Jacob is on his way to his mother's family. As he comes near Laban's hometown, he meets shepherds at a well. "Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. There he saw a well in the open country, 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. 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." (Genesis 29:1-3)
What a welcome sight this well must be after his long journey. Not only will he find refreshment here, but the shepherds he meets here know Jacob's family members from Harran and will point out Rachel as she arrives with her father's sheep. "Jacob asked the shepherds, 'My brothers, where are you from?' 'We're from Harran,' they replied. 'He said to them, 'Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?' 'Yes, we know him,' they answered. Then Jacob asked them, 'Is he well?' 'Yes, he is,' they said, 'and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.'" (Genesis 29:4-6)
Is this the same well where Abraham's servant Eliezer met Rebekah when he came to this area to seek a wife for Isaac? Some scholars think so; the Bible doesn't say. But it's clear that the Lord has given Jacob success. Not only has he arrived at his destination safely but the first people he comes in contact with know the very man he's come here to see. And now Laban's beautiful daughter approaches the well and Jacob, being a single man faced with an attractive woman, wants the shepherds to make themselves scarce so he can speak with her alone. "'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.'" (Genesis 29:7)
It's likely that these shepherds are teenage boys. Watching the sheep was a job normally assigned to a family's youngest sons who were not yet mature enough to be tasked with conducting more important business. An example of this is David, who was the youngest son in his family and whose father gave him the job of watching the sheep. I don't think Jacob would try to give orders to a group of grown men the way he gives orders to these shepherds. I think he speaks to them this way because he's probably old enough to be their father.
But the young men don't do as he says because it goes against the way things are done here at this well. "'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.'" (Genesis 29:8) There are more flocks coming. Their custom is to wait until everyone is present who uses this well and then they roll the stone away and draw out water to serve all the animals at once. It wouldn't be courteous of them to roll the stone away, water their own flocks, roll the stone back, and leave before the other shepherds get there. This is a communal watering hole and gathering place where shepherds enjoy meeting each other each day and helping each other water their flocks. Jacob has to resign himself to talking to Rachel in front of an audience.
"While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for he was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep." (Genesis 29:9-10) Jacob wants to flex his muscles in front of this attractive woman whose father is obviously well-to-do judging by the number of sheep Rachel is leading. We have been told the stone over the well is large, and it must have taken considerable effort if Jacob rolled it away all by himself, so some scholars suggest that a few of the young shepherds may have assisted him. Either way, he wants to be noticed as the man who rolls the stone away for Rachel and he wants to be chivalrous by doing the work of watering her sheep so she doesn't have to do it herself.
He talks with her while he waters the sheep, introducing himself and explaining that he's here to see her father. He kisses her next. Not on the mouth, I'm sure, but in the way a family member would kiss their kinsman on each cheek. "Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father." (Genesis 29:11-12) Jacob makes their family connection clear before he greets her in this familiar way. He's not doing anything improper by giving her a customary kinsman's kiss in this manner. He's so relieved to have made it there safely and to have almost immediately met one of Laban's children that he's overwhelmed with emotion and begins to weep happy tears.
"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. Then Laban said to him, 'You are my own flesh and blood.'" (Genesis 29:13-14) Jacob describes his journey to Harran and how he was providentially led to meeting Rachel at the well, much in the same way that Eliezer previously told Laban and his family about his journey to Harran and about how he met Rebekah at the well. The ability to tell an interesting story was a highly valued talent in those times and Laban's family would have hung on every word as they sat around the dinner table. Does Jacob tell Laban how he deceived Isaac or that he stole Esau's blessing and that Esau has vowed to kill him? I very much doubt it. That wouldn't make a good impression. He wouldn't be presenting himself in a very trustworthy light and it's important that this family makes him welcome.
Does Jacob tell Laban that he's come to Harran to procure a believing wife because his parents don't want him marrying a woman of Canaan? I think it's possible. In tomorrow's passage Jacob will offer to work seven years for Laban without pay in exchange for Rachel's hand in marriage, so he may have made it clear from the outset that he's looking for a marriage partner. Whatever Jacob tells Laban at this first meeting, I think the family spends an enjoyable evening together and that Laban is pleased by the arrival of Jacob, so pleased that he basically says, "My house is your house. You are my flesh and blood and you are welcome here."
The Lord has kept His promise to watch over Jacob wherever he goes. Life in Harran won't be easy for Jacob and he will become the victim of a deception as bad as the one he perpetrated upon Isaac. He will be cheated and mistreated by his kinsman in several different ways. Jacob is an ambitious and crafty man but Laban is even more ambitious and crafty. Laban is willing to be dishonest when it suits him. But this is all part of the Lord's plan in training Jacob for what He his will for Jacob's life. Jacob needs a dose of his own medicine. He needs to be on the receiving end of deception and dishonesty so he can learn how vile such things are in the sight of God. What he endures in Harran won't always be pleasant but it's necessary for the building of his character. God knows what kind of man Jacob can be, but Jacob needs some discipline and refinement before he can become that man.
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