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7 Then he said, "Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them." 8 But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep." 9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 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, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. 13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month. ~ Genesis 29:7-14
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 29 where Jacob has just met his future wife Rachel at a well near Rachel's hometown of Haran. After inquiring of the shepherds at the well that if they knew his uncle Laban, Jacob was told by the shepherds that Laban's daughter Rachel just so happened to be arriving at the well where they had all gathered.
Earlier we were informed that in order for the sheep to be hydrated the stone above the well had to be rolled away. We will see these words repeated in today's passage. This is the only place in the entire Old Testament where these two words, "rolled away" are combined. These two words are combined 4 times in the New Testament, and every instance concerns the "rolling away" of the stone in front of Christ’s tomb.
In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "7 Then he said, 'Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.' 8 But they said, 'We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.'"
The flocks could not be watered until the stone was rolled away sounds a lot like a spiritual truth that we have learned from the resurrection of Christ. At the cross, the Lord Jesus paid the penalty that was earned by mankind's sinfulness. And, it was early on Sunday morning after He had been crucified that He rose from the dead. The stone was rolled away from the tomb of the Good Shepherd of the sheep so that the well of living water might be accessed by all humble enough to believe the gospel and to receive the gift of forgiveness of sin earned for us by the Lord Jesus. That Easter morning the stone was rolled away not to allow the Lord Jesus the opportunity to exit the tomb but that sinful man might have access to God.
Jacob was a shepherd and so he knew what was normal for tending sheep, but he didn’t know the customs of this well in the fields just outside of Haran. Normally in the middle of the day when it was the hottest, the shepherds would take a break and relax in the shade and let the animals enjoy a drink of water. But, once the hottest part of the day was behind them, the animals would be taken back out into the fields to eat further. It was the middle of the day and Jacob did not understand why they were just sitting around. This is why he suggested they drink. Jacob did not understand the local agreement which meant that only when all the flocks were gathered together would they roll the stone from the mouth of the well.
In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, "9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 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, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother."
When Rachel, the beautiful cousin of Jacob arrived, it was obvious she was a shepherdess tending to her father's sheep. In that moment 77 year old Jacob was overwhelmed in such a way that he moved the rather large stone off the well by himself and watered the flock for Rachel. Jacob's journey to Haran was marked by three stones: The first stone was covered with oil at Luz to mark the place where God gave to Jacob the dream of the ladder. The second stone was this huge well cap that Jacob removed to gather the water for Laban’s flocks. The third stone will come later, in fact, it will be a pile of stones which will be a monument to Jacob's reconciliation with his brother, Esau.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept."
This is the second recorded kiss in the Bible. The first was when Jacob kissed Isaac before being blessed and now Jacob, the one who was blessed, kissed his cousin and future wife. Then he lifted up his voice in praise of God over meeting Rachel. And, for whatever reason, the emotions that went along with the voice resulted in weeping.
In the background of Jacob's outburst was his deepest longings. Jacob was a man who was forever in searched of that which would fill his heart. His story is our story. We are like the woman the Lord Jesus met at Jacob's well in John 4 who had six different men whom she had hoped would fulfill her dreams but to no avail. To her the Lord Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." Jacob, like the woman in John 4, was really in search of the One who would fulfill all of his longings, he just didn't know it yet.
In v.12-14 of today's passage we read, "12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. 13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month."
It was at that moment that Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative or brother. The Hebrew word translated "relative" is translated in other translations of the Bible as "brother." This is confusing to us, but in their culture, it was not meant in a literal sense. Brother, in this sense is extended to remote degrees of family relationships such as a nephew, a cousin, or an uncle.
Laban certainly remembered the 10 camels full of goods bearing the servant of Abraham who came to find a wife for his son Isaac. He probably knew through communicating with Rebekah that Isaac had prospered greatly and had become great and that this blessing would flow down to his own son as well. Like he did about 100 years before, Laban ran out to a man by a well to become a part of God’s story, the story of mankind moving from the fall to his restoration in Christ. There at the well, Laban embraced Jacob, and for the third time in the Bible it notes another kiss. Then they went into Laban's house.
While in the house, Laban discerned what Jacob was proposing. This is why Laban announced Jacob was his bone and his flesh. This meant that they were family. Because of this, Jacob was now allowed to stay and be a part of Laban's family life. Jacob gladly stayed there for a month.
This true story of Jacob meeting Rachel pictures the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The stone over the well pictures the Lord Jesus while the water pictures the Holy Spirit. Jacob pictures Christ and Rachel and the sheep picture people who are coming to the Lord Jesus in faith. Everything here points to fallen man and his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is clear from today's narrative is that Jacob was growing in grace and in his relationship with the Lord. Of course like you and me, Jacob was not all that godly when he was young, but as the years passed and as he experienced the Lord’s faithfulness God began to capture more of Jacob's heart. All of this just underscores the fact that God cares about our hearts most. And He will never be in as much of a hurry as we are to change us from the heart outward.
Since God displayed so much patience with Jacob, we should be more patient with God, ourselves and others. God cares most that we are holy which means to be complete. This is why our lives are so full of troubles, pains, and sorrows because troubles, pains, and sorrows are useful tools that soften our sin soaked hearts toward God. The world does not understand this process because it has no concept of just how unholy it is and how far it has been removed from the heart of the Lord Jesus. But we get it because our eyes have been opened to the goodness of our wonderful God who sent His Shepherd Son who has been known to run after just one lost sheep.
