Jacob started his journey to his mother’s country.
His father had said, “You’re not to marry a
Canaanite woman. Go back to your mother’s
family and find a wife there. May God give you
the blessings he promised Abraham!”
Jacob traveled all day. That night, he slept on
the ground, using a rock for a pillow.
During the night he dreamed he saw a ladder
that went up to Heaven. There were angels going
up and coming down! He saw the Lord standing
above the ladder saying, “I’m the Lord God of
Abraham and your father Isaac. I’m giving this
land to you and your descendants. All the earth
will be blessed because of them! I’m with you
and will watch over you as you go. I’ll bring you
back to this land.”
Suddenly Jacob woke up and was afraid. He
said, “Oh, … God is here and I didn’t know it! This
is the house of God and the doorway to Heaven!”
He took the rock he had used as a pillow and
used it to build an altar. He poured oil on it and
called the place Bethel, which means “the house
of God.” He said, “If God watches over me, and
provides for me, and brings me back to this land,
then he’ll be my God, and I’ll give him a tenth of
all he gives to me.”
Jacob traveled on to the home of his mother’s
brother. His uncle Laban received him with joy.
Now Laban had two daughters. The oldest
was Leah, and the youngest was Rachel – who
was beautiful.
At the end of a month, Laban said to Jacob,
“Work for me and I’ll give you wages. What’s
your price?”
Jacob said, “I’ll work for you seven years for
your younger daughter Rachel.”
Laban agreed and said, “It’s a deal!”
So Jacob worked for Laban seven years, and
it seemed like a few days because of his great
love for Rachel.
At the end of that time, Laban invited people
to a wedding feast. At the appropriate time, he
brought his daughter and gave her to Jacob. It
wasn’t until morning that Jacob realized his uncle
had given him Leah, the oldest daughter.
He was furious! He went to Laban and said,
“Why did you deceive me? You know I love
Rachel! I served you seven years for her.”
Laban said, “In our country, a younger
daughter isn’t allowed to marry until the older
one is married. But, this is what we can do. Fulfill
Leah’s bridal week, and then I’ll give you Rachel
and she can also be your wife. It’ll only cost you
another seven years of work.”
So Jacob agreed, and after seven days, he
married Rachel as well.
© God Child