My husband and I were out garaging saling with a bargain-minded friend one day when we found a man's dream of a sale. Lots of really good manly stuff -- tools, toys, and a really nice truck ... all for low, low prices. Our friend loves a great bargain -- we were on this expedition mainly to have PJ entertain us with his dickering skills. These prices were so low for such great stuff, however, that PJ's Christian conscience bothered him, so he struck up a conversation with the woman running the sale on why the prices didn't match the quality. The woman explained that her husband had run off with another woman and initiated divorce proceedings. The house had been hers before the marriage (Alaska is not a community property state), so the only thing she owed him was his tools, toys and truck ... or the proceeds of their sale. He'd agreed she should sell them and send him the money, less whatever he owed on them. She was, therefore, selling them at a garage sale for fire sale prices -- just enough to cover the balances owed.

Poetic justice! I think most of us recognize a similar situation in Genesis 29. Jacob, the double-dealing con artist, got a double deal when he met his tricky uncle Laban. It was his just desserts! Most of us view Leah as some sort of old maid dud and we are amused to find Jacob is stuck for life with her, even though he did eventually get to marry the woman he loved.

I think there is truth to that interpretation, but I think we miss the true spiritual point if that is what we focus on. It's not the main theme! Remember, the whole Bible is an examination of God's gracious dealings with mankind. It's about mercy and forgiveness far more than it is about justice.

Jacob fairly danced out of Bethel with a new lease on life. Before his encounter with God there, Yahweh had been the god of his father, but after the vision of the ladder from heaven and the promise of God's presence, provision and protection, Jacob had a new sense of direction, hope and meaning to life. He was still going to Haran, but God was with him.

As he approached Haran, Jacob found a field with a well in it. This was not the same well where Abraham's servant had first encountered Jacob's mother Rebekah. That one was a spring located outside the city, close enough for women to come for the daily water. This one was in a field some distance from the city. It was covered by a large stone, indicating it was used as a stock trough. More importantly, it was restricted to use at particular times and only to authorized people. The shepherds had gathered by teh well waiting for the time when they could water their sheep. Like all travelers, Jacob engaged them in coversation.

"Jacob asked them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They replied, "We’re from Haran." So he said to them, "Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?" "We know him," they said. "Is he well?" Jacob asked. They replied, "He is well. Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." Then Jacob said, "Since it is still the middle of the day, it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more." "We can’t," they said, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep." Genesis 29:4-8

Jacob learned that he was very near Haran, that his uncle Laban was doing fine and that his daughter Rachel would be bringing the sheep soon. That struck Jacob as odd, because sheep were usually gathered at dusk, but apparently it was earlier in the day. Why were these men sitting about waiting rather than getting the watering done, so they could return their sheep to the pasture. Apparently, the well wasn't a public well to be used for their convenience. There were rules to its use. Apparently, this well could be used only once a day. It was opened by the owner and his servants and then watering commenced in an orderly fashion. This was probably to prevent pollution of the well, but it served an important spiritual point in the story.

The life-giving water was available only by folloiwng the rules of the well owner. That life-giving water and the restrictions upon it brought Jacob and Rachel together. Salvation for mankind is available only by following God's rules for attaining it, but salvation itself is often the source of many wonderful things in life that would not be available to us if we were not saved.

It seems that Jacob was immediately taken with Rachel. He presented himself with heroic and gentlemanly behavior, then he kissed her before announcing that he was a relative of her father. I think it was love at first sight for Jacob and that Rachel was swept off her feet by this romantic behavior. She ran to tell her father of this meeting.

"When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban how he was related to him. Then Laban said to him, "You are indeed my own flesh and blood."

So Jacob stayed with him for a month." Genesis 29:13-14

In the ancient near-East, family was important and treated as such. Laban's behavior can be seen as the normal hospitality expected when a near relative appeared at the door step. Jacob's report to Laban probably touched on the health of the family back in Canaan and that Jacob was seeking a wife. It was sufficient for Laban to determine that Jacob was who he claimed. There are some commentators who believe that the report also included Jacob's real reason for being upon the road. If so, it might explain some of Laban's later behavior without resorting to character assassination. I honestly am neutral on the subject.

Jacob remained at Laban's home for a month, bringing him into close contact with Rachel, resulting in a deepening affection. During that time, Laban learned that Jacob was a valuable worker. He would make a fine son-in-law and could stay on to work for Laban in place of the traditional dowry. A continuing relationship between Jacob and Laban was of mutual advantage to both of them. At the end of the month, Laban sought to formalize the relationship between them.

"Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you work for me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me what your wages should be."

(Now Laban had two daughters; the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.)" Genesis 29:15-17

Few women have been so misunderstood as Leah, Rachel's older sister. Even her name does her a great disservice, for it means "wild cow". The KJV rendering that she had "weak eyes" suggests to us moderns that she was nearly blind and quite homely, but my Hebrew scholar friend suggests -- in keeping with the interpretation from the NET Bible -- it meant "fragile" or "delicate". The word (rak) was used to describe children and choice veal calves. In contrast with Rachel, who may have had fire or a sparkle in her eyes, Leah had gentle eyes. I think the soul behind them was a great deal more tender as well.

It is an established fact that the eyes are used in the Old and New Testament as a window into the mental qualities, such as arrogance, humility, mockery, and pity (Psalm 7:9; 16:7; 26:2; Revelation 2:23; Deuteronomy 15:9; 28:54-56). I conclude that Leah's disposition was gentle and tender while Rachel had more fiery and agressive temperment. That's taking the text a little far because Rachel was described only by her physical attractiveness (verse 17). Jacob liked those physical features. Yet Moses contrasted Rachel's physical features against Leah's spiritual features. Remember that Rebekah, Jacob's mother, had been selected her for her character by divine guidance. Her attractiveness was the cherry on the top of the far more important character. Jacob, on the other hand, selected Rachel because she was beautiful. Red warning lights should already be flashing in our minds!

"Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, "I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban replied, "I’d rather give her to you than to another man. Stay with me."

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great." Genesis 29:18-20

Jacob selected the girl he wanted and seems not to have noticed that Laban's answer was vague. Perhaps Jacob was so used to being the trickiest one around that he wasn't suspicious of others. I don't know certainly that Laban was already planning to deceive Jacob by switching wives, but there is room for that interpretation here. Seven years was likely a steep price, but Rachel was worth it in his mind. He was eagar to consummate the marriage.

"Finally Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. I want to have marital relations with her." So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a feast. In the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had marital relations with her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

"In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What in the world have you done to me! Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?" Genesis 29:21-25

Seven years is a long time to be in love and not join together physically. There are some who would wonder that they waited. I think they didn't have much choice. Ancient near-East society guarded them women folk carefully. I also suspect that Rachel and Leah were fairly young, probably very young teenagers, when Jacob joined the family. He might be in love with Rachel, but he was not a child molester. Jacob waited for the planned wedding day and from Moses' wording, it would seem he was pretty anxious by that time.

Moses discretely described the wedding night. Hollywood likes to elaborate on Moses' careful statement, but really, it doesn't require a lot of poetic license. Marriage was a public affair then. The wedding feast was held outside the tent of matrimonial tent. After a sufficient amount of revelry, including wine, Jacob would have entered the tent and had sex with his wife. The whole party would have seen him exit, indicating the consummation. Why didn't Jacob notice he was with the wrong woman? He was probably drunk and appears very anxious to join with his bride. I don't think he bothered to light a lamp. The same passion which had dominated his selection of his bride characterized his consummation of the marriage.

I think Jacob woke up with the equivalant of "Oh, What a Night!" ringing in his head. In the light of the day, however, he realized his mistake. He'd married Leah, not Rachel! Nobody deserved this double cross more than Jacob after what he'd done in Canaan. I think Jacob knew that!

""It is not our custom here," Laban replied,

"to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. Then we will give you the younger one too, in exchange for seven more years of work."

Laban had planned this for a long time, so his response to Jacob's rebuke shouldn't really surprise us. And, I cannot help but think that Rebekah had learned how to scheme right along with her brother and she had taught the art to Jacob. This was fitting justice. Jacob knew that! He accepted Laban's answer because his own heart told him that he had received his just desserts for what he'd done in Canaan. The end result was that Laban married off both of his daughters and extracted a premium price from Jacob.

Wow, what we can learn in life from this passage!

Sin has consequences. Jacob's sin had resulted in his physical and emotional seperation from his family. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, in human relationships as well as in the law of motion. Jacob chose to get ahead in life by means of deception and learned that those who seek to deceive will be themselves deceived.

The tragedy here is that none of this was necessary. Abraham's servant had been able to acquaire Rebekah for Isaac because he had access to Abraham's vast resources. Jacob's sin had made him little more than a begger. Seperated from the wealth of his family, he had only his labor to sell. If he hadn't deceived Isaac, Jacob would not have needed to spend 14 years of his life to get what he wanted. This whole incident was the result of sin.

Jacob did eventually get, through his hard work, what he wanted. Hard work, in this instance, eventually won out over the consequence of sin, though not without difficulty. That isn't how it works for us today. We cannot work our way into God's blessings or salvation (Isaiah 64:8; Titus 3:5). The gospel tells us that we who are sinners cannot help ourselves, but we can be saved by trusting in the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf (Ephesians 2:8-10).

While we could view the events here as God's getting even with Jacob, I think they are evidence of His marvelous grace at work in Jacob's life. God wasn't punishing Jacob, so much as He was instructing him.

Jacob needed 14 years of delay in Haran. If he'd returned home immediately, I think, Esau would have killed him. Had he gotten what he wanted immediately, he would have died an early and deserved death.

Moreover, consider the incredible grace of God in the gift of Leah as Jacob's wife. We're not used to thinking that way, but consider it. Leah became the mother of Judah, who was the progenitor of Jesus. Levi, another of her sons, would provide the priestly line of Israel. Rachel died at a yong age, leaving two motherless children to raise, which Leah did. Rather than a blight on Jacob, Leah proved a blessing in many ways.

We live in a romantically-oriented day, so we find ourselves cheering for Rachel and disliking Leah. God had the opposite view and likely still does. What is romantic is not always right. Young people in the throes of romance make foolish decisions. Few things in our day are more important than beauty, which would make Rachel highly prized. There is nothing wrong with beauty; many of the women in the Bible are described as beautiful. Outward beauty is no substitute for character, however (Proverbs 31:30; 1Timothy 2:9-10; 1Peter 3:1-6). This passage, contrasted with the earlier passage concerning Isaac's marriage, indicates that we should look to character in a mate first and then consider beauty like a condiment.

This is as true for women as it is for men. Our ultimate worth comes from God, Who was not impressed with Rachel's good looks. He looked at the heart and blessed Leah. Her worth, while never fully realized by her husband, was great in God's eyes. So should it be with us.