Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year.
Yesterday we heard about the death of Abraham and how Isaac and Rebekah got twins, Esau
and Jacob, and how Esau traded his birthright and gave it to Jacob for a bowl of lentil,
and how Jacob stole the blessing from their father, the blessing that's reserved to the
elder son, and how under the advice of Rebekah he fled and went and stayed with his uncle
so that his brother wouldn't kill him for stealing the blessing from their father, Isaac.
Today we're going to hear about the life of Jacob with Laban and how he marries Rachel
and Leah and how he has children from both of them.
Let us begin.
Today's reading is from Genesis chapters 28, 29 and 30.
Chapter 28.
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him and said to him, You shall not
take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take yourself
a wife from there of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly
of peoples and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that
you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.
So Isaac sent Jacob away and he went to Paddan Aram to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian,
the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram to take himself
a wife from there, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge saying, You shall
not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his
mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.
Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac.
So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalat, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the
sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran, so he came to a certain place
and stayed there all night, because the sun had set.
And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in
that place to sleep.
Then he dreamed and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven,
and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father,
and God of Isaac, the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth.
You shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and in you
and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land,
for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did
not know it.
And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Then Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put at his head, set
it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it, and he called the name of that place Bethel,
but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
Then Jacob made a vow saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I
am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my Father's
house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.
And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house.
And of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you.
Chapter 29
So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
And he looked and saw a well in the field.
And behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it.
For out of that well they watered the flocks.
A large stone was on the well's mouth.
Now all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the well's
mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth.
And Jacob said to them, My brethren, where are you from?
And they said, We are from Haran.
Then he said to them, Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?
And they said, We know him.
So he said to them, Is he well?
And they said, He is well.
And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.
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.
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.
Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she
was a shepherdess.
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.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept.
Then Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebecca's son.
So she ran and told her father.
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.
And Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh.
And he stayed with him for a month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me
for nothing?
Tell me, what should your wages be?
Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah and the name of the younger
was Rachel.
Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger
daughter.
Then Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to
another man.
Stay with me.
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed only a few days to him because
of the love he had for her.
Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife for my days are fulfilled, that I may go into
her.
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.
Now it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to
Jacob and he went into her and Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a
maid.
So it came to pass in the morning that behold it was Leah and he said to Laban, What is
this you have done to me?
Was it not for Rachel that I served you?
Why then have you deceived me?
And Laban said, It must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the
firstborn.
Fulfill her week and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve
with me still another seven years.
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week so he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also
and Laban gave his maid Bila to his daughter Rachel as a maid.
Then Jacob also went into Rachel and he also loved Rachel more than Leah and he served
with Laban still another seven years.
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved he opened her womb but Rachel was barren so Leah
conceived and bore a son and she called his name Reuben for she said, The Lord has surely
looked on my affliction now therefore my husband will love me.
Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, Because the Lord has heard that I am
unloved he has therefore given me this son also and she called his name Simeon.
She conceived again and bore a son and said, Now this time my husband will become attached
to me because I have borne him three sons therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son and said, Now I will praise the Lord therefore
she called his name Judah.
Then she stopped bearing.
Chapter 30 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no
children Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob, Give me children or else I die.
And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel and he said, Am I in the place of God who
has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?
So she said, Here is my maid Bela go into her and she will bear a child on my knees
that I also may have children by her.
Then she gave him Bela her maid as wife and Jacob went into her and Bela conceived and
bore Jacob a son.
Then Rachel said, God has judged my case and he has also heard my voice and given me a
son therefore she called his name Dan.
And Rachel's maid Bela conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
Then Rachel said with great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and indeed I have
prevailed.
So she called his name Naftali.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob
as wife and Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
Then Leah said a true comes.
So she called his name Gad.
And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
Then Leah said I am happy for the daughters will call me blessed.
So she called his name Asher.
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought
them to his mother Leah.
Then Rachel said to Leah please give me some of your son's mandrakes.
But she said to her is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?
Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?
And Rachel said therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes.
When Jacob came out of the field in the evening Leah went out to meet him and said you must
come in to me for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes.
And he lay with her that night.
And God listened to Leah and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Leah said God has given me my wages because I have given my maid to my husband.
So she called his name Issachar.
Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth child.
And Leah said God has endowed me with a good endowment.
Now my husband will dwell with me because I have borne him six sons.
So she called his name Zebulun.
After she bore a daughter and called her name Dina.
Then God remembered Rachel and God listened to her and opened her womb.
And she conceived and bore a son and said God has taken away my reproach.
So she called his name Joseph and said the Lord shall add to me another son.
And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph that Jacob said to Laban send me away
that I may go to my own place and to my country.
Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you and let me go for you know
my service which I have done for you.
And Laban said to him please stay if I have found favor in your eyes for I have learned
by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.
Then he said name me your wages and I will give it.
So Jacob said to him you know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.
For what you had before I came was little and it has increased to a great amount.
The Lord has blessed you since my coming and now when shall I also provide for my own house.
So he said what shall I give you and Jacob said you shall not give me anything.
If you will do this thing for me I will again feed and keep your flocks.
Let me pass through all your flock today removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep
and all the brown ones among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats
and these shall be my wages.
So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come when the subject of my wages
comes before you.
Everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and brown among the lambs
will be considered stolen if it is with me.
And Laban said ohm that it were according to your word.
So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female
goats that were speckled and spotted, everyone that had some white in it and all the brown
ones among the lambs and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Then he put three days journey between himself and Jacob and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's
flocks.
Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled
white stripes in them and exposed the white which was in the rods.
In the rods which he had peeled he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering
troughs where the flocks came to drink so that they should conceive when they came to
drink.
So the flocks conceived before the rods and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled
and spotted.
Then Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the
brown in the flock of Laban.
But he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock.
And it came to pass whenever the stronger livestock conceived that Jacob placed the
rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters that they might conceive among the
rods.
But when the flocks were feeble he did not put them in.
So the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.
Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous and had large flocks, female and male servants
and camels and donkeys.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.