October 26 Sunday Service (9:30 AM) - From Pastor Jeff:

Genesis 29:16-31 • The Bride

The tale of Jacob and Rachel is one of the most romantic love stories in scripture. Jacob goes on a long journey to find his bride, and when he meets Rachel, they quickly fall in love and Jacob offers seven years of hard labor to win her hand from his uncle, Laban.

This story has an amazing start, but it quickly goes downhill. Laban sneaks Rachel’s elder sister Leah into Jacob’s tent on his wedding night and he unknowingly marries the wrong sister. He is shocked when he wakes up with the wrong woman by his side.

Jacob the scheming deceiver was duped by the master of manipulation: Laban, as Jacob learns the hard lesson: you reap what you sow.

So—what does Jacob do at this point? A major decision must be made.

Here are some possible options—

He could simply stay married to Leah and leave Laban’s family, not wasting another day suffering under his treachery.

Or, he could give another seven years to Laban so he can marry Rachel, the true love of his life. Of course, he would have to tolerate the polygamy in order to meet his heart’s desire.

Tough choice.

Jacob follows his heart—he can’t walk away from Rachel. So he waits a week to complete his honeymoon with Leah, and then he marries his true love.

Now we get to the BIG LESSON: What about Leah?!? Jacob is technically married to her, and they even have children together. What does their marriage teach us? And, especially, how does their marriage reflect the Gospel message of Jesus?

To prepare for Sunday’s message, please ponder Ephesians 5:25–33.