‘Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well. Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. “Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied. “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.” Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?” “We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.” Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban. As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.” Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.’ Genesis 29:1-30(NLT)
Jacob types draw out life’s full flavors in faces, places, experiences, and objects that others may overlook, helping us pay better attention and notice life in all its beauty and mystery. We see this in Jacob’s life when he experienced a dramatic, life-changing encounter with God, inspiring him to memorialize that moment by pouring oil on a rock, a rock that every time he saw it, or walked by it with another person, would tell a story about God’s activity.
Jacob types discern beauty all around them. They don’t have to look for it—their souls’ lenses filter beauty and draw it to the surface of their awareness. Jacob types, perhaps more instinctively than other types, “see God in all things, and all things in God.” Pouring oil on the rock, Jacob took an average and normal item and created a meaningful moment. Jacob types have this ability to draw forth life’s beauty—and God’s beauty—by the way they use their resources.
In Jewish understanding, something is beautiful if it endures. Something else can be pleasing to the eye and not attain this status of true beauty, because true beauty persists and remains. It is not transient and has nothing to do with the kind of beauty associated with today’s commercialized pursuit of remaining youthful, fit, and attractive—none of which are inherently evil desires.
True beauty is anchored in and stems from the beautiful One, the Creator God. In this way, something can be beautiful even if it’s not pretty; it’s beautiful because of its essence, its intent, and the way it is used. Aesthetic beauty has its place, but it must have its basis in this reality to be truly beautiful.
Jacob types represent a mix of Abraham and Isaac types, with the Abraham type embodying hospitality and God’s free-flowing love and the Isaac type embodying God’s discipline and restraint.
Next, you’ll learn about the Joseph money type.
from The Seven Money Types