Genesis 29:1-14 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 29:1-14. Let’s go!
Genesis 29:1 (NIV)
1 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.
On verse 1: The original Hebrew for the words “Jacob continued on” are literally “he lifted up his feet”, which is a unique expression that some scholars believe implies Jacob moving along happily. Why did Jacob have “happy feet”? It’s because he had encountered the Lord in the previous chapter. What can we learn from this? When you spend time in God’s presence, it will tend to give you the joy – happy feet, if you will – to continue on with your journey. Even though you may face uncertainties concerning your future as Jacob did, an encounter with God and time in His presence can change your perspective and give you joy to move forward amid the uncertainty. So make it your habit to draw close to God regularly and experience Him.
Genesis 29:2-3 (NIV)
2 There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large.
3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
On verses 2-3: Jacob comes across a well covered by a large stone. Why was a stone placed over the well? Apparently to protect the well from unwanted thieves and animals. Let the stone over the well be a reminder that we need to protect what is precious to us.
Genesis 29:4-6 (NIV)
4 Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Haran,” they replied.
5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” “Yes, we know him,” they answered.
6 Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?” “Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
On verses 4-6: By God’s grace, it turns out that the shepherds who were resting by the well with their sheep knew Jacob’s uncle Laban, and that Rachel, the daughter of uncle Laban, just happened to be approaching with her sheep. It reminds us of Genesis 24 when Abraham’s servant was looking for a wife for Isaac and happened to meet Rebekah at a well. God’s timing is always perfect. He works in ways that we don’t always see.
Genesis 29:7-10 (NIV)
7 “Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
8 “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
On verses 7-10: Jacob was puzzled as to why the shepherds would let their flocks lie near the well but not water them. Jacob tries to push them to water their flocks (v7) but the shepherds respond that they usually wait until all the flocks are gathered (i.e. all the shepherds have arrived with their sheep) and the large stone blocking the well has been rolled away. It’s not clear if this was because (1) the shepherds were being lazy, (2) the stone was too big for them to roll away themselves without the help of other shepherds, or (3) their etiquette and customs required that they wait till all the shepherds arrived before they would move the stone and feed their flocks together. My guess is that it’s probably (1) or (3). Whatever the reason, it’s not until Rachel the shepherdess arrives with her father’s sheep that anyone tries to move the stone (v9). Jacob sees Rachel and the sheep and then moves (singlehandedly apparently!) the stone away from the mouth of the well and waters Rachel’s sheep (v10). It’s amazing what the presence of a beautiful woman can do to a man sometimes!
Genesis 29:11-14 (NIV)
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
12 He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.
14 Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,
On verses 11-14: Kissing was the common way in Jacob’s time of greeting one’s relatives. So don’t read too much romance into Jacob kissing Rachel (v11), since Laban would also kiss Jacob two verses later (v13). That said, Jacob is overcome with emotion when he finds his relatives in Paddan Aram and thus he “began to weep aloud” (v11). It was likely a bitter-sweet moment for Jacob to find Rachel and Laban and to begin staying with them (v14). On one hand Jacob was undoubtedly relieved to have found his relatives. On the other hand, Jacob probably thought back to missing his mom and dad, and maybe even his brother.
What can we learn from this? For me it’s a reminder that the journey that God has for us requires that we leave our comfort zone, at least for a period of time. In some cases, though not all, it might specifically involve, for a period of time, being away from our family, whether figuratively or literally, in order discover something else that God has for us. Do not misunderstand me. I’m not in any way saying that you should look to leave your family. What I’m saying is that when you look at the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, and of course Jesus himself, the path that each of them would go on involved, at least for a period of time, that they be apart from their family in order to experience something else that God had for them. If that happens to be a part of your story too, not because you tried to leave your family intentionally but because of circumstances that you didn’t initiate, then you wouldn’t be the first to experience that.
Heavenly Father, thank You that with You there is joy to move forward, even when our past is marked by pain and even when the future is full of uncertainty. Thank You that You know the plans You have for every person reading this, plans to prosper them and not to harm them. Thank You that Your timing is perfect, as You work in ways we cannot see until later. Thank You that with our lives You are writing a greater story than anything we could write ourselves. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
