Introduction: Jacob had stopped near Bethel (Luz), many miles away from his home and family. He had a dream, probably one of the strangest but most striking he would ever know. He woke up, set up a stone as a pillar, and made a contract, so to speak, with God.
Now he’s closer to Haran, the land where his mother Rebekah had been raised and the land where Isaac, his father, had told him to seek a wife for himself. As Jacob came closer to Haran, what kind of thoughts came to mind? Did he wonder if he would ever find true love? As it turned out, he did find true love—and even more.
1 Jacob’s discovery of the land
Text: Genesis 29:1-3, KJV: 1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. 3 And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.
If I read the geography correctly, Jacob had a long way to go between Luz/Bethel and Haran, where his uncle Laban lived. This was maybe in the neighborhood of 300 miles or so! Jacob would have had to follow rivers, crossing at least a couple (the Euphrates, for one) and going over, under, around and through mountain ranges. Rebekah’s advice for Jacob to stay with Laban “for a few days” was almost ironic: it may have taken Jacob a month or longer to reach Haran to begin with!
Eventually, Jacob reaches “the land of the people of the east”; probably referring to those who lived east of the Euphrates River. Jacob had no doubt passed through any number of cities, towns, villages, and the like but now it seems he’s in sheep country. He saw a well in the field and, to his interest, three flocks of sheep nearby.
But not only did Jacob see the flocks of sheep, he saw a well in the field. Water was and is very important in every part of the world, especially when flocks of animals are involved. Jacob would also know about wells, because Isaac had seen two of the wells he had dug snatched away by the “herdsmen of Gerar (Genesis 26:18-22)”.
Moses adds a detail that there was a great stone on the well’s mouth, doubtless to keep any impurities out of the well water. Once the shepherds watered the flocks, they put the stone back over the well’s mouth.
In addition to the well and the flocks of sheep, Jacob noticed some people. He needed information and they, more or less reluctantly, answered his questions.
2 Jacob’s dialogue with the shepherds
Text, Genesis 29:4-9, KJV: 4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7 And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. 8 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. 9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them.
Jacob had finally reached Haran, or at least the outskirts, as we’d say these days, and besides the three flocks of sheep, Jacob seems to have met the shepherds. Now he approaches them and begins to ask them a few questions. This makes sense, as there is no record that Jacob had ever gone far from the family campsite and Jacob certainly didn’t want to risk moving in with the wrong family! He was sent for two purposes: Rebekah wanted Jacob out of the way until Esau cooled off (as if that would happen) after Jacob stole the paternal blessing; Isaac wanted him to find a wife from the same “stock” or extended family as Rebekah. Esau had married two Hittite women and—that didn’t set well with Rebekah.
Jacob’s first question was very generic. Paraphrased, it might be something like “where are you from?” According to the book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”, the writer observed that sometimes sheep and shepherds would graze a good distance from their homes. Jacob knew nothing about these men and was simply trying to “break the ice.”
The men replied with very few words, “We’re from Haran.” Nothing more. Jacob was a stranger to them just as they were strangers to Jacob. No problem, though, as Jacob knew he was getting closer to where he was supposed to go.
After hearing them say “we’re from Haran”, Jacob takes the next step. He asked them if they knew Laban the son of Nahor. Laban and Nahor had lived in the area for many years, and at least later they had good sized flocks and herds. This was another test to see if Jacob was headed in the right direction or not. If these shepherds didn’t know Laban, then Jacob knew he would have to go further on his journey.
Their reply? Short and not really sweet, just terse: “We know him (and what’s it to you? is how I take their reply!)” Admittedly, they may have known about Laban, by name only; or they may have had some unpleasant dealings with Laban. Jacob would soon learn of this, first-hand.
Jacob’s final question of these three is, “Is Laban well?” The shepherds may have begun to realize that Jacob was no threat to them (he was just one man, after all) and that he had no desire to steal any of their sheep. They replied to Jacob, “He’s well and—oh by the way, here’s his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” Apparently they knew about Laban, and his daughter Rachel, but why none of them ever tried to court her is never stated. Were they afraid of Laban?
Now Jacob gives them a challenge, one that’s somewhat cryptic to me. He first said, “It’s high day” which could mean noontime or thereabouts. Other translations say “broad daylight” or “the middle of the day” or similar phrases. My own guess is that it was about noon and it was time to get some water for the animals. Where Jacob got his knowledge of livestock is never stated but he did seem to know there was a time to water sheep and another time for cattle.
Needless to say, the other shepherds stalled, saying “Uh, we can’t (notice how talkative they’ve become by now) until all the flocks be gathered together and ‘they’ roll the stone away from the well’s mouth. We’ll water the sheep then.”
Notice that while they—Jacob and the other shepherds—were talking, here comes Rachel with her father’s sheep. Moses adds a detail: “for she kept them.” Rachel seems to be following in the footsteps of Aunt Rebekah, who took care of a flock of sheep many years before.
But this day, something different was going to happen.
3 Jacob’s discovery of his relatives
Text, Genesis 29:10-13, KJV: 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 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. 13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
Jacob’s reaction to seeing Rachel for the first time is not quite what we might expect from a love-themed or romance movie! The first thing he did was move the stone from the well’s mouth, then, he watered the flock of sheep Rachel had brought with her. Contrast this with the prayer of Abraham’s servant who prayed that the girl who watered his animals would be the bride chosen for Isaac. Nothing is said as to whether or not Jacob got water for the other shepherds and their flocks: maybe, when he saw Rachel, he couldn’t see anything else. Someone once observed that you don’t see much of anything else when love fills your eyes.
After he watered the flock, Jacob kissed Rachel. Was she expecting this? There is no record she did anything except watch Jacob water her flock. There’s not even a “thank you” from Rachel expressed or implied! One wonders what she was thinking at this time.
We do know what she thought when Jacob identified himself as her relative, though! Jacob told her that he was her father’s “brother (kinsman, nephew actually)” and—this might be the clincher—he was Rebekah’s son. At that, Rachel left Jacob (and the flock?) then ran and told Laban, her father that a relative of theirs was close by (implied).
Now we almost have a repeat of an event many years ago. When Abraham’s servant had told Rebekah who he was how the LORD had led him there, Rebekah ran home, then Laban ran out to where the servant had remained (Gen. 24:28-30). Fast forward to that present time and Rachel ran home, and Laban, even after all these years, was still able to run as well. He ran as fast as he could to meet Jacob out by the well. Then he embraced and kissed Jacob (a custom among relatives in those days) and brought him to their house. Jacob explained everything to Laban, including why he had come back to Rebekah’s home land (implied).
Conclusion: The narrative stops here for now, but the seeds for the future were planted deep and would bloom into fruition sooner than anyone would think. Jacob had left his home and family, finally discovering the land of his relatives—and, he hoped, his future wife! He engaged in some dialogue with some other shepherds, just to verify, I suppose, if he was heading in the right direction. Imagine the relief Jacob must have felt when he found that yes, he was in Haran and yes, these other shepherds did know Laban and, yes, he was well (and, oh by the way, here comes his daughter with her flock). Did they suspect something? One never knows. . . .
But now imagine how happy Jacob must have become when he found his extended family! His uncle had come, running, to greet him and to take him into his house. My guess is that Jacob would have rather stayed in a house with family than spend another night under the stars.
And even though he may not have known it, he had found true love. This may have been the first time in his life anything like this ever happened. We don’t know for sure. But this is a good stopping point for now, with Jacob in a new home, with a new family, and about to experience true love—but a whole lot more besides.
As sports announcers might say, “Stay tuned!”
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
