20260208 Genesis 29:1-31:55 The Birth of A People

Gen 29-31 offers a great summary of the Bible. These chapters cover Jacob's exile away from the Promise Land. In his exile, there are echoes of Eden, of the first sin of Gen 3, of the escalation of sin with sibling rivalry, and echoes of deliverance.

These themes keep occurring to give us a lens to interpret our own lives. We were created for the good world God made. We participate in and suffer from sin. We pursue Eden on our own terms and cause harm. God remains faithful while we are faithless. He delivers us from our sins and his blessings are sure.

We will look at the themes of Eden, Exile, and Exodus. I will explain these themes in the life of Jacob. I will show that these themes anticipate the life of the nation of Israel and are relevant in our lives as well.

Genesis 29:1-30 Eden and Deceit: The Trickster is Tricked

This is the summary of Gen 29:1-30. Jacob left the Promised Land to escape Esau, his brother, who wanted to kill him, and to find a wife (Gen 28:41-29:5). Genesis 29 revisits the themes of Genesis 2, and 3. There is Edenic imagery but also sin and deceit. Jacob wants to marry Rachel but her father tricks the trickster. He tricks Jacob in marrying Leah the older sister, before marrying Rachel.

Genesis 29:1-30

Gen 29:1 Exile

The chapter begins in Gen 29:1 with a reminder of Jacob's exile. He came to the land of the people of the east. Going east has been the recurring pattern following sin. After the first sin, God drove the man and the woman East of Eden (Gen 3:24). After Cain murdered Abel, he went away from the presence of the Lord and settled East of Eden (Gen 4:16). In Gen 11, the people migrated to the East to build the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:2). When Abraham and Lot separated, Lot went East to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 13:11). Jacob is in exile. He is in the East.

Gen 29:2-20 Eden:

Even in exile, there are hints of Eden in Gen 29:2-20. When Lot looked to the east, he saw that the Jordan Valley was well-watered like the garden of the Lord. Now, likewise, Gen 29:1-20 is full of Gen 2 imagery with the themes of water and marriage.

Genesis 2 began with a midst watering the land and then four rivers flowing out of Eden. Genesis 2 ends with a lone man finding a wife. The theme of water appeared in Gen 24 when Isaac found his wife and now again as Jacob finds his. The parallel back to Eden becomes undeniable when Laban, Jacob’s uncle sees Jacob and says in Gen 29:14, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” These words echo the Man's words when he saw the Woman in Gen 2:23, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Gen 29:21-30 Deceit:

The same way the first half of Gen 29 revisits Eden in Gen 2, Gen 29:21-30 revisits the first sin of Genesis 3 with echoes to others sin passages of Genesis.

The way Laban deceives Jacob is similar to Jacob's deceit of Isaac. Jacob pretended to be his brother, Esau. Now, Leah pretends to be her sister, Rachel. More foundationally, this deceit revisits Genesis 3. In Gen 3:6, the woman took the desired fruit and gave. In Gen 29:23-24, Laban took a counterfeit of the desired woman, and also gave a maid servant to Jacob. The same verbs appear. Following this act of deception, Jacob asks in Gen 29:25, “What is this you have done?” These were also God's words following the first sin in Gen 3:13.

Application

The repetition of the themes of Eden and Deceit reminds us we are not just reading about history, but the Bible is reading our story. Sin and its consequences are not just Adam’s story, or Cain’s story, or Noah’s, or Abraham’s, or Isaac’s, or Jacob's. The repeated themes give us lenses to understand our sin and its consequences.

From the bully at school, to the workaholic, to the insecure dictator who oppresses a nation, we all relive Genesis 3. It begins with shame and not believing in God's goodness. It leads to needing to cover our shame at all costs. It ends in self-harm or harming and oppressing others.

Our problem is that no matter how good life gets, we are not in Eden. Jacob tasted Eden in exile out of the Promised Land, but it is still a counterfeit. In our pursuit of Edenic blessings of a great name, abundance, intimacy, and children, we scheme. Laban did not want an unmarried daughter, so he schemed. He wanted to exploit Jacob for 7 more years, so he schemed. The result of our lack of trust are schemes that hurt people.

Gen 29-30 deal in part with the oppression of women. Laban's daughters are Rachel and Leah. Rachel means “Lamb of God” and Leah means Calf/or cow. Laban treats his daughters the same way he treats cattle in Gen 31. He treats his daughters like animals to get rich off Jacob's back. Following the first sin, God told the woman, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen 3:16). The man and the woman were to rule over the animals together. When a man rules over his wife, or uses a woman as a bargaining chip, he treats her like an animal. This is seen over and over in Genesis 12, 16, 19, 20, 21, 26. The Jacob narrative is made up of three times three stories. In these three sets of three, the middle story includes the oppression of women. First, Isaac put Rebekah at risk for his wellbeing. Second, is this text. The third account is the assault of Dinah in Gen 34. This treatment of women is far removed from the Eden-ideal for human relationships.

We long for Eden in our lives. We want Edenic blessings of rest, abundance, delight, and intimacy, and children. Whenever we do not believe in God’s provision, we seek blessing on our own terms and people get hurt. Laban wanted wealth so he sent his older daughter to be in a loveless marriage in which her husband hates her. When we want wealth at all costs, we overlook the working conditions of those who build our wealth. When we eagerly want to belong, our insecurity leads us to exclude others we think could threaten our belonging. We want romantic fulfillment over God, so we settle for something different than what God wants for us with an unbeliever. God made us for Eden and we all want Eden. In a world of sin, like Jacob and Laban, we pursue Eden-like Blessings, on our terms rather than God’s which leads to people getting hurt.

Genesis 29:31-30:24 Exile-Slavery: The Birth of a Nation and Sibling Rivalry

This is the summary of Gen 29:31-30:24. Jacob is a slave who grows into a large family. His family is marked by sibling rivalry, scheming, oppression, and sin. In this account, in contrast to people, God sees and cares for the oppressed. His blessing overflows to the whole family, to the hated, and the beloved.

The parallels to Israel’s bondage in Egypt are striking. Jacob is Laban’s servant for 20 years outside of the Promised Land (Gen 31:38). The same way God has compassion on the oppressed in this account, he will have compassion on Israel in Egypt. The same way Israel grows into a nation during their slavery, Jacob grows into a large family.

Gen 29:31-30:24

Note the seeing and the hearing. In Exodus 3:7, God says, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.” In Gen 29:31, “The Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb.” In Gen 29:32, Leah says, “the Lord has looked upon my affliction.” She called her first son, Rueben, which means "Look a son." In Gen 29:33, she said, “the Lord heard that I am hated” and she called her second son, Simeon, which means “to hear.” These names bear witness to a merciful God. The themes of God hearing and seeing the oppressed was obvious with Hagar in Gen 16. She called her son, “Ishmael” God heard, and called God, “El Roi” the God who sees. Now, it is hated Leah who knows that God sees and hears the afflicted. From Hagar to Leah, to the oppressed Israel, God sees and hears. God sees and hears the vulnerable.

Jacob's multiplication continues until Gen 30:24. The themes of scheming and sibling rivalry continue. The sisters scheme. Oppression begets oppression. The sisters act like their husband and their father. They treat humans like animals and possessions. They give their maidservants to their husbands to have children. Rachel buys mandrakes in exchange for Leah to have another night with Jacob. This is all dark, wicked, and bizarre. And, this is the account of the birth of Israel’s patriarchs, the tribes of Israel.

Application

The following are three applications from this section on exile.

First, the theme of growth in exile.

NT texts like Rom 5:3 and James 1:2-3 teach us to rejoice in our hardships because the Lord uses those seasons to mature us. This was true in the life of Abraham, now Jacob, and then Israel in Egypt who all became wealthy in exile.

God now uses our hardships to grow us. No one enjoys suffering but suffering offers an opportunity. We can seek our refuge in God and his promises. We have an opportunity to believe in a reality that is bigger than our present circumstances. We can pray for a change of circumstances. As we wait, we can know that whether we suffer from sickness, a tough family situation, or at work, God is with us and wants to change us in our current situation.  Suffering is never for nothing for the Christian.

Second application is children.

The text teaches that children are such a blessing. In Gen 30:2, Jacob rightly says that God is the one who allows us and prevents us from having children. The children's names have explanations. The first was called Reuben, because “the Lord has looked upon my affliction;” The second is Simeon, because “the Lord has heard I was hated,” The third is, Levi, my husband will attach to me. The fourth was Judah, I will praise the Lord. Gad means “good forture” and Asher means “happy”. The names of these children express delight, hope, and joy. Isacchar means value, wage, or reward! Joseph means, "give me another [child]!" There is rivalry, jealousy and shame around these births, but these children’s names reveal the joy children bring.. This is always true. No matter what the circumstances of a conception, parents can make mistakes, but there are no accidental children.

A third application comes from the overabundance of God’s blessing.

This is the pattern. God blessed Hagar in Gen 16, even though she was rejected, God saw and heard her affliction. Now, even though Leah is hated by her husband, God saw and hear and she was the mother of 6 of the 12 patriarchs. The Priests will come through Leah through Levi. King David and King Jesus will come through through Leah, through Judah.

But now, even when God shows favor to Leah, Rachel still gets pregnant, so she is also blessed! We devour, consume, oppress because we don't believe there is enough blessing to go around. With God there is more than enough blessing for all. These verses are a troubling origin story for the people of Israel. It is marked by scheming, jealousy, polygamy, and the oppression of women. And still, God's blessing, goodness, and care overflows to all. To be like God we must reject scarcity mentality and extend loving kindness to all.

Genesis 30:25-31:55 Exodus

This is the summary of Gen 30:25-31. God fulfills his promise to Jacob in Gen 28. He brings him back home safely after a long exile. God is faithful. Gen 31 is again marked by human scheming, but God keeps his promises. This chapter has many parallels to the Exodus story. It is about deliverance. Though, there is sin, suffering, and scheming, God's blessing wins the day. The text ends with a covenant of peace and a meal.

Genesis 30:25-31:55

Jacob’s bondage parallels Israel’s future bondage. Now, so does Jacob’s deliverance compare to the Exodus. First, Gen 30:25 is a striking parallel to the Exodus story. In Exo 5:1, Moses says to Pharaoh, “Let my people go. In Gen 30:25, Jacob asks Laban, his Pharaoh, “Let me go.” In Hebrew, Jacob's words to Laban are identical to Moses’ words to Pharaoh.

Israel in exile can know that Jacob's story is their story. It confronts their sin. They are like their father Jacob. They sin, deceive, and oppress. They can also hope in God’s deliverance. Jacob has asked to leave. Laban schemed so that Jacob would leave empty-handed. Jacob schemed to become wealthy. Rachel is like both her father and husband, also a schemer. She stole her father’s household gods.

The following are more parallels between Jacob’s Exodus and Israel’s Exodus. Like the people of Israel who plunder the Egyptians, Jacob leaves with great possessions. The same way Israel left Egypt with gold that would be used to make the golden calf (Exod 12:35), Rachel steals her father’s household gods (Gen 31:29). The same way the Egyptians pursued Israel to the Red Sea, Laban pursues Jacob and his family.

In a similar way that the Exodus out of Egypt ends with a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, Laban and Jacob make a covenant and have a meal together in the hill country of Gilead (Gen 31:23). Gen 31 ends this way, following Jacob and Laban’s covenant, "54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country. 55 Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home."

Application

This account anticipates the famous story of the Exodus, but it anticipates a lot more. A story of a man who leaves the promised Land, stays in a foreign Land, and returns back into the promised Land richer, was the story of Abraham in Gen 12. This account of Jacob anticipates the nations of Israel, but the Exodus out of Egypt is not the final account of a delivery from a foreign land to return. The prophets describe the return from Babylon as a new Exodus. Jesus borrows this imagery to speak of his work on the cross to bring us back to Eden. The repeated cycles in Genesis invite us to understand what God is doing now based on what he has done in the past. The repeated patterns create a prophetic expectation. Based on past patterns, God’s people expect God’s deliverance.

When we are Christians, we have been rescued from our sinful ways, our scheming, and self-reliance. Our deliverance like Jacob’s is celebrated with a Covenant Meal. Every Sunday we take the Lord’s Supper. It is Covenant meal like Jacob and Laban that communicates peace between those who partake of it.

The body and blood of Christ represent Christ’s sacrifice. Our sins deserve God’s judgment, and Jesus took the judgment we deserve so that we would not face God’s just judgment. Christ offers peace with God. Communion has a horizontal dimension as well. Salvation is not just about being made right with God, but it includes God bringing us into his people. Because we eat of one bread we are one body. As we each experience union with Christ, by extension we enjoy communion with each other. The same way Jacob and Laban made peace, we must make peace with our fellow Christians. I say this knowing full well that some situations are very complicated. For some making peace with Christians on this side of heaven might involve staying far away, but committing to pray for sanctification for ourselves and those who have harmed us. We do this anticipating the Great Eschatological banquet where those from all the nations who have found peace in Christ will feast together. The text ends in the same way World History is heading, with a feast!

Conclusion

Gen 29 to 31 revisit Gen 1-4. They describe the birth of the people of Israel. The life of Jacob anticipates the story of Israel and also becomes our story in Christ, and the pattern for world history. We are like Jacob. We continually scheme and rely on ourselves to get ahead. Jacob's God is our God. He was faithful to bring Jacob back to the Edenic Land, and so he is with us giving us Eternal Life by offering his Son.

While our shame and sin lead us to act like Jacob or Laban. The forgiveness of sins, the delight of our father, and the work of the Holy Spirit allow us to enjoy Eden-life - of Peace with God, inner peace, and peace with others.