Jacob is here in Genesis 29 doing “Jacob-like stuff.” Like a smooth-talking used car salesman, he approaches these shepherds as if they were his long lost buddies from college. His reference to it being broad daylight seemed like another way of saying, “Why don’t you guys scurry off so I can be alone with Rachel.” When he learns that the stone needs to be rolled away before they can water the sheep, he wastes no time flexing his muscles in front of his future wife. This is what we might call “ancient flirting.”
Joking aside, Jacob is about to get a taste of his own medicine.
The offer to work 7 years for Rachel’s hand in marriage is completely foreign in today’s western culture. Basically, what Jacob is offering is a dowry. This would have been a gift of money or property by a man to or for his bride. In Jacob’s case, he had wandered from home and had no money, so the agreement was based on work. In my understanding, this was an extremely generous offer by Jacob. Rachel was exceedingly desirable and Jacob did not want to risk losing her. Unfortunately, since Jacob played his hand upfront, it opened an opportunity for Laban to manipulate.
Amazingly, in all the deception we have read in the previous and current chapter, God was still working. Although Leah was somewhat rejected and ignored, God would meet her needs.
“The names of Leah’s sons suggest the blessings that accrue through heartbreak. For the Leahs of the world there are great compensations. God remembers and hears them. Brokenhearted and forsaken, they live again in the lives of those whom they have borne either naturally or spiritually.”
F.B. Meyer