The Un-Series: Week 4 Day 5

Summary Genesis 29 & 30:

After the events of yesterday’s passage, Jacob continued on his way to live with his relative Laban. When Jacob arrived there, he met and fell in love with Laban’s youngest daughter, Rachel. He agreed to work seven years to win her hand. However, when the time came for the wedding night, Laban secretly sent Leah, the older daughter. When Jacob realized he had been tricked he demanded to have Rachel as his wife. Laban agreed, but said it would cost another seven years of work. Jacob agreed to the terms. Over the next years, Jacob fathered many children. Some to Leah, and others to maidservants as Jacob committed the same error as Abraham and Sarah. Finally, Rachel also had a son and, because God had chosen to bless Jacob, Laban also benefited from having him there. When Jacob wanted to leave with his own flocks and herds as well as his wives and children, Laban didn’t like the idea. They made an agreement that allowed for some separation, and Jacob took only the speckled or spotted animals in the flock. Laban immediately tried to swindle Jacob in this deal. Luckily for Jacob, because God had chosen to bless him, his flocks continued to grow. 

Genesis 31:1-21

 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

17 So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods. 20 And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21 He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Jacob’s life was really quite dull. There were no giants, no crossing of the sea, no miraculous happenings. Peaking into the scenes of Jacob’s life is more like watching a reality tv show set in the past. The only thing there seemed to be plenty of was family drama. 

Consider earlier this week when we read of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau. We have parents who showed favoritism, and family members who tricked and lied to each other. Things got so bad, Jacob had to set off on his own to escape being killed by his brother. A new setting didn’t seem to relieve Jacob of the drama. In Genesis chapters 29, 30, and 31, a lot happened to Jacob. Jacob seemed to be in the midst of the story, rather than the main character. At one point in chapter 30, Leah and Rachel barter over time with Jacob using mandrakes, and they would then inform him where he would spend the night. Overall Jacob comes off as a somewhat passive, unimpressive liar whose life has dealt him some poor hands.  A lot of Jacob’s life seemed to revolve around what happened to him followed by him trying to scrape his way back in response. 

That would be all of Jacob’s story IF you take God out of it. On his own, Jacob was not much different than anyone else. What made Jacob’s story important was that God chose to bless him. God chose to intervene in this family in order to one day save all the families on earth. The family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob weren’t chosen because they were good, brave, or impressive, but instead they were just as broken as other families. What made this family line special, however, was that God decided to make it special. 

This is our story too. Through this one family line, broken and tangled, Jesus was born. Jesus paid for the sins of this family and all the families on earth. We did not do anything special to earn God’s love and forgiveness. We are special because God loves and forgives us through Jesus.