Genesis 29:16–35

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."