‘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 29:15-30(NLT)
‘“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ‘ Luke 15:4-6(NLT)
If you think you have dysfunctional relatives, let’s read the rest of Jacob and Rachel’s love story and all feel better about our family situations. If your in-laws are worse than this, I suggest therapy—lots of therapy!
Remember when we learned that if you couldn’t pay a bride-price to purchase your bride, another option would include working for the bride? That’s exactly what’s happening here. This story doesn’t include all the steps of the Jewish wedding process, but we do get glimpses of the negotiations along the way.
The Bible says that Jacob’s seven years of work flew by because of his love for Rachel. He was head over heels for this girl.
On their wedding day, Jacob’s bride’s veil (and possibly being over-served at the banquet) totally tripped him up. He ended up marrying Leah, Rachel’s older sister, thinking it was Rachel. Wowza! Laban, his father-in-law, had put her up to this and totally tricked Jacob.
Jacob completed the week of intimacy in the bridal chamber with Leah and was told that he could still marry Rachel, but he’d need to work another seven years for Laban.
Jacob worked 14 years for this girl to earn Rachel. 14 long years. It’s super romantic, but also so cruel for Leah.
I have two sisters, and we don’t even like to share clothes. I can’t imagine what these girls went through sharing a husband! It’s weird, gross, and complicated. This was a nightmare for everyone involved.
These are real problems, and I don’t want to just brush over the Leah dilemma. The Lord provided for her and met her in her pain by blessing her with four sons. I love that God can make good out of anything.
Let’s look now at the parallels between the story of Rachel and Jacob and our lives today.
Just as Jacob willingly worked for Rachel for 14 years, Jesus is relentless in His pursuit of us. He works for our hearts and continues to chase after us, wanting us for His own. He already gave us everything: He came down from heaven and died a sinner’s death to pay for our sins—all in the name of love for us, His bride.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, will never give up on you. He wants us, but there’s an enemy—a Laban—in each of our lives who desperately wants to confuse us and thwart God’s plans. Satan wants to keep us from our marriage to Christ. He wants to deceive us and trip us up so we feel unlovable and unworthy, but Christ will always fight for us. He’ll never stop pursuing us.
Let’s close out this story with this thought:
Rebekah and Rachel both came to a well, a source of water and life, and there they found their husbands. They were chosen as brides by men who loved them individually and uniquely. They were known, prayed for, sought after, served, loved, desired, and chosen—just as you are by Jesus.
from Will You Marry Me?