Jacob’s Love

"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept." (Genesis 29:1-11)

I believe this was love at first…kiss. Pretty amazing actually that Jacob just went up and kissed Rachel, seeing as how they had just met, if that. Even more amazing that after he kissed her "he lifted up his voice, and wept." Wow! That's very powerful! And is an extremely telling description of just how smitten Jacob was.

And here we have another well. Jacob's mother Rebekah is found at a well, and now his future wife, Rachel, is found at a well. But the fact is that wells were gathering places. The distance from Jacaob's home in Beersheba to "the land of the people of the east" (aka Mesopotamia) is about 400 miles, Jacob headed straight for the well, knowing that he would find there someone who would know his relatives. And sure enough he did.

The "great" stone was large enough that it needed more than one man, possibly more than two even, to move it. But it was also that in such an arid place as they were in, with water evaporating so quickly, they had to conserve it as best they could, by opening it only when ALL the flocks were ready to be watered, rather than several times each day. But, just after Rachel arrives at the well, Jacob suddenly takes it upon himself to remove the stone; and he did it alone. All I can think is that once he saw Rachel, the adrenaline kicked in giving him more strength than usual, I suspect.

But let's go on with their story:

"And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? Tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had for her." (Genesis 29:12-20)

If you recall Laban from the prior mention of him when we first met Rebekah, you will remember that he was a bit of a shady character, at least in my opinion. I can just hear the scheming wheels churning in Laban's head as he discusses this wedding arrangement with Jacob….seven years service and Jacob thinks he will get Rachel. We will see that this will not be the case, for Laban is a deceiver just like Jacob.

Yet Jacob's intense love for Rachel causes those seven years of heavy toil, to pass as though they were "but a few days." In the days when marriages were "arranged," this is quite a love story!