! This is the struggle of Romans 7, where "I" fights against "I."

I believe we can say that shebu-a and shebu-im are used for week and weeks. Genesis 29:27-28 gives the word for a week, and Leviticus 12:5 gives it for weeks.

He reaps in a measure what he had sown. He deceived his father Isaac and now Laban deceives him in different ways, especially by substituting Leah for the beloved Rachel. A week after he received Leah, he received Rachel too. But though he now had her, he still had to serve seven years for her.

Honesty would at least have told Jacob this seven years earlier, when they made the agreement! Laban may have invented this rule in his own mind and then treated it as his country's custom! If it had really been the usual custom, Jacob would have heard of it long before the seven years were up. But Laban knew that the best way to get Jacob to continue working for him was to do exactly what he did. So he told Jacob he could work another seven years for Rachel. What could Jacob do? He still had his heart set on Rachel, so he simply submitted to this unjust treatment, and in the end got her as a wife too.

Such things have a way of coming back on us, under the governing hand of God. It is a striking fact that those who make themselves deceivers will very likely be deceived themselves (2 Timothy 3:13). Here too Jacob learned the hard way about the rights of a firstborn — rights he had ignored with his brother Esau.

Grace is sovereign, and it calls even the most wayward. But those it calls come under a moral government that takes notice of every fault, so that they may share in His holiness.

Rachel did not belong to Laban, and both Jacob and Laban were completely wrong to put a money value on a wife. When the Lord made a woman for Adam, He gave her to him as a gift of grace. Grace should always rule in the sacred relationship of marriage.

I have no doubt that in the two wives we have the Gentiles and Israel: Rachel loved first on the earth, but not yet gained; and Leah the fruitful mother of children. Rachel had children also afterwards on the earth.

Leah was bride to one who foreshadowed Christ as a sufferer — one who was worn out by tireless toil, and who worked while others slept. Jacob went for Leah and won her at the cost of hard service, and she first shared with him the days of toil before having part with him in the wealth and glory which he acquired… like Leah, the church is called to share a path of toil and suffering before having her eternal portion with Christ.

Verses 23-30 tell how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years, and Laban had a plausible excuse for acting as he did. We cannot fail to see here the government of God at work. It illustrates our Lord's words: "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Now it was Jacob's turn to complain of being tricked.

Here it was Jehovah dealing with Jacob so that he might judge himself. Jacob had to learn from his own experience how hateful it is to yield to deceit. That stayed true even if the aim was to gain the birthright or the blessing over a profane brother — a brother who cared only for himself and never had God as a living object before his soul. Such experience does good to a weak or careless soul. In this way a person gets used to dealing with God in the little things of life, as men count them, as well as in the greatest.

Then we too often fall back on a substitute of our own making, as Rachel did. Sarah had done the same when she gave Abraham her servant to have a child by her. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned. But she thought, as Sarah did, that the children of her servant Bilhah would be hers... All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle in Romans 7. That struggle only stirs up the evil passions of our hearts, instead of subduing them as we try to do.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in gaining points of strife on her own part... But it is God's prerogative, while every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Himself, to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, who were named by Leah and Rachel. The servant women did not name their own sons. The four tribes that came from them do not appear to have made any particular mark in the nation's later history.

Here the sons are arranged by their different mothers, with the children of the servant women mixed in among the children of the free... They are no longer listed simply in the natural order of birth. God seems to signal that He would make them a spiritual people too, stamped with His seal. They will then be Israelites indeed, in whom is no deceit.

I have no doubt that in the two wives we have the Gentiles and Israel: Rachel loved first on the earth, but not yet obtained; and Leah the fruitful mother of children. Rachel had children later on the earth too. Rachel stands for the Jews. She is the mother of Joseph, and later of Benjamin. Joseph pictures a suffering Christ, glorified among the Gentiles while rejected by Israel; Benjamin pictures a reigning Christ, the son of his mother's sorrow but of his father's right hand.

Think of the contrast with Isaac the heir, the son who stayed in his father's house. His father sent the honoured servant Eliezer to represent them both, with fitting equipment and costly gifts for the bride. Here the outcast wanderer has nothing to recommend him but his relationship and his service. And Laban was quick to see the value of such a capable man for the interests he cared about most.

Verses 23-30 tell how Laban deceived him at the end of the seven years. Laban had a plausible excuse for what he did. In this we cannot fail to see the government of God at work. It illustrates our Lord's words, "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Now it was Jacob's turn to complain that someone had tricked him.

And only after years of toil could Jacob claim her as his own. By day the heat consumed him, and the cold by night, and his sleep fled from his eyes. But love lightened the burdens and sweetened all the bitterness of those long years. This is the only part of his life in which Jacob seems to picture our Lord, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." His toil ended, and He "is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Next Laban forces Leah on Jacob by deceit, and Jacob has to add Rachel as well — the one he loved and had bargained for. But here again strife and division follow, and the sisters' rivalry increases the misery of it, with two concubines added. Marrying two sisters at the same time, coming where it does in the story, might have become a trap for Israel. That is why the law later singles it out (Leviticus 18:18) and forbids it.

The righteous government of Jehovah is clearly seen here also. Laban wronged Jacob badly, in a way that must wound a man deeply. And Leah was beyond doubt a willing party to the cheating breach of the marriage agreement about Rachel. She might and ought to have told Jacob the unworthy trick her father was playing through her.

He looked on the sorrowful and despised wife. He gave the comfort of a son to Leah, the one "hated" by comparison, and not to Rachel. Rachel was happy in her husband's love, yet she stayed barren! ... But Jacob was slow to forget the wrong done to him about Rachel, or to feel his own wrong to Leah.

Jacob loved Rachel first. Yet he still had to wait and serve another seven years for her after Laban gave him Leah. Surely this bears on the Lord's relation to Israel, loved first, while in the meantime the slighted Gentile has taken her place, with rich results in His grace.

He gets Leah instead of Rachel. He has the Gentiles, seen in their place on earth; still the Jews are loved — Rachel. He represents the Lord in His ways, not in his conduct: he loves Rachel. The Gentile, Leah, was never loved like the Jews on earth; but God blesses Leah.

Notice that it is not Elohim here, but Jehovah, God in special relationship and moral dealing. He looked on the sorrowful and despised wife, and gave not to Rachel but to Leah, the comparatively "hated," the consolation of a son. Rachel, happy in her husband's love, was left barren!

Laban badly wronged Jacob in a way that must touch a man's heart deeply. And Leah was without doubt a willing party to the cheating breach of the marriage agreement about Rachel. She might and ought to have told Jacob the shabby trick her father was playing through her. But God wanted His servant Jacob to learn more deeply, in his own wounded affections, how vile self-seeking deceit is. So He allowed what He would use for discipline and for good in the end.

There was also discipline from the hand of God. Jacob's love was centred on Rachel, and next to her Leah was hated. So God arranged that Leah bore children while Rachel stayed barren... It is worth noting that in each case the mother gave the name, and it fitted her own circumstances and feelings. Jacob does not appear as having any say in the matter. During this stretch of his up-and-down life we read of no altar of sacrifice and communion.

Again she has a son, and says, Because Jehovah has heard that I am hated, He has therefore given me this one also... And again she bore a son, and said, Now this time I will praise Jehovah; so she called his name Judah. Never do we hear of her soul rising so high. The sorrow-stricken woman breaks out into praise of Jehovah. Her fourth son carries that praise in the name she gave him that day. Yes, of Judah came, according to the flesh, the Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. How much His grace rises above our praise!

The names of the sons of Leah are interesting. Reuben (behold a son!); Simeon (hearing); Levi (joined); Judah (praise). It is the order of the gospel.

Rachel represents Israel, the Messiah's first object of love on earth. But this fails through no fault of His. And He has Leah. She stands for the call of the Gentiles in between, during Jacob's time as a servant and his great sorrows. That is when "the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married," says the LORD (Isaiah 54:1, compare Galatians 4).

For all that, she is the most fruitful. Her honour is in the births of Judah and Levi — the Ruler and the Teacher, King and Priest.

Leah is a picture of what I actually am, and Leah was hated. Rachel is a picture of what I would like to be — the spiritual state I would like to reach. As a Christian I would like to be far more spiritual than I am... but I have to give that up. Jacob had to give Rachel up. However, at the very moment Jacob gave Rachel up, he arrived at the state God had in mind for him.

Notice that it is not Elohim here, but Jehovah, God in special relationship and moral dealing. He looked on the sad and despised wife. He gave the comfort of a son not to Rachel but to Leah, the one "hated" by comparison. Rachel, happy in her husband's love, stayed barren!

Sorrowful and wronged Leah alone speaks of Jehovah.

We can see how large the firstborn loomed in the mother's eyes, and how much she counted on the boy's appeal to Jacob's heart. But Jacob was slow to forget the wrong done to him about Rachel, or to feel his own wrong to Leah. Jehovah looked tenderly on her injured spirit. And she, for her part, acknowledged Jehovah's compassion in the matter. "Jehovah," she said, "has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me." That hope came too soon: so far we hear not a sound of such love from him.

The names of Leah's sons are interesting. Reuben (behold a Son!); Simeon (hearing); Levi (joined); Judah (praise). It is the order of the gospel.

There was also discipline from the hand of God… Notice that in each case the mother gave the name, and it grew out of her own circumstances and feelings. Jacob does not appear to have had any say in the matter. In this stretch of his up-and-down life there is no record of an altar of sacrifice and communion. Being out of touch, he had no guidance about the names of his children.

Jacob loved Rachel first. Yet he still had to wait and serve another week for her, after Leah had been given to him. This bears on the Lord's relation to Israel, whom He loved first. Meanwhile the slighted Gentile has taken Israel's place, with rich results in His grace… Leah was hated compared with Rachel. So Jehovah stepped in with His special regard for her sorrow, and that regard came out in the name of her firstborn son, Reuben.

Rachel means "sheep." She pictures the lovely state of soul, in humble submission to God, that believers would like to reach. She was the desire of Jacob's heart. But in struggling to get Rachel, Jacob only got Leah, whose name means "wearied." Leah is a picture of what I really am, not what I want to be. There was conflict between the two. I may try hard to make myself different, only to find myself "stuck" with what I really am, just as Jacob was "stuck" with Leah!

There was discipline from the hand of God. Jacob's love rested on Rachel, and next to her Leah was hated. So God arranged that Leah bore children while Rachel was barren. The closing verses of the chapter give us the birth of four sons and their names. It is worth noticing that in every case the mother gave the name, and it grew out of her own circumstances and feelings. Jacob does not appear to have had any say in the matter. During these years of his uneven life we read of no altar where he sacrificed and had fellowship with God. Being out of touch, he had no guidance about the names of his children.

The even stronger sign of her husband's coldness does not weaken her sense of the favour Jehovah was showing her — it renews it. As with Reuben, so now the naming of her second son says it: Jehovah heard as well as saw. We do not learn of any softening on the offended man's part: he had his Rachel.

Simeon's inheritance is closely connected with that of Judah. "Their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah." Simeon means "hearing" and Judah means "praise." So the two are linked together. If our hearts are open to hear, and our faith takes hold, then we praise and worship. Then we enjoy our God-given inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reuben ("behold a son!"); Simeon ("hearing"); Levi ("joined"); Judah ("praise"). This is the order of the sons of Jacob by birth. It tells out the gospel. In the blessing of Moses the order is: Reuben ("behold a son!"); Judah ("praise"); Levi ("joined"). Simeon ("hearing") is left out. When the Lord comes, Israel will behold Him as the Son, will break out in praise and worship, and become joined to Him. No "hearing" is needed then. We pass this on to our readers for consideration.

And again she bore a son, and said, Now this time I will praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. Never do we hear of her soul rising so high; the sorrow-stricken woman breaks out into praise of Jehovah... Yes, of Judah came according to the flesh the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.

It was Leah who bore children, while Rachel stayed fruitless for a long time. So it is the hated "I" that seems to dominate in the experience of a believer who really wants to be what he thinks he should be. Leah bore four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, while Rachel remained childless. It is good to consider that despite Jacob's dislike for Leah, he never suggested putting his wife away, as people commonly do today. In fact he kept her longer than Rachel.

Rachel represents Israel, Messiah's first object of love on earth. But this fails through no fault of His. And He has Leah. She represents the calling of the Gentiles in the meantime, during Jacob's servant state and heavy sorrows. It is the time when "the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married," says the LORD.

Therefore his name was called Levi. It is not as before that she called it. Everything seems more vague and in a lower key here; and Jehovah is not named. But He never fails; and again she bore a son, and said, Now this time I will praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. Never do we hear of her soul rising so high; the sorrow-stricken woman breaks out into praise of Jehovah.

Here, then, we have the birth and name of this most remarkable man. His name carries wonderful meaning when we look at his later history. In nature's wild and lawless excess, we find him "joined" with his brother in carrying out a deed of blood and murder (Gen. 34). Then came the day when God called him to drink deeply and largely of the cup of His electing grace, "joined" with Aaron in "the work of the tabernacle" (Num. 8).

The third son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:34). Very little is recorded of Levi. He joined with Simeon in the treacherous and vengeful dealings with Shechem (Gen. 34:25-31). When Jacob blessed his sons, he pronounced a curse on their cruelty, and added, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." This shows the righteous government of God. That government is in no way set aside by the reward of their later faithful conduct, which caused this tribe to be chosen for the Levitical service and the priesthood. It was sovereign grace.

Christ has, once for all, borne sin's deepest curse in His own body on the tree. Now even Levi can lift up his head. By nature he knows only "instruments of cruelty" — things that must have kept God forever at a distance from "his secret and his assembly." By nature he is cruel, fierce, self-willed, scattered and divided. Yet God can, in His mercy, make him familiar with "the instruments of the tabernacle." He can bring him into the enjoyment of the covenant of life and peace, in union with the great head of the priestly family.

From Levi, third son of Israel, sprang both the Levite and the priest. This "third" speaks of resurrection, always connected with the third day (compare Hosea 6:2). And so the sign of the true priest (Num. 17:8) was the dead rod blossoming and fruitful in the sanctuary. Levi's own name also, "joined," is full of meaning. The Mediator, in whose person and work God and man are truly joined, is the One who becomes the Priest.

Interesting are the names of the sons of Leah. Reuben (behold a Son!); Simeon (hearing); Levi (joined); Judah (praise). It is the order of the gospel.

Levi means "joined." The grace of God had joined them to the Lord and His ministry. Believers in Christ are joined to the Lord. They are both priests and Levites; they have priesthood and ministry. Our priesthood is the ministry of the sanctuary, in worship and intercession. Our Levite ministry is many sided.

It is not Elohim here, but Jehovah, God in special relationship and moral dealing. He looked on the sorrowful and despised wife, and gave not to Rachel but to Leah, the one who was "hated" by comparison, the comfort of a son. Rachel, happy in her husband's love, was left barren! We can notice how the firstborn loomed large in the mother's eyes, and how much she counted on it to call to Jacob's heart. But Jacob was slow to forget the wrong done to him about Rachel, or to feel his own wrong to Leah.

Note that in each case the mother gave the name, and it grew out of her own circumstances and feelings. Jacob does not appear to have had any say in the matter. During this up-and-down stretch of his life there is no record that he had an altar for sacrifice and communion. Being out of touch, he had no guidance about the names of his children.

And again she bore him a third son, and said, Now this time my husband will be joined to me; for I have borne him three sons. So his name was called Levi. Everything seems more vague and in a lower key here, and Jehovah is not named. But He never fails; and again she bore a son, and said, Now this time I will praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. Never do we hear of her soul rising so high; the sorrow-stricken woman breaks out into praise of Jehovah, and her fourth son carries it in the name she gave him that day. Yes, of Judah came, according to the flesh, the Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. How much His grace rises above our praise!

Reuben (behold a son!); Simeon (hearing); Levi (joined); Judah (praise). This is the order of the sons of Jacob according to their birth. It tells out the gospel. In the blessing of Moses the order is: Reuben (behold a son!); Judah (praise); Levi (joined). Simeon (hearing) is left out. When the Lord comes, Israel will behold Him as the Son, will break out in praise and worship, and become joined to Him. No "hearing" is needed then.

Judah is compared to a lion, as a king among beasts. Here we see an allusion to Christ acting in judgment. Genesis is the seed-plot of the Bible. We pass to Revelation, where everything reaches its fruit and finality, and in Revelation 5 we find "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" about to take the book of judgment and break its seals. And the universe is filled with His praises.

How much more fitting were the praises that greeted the coming and birth of Mary's child! Praises from Mary, praises from Elizabeth, praises from Zechariah, praises from the heavenly host, praises from the aged Simeon and from Anna... Very soon there will be a universe of bliss, filled with the praises of God and the Lamb, all resulting from the coming into the world of Mary's child, the blessed Son of God. While we await our part in the praises of that happy day, it is our privilege to "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually."

It is easy to see, and sad to see, why Rachel looked at her own childlessness and her sister's many children with bitterness. Self was at work. It blinded her to one thing: her sister did not have Jacob's heart, and she alone held it. It was envy — that low feeling which cannot bear another person, even a sister, having what it lacks. And it broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault.

Her passionate cry for children shows no recognition at all of the will of God (Gen. 30:1). It does not compare well with Hannah's submissive spirit and humble prayer to the Lord. And it prepares us for the despair that overwhelmed her later. The thing she dreamed would be a spring of happiness turned out to be a bitter and deadly drink of sorrow.

How different Hannah was! She was sorrowful under Peninnah's taunts, and under the high priest's wrong judgment of her too. She did not break out into unfitting complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

Revelation about God, and from God, is the essential difference between Scripture and all other writings. Yet there is much more in it of the greatest value. We have man as he is, as nowhere else. Scripture tells us the truth so that we may know ourselves as well as God. So it matters, and it is deeply interesting, that God gives inspired light on what the proud selfishness of man's mind tends to despise as mere domestic squabbles.

How terribly everything has fallen, in moral terms, from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. This is not barrenness of the flesh with God stepping in, in promise and power. Instead — oh, what a scene of selfishness, jealousy, and scheming! Only one patch of green is in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard. Even in her special circumstances Rachel has no thought of Jehovah's ways here. It is "God has judged me," and so it goes on all through, until grace softens her heart. Then she says, in faith, "Jehovah will add."

We may see a serious lesson in Rachel's words, "Give me children, or I shall die!" If we do not see clear fruit, we have a tendency to give up. The exercise of soul that desires true godliness may in effect die. Many Christians have their proper growth stunted by this very thing.

On the other hand, Jacob's anger does not help the situation. If Christ is not the Object of our lives, our efforts to make ourselves more spiritual will always bring in the principles of jealousy, anger and discouragement. These work against the very result we seek.

Rachel at last becomes a refreshment to the heart, through the thoughtful tenderness of God's ways. She was humbled for a long time because of her unworthy self-seeking. Then God was pleased to pity her and give her the son she had wanted so much. Then she said, God has taken away my reproach. Despite her proud bearing, she knew she had been under God's discipline. The name she gave her firstborn is striking, for Joseph means He will add.

One understands too well, too sadly, why Rachel should look at her own childlessness and her sister's many children with bitterness. Self worked in her and blinded her to what her sister lacked: Jacob's heart, which she alone had. It was envy, that low feeling which cannot bear another person — even a sister — having what she does not have. It broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault. No wonder his anger resented her unworthy state in his reply: "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

On the other hand, Jacob's anger does not help the situation. If Christ is not the Object of our lives, our efforts to make ourselves more spiritual will always involve jealousy, anger and discouragement. These work against the very result we want.

The name is Jehovah in Genesis 29 and Elohim in Genesis 30:2-23. Yet in the very next verse (24) Rachel says not Elohim but Jehovah, and it is the same in verses 27 and 30. The idea of different writers is pure imagination. It explains nothing, and it blocks any proper enquiry into God's own reason for the change of name. God, or Elohim, is the name that stands in contrast with man; Jehovah is His name of relationship.

Rachel here, even in her special circumstances, has no thought of Jehovah's ways. It is "Elohim has judged me," and so it goes on, until grace softens her heart. Then she says, in faith, "Jehovah will add."

The fruitfulness of Leah moved Rachel to jealousy, then her demand to Jacob for children moves him to anger (vv. 1-2). We may see a serious lesson in Rachel's words, "Give me children or else I die." If we do not see clear fruit, we tend to give up. The work in the soul that longs for true godliness may all but die. This very thing stunts the proper growth of many Christians.

Then we too often turn to a substitute of our own making, as Rachel did in verse 3. Sarah had done the same when she gave Abraham her servant to have a child by her. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned. But she thought, like Sarah, that the children of Bilhah, her servant, would be hers.

When we reach verse 22, we find God begins to act, and we leave behind the scheming of the two wives, though it is still Rachel who gives the name Joseph. Yet here is a son born as the fruit of God acting in answer to Rachel's prayers. The story rises to a higher level.

How different she was from Hannah! Peninnah's taunts made her sorrowful, and even the high priest misjudged her. Yet Hannah made no unworthy complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made vows to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

David proclaimed, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 127:3. Women in the East had a great desire for children. You can see it in Sarah, Rachel, and Leah giving their handmaids to their husbands so that they might have children by them. This always marked the women of Israel afterwards.

It was envy — that base feeling which cannot bear to see another, even a sister, have what she had not. It broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault. No wonder his anger resented her unworthy state. He replied, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" But he gave in to her proposal, and takes Bilhah so that she might have children by her maid. Had not honoured Sarah done the same? Yes, but through Ishmael did its fruit not end in the expulsion of both Hagar and her son? Was this encouraging?

Then we too often resort to a humanly conceived substitution, as Rachel did in verse 3. Sarah had done the same in giving Abraham her handmaid by whom to have a child. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned. But she thought, as Sarah did, that the children of Bilhah, her handmaid, would be hers... All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle in Romans 7. We try to subdue the evil passions of our hearts, but the effort only stirs them up.

The house of Abraham was such a scene. There Hagar and Sarah lived together for a time, but in sad discord and strife. Again, the family of Jacob showed the same. Leah and Rachel, the two wives, lived together, but between them there was the same disturbance, reproach and envy... Unbelief brought the trouble in, and only strengthening the freewoman could remove it. So it was Sarah's unbelief that brought Hagar into the family. She could have waited in the patience of faith for the Lord's time. Then she would never have given her maid to Abraham, and Hagar and Ishmael would not have cost her fourteen years of sorrow.

All this shows what God's institution of marriage was: one man and one woman, the two and only two, becoming one. What is more than this is not of God... Jacob's two wives gave their handmaids to their husband, and so he had four wives. God counted the twelve sons of these four women all alike as sons of Jacob, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. One might have thought that God would not bless the children of these unions, but He did.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in winning points of strife on her own part... Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Him. But God alone has the right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose.

What sets Scripture apart from all other writings is that it reveals God and comes from God. But there is much more of the greatest value in it. We have man as he is, as nowhere else: the truth is told us so that we may know ourselves as well as God. That is why inspired light on these things is so interesting and important. Man's proud selfishness tends to dismiss them as mere family quarrels. To the believer they are full of healthy instruction, and they point to God's own concern and compassion... No one will boast before God. It is good and wise to learn that now, so that, as Scripture says, the one who boasts should boast in the Lord.

It was envy — that low feeling that cannot bear another, even a sister, having what she has not. It broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault. No wonder his anger resented her unworthy state. He replied: "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" But he gave in to her plan, and took Bilhah so that Rachel might get children through her maid. Had not honoured Sarah done the same? Yes — but its fruit through Ishmael ended with Hagar and her son driven out. Was that encouraging?

How different from Hannah! She grieved under Peninnah's taunts, and even under the high priest's misjudgment. She made no improper complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

Then we too often resort to a humanly devised substitution, as Rachel did in verse 3. Sarah had done the same in giving Abraham her handmaid to have a child by her. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned. But she thought, like Sarah, that the children of Bilhah, her handmaid, would be hers... All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle of Romans 7. That struggle only stirs up the evil passions of our hearts instead of subduing them, as we try to do.

All this shows that God's institution of marriage was the union of one man and one woman, the two and only two, becoming one. Anything more than this is not of God, but of human lust... Long after this, Scripture records wives who wanted children so much that they gave their maidservants to their husbands. We would now judge that as most unnatural in a wife... Jacob's two wives gave their handmaids to their husband, and so he had four wives. God counted the twelve sons of these four women equally as Jacob's own, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not bless the offspring of these unions, but He did.

But in old times God permitted what was far from His mind, as we see here, until He makes all things new. Jacob was not Jesus, and neither was any other man, though a man of faith.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not speak of grace, but of satisfaction at scoring points of strife on her own part... Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Himself. But it is God's prerogative to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn over.

It is all too sad to see why Rachel resented her own childlessness while her sister had many children. Self was at work in her. It blinded her to what her sister lacked: Jacob's heart, which Rachel alone had. It was envy, that low feeling which cannot bear another — even a sister — having what she had not... But he gave in to her proposal, and takes Bilhah so that she might have children through her maid. Had not Sarah, honoured as she was, done the same? Yes — but through Ishmael, did it not end with both Hagar and her son being driven out?

All this shows what God set up marriage to be: the union of one man and one woman. The two, and only two, become one. What is more than this is not of God, but is of human lust... Jacob's two wives gave their handmaids to their husband, and so he had four wives. God counted the twelve sons of these four women as Jacob's sons, all alike, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not have blessed the issue of these unions, but He did.

Then we too often resort to a humanly devised substitute, as Rachel did in verse 3... When a boy was born (vv. 5-6), Rachel said that God had given her a son, and she named him Dan, meaning "judge."... All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle in Romans 7. We try to subdue the evil passions of our hearts, but this only stirs them up.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in gaining points of strife on her own part... But God keeps His own right. Every wrong has its effect among men, and it comes under His judgment. Even so, He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the ones called according to His purpose.

How dreadfully everything has sunk morally since Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. This is not barrenness of the flesh, with God stepping in with promise and power. Instead, oh, what a scene of selfishness, jealousies, and scheming... So Rachel here, even in her special circumstances, has no thought of Jehovah's ways. She says, "God has judged me." It stays that way all the way through, until grace softens her heart. Then she says, in faith, "Jehovah will add."

Dan was the first son of Rachel's maid Bilhah... Looking ahead, this brings us to the time when Israel governs itself again... It seems likely the antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan, since Revelation 7 leaves Dan out of the 144,000... Yet even so, Dan will have his place in the blessing of the millennium.

Then we too often turn to a substitute of our own devising, as Rachel did. Sarah had done the same when she gave Abraham her servant to have a child by her. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned. But she thought, as Sarah did, that the children of Bilhah, her servant, would be hers. When a boy was born, Rachel said that God had given her a son, and she named him Dan, meaning "judge."

It was envy. That low feeling cannot bear another person — even a sister — having what she did not have. It broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault... But he gave in to her proposal, and took Bilhah so that she might have children through her maid. Had not Sarah, who was honoured, done the same? Yes, but through Ishmael did it not end with both Hagar and her son being sent away?... How different from Hannah, sorrowful under Peninnah's taunts... She broke out into no improper complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah showed the state of her soul, and her feeling toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not speak of grace. They speak of her satisfaction at scoring points in the quarrel... But it is God's own right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. Every wrong still has its effect among men and its judgment before Him. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

How far everything has sunk, morally, from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. This is not the barrenness of the flesh, with God stepping in with promise and power. Oh, what a scene of selfishness, jealousy and cunning! There is only one green spot in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard... So Rachel here, even in her special circumstances, has no thought of Jehovah's ways. She says, "Elohim has judged me," and it is like that all the way through, until grace softens her heart. Then she says, in faith, "Jehovah will add."

It is worth noting that in each case the mother gave the name, and it grew out of her own circumstances and feelings. Jacob does not appear to have had any say in the matter. In this up-and-down stretch of his life there is no record of his having an altar for sacrifice and fellowship with God. Being out of touch, he had no guidance about the names of his children.

Dan's place among the tribes stands for judgment, and that is an honourable place. Yet his later history contradicted the truth of that position. Dan was the first tribe to bring in idolatry openly. What a solemn lesson for us! When we are given the place of judging for God, we may take that authority for ourselves until it amounts to idolatry.

Still, such is the grace of God that in Ezekiel's prophecy of the restoration of the tribes, Dan is the first named and provided for — the worst sinner of all. There the question is not one of service but of mercy... Then at last Jacob's promise comes true, the promise even their wickedness could not cancel: "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel."

We too often resort to a humanly conceived substitution, as Rachel did in verse 3. Sarah had done the same in giving Abraham her handmaid by whom to have a child. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned, but she thought, as Sarah did, that the children of Bilhah, her handmaid, would be hers... Bilhah also had a second son, whom Rachel named Naphtali, meaning "my wrestling," because of Rachel's wrestling with her sister Leah. All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle of Romans 7. That struggle only stirs up the evil passions of our hearts, instead of subduing them, as we try to do.

One understands too well, too sadly, why Rachel should view her own childlessness and her sister rich in children with resentment. Self worked in her. It blinded her to this: her sister did not have Jacob's heart, and Rachel alone had it. It was envy — that base feeling which cannot endure another, even a sister, having what she had not... How different from Hannah! She was sorrowful under Peninnah's taunts, and even under the high priest's wrong judgment of her. She made no ugly complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in winning points of strife on her own part... Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Himself. But it is God's right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

Naphtali means "a wrestler." In a spiritual sense he is no longer a carnal wrestler trusting in his own power, but a mighty wrestler for God. That is what he is in the mind of God, and in the sense of his sonship as belonging to God. He represents that spirit of power of man with God, the weak with the mighty One.

Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, and Leah and Rachel named them. The handmaids did not name their own sons, and the four tribes descended from these do not appear to have made any particular mark in the nation's later history.

We have man as he is, as nowhere else: the truth is told us that we may know ourselves as well as God. So it matters that inspired light falls on what man's proud selfishness looks down on as mere family quarrels. To the believer these accounts are full of healthy instruction. They also carry a witness of God's concern and compassion.

Sarah had done the same, giving Abraham her servant to have a child by her. Rachel ought to have known that this did not work out as Sarah planned, but she thought, as Sarah did, that the children of Bilhah, her servant, would be hers. Bilhah had a second son whom Rachel named Naphtali, meaning "my wrestling," because of Rachel's wrestling with her sister Leah. All of this struggle is a picture of the struggle of Romans 7. That struggle only stirs up the evil passions of our hearts, instead of subduing them as we try to do.

It is easy to understand, and sad, why Rachel looked at her own childlessness and her sister's many children with bitterness. Self worked in her and blinded her to her sister's lack of Jacob's heart, which she alone had. It was envy, that low feeling which cannot bear another — even a sister — having what she had not. It broke out in unreasonable and irreverent complaining to her husband, as if her barrenness were his fault... How different from Hannah! She was sorrowful under Peninnah's taunts, and the high priest misjudged her too. She made no improper complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

Notice the beauty of Scripture in the use of the divine names in these chapters. In the case of Leah (Genesis 29), who was hated compared with Rachel, Jehovah as such stepped in with His special regard for her sorrow. She expressed this in the name of her firstborn son, Reuben, and His hearing of her in her second, Simeon... but Jehovah has praise when she bore Judah. In Rachel's case (Genesis 30) there is no such expression at first of confidence in Jehovah's compassionate interest. In disappointment of heart she gives Jacob her maid. When Dan was born, she accepts it as the judgment of Elohim, and at Naphtali's birth she speaks of His wrestlings.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her feeling toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction at winning points in a quarrel... But every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Him. And it is God's prerogative to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn over.

Naphtali is the next one, representing the mighty man of vigour and of valour. Naphtali means "a wrestler" — and in a spiritual sense he is no longer a merely human wrestler, trusting in his own power, but a mighty wrestler for God. That is what he is in the mind of God, and in the awareness of his sonship as belonging to God. He represents that spirit of the power of man with God, the weak with the mighty One.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her feelings toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction at scoring points in a quarrel of her own making. The same snare caught Leah, and through Zilpah she would match that advantage. She named Zilpah's sons Gad and Asher. Those names do not reflect the contention that governed Rachel's spirit. Even so, they in no way rise to the level of faith she had shown in naming her own sons. Every wrong has its effect among men, and its judgment before Him. But God has the right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

He never fails. Again she bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD"; so she called his name Judah. Never do we hear of her soul rising so high. The sorrow-stricken woman breaks out into praise of the LORD, and her fourth son carries that praise in the name she gave him that day. Yes, from Judah came, according to the flesh, the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. How much His grace rises above our praise!

When Leah had no more children, she used the same tactics as Rachel. She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob. Zilpah bore him a son, and Leah named him Gad. Then came another son, whom she named Asher. Gad means "a troop" and Asher means "happy." So we find human support (a troop), and we try to make ourselves happy as we are, without reaching the state we long for. But Leah is not satisfied with this… So neither of them was content: the struggle continues.

Rachel means "sheep." Her name seems to stand for the meekness and patience of true discipleship. That is the exact opposite of Jacob's self-willed, unrestrained temper up to now. But he must get her by way of unwanted Leah. Leah's name means "wearied," and it suggests the tribulation that works patience out. Even then, before Rachel is fruitful, and while there is no hope of her fruitfulness, Jacob receives the servant women: Bilhah, "terror," and Zilpah, "a dropping" (as of tears).

All this shows that God's institution of marriage was the union of one man and one woman — the two, and only two, becoming one. Anything beyond this is not of God, but comes from human lust… Jacob's two wives gave their handmaids to their husband, and so he had four wives. God reckoned the twelve sons of these four women equally as sons of Jacob, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not bless the offspring of such unions, but He did.

Here we have the origin of the tribes in these sons. Leah and Rachel named them. The handmaids did not name their own sons. The four tribes that came from them do not seem to have made any particular mark in the nation's later history.

When Leah had no more children, she used the same tactics as Rachel had. She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and by her he had a son, whom Leah named Gad... Gad means "a troop"... So we find human support (a troop), and try to make ourselves happy as we are, without reaching the state we want. But Leah is not satisfied with this... So neither of them was content: the struggle continues.

He gave in to her proposal and took Bilhah, so that Rachel might have children through her maid. Had not Sarah, that honoured woman, done the same? Yes — but did it not bear fruit in Ishmael, and end with both Hagar and her son driven out? Was that encouraging? How different Hannah was, grieving under Peninnah's taunts! She did not break out in improper complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to Jehovah, and the God of Israel heard her.

But of old God permitted what was far from His mind, as we see here, until He makes all things new.

The names of the wives and children also point to the inward, personal character of the line of truth set before us here. Rachel means "sheep." Her name seems to stand for the meekness and patience of true discipleship, the very opposite of Jacob's self-willed and unruly temper up to this point. But he could only win her through Leah, whom he did not want. Leah's name means "wearied," and it suggests the "tribulation" that works out "patience." And even then, before Rachel has a child, and in despair of ever having one, the servant women come in: Bilhah, "terror," and Zilpah, "a dropping" (as of tears).

God's hidden providence has blessed Jacob and kept him safe all this time. Yet it was a time of failure: a spirit of cunning instead of confidence in God. It was the time when he was an outcast and rejected, and in this he is a picture of Israel. Yet this was really the time when his children were born, "for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord."

Something else is remarkable here. Unlike Ishmael in the story of Abraham, the sons of the servant women do not take a separate or lower place. They are blessed along with the other sons of Jacob. Of Ishmael God said that the son of the servant woman would never be an heir with the son of the free woman... Jacob's twelve sons give a complete picture of God's earthly people. God's government blesses them together, because in Scripture the number twelve is always connected with God's rule over His people.

Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, and Leah and Rachel named them. The servant women did not name their own sons, and the four tribes descended from them do not appear to have made any particular mark in the later history of the nation.

The seventh son of Jacob, and the first of Zilpah, Leah's maid. Very little is recorded of Gad, except that he had seven sons. Gen. 30:11; Gen. 46:16; 1 Chr. 5:11.

God cannot forget the state of departure and sin that marked the people in Isaiah's day. They had forsaken the LORD; they had forsaken His holy mountain, where His temple stood. And what had they turned to? The rest of the verse reveals it, though the translation is rather unclear. Darby's New Translation puts "Gad" in place of "that troop," and "Meni" in place of "that number." Its footnotes explain that the first word means "Fortune, or the planet Jupiter," and the second means "Number, or Fate, or the planet Venus."

Jehovah stepped in with His special regard for Leah's sorrow. The name of her first-born son, Reuben, expressed that, and the name of her second, Simeon, expressed His hearing. Jehovah has praise when she bore Judah. Leah, following Rachel's example, gains Gad and Asher through Zilpah, but makes no acknowledgment of the divine name in either form. After this comes the incident of using mandrakes for hire, when Elohim acts for Leah in sovereign power and she owns Him as such when Issachar was born.

Leah gave Zilpah's sons the names Gad and Asher. These names do not reflect the rivalry that governed Rachel's spirit. Even so, they fell far short of the faith she had shown in naming her own sons. But this is God's prerogative: to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. Every wrong still has its effect among men, and it faces judgment before God Himself.

When Leah had no more children, she used the same tactics as Rachel. She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and Zilpah bore him a son. Leah named him Gad, and named a second son Asher. Gad means "a troop" and Asher means "happy." So we find human support (a troop), and we try to make ourselves happy as we are, without reaching the state we want. But Leah is not satisfied with this.

Gad lies next to Reuben. Gad is the type of spiritual increase, and of a fighting condition too. Leah's exclamation, "A troop comes," holds both things. In a world like this, spiritual increase rarely comes without conflict. In David's time the men of Gad were famous as warriors.

Gad was the first son of Zilpah, Leah's maid. His name means "a troop." This name appears in the prophecy that a troop — the armies of enemy nations — would trample Gad underfoot, with Gad standing for Israel. The tribulation period will bring this to pass. But the same prophecy says Gad will in the end overcome the troop. God will give Israel the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 30:1-21 tells the sordid story of Jacob's children. It tells how both Rachel and Leah plotted to gain sons and so secure themselves in his favour. Here we have the origin of the tribes in these sons, and Leah and Rachel named them. The servant women did not name their own sons. The four tribes that came from them do not appear to have made any particular mark in the nation's later history.

Leah fell into the same trap, and through Zilpah she would match that advantage. She named Zilpah's sons Gad and Asher. Those names do not reflect the contention that governed Rachel's spirit, but they by no means rose to the level of faith she had shown in naming her own sons. Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Himself. Yet it is God's right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

When Leah had no more children, she used the same tactics as Rachel. She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and he had a son by her. Leah named him Gad, and she named the next son Asher (vv. 9-13). Gad means "a troop" and Asher means "happy." So we find human support (a troop), and we try to make ourselves happy as we are. We never reach the state we want, and Leah is not satisfied with this… So neither of them was really content: the struggle goes on.

All this shows that God set up marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The two, and only two, become one. Anything more than this is not of God, but is of human lust… Jacob's two wives gave their servants to their husband, and so he had four wives. God reckoned the twelve sons of these four women equally as sons of Jacob, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not have blessed the fruit of these unions, but He did.

During his twenty years of exile, Jacob enjoys no further such revelations of His presence. In the meantime, God deals with him as one for whom He has purposes of blessing. He can only reach that blessing through painful discipline. God multiplies him mainly through unwelcome Leah and the servant women, while he serves long and with hard labour for wives and flocks. Like his descendants, he is multiplied as the dust, while trampled into it.

The blessing of Asher in Deut. 33:24-25 ends with these lovely words: "as your days, so shall your strength be." Yet all went to ruin, as the history of Israel unfolds. Yet at the first coming of Christ, the godly remnant of the people were "waiting for the consolation of Israel." Among them we find one of that same tribe: "a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher"… And the Lord Christ Himself became identified with that obscure remnant. She was one of them.

When Leah had no more children, she used the same tactics as Rachel. She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and he had a son by her. Leah named him Gad, and named a second son Asher (vv. 9-13). Gad means "a troop" and Asher means "happy." So we find human support (a troop), and we try to make ourselves happy as we are, without reaching the state we desire. But Leah is not satisfied with this... Neither of them was actually content: the struggle continues.

Leah was hated compared with Rachel (Gen. 29). Jehovah, under that name, stepped in with His special regard for her sorrow. She put this into the name of her first-born son, Reuben, and His hearing into her second, Simeon... but Jehovah has praise when she bore Judah... Leah, following Rachel's example, gains through Zilpah Gad and Asher, but makes no acknowledgment of the divine name in either form.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude towards her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction in gaining points of strife on her own part. Leah was drawn into the snare and through Zilpah would equal that advantage. The names she gave Zilpah's sons, Gad and Asher, do not reflect the contention that governed Rachel's spirit. Even so, they came nowhere near the faith she had shown in naming her own sons. Every wrong has its effect among men, and its judgment before God Himself. But it is His prerogative to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose.

Genesis 30:1-21 tells the sordid story of Jacob's children, and of the schemes of both Rachel and Leah. They tried to gain sons and so establish themselves in his favour. Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, whom Leah and Rachel named. The handmaids did not name their own sons. The four tribes descended from them do not appear to have made any particular mark in the later history of the nation.

We have man as he is, as nowhere else: the truth is told us so that we may know ourselves as well as God. Hence the interest and importance of inspired light on what the proud selfishness of man's mind is inclined to despise as mere domestic quarrels.

Asher, meaning "happy," fittingly ends this interesting list. "Asher is most blessed of sons: let him be favoured by his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil" (v. 24). Again, all Israel is represented in the lasting joy that Asher speaks of. "They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa. 35:10).

It is worth noting that these Psalms beginning "blessed" the Jews call Asherite Psalms. Asher was the name of one of Jacob's sons. The mother, delighted with her child, called him Asher — "Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed."... First, Psalm 1 is the blessing of someone who has perfectly done God's will. It makes no allowance for any evil — all Christ. Second, Psalm 32 is the blessing of the poor sinner. He has not a shred of righteousness of his own, but is grafted into Christ.

dudaim. Some strong-smelling plant found in the fields of Palestine. Writers have suggested many different herbs. It is possibly the Mandragora officinarum, called the "love apple," a relative of the "apple of Sodom." Genesis 30:14-16; Song of Solomon 7:13.

So we look for human support, and we try to make ourselves happy as we are, without reaching the state we want. But Leah is not satisfied with this. As soon as Reuben brings her mandrakes, she sees the chance of having another son. Rachel tried to get some for the same purpose, but Leah answered her sharply (v. 15). She knew Rachel's purpose. So neither of them was actually content: the struggle continues.

No veil covers their deplorable unbelief and mean jealousy. Nothing excuses their superstitious trust in the power of love-apples. In this they were just like other Syrian women, who gave themselves to the empty practices of the nations. Clearly Rachel gained nothing from the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who longed to share her husband's affection. She bore him a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter.

How dreadfully everything has sunk morally from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. This is not barrenness of the flesh, met by God stepping in with promise and power. Instead, oh, what a scene of selfishness, jealousy and craft! Only one green spot is in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard. All the rest is miserable and merely flesh, and God sends nothing but rightful chastening and discipline. And how that has marked the race ever since! Yet God has blessed and will bless.

They show us, to the life, the humbling history of the man who fathered a people God chose to be His own possession on the earth, despite these petty ways. They also let us into the secret of that grace in God which rose above all that was detestable beyond measure to His nature in light and love. That grace even looked on to Him who was to come from this very family — the Christ who is over all, God blessed forever.

Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before Him. Yet God alone has the right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to His purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

Marriage was set up at the start to give a man one companion only. Plural marriages appear never to have worked well in practice. Look at the humiliating discord in Abraham's family over the servant Hagar, and in Jacob's family, the bitter jealousies between the two sisters, Rachel and Leah.

Scripture draws no veil over their shameful unbelief and mean jealousy. It makes no excuse for their superstitious trust in the power of love-apples, just like other Syrian women who gave themselves only to the empty things of the pagan nations. Rachel clearly gained nothing by what the boy Reuben found. But God pitied Leah, who longed to share her husband's affection, and she bore him a fifth son and a sixth, and a daughter as well.

As soon as Reuben brings her mandrakes, she sees the possibility of having another son. Rachel tried to get some for the same reason, but Leah answered her sharply (v. 15). She knew what Rachel was after. So neither of them was content: the struggle continues.

We are like a child in a nursery who pouts and frets because the other child has an apple a size larger than his own. And the child holding the big apple was the naughty one! Oh, what mischief can envy work in the heart of a believer! And what misery too it can produce, and what sin!

Mandrakes were clearly a cherished delicacy, and Jacob let himself be persuaded to share his bed with Leah that night. His natural appetite leads him, and Leah bears another son, Issachar, meaning "he will be hired." Then she has a sixth son of her own, named Zebulun, which means "dwelling." These six are all the sons Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends but always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week.

But how strangely low Leah's state was in seeing Issachar as her wages from God, because she had given her servant to Jacob! And in naming Zebulun she was clinging to the hope that her husband's love would now last.

They show us, true to life, the humbling history of the ancestor of a people God chose to be His own possession on the earth, despite these petty ways. They also let us into the secret of God's grace. That grace rose above everything His nature of light and love found beyond measure detestable. It even looked ahead to the One who would come from this very family — the Christ who is over all, God blessed for ever, as truly God as His Father.

Dudaim: a strong-smelling plant found in the fields of Palestine. Writers have suggested many different herbs. It may be the Mandragora officinarum, called the 'love apple,' a relative of the 'apple of Sodom.' The Atropa mandragora is another species. Gen. 30:14-16; Song 7:13.

Nothing covers up their sad unbelief and petty jealousy, and nothing excuses their superstitious trust in the power of love-apples. In this they were just like other Syrian women, who lived only for the empty things the nations around them valued. Rachel clearly gained nothing by the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who wanted to share her husband's affection, and she bore him a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter. Yet how strangely low Leah's state was: she counted Issachar her wages from God because she had given her servant to Jacob, and she named Zebulun out of her fond hope that her husband's love would last.

Mandrakes were clearly a prized delicacy, and Jacob agreed to share Leah's bed that night. His natural appetite leads him, and Leah bears another son, Issachar, meaning "he will be hired." Then she has a sixth son of her own, named Zebulun, which means "dwelling." These six are all the sons that Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends and still come short, for seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week.

Marriage was set up at the start to give a man one companion only. Marriage to more than one wife never seems to have worked well in practice. Look at the shameful discord in Abraham's family over Hagar, the lesser wife, and in Jacob's family, the bitter jealousies between the two sisters, Rachel and Leah.

Leah is not satisfied with this. For as soon as Reuben brings her mandrakes she sees the possibility of having another son. Rachel tried to get some for the same reason, but Leah answered her sharply (v.15). Leah knew what Rachel was after. So neither of them was really content: the struggle goes on.

How terribly everything has sunk in moral terms from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. This is no longer natural barrenness, with God stepping in by promise and power. Instead — oh, what a scene of selfishness, jealousy and scheming! Only one spot of green is in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard. All the rest is misery and mere flesh, only fair correction and discipline from God. And how that has marked the race ever since! Yet God has blessed and will bless.

Nothing hides their sad unbelief and mean jealousy. Nothing excuses their superstitious trust in the power of love-apples. They were just like other Syrian women, given over to the empty practices of the nations. Rachel gained nothing from the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who was seeking to share her husband's affection, and she bore him now a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter.

How far everything has sunk morally from Abraham's day, and even Isaac's! What a scene of selfishness, jealousies, and craft. So Rachel here, even in her special circumstances, has no thought of the LORD's ways; it is "God has judged me," and so it goes all through, until her heart is softened by grace; then she says, in faith, "The LORD will add."

Mandrakes must have been a cherished delicacy, and Jacob let himself be persuaded to share his bed with Leah that night. His natural appetite leads him. Leah bears another son, Issachar, which means "he will be hired." Then Leah has a sixth son of her own, named Zebulon, which means "dwelling." These six are all the sons that Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends and always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week.

How strangely low Leah's state is! She counts Issachar as her hire from God because she gave her servant to Jacob.

Every wrong has its effect among men, and its judgment before Himself. But it belongs to God alone to make all things work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn over.

In Issachar we find Israel content to be the drudge of the nations. Israel would not bear God's yoke, yet took the yoke of men without a struggle. Here too the name is dwelt on: "there is reward." Ease and gain are all that Israel looks for.

The prince of Issachar is Nethanel, whose name means "the gift of God." It suits a man whose own name speaks of hire, who bends his shoulder to foreign yokes and pays his tribute out of love of ease. God may hire a Nebuchadnezzar. But the bread in our Father's house is not for hired servants, even though in the far country one might think so. The hireling spirit in God's own people would turn His grace into legal payment. A true overcomer is this Nethanel, who has learned that the "gift of God" cannot be bought. The family line says the same thing simply: Nethanel is the son of Zuar, which means "Little." The one who thinks of hire is bound to value himself too highly. The one who counts himself really "little" is ready to value the gift of God.

Mandrakes were clearly a cherished delicacy, and Jacob was persuaded to share his bed with Leah that night. His natural appetite leads him, and Leah bears another son, Issachar, meaning "he will be hired." A sixth son follows for Leah herself, Zebulun, which means "dwelling." These six are all the sons that Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends, but always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week.

Rachel clearly gained nothing by the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who wanted a share in her husband's affection, and she bore him a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter. Yet how strangely low Leah's state was, in treating Issachar as her hire from God because she gave her servant to Jacob.

These records show us, true to life, the humbling history of the ancestor of a people. God chose that people to be His own possession on the earth, despite these petty ways. They also let us into the secret of God's grace. That grace rose above everything His nature, in light and love, found detestable beyond measure. It even looked on to Him who was to come from this very family.

The spirit of legality takes up such strange service willingly, since it is self that it really serves, and a bribe will turn it from its true Master. The hireling spirit in the people of God themselves would turn His grace into legal payment... The one who thinks of hire always values himself too highly. The one who counts himself as really "little" is ready to appreciate the gift of God.

Issachar means "there is reward." Believers at the judgment seat of Christ will receive reward for what they have done for the Lord (2 Cor. 5:10), so this tribe appears to stress what our outward works should be, not just our inward character. Again, its borders are not clearly marked, as though showing that we should not limit our good works. We are to do them for all people, especially those of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). The east border, however, was the Jordan River. It reminds us that death will end any chance to earn reward for good work done.

When Jacob blessed his sons he said, "Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds... he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labour" (Gen. 49:14-15). This seems to imply that this tribe, with Zebulun, would mix with the world and become slaves to it for profit... Some of Issachar came to David at Ziklag, of whom it is said they "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (1 Chr. 12:32).

Now we go on to Zebulun, whose meaning is plain from his name and from the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulun (dwelling), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought connected with Zebulun is dwelling in the relationship God has given us to Himself. This is the only true thought of consecration.

Dowry: the sum paid by a man to the relatives of the woman who becomes his wife. Leah, on having her sixth son, piously said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry."

It is clear that Rachel gained nothing from the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who wanted a share in her husband's affection, and she bore him now a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter. But how strangely low Leah's state was! She treated Issachar as her wages from God, because she had given her servant to Jacob. And she named Zebulun out of her fond hope that her husband's love would last.

Then a sixth son is added for Leah herself, named Zebulun, which means "dwelling." These six are all the sons that Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends, but always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week. So Leah, speaking of what I am, can only produce what falls short of any real satisfaction.

Genesis 30:1-21 tells the rather sordid story of Jacob's children. Both Rachel and Leah schemed to gain sons and so secure themselves in his favour. Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, whom Leah and Rachel named. The servant women did not name their own sons.

The name means a "dwelling with," a close dwelling, as Leah's use of it shows. But Jacob here uses another word, and in this place it clearly has a bad sense. Its first meaning is "to lay oneself down." Zebulun does this at the haven of the sea — the harbour for ships — and his border reaches toward Zidon. The idea of prosperity, or at least of hard work to get it, is plain. Yet for Israel this trade with the idol-worshipping nations was not a good sign, and its results were not good. Her border reaching out toward Zidon foretells a dangerous wiping out of what divided Israel from the nations. Coming where it does, this also clearly hints at how the people, having turned from the Deliverer God sent them, would turn to the world.

Galilee, called "the land of Zebulun and Naphtali" on one side and "Galilee of the Gentiles" on the other, showed plainly how far the people of God had sunk. Zebulun, the dweller in relationship as he should have been, had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy. By "dwelling at the haven of the sea" he had become the picture of Israel as a whole, giving up its dwelling alone to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations… But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.

The sum paid by a man to the relatives of the woman who becomes his wife. Leah, when she had her sixth son, said devoutly, "God has endowed me with a good dowry." The dowry Jacob gave for his wives was seven years' service for each.

Now we go on to Zebulon, whose meaning is plain from his name and from the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulon (dwelling), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought tied to Zebulon is dwelling in the relationship God has given us to Himself. That is the only true idea of consecration.

Nothing covers over their sad unbelief and petty jealousy. Nothing excuses their superstitious trust in the power of love-apples, just like other Syrian women who lived for the empty things of the nations around them. Rachel clearly gained nothing from the child Reuben's find. But God pitied Leah, who longed for a share in her husband's affection, and she bore him a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter. Yet how strangely low Leah's condition is! She treats Issachar as her wages from God because she gave her servant to Jacob. And she names Zebulun out of her fond hope that her husband's love would now last.

These six are all the sons Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends and always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week. So Leah, speaking of what I am, can only produce what falls short of any real satisfaction.

Genesis 30:1-21 tells the rather sordid story of Jacob's children. It tells of the schemes of both Rachel and Leah, as they tried to gain sons and so secure a place in his favour. Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, and Leah and Rachel named them.

Zebulon should have been the dweller in relationship with God. Instead he had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy, and "dwelling at the haven of the sea" had become the picture of Israel as a whole. Israel gave up its solitary dwelling to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations. Now it was only "the way of the sea," as if swallowed up in its waters. Naphtali, the wrestler, sat wrestling no longer, in a darkness that was truly the "shadow of death." But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to rise. And now there had come to Zebulon a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.

Daughter of Jacob and Leah. Shechem, son of the chieftain Hamor, defiled her. That led to the massacre of the people of Shechem through the craftiness and cruelty of Simeon and Levi. Gen. 30:21; Gen. 34:1-26; Gen. 46:15.

The names Rachel gave the sons of Bilhah expressed the state of her soul, and her attitude toward her sister. Dan and Naphtali do not tell us of grace, but of satisfaction at gaining points in the strife on her own part.

It is clear that Rachel gained nothing from the child Reuben's discovery. But God pitied Leah, who longed to share her husband's affection. She bore him now a fifth son and a sixth, besides a daughter. Yet how strangely low Leah's state was! She treated Issachar as her wages from God because she had given her servant to Jacob. She named Zebulun out of her fond hope that her husband's love would now last. Nor did the daughter's name show any higher view; it was close to Dan's.

These six are all the sons that Leah herself bore. This pictures how people can struggle hard to reach their own ends and always come short. Seven is the number of completeness, while six is the number of man's working week. So Leah, who speaks of what I am, can only produce what falls short of any real satisfaction. She did then bear a daughter whom she named Dinah (v. 21).

Genesis 30:1-21 tells the sordid story of Jacob's children. Both Rachel and Leah schemed to gain sons and so secure themselves in his favour. Here we have the origins of the tribes in these sons, whom Leah and Rachel named.

Every wrong has its effect among men and its judgment before God Himself. But it is God's own right to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, the called according to purpose. He at least is good and does good, whatever man has to mourn.

Jacob seems to have grown tired of the pilgrim path and gave in to the temptation to settle down and build a home. And what came of it? His daughter Dinah goes out to see the daughters of the land. Her father had settled down in the world instead of passing through it as a heavenly pilgrim. What could be more natural than that his daughter should want to be friends with the world? We all know the sad, shameful result. Who would have guessed that trading a tent for a house could bear such bitter fruit? Yet so it is. In our day too, the friendship of the world is still enmity with God. If we settle down in this world and lose the spirit of a pilgrim, we can hardly blame our children if they seek the friendship of those among whom we have made our home.

When we reach verse 22, we find God begins to act. We leave behind us the scheming of the two wives, though it is still Rachel who gives the name of Joseph. Yet here is a son born as the fruit of God acting in answer to Rachel's prayers, and the story rises to a higher level.

Self was at work in her. It blinded her to the fact that her sister did not have Jacob's heart, which she alone had. It was envy — that low feeling that cannot bear another, even a sister, having what she had not... How different from Hannah! She was sorrowful under Peninnah's taunts, and even under the high priest's misjudgment. She made no improper complaints against her husband. She wept and prayed and made a vow to the Lord, and the God of Israel heard her.

Rachel at last, as we read here, refreshes the heart, for here we see the thoughtful tenderness of God's ways. After her long humiliation for her unworthy self-seeking, He was pleased to pity her and give her the son she had longed for. Then she said, God has taken away my reproach. Despite her proud bearing, she knew she was under chastening.

How far everything has sunk morally from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's! This is not barrenness of the body, with God stepping in with promise and power. Instead, what a scene of selfishness, jealousies and craft! There is only one green spot in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard... So Rachel here, even in her special situation, has no thought of the Lord's ways. It is "God has judged me," and so on all through, until her heart is softened by grace. Then she says, in faith, "The Lord will add." Joseph is the promise of Benjamin.

At last God answered Rachel's prayer, and she gave birth to Joseph (vv. 22-24). His name means "adding," because she had confidence that God would add to her another son. Joseph is plainly a type of Christ... Yet Joseph gives us only one side of the truth about Christ — that He was a Sufferer before being exalted. We must all learn this first. Only then can we appreciate the truth seen in Benjamin. He is a type of Christ as the Son of the Father's right hand, glorified and exalted to the throne, reigning in glory.

Jacob loved Rachel first. Yet he still had to wait and serve another week for her, after Leah had been given to him. This bears on the Lord's relation to Israel, loved first, while the slighted Gentile has meanwhile taken her place, with rich results in His grace. God at last remembers Rachel and takes away her reproach by adding to her a son, Joseph. He is a type of One glorified among the Gentiles, who delivers His Jewish brothers after suffering among both Jews and Gentiles.

The birth of Joseph was a turning point for the spirit of his mother. It did more than that. Jacob then woke up to his proper place and to his country, tied to the promises of God... The needed discipline was not over: Jacob still had more to learn about himself under God's good dealings.

Rachel at last, as we read here, becomes a refreshment to the heart, through the thoughtful tenderness of God's ways. After her long humiliation because of her unworthy self-seeking, He was glad to pity her and give her the son she had wanted so much. Then she said, God has taken away my reproach. Despite her proud manner, she knew she was under chastening.

She shared her reproach with many a woman whom God raised up to be a channel of blessing to His people. She is barren. Like Sarah, like Hannah, like Rebekah, there is nothing of nature's energy and nothing of nature's strength in her at all. Perfectly desolate, perfectly helpless. Her own deep sense of this may well have stirred her soul and prepared her for God to make His will known to her. We see the same in Hannah: she was so concerned before God about her need that He could meet it and answer the request of her soul.

How badly everything has sunk morally from Abraham's time, and even Isaac's. What a scene of selfishness, jealousy and craft! Only one green spot is in it — Rachel, the barren one, is heard. All the rest is misery and flesh, only just chastisement and discipline from God.

It is Jehovah in Genesis 29 and God in Genesis 30:2-23, yet in the next verse (24) Rachel says not God, but Jehovah; and it is the same in verses 27 and 30. The notion of different writers is mere fancy, explains nothing, and blocks all proper enquiry into the divine motive for the change of name.

In sovereign power God remembered Rachel. She not only confesses that the God of creation had taken away her reproach, but calls her son Joseph, saying that Jehovah will add to her another son. Rachel rose from the thought of His power to the recognition of His ways with His own.

Rachel shows the way of faith on this same occasion. She calls her son "Joseph", that is, "adding". She was certain that the Lord, who had now begun His mercies towards her, would go on with them and complete them. Faith in our hearts and on our lips speaks in the same spirit today: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" From His gifts Rachel drew a plea to ask Him for still more. With bolder, happier faith she also drew a conclusion: she could trust Him for still more.

Jacob loved Rachel first, yet he had to wait for her and serve another week after Leah was given to him. This surely bears on the Lord's relation to Israel, loved first, while meanwhile the slighted Gentile has been put in her place, with rich results in His grace. God at last remembers Rachel. He takes away her reproach by adding a son to her, Joseph — a picture of One glorified among the Gentiles, who delivers His Jewish brothers after suffering among both Jews and Gentiles.

Rachel at last, as we read here, gives the heart something refreshing: the considerate tenderness of God's ways. After her long humiliation because of her unworthy self-seeking, He was pleased to pity her and give her the son she had longed for. Then she said, God has taken away my reproach. Despite her proud bearing, she knew she was under chastisement. The name she gave her firstborn is striking, for Joseph means He will add. As she said, Jehovah will add to me another. Her faith saw in Joseph the promise of Benjamin. Never before had she reached this level of expectation.

Rachel here, even in her special circumstances, has no thought of Jehovah's ways. It is "Elohim has judged me," and so all through, until grace softens her heart. Then she says, in faith, "Jehovah will add." Joseph is the promise of Benjamin.

The way of faith shows in Rachel on this same occasion. She calls her son "Joseph," that is, "adding." She was sure that the Lord, who had now begun His mercies towards her, would go on with them and complete them. So faith now in our hearts and on our lips says, in the same spirit, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" From His gifts, Rachel not only drew a reason to ask Him for still more, but in bolder, happier faith drew the conclusion to trust Him for still more.

Joseph is plainly a type of Christ… Yet Joseph gives us only one side of the truth about Christ — that He was a Sufferer before being exalted. This is most important for us all to learn first. Only then are we in any condition to appreciate the truth seen in Benjamin. He is a type of Christ as the Son of the Father's right hand, glorified and exalted to the throne, reigning in glory.

He adds to heaven's inhabitants. He says, in John 12:24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." He refers here to His death. "Much fruit" is the result. And it is all to be gathered at last into the heavenly barn.

He who remembered the barren woman and gave her a son will also remember, in that day, the faith that counted on Jehovah's boundless power and goodwill. That faith said, "The Lord shall add to me another son."

How little she knew that Benjamin — son of his father's right hand — would be Benoni, son of his mother's sorrow; for his birth would prove her death. How much better to trust unfailing love and wisdom than to set the heart on any object here below!

As soon as Jacob receives Joseph, the child of promise, the son of his beloved Rachel, he speaks of leaving Padan, the place of his exile and bondage. See Gen. 30:25-26. Simple as this seems, it has character in it. The condition of an alien and servant did not suit him once he had the seed that showed him the power of God on his behalf. He may have felt, almost by instinct, that it was now right for him to assert his freedom and to think of his home and his inheritance.

In verse 25, we find that the birth of Joseph helped to lift Jacob himself to a higher level. As a result, his mind turned to the land that was his according to God's purpose, and he wanted to go back there. We may take it as a rule, true in every age, that the divine purpose becomes all-important to the believer who enters into communion with God. Jacob realized afresh that there was a country he could call "my own place."

Rachel shows the way of faith on the same occasion. She calls her son "Joseph," that is, "adding." She was sure that the Lord, who had now begun His mercies towards her, would go on with them and complete them. In the same spirit, faith in our hearts and on our lips says today, "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" From His gifts Rachel drew more than a plea to ask Him for still more. In bolder, happier faith she drew the conclusion that she could trust Him for still more.

The needed discipline was not ended: Jacob had yet to learn more of himself under the good dealings of God. His life still bore a sadly mixed crop. But from here we see his heart turn toward the land. He had long been an exile from it, through his mother's schemes and his own.

As soon as the purpose or hand of the Lord gives him his dismissal, he leaves. He leaves even though Laban's contract and God's blessing were making it profitable for him to stay. He leaves even though he might well judge that Esau's hatred waited for him if he dared to return. But so it was. With loss behind him and danger before him, he leaves. Indeed, such had been his purpose all along, from beginning to end.

It is fitting that when Joseph is born, Jacob's thoughts turn toward his proper home in Canaan (v. 25). When the person of Christ dawns on the believer's vision, he begins to realize that he should be in God's place for him. However, when Jacob tells Laban that he means to leave, Laban does not want to lose the service of his son-in-law... If Jacob had insisted on leaving then, he and Laban would have parted on better terms than they did later.

He is the victim of deception. He finds that others besides himself can drive hard bargains. Yet despite all this, a clear faith holds the man to the promises of God. Even his prosperity does not make him lose sight of them. And when Joseph is born — a picture of Christ in a marked and distinct way, as we shall soon see — a longing takes hold of Jacob. He wants to be back in the land of promise, where God will give the blessings of His covenant, and where God Himself had promised to give him his inheritance.

As soon as Joseph is given to him — the child of promise, the son of his beloved Rachel — Jacob speaks of leaving Padan, the place of his exile and slavery. Simple as this looks, there is character in it. Life as a foreigner and a servant no longer suited him, once he had the son who showed him God's power working for him. He may have felt, almost by instinct, that it was now right for him to claim his freedom, and to turn his thoughts to his home and his inheritance.

The birth of Joseph helped to lift Jacob to a higher level. As a result, his mind turned to the land that was his by God's purpose, and he wanted to go back there. We may take it as a given, true in every age, that when a believer comes into communion with God, God's purpose becomes the most important thing to him. Jacob realized afresh that there was a country he could call "my own place."

As the prophet Hosea puts it, Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. He became an exile from the land of promise, cheated in a foreign land by his own relatives. That was the sad repayment for his own crooked ways. He had schemed to get what the Lord had already given him, and what the Lord would have secured for him in His own holy way of faithfulness and truth.

He silently accepts the wrongs of a master who treated him badly. He serves with patience, and suffers without complaint… While he was in the house of the Syrian, Jacob knew that he was under the mighty hand of God for correction, and he behaved that way. He did not defend himself when people blamed him. He did not fight for his rights when he was wronged and treated unjustly.

Fittingly, when Joseph is born, Jacob's thoughts turn toward his proper home in Canaan. When the person of Christ dawns on a believer's sight, he begins to realize that he should be in the place God has for him. But when Jacob tells Laban that he means to leave, Laban does not want to lose his son-in-law's service… If Jacob had insisted on leaving then, he and Laban would have parted on better terms than they did later. But Jacob agreed to stay on terms that he himself suggested.

The word is connected with nachash, a "serpent." It is usually explained to mean a "hisser," or "whisperer," and then "a mutterer of enchantments." But the use of the verb seems to point another way. In Genesis 30, Laban begs Jacob to stay with him. "For," he says, "I divine [or, more exactly, perceive by observation] that the Lord has blessed me for your sake."… So the verb seems to have been used first of drawing a conclusion from quick observation, and later of divining.

Laban delayed Jacob, as it turned out, for six years. He was a shrewd man, and he recognised that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wanted to keep that blessing, and he was willing to let Jacob set his own wages. So there followed another battle of wits, and this time Jacob, not Laban, gained the advantage.

Both Jacob and Laban recognised that the Lord had done this. Since that time God has blessed many Gentile nations through the presence of Israelites among them, after Israel was scattered among the nations.

So Joseph became a source of blessing in the house of the Gentile: "From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake"… The Christian is not only called to blessing but, as he goes on his way, to be a blessing.

The bargain-making Jacob meets the bargain-making Laban, and both strain every nerve to outwit each other. We cannot wonder at Laban, for he had never been at Bethel. He had seen no open heaven… he had heard no magnificent promises from the lips of the Lord. No wonder, then, that he showed a grasping, grovelling spirit; he had no other resource. It is useless to expect anything from worldly men but a worldly spirit… But it is especially humbling to find Jacob, after all he had seen and heard at Bethel, struggling with a man of the world and trying by such means to pile up property.

Of course it is right for a man to provide for his own house. Yet at the time Jacob was more concerned for his own house than for the house of God. Most of us put our own house first. Years passed before God told Jacob to return to Bethel ("the house of God"), where he had made his vow.

"Give," as it is sometimes used in Scripture, means to award: compare Genesis 30:28; Exodus 2:9.

Laban was a shrewd man and recognized that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wished to retain that blessing, and was prepared to allow Jacob to settle his own wages. As a result there followed a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob and not Laban gained the advantage.

Laban was a thorough man of the world when Jacob entered his house, and he was the same when Jacob left it. In all his dealings, from first to last, he had his eye on his own advantage. He has to admit that the hand of God was with Jacob. But he would use that hand, through Jacob, to serve himself, and turn Jacob's interest in God to his own account. For twenty years he saw the hand of the Lord, and the working of His grace and power, in his own house, and that every day. Yet he remained a man of the world still.

If Jacob had insisted on leaving then, he and Laban would have parted on less unpleasant terms than they did later. But Jacob agreed to stay on terms that he himself suggested.

It is remarkable to see how he gets back into an atmosphere so entirely suited to his moral make-up. The bargain-making Jacob meets the bargain-making Laban, and both strain every nerve to outwit each other. Nor can we wonder at Laban, for he had never been at Bethel: he had seen no open heaven, with a ladder reaching from there to earth; he had heard no magnificent promises from the lips of the Lord... It is useless to expect from worldly men anything but a worldly spirit, and worldly principles and ways... But Jacob had seen and heard all this at Bethel. To find him struggling with a man of the world, and trying by such means to build up property, is especially humbling.

Laban's greedy wish to profit by Jacob's strange bargain ended in making the self-occupied master poor, and the long-defrauded servant richer and richer. Laban shows no regret for the advantage he had taken of his nephew, and not the least caring affection for his daughters or their children. It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go in its way, to repay the evil-doer and recompense the sufferer.

For his two wives he served fourteen years, but only six years for the cattle. And he was not in the place where God would have him. See the contrast with the Bridegroom who longs deeply for the bride, yet is content to be cut off and have nothing! — refusing to serve the world for hire — content to be a stranger to His brothers... loving the wages of righteousness, having a right to all, yet taking none, so that He might receive all in resurrection.

He first pointed to what Laban had already admitted. Jacob had served him faithfully. Laban had little when Jacob came, yet his flock of sheep grew greatly (v. 39). Both men recognized that the Lord had done this. Since that time God has blessed many non-Jewish nations through the presence of Israelites among them, after Israel was scattered among the nations.

When Joseph is born, Jacob's thoughts turn toward his proper home in Canaan (v. 25). When Christ becomes real to a believer's sight, he begins to realize that he should be in the place God has for him. But when Jacob tells Laban he means to leave, Laban does not want to lose his son-in-law's service. He says he has learned from experience that the Lord has blessed him through Jacob's presence, and he does not want to lose this (v. 27). If Jacob had insisted on leaving then, he and Laban would have parted on better terms than they did later (Gen. 31:25-55). But Jacob agreed to stay on terms that he himself suggested.

Laban, however, pushed into the matter, and in the end his thoughts won out. He held Jacob back, as it turned out, for six years. Laban was a shrewd man and recognized that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wished to keep that blessing, and was prepared to let Jacob settle his own wages. As a result there followed a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob and not Laban gained the advantage.

Jacob was a man of faith, but he failed in spirituality. So he comes under the Lord's discipline, to bear more fruit and better fruit. As he had cheated at home, he suffered abroad, and most of all at the hands of his mother's brother. His patience under Laban's hardhearted wrongs testifies that he bowed to God. He could now bear to be lifted up by slow degrees. And the story of divine retribution recorded here is the turning-point.

As the married life of Isaac and Rebekah was very different from that of Jacob with his wives and their maids, so the way Abram behaved toward Lot stands in sharp contrast with the way Jacob and Laban behaved. We are now in a far more cloudy atmosphere, though in the main Jacob was a faithful servant, and Laban deceitful and selfish. But God is not mocked, even in the day when evil is allowed to work its dark way until judgment returns to righteousness.

For his two wives he served twice seven years, but only six years for the cattle. And with all this he was not in the place where God would have him. See the contrast with the Bridegroom! He longed greatly for the bride, yet was content to be cut off and have nothing. He refused to serve the world for hire. He was content to be a stranger to His brothers, a foreigner to His mother's children. He served His Father in the appointed place, and truly profited the world. He became obedient to death. He loved the wages of righteousness, having a right to all, yet taking none, so that He might receive all in resurrection.

He first stressed what Laban had already admitted. Jacob had served him faithfully, so that though Laban had little when Jacob came, his flock of sheep grew greatly (v. 39). Both of them recognised that the Lord had done this. Since then God has blessed many nations outside Israel through the Israelites living among them, after Israel was scattered among the nations.

Laban, however, broke into the question, and in the end his thoughts won out. He delayed Jacob, as it turned out, for six years. Laban was a shrewd man, and he saw that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wanted to keep that blessing, and he was willing to let Jacob set his own wages. As a result there followed a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob, not Laban, gained the advantage.

Then Jacob asks, "When shall I provide for my own household also?" Certainly it is right for a man to provide for his own house. Yet Jacob was at the time more concerned for his own house than he was for the house of God. Most of us put our own house first. Some years passed before God told Jacob to return to Bethel ("the house of God"), where he had made his vow (Gen. 31:13).

The title "the God of Bethel" is of very real importance, for it means "God of the house of God." Jacob had been concerned about his own house (Gen. 30:30), allowing the claims of God's house to wait. But the growth of Jacob's house had not brought peace and happiness into all his relationships. It was time for him to learn that true contentment is found only in connection with God's house, where God's interests come first.

He could well believe that the Lord would bless others, but as for his own house, he himself must provide for that. Through it all, and in spite of it all, the unseen God heard the desire of Jacob's heart and gave him his fill. Yet in his own thought he had done it all, with God little known or acknowledged.

When the words of Laban's sons and the looks of Laban himself showed their discontent, the Lord told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. God's providence paid Jacob in some five or six years what Laban had cheated him out of over twenty. They really wanted to get rid of Jacob, but shrank from saying so. After all, what was Laban's property before Jacob appeared on the scene?

Jacob did the hard work of caring for Laban's flocks for twenty years. Laban had sons who could have helped with this work, but it seems they left the work to the one man who could do it well. Were Laban and his sons all sharing the benefits of Jacob's work without having to work themselves? It seemed this was the case. Employers often think they have the right to take every benefit that labour produces, because they put up the original money. But God takes account of the guilt of employers who oppress their workers (James 5:4).

Laban, however, broke into the question, and in the end his thoughts won. He delayed Jacob, as it turned out, for six years. Laban was a shrewd man and recognized that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wished to keep that blessing, and was prepared to let Jacob settle his own wages. As a result there followed a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob and not Laban gained the advantage.

Jacob suggested wages that seemed very low. He asked for only the speckled and spotted sheep and goats and the black lambs. The normally coloured sheep and goats would therefore all belong to Laban. Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain. In this there is no doubt that Jacob wanted to show he was depending on God to give him what He wanted Jacob to have. The element of faith in God was certainly there. We know that God answered such faith. Yet we see later that his faith was weak. He resorted to human trickery in trying to make the sheep produce as he wished.

God did step in graciously for His injured servant. Even so, we could not imagine either his father or his grandfather using the kind of scheme Jacob used to get the fruit of his long and patient service, which was owed to him. Yet God stooped to use what, without His power, would have been, if not useless, then very limited.

The closing verses of this chapter reveal the device he used. It increased his flocks at Laban's expense. We notice how true he still is to his name — meaning Supplanter.

Using counter-tricks to reverse the situation is quite the way of the world, but it is not according to God. If Jacob had rested with confidence in God, and not used the devices described in this chapter, the end God purposed would still have been reached, and his righteousness would have answered for him in a much more convincing way.

Jacob was a man of faith, but he failed in spirituality. So he comes under the Lord's discipline, to make him bear more fruit and better fruit. As he had cheated at home, he suffered abroad, and most of all at the hands of his mother's brother. His patience under Laban's hardhearted wrongs shows that he bowed to God. He could now bear to be lifted up by slow degrees. And the story of divine retribution recorded here is the turning point.

Laban greedily hoped to profit by Jacob's strange bargain. Instead it left the self-absorbed master poor, and gave the long-cheated servant new and growing wealth.

See the contrast with the Bridegroom longing greatly for the bride, yet content to be cut off and have nothing! — refusing to serve the world for hire — content to be a stranger to His brothers, a foreigner to His mother's children. He served His Father in the appointed place. He truly benefited the world. He became obedient to death. He loved the wages of righteousness. He had a right to everything, yet took nothing, so that He might receive all in resurrection.

The servant is willing to take the speckled and spotted of the flock as his pay. Christ is willing to accept what the world despises.

Laban, however, pushed into the question, and in the end his thoughts won. He delayed Jacob, as it turned out, for six years. Laban was a shrewd man and recognised that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wished to keep that blessing, and was prepared to let Jacob set his own wages. As a result there followed a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob and not Laban gained the advantage.

Jacob suggested wages that seemed to be very low, asking for only the speckled and spotted sheep and goats and the black lambs. The normally coloured sheep and goats would therefore all belong to Laban. Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain (vv. 32-34). There is no doubt that Jacob wanted to show he was depending on God to give him what He wanted him to have. Faith in God was certainly there. We know that God answered such faith. Yet we see later that his faith was weak when he turned to human tricks in trying to make the sheep produce as he wanted (vv. 37-42).

Jacob cannot allow God to settle the question as to his wives and his wages, but tries to settle everything by his own cunning and management. In short, it is "the supplanter" throughout. Turn, for example, to Gen. 30:37-42, and say where you can find a more skilful piece of cunning. It is a perfect picture of Jacob.

Laban's greedy desire to profit by Jacob's strange bargain ended up impoverishing the self-occupied master. Meanwhile the long-defrauded servant gained new and growing wealth. Laban shows no regret for the advantage he had taken of his nephew. He shows not the least caring affection for his daughters or their children either. It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go in its way, to repay the evil-doer and to make up to the sufferer.

The servant is willing to take the speckled and spotted of the flock for his hire — Christ is willing to accept what the world despises.

See the contrast with the Bridegroom! He longed deeply for the bride, yet He was content to be cut off and have nothing. He refused to serve the world for hire. He was content to be a stranger to His brothers, a foreigner to His mother's children. He served His Father in the appointed place, and so truly profited the world. He became obedient to death. He loved the wages of righteousness. He had a right to all, yet He took none, so that He might receive all in resurrection.

Jacob asked for wages that looked very low: only the speckled and spotted sheep and goats, and the black lambs. All the normally coloured sheep and goats would then belong to Laban. That share was small indeed, and Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain. There is no doubt that Jacob wanted to show he was depending on God to give him what He wanted Jacob to have. Faith in God was surely there, and we know God answered such faith. Yet we see later that his faith was weak, for he used human tricks to try to make the sheep breed as he wished.

About this matter Jacob had said to Laban, "So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come." That seems to show he had a rather low idea of what is right in the sight of God. Laban had clearly taken advantage of him in the past. But to use counter-tricks to turn the tables is the way of the world, not the way of God.

In their last agreement Jacob made an offer that, if Laban accepted it, his craft would make far more profitable than any wages Laban would give. It was one of his meanest schemes. But notice his lack of conscience: "So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come." Laban is completely fooled. He jumps at the offer, but soon finds out his mistake.

We are now allowed to see how God stepped in and made the agreement about the spotted and speckled cattle work in Jacob's favour. In the light of this, our thought would be this. If he had rested with confidence in God, and not used the tricks described in the last chapter, God would still have reached the end He purposed. And his "righteousness" would have answered for him far more convincingly.

In some five or six years God's providence paid Jacob the wages Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years. Laban and his sons wanted to be rid of Jacob, but would not say so. After all, what did Laban own before Jacob came on the scene?

The servant is willing to take the speckled and spotted of the flock as his wages. So Christ is willing to accept what the world despises. But it becomes known that these animals grow strong and many by looking at the partly peeled rod — which may mean the word with its inner meaning partly opened. Then Laban's greed and hostility flare up. In the end he loses the man through whom he had received great wealth, and loses his wealth with him.

Jacob suggested wages that seemed to be very low, asking for only the speckled and spotted sheep and goats and the black lambs. The normally coloured sheep and goats would therefore all belong to Laban. Such a percentage for Jacob would seem to be low indeed, and Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain.

Laban was a shrewd man and recognized that Jacob's presence with him had brought blessing. He wished to retain that blessing, and was prepared to allow Jacob to settle his own wages. As a result there ensued a further battle of wits, and this time Jacob and not Laban gained the advantage.

In their last agreement Jacob made a proposition which if accepted would be made by his craft far more profitable than any wages Laban would give. It was one of his meanest schemes; but mark his want of conscience: "So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come." Laban, quite deceived, eagerly embraces the proposal, but soon finds out his mistake.

Jacob had said to Laban, "So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come." This seems to show that he had a low idea of what is right in the sight of God. It was quite clear that Laban had taken advantage of him in the past. But to use counter-tricks to reverse the situation is the way of the world, not the way of God.

Laban's covetous desire to profit by Jacob's strange bargain turned to the impoverishing of the self-occupied master, and the new and growing affluence of the long defrauded servant. Neither compunction appears on Laban's part for the advantage he had taken of his nephew, nor the least considerate affection for his daughters or their children. It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go in its way, to requite the evil-doer and recompense the sufferer.

We are now permitted to see how God had intervened and caused the agreement as to the spotted and speckled cattle to work in his favour. In the light of this our reflection would be that if he had rested with confidence in God, and not used the devices related in the last chapter, the end God purposed would have been reached, and his "righteousness" would have answered for him in a much more convincing way.

Whatever the gracious intervention of God for His injured servant, we could not conceive either his father or his grandfather adopting such an expedient as Jacob employed to acquire the fruit of his long and patient service that was due. Yet God condescended to use what without His power had been, if not in vain, but very partial.

It is in tracing out Jacob's real character, stage by stage of his remarkable history, that one gets a wonderful view of divine grace. Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes man up as he is, and deals with him in full knowledge of what he is. Nothing matters more than to grasp this about grace at the very start. It lets us face, with a steady heart, the later discoveries of how vile we are — discoveries that so often shake the confidence and disturb the peace of God's children.

All the special class of sheep he left with his sons. Then he himself took all Laban's sheep a long distance from the others, a three days' journey (v. 36). This assured Laban that his sheep would not mix with any spotted or speckled ones. Since Laban's sheep were all a normal colour, it was not likely there would be many born for Jacob to claim.

Jacob suggested wages that looked very low. He asked only for the speckled and spotted sheep and goats and the black lambs. The normally coloured sheep and goats would therefore all belong to Laban. Such a share for Jacob looked very small indeed. Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain (vv. 32-34). There is no doubt that Jacob wanted to show he was depending on God to give him what He wanted Jacob to have. Faith in God was certainly part of this.

No doubt he often had to suffer from Laban's deceit. But was this not a reminder of the deceit he had used himself? Laban deceives him about his wife, about his wages, about everything. Yet how had Jacob dealt with his father, not to mention his brother? Deceit must meet with deceit under the retributive hands of God. Do not wonder too much at the story of Jacob. Bless with all your heart the God who shows Himself caring for His servant. After Jacob had suffered a while, God let him prosper slowly but surely.

True, God was with Jacob — for nothing can stop divine grace from shining out... Still nothing can be done without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot let God settle the question of his wives and his wages. He tries to settle everything by his own cunning and management. In short, it is "the supplanter" throughout. Turn, for example, to Genesis 30:37-42, and say where you can find a more skilful piece of cunning.

Suppose he had rested with confidence in God, and had not used the tricks described in this chapter. God would still have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have spoken for him far more convincingly.

In about five or six years, God's providence paid Jacob the wages Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years... He could truly say that even if Laban showed ill-will, the God of his father was with him. And if Laban tried to cheat him, God did not let him be harmed.

Jacob did the hard work of caring for Laban's flocks for twenty years. Laban had sons who could have helped with this work... Management often thinks it has a right to every benefit that labour produces, because management put up the money at the start. But God takes account of the guilt of management in the oppression of its employees (James 5:4).

None but God could have borne with such a man, as none but God would have taken such a man up. Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes up man as he is, and deals with him in the full knowledge of what he is.

All the special class of sheep he left with his sons. Then he himself took all Laban's sheep a long distance from the others, a matter of three days' journey (v. 36). That way Laban could be sure his sheep would not mix with any spotted or speckled. Since Laban's sheep were all a normal colour, not many were likely to be born for Jacob to claim. However, being so far away, Jacob could put into operation his cunning plan to make Laban's sheep bear striped, speckled or spotted lambs. He took fresh rods from trees, peeled strips of bark off them, and put them in front of the sheep when they came to drink (v. 38).

Jacob suggested wages that seemed very low, asking only for the speckled and spotted sheep and goats and the black lambs... Laban saw himself as having the great advantage in this bargain (vv. 32-34). There is no doubt that Jacob wanted to show he was depending on God to give him what God wanted him to have. Faith in God was surely present here, and we know that God answered such faith. Yet we see later that his faith was weak. He turned to human scheming to make the sheep produce as he wanted (vv. 37-42).

Jacob was a man of faith, but he failed in spirituality. He comes under the Lord's discipline so that he might bear more and better fruit. As he had cheated at home, he suffered abroad, and most of all at the hands of his mother's brother. His patience under Laban's hardhearted wrongs shows that he bowed to God.

No doubt Laban was not aware of what Jacob was doing. Jacob wanted Laban to think he was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often this is true of us too! We persuade ourselves that we are walking by faith in God, while using our own wits to help God supply our needs.

Laban, according to Jacob's complaint, changed his wages ten times. Jacob got his own back by cunning tricks connected with the breeding of Laban's cattle, and according to the complaint of Laban's sons he had "taken away all that was our father's." So the contest went on until God stepped in again in a dream. He made known to Jacob that it was He, not Jacob's schemes, who caused the cattle to pass from Laban to him. And He called him out of the whole unpleasant business, back to Canaan.

God's providence paid Jacob in about five or six years the wages that Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years.

It was quite clear that in the past Laban had taken advantage of him. But to use counter-devices in order to reverse the situation is quite the way of the world, and it is not according to God... if he had rested with confidence in God, and had not used the devices described in the last chapter, the end God purposed would still have been reached. And his "righteousness" would have answered for him in a far more convincing way.

The word is libneh. It was probably the white poplar (Populus alba) that Jacob used: it was "green" in the sense of being fresh, moist.

The word is luz, which is now thought to refer to the "almond," and is so translated in the Revised Version. Gen. 30:37.

He took fresh rods from trees and peeled strips of bark off them. Then he put them in front of the sheep when they came to drink (v. 38). The sheep mated at this time, and the plan worked very well for Jacob. A very large number of striped, speckled or spotted lambs were born.

There is no holy, lifted-up confidence in God here, no simply looking to Him and waiting on Him. True, God was with Jacob, for nothing can stop the shining out of divine grace… Still, nothing happens without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot let God settle the question of his wives and his wages. He tries to settle it all by his own cunning and management. In short, he is "the supplanter" all through. Look at Genesis 30:37-42, and say where you can find a cleverer piece of cunning.

No doubt Laban had no idea what Jacob was doing. Jacob wanted Laban to think he was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often this is true of us too! We persuade ourselves that we are walking by faith in God, while we use our own wits to help God supply our needs.

Jacob was a man of faith, but he failed in spiritual life. So he comes under the Lord's discipline, so that he might bear more fruit, and better fruit. As he had cheated at home, he suffered abroad, and at the hands of his mother's brother most of all.

Now we are allowed to see how God stepped in and made the agreement about the spotted and speckled cattle work in Jacob's favour. In the light of this, our thought would be this. If he had rested with confidence in God, and had not used the tricks described in Genesis 30, God would still have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have spoken for him in a much more convincing way.

Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes up man as he is, and deals with him in the full intelligence of what he is. It is vitally important to understand this feature of grace right at the start. It lets us face, with a steady heart, the later discoveries of how bad we really are — discoveries that so often shake the confidence and disturb the peace of the children of God.

Because he was so far away, Jacob could carry out his cunning plan to make Laban's sheep bear striped, speckled or spotted lambs. He took fresh rods from trees and peeled strips of bark off them. Then he put them in front of the sheep when they came to drink (v. 38). At this time they mated, and the plan worked remarkably for Jacob: a very large number of striped, speckled or spotted lambs was born.

rahat, water-trough for cattle. Gen. 30:38, 41.

True, God was with Jacob — for nothing can hinder the outshining of divine grace. And Jacob in some measure acknowledges God's presence and faithfulness. Still, he can do nothing without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot let God settle the question of his wives and his wages, but tries to settle everything by his own cunning and management. In short, it is "the supplanter" throughout. Let the reader turn, for example, to Gen. 30:37-42, and ask where he could find a cleverer piece of cunning. Instead of letting God multiply the striped, speckled and spotted animals — which He certainly could have done, had He been trusted — Jacob set about securing their increase by a piece of policy that could only have come from the mind of a Jacob.

Laban surely had no idea what Jacob was doing. Jacob wanted him to think he was depending only on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often it is true with us too, that we persuade ourselves we are walking by faith in God while using our own wits to help God out in supplying our needs!

Some question whether Jacob's trickery in verses 37-39 made any real difference. But whether it did or not, there is a spiritual lesson here that should have spoken to Jacob himself. The things we let occupy our attention most will affect us and everything that comes from us. Jacob was letting his desire for gain take first place in his thoughts. This was bad for him spiritually, and it made him selfish and underhand in what he did. We can usually spot such principles in natural things, while missing what they mean in our spiritual lives.

God graciously stepped in for His injured servant. Even so, we could not imagine his father or his grandfather using such a trick as Jacob used to get the fruit of his long and patient service, which he had earned. Yet God stooped to use a means that, without His power, would have been useless, or at best only partly effective.

Divine providence paid Jacob in some five or six years the wages Laban had defrauded him of for twenty years.

It is in tracing out Jacob's real character, stage by stage of his extraordinary history, that one gets a wonderful view of divine grace. None but God could have borne with such a man, as none but God would have taken such a man up. Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes up man as he is, and deals with him in full knowledge of what he is.

Since Laban's sheep were all a normal colour, it was not likely that many would be born for Jacob to claim. But being so far away, Jacob could now put his cunning plan into action. It would make Laban's sheep bear striped, speckled or spotted lambs. He took fresh rods from trees, peeled strips of bark off them, then set them in front of the sheep when they came to drink. At this time they mated. The plan worked very well for Jacob, because a great many striped, speckled or spotted lambs were born.

If you wanted to learn what God was, you should go to Bethel; if to learn what man was, you should go to Haran. But Jacob had failed to take in God's revelation of Himself at Bethel. So he went to Haran, and there showed what he was — and oh, what scrambling and scraping, what shuffling and shifting! There is no holy and elevated confidence in God, no simply looking to Him and waiting on Him... Jacob cannot let God settle the question of his wives and his wages. He tries to settle everything by his own cunning and management.

The closing verses of this chapter reveal the device he used to increase his flocks at Laban's expense. We notice how true he still is to his name — meaning Supplanter... It was quite clear that in the past Laban had taken advantage of him. But to use counter-tricks to reverse the situation is the way of the world, not the way of God.

Jacob got his own back by cunning tricks connected with the breeding of Laban's cattle... So the contest went on until God stepped in again through a dream. He made known to Jacob that it was He, not Jacob's schemes, who caused the cattle to pass from Laban to him. And He called him out of the whole unpleasant business, back to Canaan.

This is no doubt true, but it shows us that there was no need for Jacob to resort to his deceitful actions. God would bless him apart from this.

Laban's greed made him want to profit from Jacob's strange bargain. Instead it impoverished the self-absorbed master and brought new and growing wealth to the servant he had long defrauded. ... It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go in its way, to repay the wrongdoer and make up to the sufferer.

God did step in with grace for His wronged servant. Even so, we could not imagine either his father or his grandfather using such a trick. Jacob used it to get the fruit of his long and patient service — what he had earned. Yet God stooped to use what, without His power, would have been — if not useless — at best very partial.

At last Jacob has reached the limit of his desire by deceit, trickery and fraud. Through it all, and despite it all, the unseen God has heard the desire of Jacob's heart and given him his fill. Yet in his own thinking he has done it all. God is little known or acknowledged. Jacob's hand, his planning and his fraud have gained everything; it is all his.

Some question whether Jacob's trickery in verses 37-39 made any real difference. But whether it did or not, there is a spiritual lesson here that should have spoken deeply to Jacob himself. The things we allow to occupy our attention most will affect us and everything that comes from us. Jacob was letting his desire for gain take first place in his thoughts.

Jacob separated the lambs that he could claim for his own and kept all of his own apart from the flock of Laban (v. 40). Then, when the stronger sheep of Laban were mating, he would use his peeled rods in the watering troughs. He would not do this with the weaker sheep. So he was able to secure the stronger sheep, while Laban ended up with the weaker ones (vv. 41-42). No doubt Laban was not aware of what Jacob was doing, and Jacob wanted Laban to think that Jacob was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often it is true with us too, that we persuade ourselves we are walking by faith in God while using our own wits to help God out in supplying our needs!

True, God was with Jacob — for nothing can stop the shining out of divine grace. Jacob even owns God's presence and faithfulness in a measure. Still, he can do nothing without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot allow God to settle the question of his wives and his wages, but tries to settle everything by his own cunning and management. In short, it is "the supplanter" all the way through. It is truly a perfect picture of Jacob. Instead of letting God multiply "the striped, speckled, and spotted cattle," as He certainly could have done had He been trusted, Jacob sets about multiplying them by a piece of policy that could only have come from the mind of a Jacob.

As to Jacob's character, he was most certainly a believer, and what is more, a believer who valued God's promises… But we do not find in Jacob this character of faith — confidence in God to bring about the promises. So while he values the promises, he uses fleshly means to obtain them; he counts on human policy instead of counting on God. There is blessing in the end. But God could not approve his conduct. In His governmental dealing with Jacob, God measures back to him the measure he has used; Jacob himself is continually the object of the same kind of deceit.

Here God graciously stepped in for His wronged servant. Even so, we could not imagine either his father or his grandfather using such a device as Jacob used to get the fruit of his long and patient service, which he had earned. Yet God condescended to use what, without His power, would have been — if not useless — very limited.

At last Jacob has reached the furthest limit of his desire by deceit, trickery and fraud. Through it all, and despite it all, the unseen God has heard the desire of Jacob's heart and given him his fill. Yet in his own thinking he has done it all — God little known or acknowledged. Jacob's hand, and thought, and fraud have gained it all; it is all his.

Trace out Jacob's real character, stage by stage of his extraordinary history, and you get a wonderful view of divine grace. None but God could have put up with such a man, as none but God would have taken up such a man. Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes up man as he is, and deals with him in full knowledge of what he is.

rahat, water-trough for cattle. Genesis 30:38, 41.

Jacob separated the lambs he could claim as his own and kept them apart from Laban's flock (v. 40). Then, when Laban's stronger sheep were mating, he would use his peeled rods in the watering troughs. He would not do this with the weaker sheep. So he secured the stronger sheep, and the weaker ones went to Laban (vv. 41-42).

True, God was with Jacob — for nothing can stop divine grace from shining out. Jacob also owns God's presence and faithfulness in some measure. Still, he can do nothing without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot let God settle the question of his wives and his wages. He tries to settle it all by his own cunning and management. In short, he is "the supplanter" all through. Turn to Genesis 30:37-42, and say where you can find a more skilful piece of cunning. It is truly a perfect picture of Jacob.

Some question whether Jacob's trickery in verses 37-39 made any real difference. But whether it did or not, there is a spiritual lesson here that should have spoken to Jacob himself. Whatever we allow to occupy our attention most will affect us and everything that comes from us. Jacob was letting his desire for gain take first place in his thoughts. This was bad for him spiritually, and made him selfish and underhand in his actions. But we can usually recognize such principles in natural things, while not seeing what they mean in our spiritual lives.

No doubt Laban did not know what Jacob was doing. And Jacob wanted him to think that he was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often it is true with us too, that we persuade ourselves we are walking by faith in God while using our own wits to help God out in supplying our needs!

We are now allowed to see how God had stepped in and made the agreement about the spotted and speckled cattle work in Jacob's favour. In the light of this, our thought would be this. If he had rested with confidence in God, and had not used the tricks described in the last chapter, God would still have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have spoken for him far more convincingly.

Divine providence paid Jacob in about five or six years the wages that Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years.

At last Jacob has reached the furthest limit of his desire, by deceit, trickery, and fraud. Through it all, and despite it all, the unseen God has heard the desire of Jacob's heart and granted it in full. Yet in his own mind he has done it all himself — God is hardly known or acknowledged. Jacob's hand, his thinking, and his fraud have gained it all; it is all his.

No one but God could have put up with such a man, and no one but God would have taken up such a man. Grace begins at the very lowest point. It takes up man as he is, and deals with him in the full intelligence of what he is.

Jacob separated the lambs that he could claim as his own and kept them apart from Laban's flock. Then, when Laban's stronger sheep were mating, he would use his peeled rods in the watering troughs. He would not do this with the weaker sheep. So he secured the stronger sheep, and Laban kept the weaker ones. No doubt Laban did not know what Jacob was doing. Jacob wanted Laban to think he was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often the same thing is true of us! We persuade ourselves that we are walking by faith in God, while we use our own wits to help God out in supplying our needs.

True, God was with Jacob — for nothing can hinder the outshining of divine grace. Jacob does, up to a point, acknowledge God's presence and faithfulness. Still nothing can be done without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot allow God to settle the question of his wives and his wages, but seeks to settle everything by his own cunning and management. In short, it is "the supplanter" throughout. Let the reader turn to Genesis 30:37-42 and say where he could find a more skilful piece of cunning.

In the light of this our reflection would be that if he had rested with confidence in God, and not used the devices described in the last chapter, the end God purposed would have been reached, and his "righteousness" would have answered for him in a much more convincing way.

Laban, according to Jacob's complaint, changed his wages ten times. Jacob got his own back by cunning tricks connected with the breeding of Laban's cattle. Laban's sons complained that he had "taken all that was our father's." So the contest went on until God stepped in again in a dream. He made known to Jacob that it was He, rather than Jacob's schemes, who caused the cattle to pass from Laban to him. And He called him out of the whole unpleasant business back to Canaan.

Laban's greedy desire to profit by Jacob's strange bargain made the self-absorbed master poor. It brought new and growing wealth to the servant he had cheated for so long. It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go, to repay the wrongdoer and make up to the man who suffered. And one cannot fail to notice how fitting such a dealing from God was toward the one of Israel's fathers who, more than any other, pictures the chosen people. Israel took its name from him. Their ups and downs were like his own endless changes, failures and humiliations. At the end, divine mercy would turn all of it into everlasting blessing at the feet of their long rejected Messiah.

The sheep in front of the rods seem to show how "the eye affects the heart." Whatever object we keep before us shapes us, and shapes everything that comes from us. So the Lord connects the "eye" and the "master" (Matthew 6:19-25). Our object is what controls us, and in a world like this, how many objects compete to take hold of us! So if our mind is set on things above, the marks of a "life hidden with Christ in God" take shape in us (Colossians 3:1-3).

This is a true picture, so far as Jacob was concerned. But it only gives us one side, and that the gloomy side. Blessed be God, there is a bright side too, for God had to do with Jacob. In every scene of his life, when Jacob was called to reap the fruits of his own plotting and crookedness, the God of Jacob brought good out of evil. He caused His grace to abound over all the sin and folly of His poor servant.

Laban's greed wanted to profit by Jacob's strange bargain. Instead it made the self-absorbed master poor, and gave new and growing wealth to the servant he had cheated for so long. Laban shows no regret for the way he took advantage of his nephew. He shows not the least caring affection for his daughters or their children. It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go in its way, to repay the evil-doer and make up to the sufferer.

God's providence paid Jacob in some five or six years the wages Laban had defrauded him of for twenty years.

Notice how fitting God's dealing was with this man. Of all the fathers of the nation, he pictures the chosen people more than any other. They took their name as a nation from him. Their ups and downs were like his own endless changes of fortune, failures and humiliations — all to be turned at the end, by God's mercy, into everlasting blessing at the feet of the Messiah they had rejected for so long. … So no one will boast in himself; "let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

At last Jacob has reached the furthest limit of his desire — by deceit, trickery and fraud. Through it all, and despite it all, the unseen God has heard the desire of Jacob's heart and given him his fill. Yet in Jacob's own thinking he has done it all. God is hardly known or acknowledged. Jacob's hand, his planning, his fraud have gained the whole of it; it is all his. Jacob's cattle are strong. Note that word, "the man": "the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys."

Notice Jacob's thought! Has God given him anything? No, nothing. It is all his own gain, which he got for himself. If he had not looked after himself, he would have had nothing at all.

Laban surely did not know what Jacob was doing. Jacob wanted Laban to think he was only depending on God to decide how many sheep he should have. How often this is true of us too! We persuade ourselves that we are walking by faith in God, while we use our own wits to help God supply our needs.

God stepped in graciously for His injured servant. Even so, we could not imagine either his father or his grandfather using the scheme Jacob used to gain what his long and patient service had earned him. Yet God stooped to use what, without His power, would have been — if not useless — very limited.

Jacob prospered. But he should have realised that this came by the grace of God, not by his own cleverness. God had told him He would bless him, and He did so despite Jacob's trickery.

After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase. God has looked on his affliction and his toil, and appointed him a repayment. But his prosperity turns Laban against him. In the same way, spiritual growth separates a person from the world.

"The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption." If Jacob has not received this from God, then he has been heaping up treasure for himself. God must strip it all from him, leaving him as bare as a withered branch. Only then can he become a worshipper of God, let alone a witness for His name.

We have had the word "glory" once before, in Genesis 31:1, where it means wealth. This later place is the first time it means honour and splendour, so again we can see what it pictures. When Christ is revealed in His glory, Israel will be gathered to Him and bow down before Him.

But God thwarted the covetous man and helped the long-suffering one. The result was plenty on one side and loss on the other. This cut Laban and his sons to the quick, and their connection with Jacob soon ended, to Jacob's relief. But how weak the faith!

Before this, Laban had recognized that Jacob's presence with him was what made him prosper so much. So he valued Jacob. Now Jacob prospers and Laban's attitude toward him changes to that of resentment.

We move on to Laban's sons (Gen. 31:1), who became envious of Jacob; Laban also became full of ANGER against him, though God did not permit him to show it (Gen. 31:2, 24). It is worth noting that Isaac and Jacob were both envied for their riches. Yet we never find that Abraham was, though he was just as rich — a fact that says a great deal for his character.

At last Jacob has reached the limit of his desire by deceit, trickery, and fraud. Through it all, and despite it all, the unseen God has heard the desire of Jacob's heart and given him his fill. Yet in his own thinking Jacob has done it all, with God little known or acknowledged. Jacob's hand, and thought, and fraud have gained it all; all is his.

If he had rested with confidence in God, and not used the tricks described in the last chapter, God would still have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have spoken for him far more convincingly.

After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase. God has looked on his affliction and his toil, and ordained him a repayment. But his prosperity puts distance between him and Laban, just as spiritual increase separates a person from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan.

Truly the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and rich in loving-kindness. For the words of Laban's sons, and the looks of Laban himself, revealed their discontent — and no wonder. So the Lord told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, and to his relatives. God's providence paid Jacob in some five or six years the wages Laban had cheated him of for twenty years.

We must not excuse the way Jacob manipulated things. On the other hand, Laban had been taking unfair advantage of Jacob all the way through. Jacob did the hard work of caring for Laban's flocks for twenty years. Laban had sons who could have helped with this work, but they left the work to the one who could do it well. … Management often thinks it has the right to reap all the benefits that labour produces, because management provided the money at the start. But God takes account of the guilt of management in the oppression of its employees (James 5:4).

Jacob had gained all of this through his caring for their father's sheep: now most of the sheep, and the stronger sheep, belonged to Jacob. But Laban had agreed to the arrangement, and they could do nothing about it. Before this, Laban had seen that Jacob's presence with him made him prosper greatly, so he valued Jacob. Now Jacob prospers and Laban's attitude toward him changes to that of resentment.

Jacob was a man of faith, but he failed in spiritual life, and he comes under the Lord's discipline so that he might bear more fruit, and better fruit. He had cheated at home, so he suffered abroad, most of all at the hands of his mother's brother. He bore Laban's hardhearted wrongs patiently, and that shows he bowed to God.

Surely no one can miss the lesson of this repayment. It is God's holy discipline for us, so that we may share His holiness. The measure we use is measured back to us. What we sow we reap. And in the fairness of God's government we find the correction of a Father's hand. Jacob receives from a relative the deceit he had practiced on a relative.

The sons of Laban saw that Jacob had stripped their father of much of his flocks, and Laban himself began to look on him with disfavour. The situation became critical, and the Lord Himself stepped in to end it… Seeing this, we would reflect that if Jacob had rested in God with confidence, and had not used the tricks described in the last chapter, God would still have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have spoken for him far more convincingly.

Truly the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and full of loving-kindness. The words of Laban's sons and the looks of Laban himself showed their discontent — and no wonder. So the Lord told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, and to his relatives. In about five or six years, God's providence paid Jacob the wages Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years.

After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that he owes his increase to the power of God… But his prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual growth separates one from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan.

Everything may be going along smoothly and pleasantly. Our property is safe. Our business is doing well. Our children and servants behave nicely, our home is comfortable, our health is excellent — everything, in short, just as we would like it. How easily we then mistake the peace that rests on such circumstances for the peace that flows from the known presence of Christ. The Lord knows this. So He steps in, in one way or another, and stirs up the nest.

The twenty years had expired. Laban's hatred and the hatred of his sons had increased. When the crisis had been reached the voice of Jehovah was heard. "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you." This is the first time Jehovah spoke since the vision at Bethel.

After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase. God has looked on his affliction and his toil, and appointed him a reward. But his prosperity turns Laban away from him, as spiritual increase separates from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan.

The situation became critical, and the Lord Himself intervened to end it. Back to his own land and kindred he was to go.

While Scripture has plainly exposed what Jacob was doing, the Lord does not reprove him for this: Jacob knew that his actions were wrong, since they were not the fruit of faith. The Lord therefore left him to fight that matter out with his own conscience. But God repeats His promise to Jacob, that He will be with him. Such is the sovereign goodness of God toward His servants in spite of their failing ways.

So Jacob is all things to all men, hoping somehow to gain something for himself. He is willing enough to return to the land of his kindred, but not to his kindred as God had said. For between him and them stood the place of sacrifice and obedience to God.

At last Jacob had reached the limit of his desire. He had got for himself much cattle, maidservants, menservants, camels and donkeys, and so for the moment he had no further object before him. Then Jehovah presents Himself to Jacob as the only worthy object, the true satisfying portion, saying, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

At last Laban's sons murmur, and their father's face is no longer toward Jacob as before. Then Jehovah tells him to return to the land of his fathers. He makes up his mind at once. He gives a touching explanation to Rachel and Leah, and then sets out in secret. He did so because he had no confidence in God with a clear conscience — the kind that frees a man from fear. The unseen hand of God was there; but the power and the honour of God could not righteously be found in such a course.

At last Laban's sons murmur, and their father's face is no longer friendly toward Jacob as before. So Jehovah tells him to return to the land of his fathers. He makes up his mind at once. He gives a touching explanation to Rachel and Leah, and sets out secretly.

Jacob was also too timid to act openly, but, encouraged from above, he calls Rachel and Leah to a meeting. He could truly say this: if Laban showed ill will, the God of his father was with him. And if Laban had tried to cheat him, God did not let him come to harm.

He did not have the confidence in God, with a clear conscience, that sets a man free from fear.

Jacob therefore sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him where he was with the flock, and set before them the facts about Laban's changed attitude (v. 5). He does defend himself in the whole matter: it would have been better if he had not done so. However, it was true that he had served Laban with great diligence. Here we learn that Laban had changed Jacob's wages ten times.

So he says that God had taken Laban's flocks and given them to Jacob. He does not tell them about his own trickery in the matter: evidently he had been able to hide this from everyone except the Lord.

We are now allowed to see how God had intervened and caused the agreement about the spotted and speckled cattle to work in his favour. In the light of this, our reflection would be this. If he had rested in confidence in God, and had not used the schemes described in the last chapter, God would have reached the end He purposed. And Jacob's "righteousness" would have answered for him far more convincingly.

Divine providence paid Jacob in some five or six years the wages that Laban had defrauded him of for twenty years.

This name, "the God of Bethel," is of very real importance, for it means "God of the house of God." Jacob had been concerned about his own house, allowing the claims of God's house to wait. But the increase of Jacob's house had not produced peace and happiness in all his relationships. It was time that he learned that true contentment is only found in connection with God's house, where God's interests come first.

Rachel and Leah were fully ready to move at once. They realised there was nothing to tie them to their father. One thing they remembered: their father had sold his daughters and made himself rich by the sale. So they had become almost strangers to their own father… But Rachel and Leah have good advice for Jacob: "Do whatever God has said to you" (v. 16).

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and full of steadfast love. Laban's sons complained, and Laban's own face showed his discontent — and no wonder. So the LORD told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, to his own relatives. God's providence paid Jacob in five or six years the wages Laban had cheated him out of for twenty. They wanted to get rid of Jacob, but would not say so. After all, what did Laban own before Jacob came?

How grand a word this is. Even though Jacob was not living as he should (and he knew it), the Lord said, "I am with you." Can the Lord go with a believer on a wrong course? Well, He did not say He approved of the way Jacob was living. Yet He still said, "I am with you" — and He was with Jacob. Later, Jacob treated Laban badly far too many times, but the Lord blessed him anyway.

So Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to him where he was with the flock. He told them the facts about Laban's changed attitude. He does defend himself in the whole matter: it would have been better if he had not done so. However, it was true that he had served Laban with great diligence... He does not tell them about his own trickery. He had managed to hide that from everyone except the Lord.

No doubt he often had to suffer from Laban's deceit. But was this not a reminder of his own deceit? He is deceived about his wife, about his wages, about everything. But how had he treated his father — not to mention his brother? Deceit must meet deceit under the hand of God, who repays. Do not wonder too much at the story of Jacob. Bless with all your heart the God who cares for His servant. After Jacob had suffered a while, God made him prosper — slowly, but surely.

All his hard work and scheming, like his miserable bargain before, comes from not knowing God's grace. He could not put full confidence in God's promise... You would have thought that Jacob's vision had told him a story of grace. But what God showed him at Bethel and what Jacob did at Haran are two very different things. What he did at Haran shows what he had made of what God said. How a person lives is the real measure of what he has experienced and believes, whatever he may claim.

When the crisis came, the LORD spoke. "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred; and I will be with you." This is the first time the LORD spoke since the vision at Bethel... What comfort it must have been to hear "I have seen all that Laban is doing to you." The Lord watched over Jacob. Laban hated him, and still Jacob prospered. So Israel, scattered among the nations and hated by them, increases and prospers.

God called him back to the land of promise. In doing so He revealed Himself as "the God of Bethel," reminding Jacob of the pillar he anointed and the vow he made. God brought him back to the beginning of his direct dealings with Him. This is always God's way with His people. We may wander away, but we have to come back to the original spot we departed from. The point of departure proves to be the place of recovery.

Here we learn that Laban had changed Jacob's wages ten times. When he saw that Jacob was doing very well out of one bargain, he would change the terms of his wages. Then the sheep would breed in a different way, and again it worked to Jacob's advantage.

He states that Laban had changed his wages ten times (v. 41). This must have been true, or Laban would have denied it. It does show the manipulating character of Laban. He was every bit as skilled at this trickery as Jacob.

Jacob had tricked his brother, and Laban treated him in the same way. Laban gave him Leah as his wife instead of Rachel, though he had Rachel, the one he loved, later on. He had not learned to trust God. He used clever tricks to increase what he owned, and he received the same treatment in return: his wages changed "ten times." But God was watching over him, and told him to return to the land of his fathers.

While he was living in the Syrian's house, Jacob knew that he was under the mighty hand of God for correction, and he behaved that way. He did not defend himself when he was blamed. He did not fight for his rights when he was wronged and treated unfairly.

In about five or six years God's providence paid Jacob the wages Laban had cheated him out of for twenty years… He could truly say that if Laban showed him ill will, the God of his father was with him. And if Laban tried to cheat him, God did not let him come to harm.

Laban's greedy wish to profit from Jacob's strange bargain made the self-absorbed master poor instead, while the servant he had long cheated grew richer and richer… It was a righteous thing, as far as it could go, to pay back the wrongdoer and repay the one who had suffered… Notice too how fitting such a dealing from God was toward the one patriarch who pictures the chosen people more than any other. They took their name from him. Their ups and downs were like his own — endless changes of fortune, failures and humiliations, to be turned at the end, through God's mercy, into everlasting blessing.

By Jacob's own complaint, Laban changed his wages ten times. Jacob got his own back by clever tricks with the breeding of Laban's cattle. Laban's sons complained that he had taken away everything that belonged to their father. So the contest went on until God stepped in again through a dream. God showed Jacob that it was He, and not Jacob's schemes, who had moved the cattle from Laban to him. And He called Jacob out of the whole unpleasant business, back to Canaan.

Jacob said that Laban had changed his wages ten times. If that was true, it was a serious provocation. But relying on God would have kept him from actions that are also open to question.