City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, ¹⁴ and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

Genesis 29:11-20 ESV

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labor in vain.

Psalm 127:1 ESV

Stop striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.

Psalm 46:10 NASB

Aisha’s Analysis

Jacob came to Haran with great expectations. He was freshly blessed by his father and just had an amazing experience with God. He came with the intention of finding a wife from his mother’s side of the family, and he just happened to run into Rachel. Things were finally looking up for Jacob. 

Jacob was so smitten with Rachel, and he was willing to work seven years for her. His love for her was so great that those years of hard labor felt like only a few days. However, at this point, Jacob is still relying on his own strength and effort to make God’s promises come true. By exchanging seven years of labor for Rachel as a generous offer to Laban, Jacob was essentially hedging his bet in securing Rachel as a wife, and that she was the one that God had for him. 

In the previous chapter, Jacob conditioned his commitment to God on God’s ability to provide and care for him: 

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Genesis 28:20-22 ESV

Throughout his life, Jacob planned and schemed to get God’s blessing. He was a good businessman and knew how to make a compelling offer. In offering a bowl of lentil soup to his starving brother and free labor to his opportunistic uncle Laban, Jacob knew how to make a deal you just couldn’t turn down.

However, God had a better plan for Jacob. When God appeared to Jacob in a dream, He made a promise to Jacob:  

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ 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 promised you.

Genesis 28:13-15 ESV

God didn’t need Jacob to do anything but believe in Him so He could bless him.   

Application

What is your motivation? Are you working to advance yourself or to advance God’s Kingdom? Fruit comes from yielding to God. There are so many things we give ourselves to, but what would life look like if we redirected that energy to trusting God? 

Stop striving and start trusting. Allow God’s love to shape your plans and efforts. Find contentment and satisfaction in Him alone. 

Prayer

Father God, may everything I do be a labor of love unto You. You are worthy of my complete devotion. I pray that every task and project I do would be infused with the love of God and bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.