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The name of this week’s Parasha is Vayetzei, which means “and he went out” and covers Genesis 28:10-32:3. During Jacob’s journey, he had a dream one night of seeing a ladder from Earth to Heaven and God’s angels going up and down the ladder, with God Himself above the ladder. God reaffirmed to Jacob the promises He made with Abraham in chapters 12 and 13 that all humanity will be blessed through his descendants, and that his many descendants will spread out in every direction.
Jacob awoke and realized that Adonai was in that place, so he built a pillar, consecrated it with oil, and renamed that area from Luz to Bethel, or “house of God”. Jacob vowed that if God protected him and provided for him on his journey, God would be his God, and Jacob would return to Him a tenth from all he received.
In chapter 29, Jacob encountered some shepherds waiting by a well to water their sheep. He asked if they knew Laban. They replied that they did, and that it was Laban’s daughter Rachel just then arriving at the well with his sheep. When Jacob saw her, he removed the stone and watered her sheep. Jacob was so overjoyed to see Rachel that he kissed her and told her that they were related. Rachel left and told Laban this news, and Laban hurried to meet Jacob. He kissed Jacob, brought him into his home and listened as Jacob described his journey.
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for a month, Laban asked him about his desire for wages. Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel, and Jacob replied that he would work seven years for Laban in exchange for Rachel becoming his wife. Laban agreed, and because Jacob loved Rachel so deeply, the time seemed to fly by for him.
When the seven years were complete, Jacob requested Rachel and Laban threw him a wedding party. But Laban tricked Jacob by giving him Leah instead. When Jacob awoke and discovered Laban’s deception, he confronted him. Laban made the excuse that their custom was to marry the older daughters first. He proposed that Jacob work another seven years for Rachel, to which he agreed.
When Jacob married Rachel, he loved her more than Leah. Because Jacob preferred Rachel, Adonai consoled Leah by blessing her with four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.
Chapter 30 describes Rachel’s jealousy of Leah and complaint to Jacob about her own barrenness. Jacob replied that it was out of his control. Rachel then gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, which was a common practice during this time if a woman was unable to bear children. It was understood that the children from Bilhah would be considered as from Rachel and credited to her lineage. Bilhah gave Jacob two sons: Dan and Naphtali. Leah followed suit, giving Jacob her maid Zilpah as a wife, and Zilpah gave Jacob two sons: Gad and Asher.
One day Rachel asked Leah for some mandrakes that Reuben had found in the field. Mandrakes were considered aphrodisiacs and Rachel thought they might help her conceive. Given the competition between them, Leah naturally objected, so Rachel offered a trade: Leah could sleep with Jacob in exchange for the mandrakes. The deal was struck and Jacob was required to sleep with her that night. Adonai listened to Leah and she again became pregnant. Leah eventually gave Jacob two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun as well as a daughter, Dinah. But God didn’t forget Rachel; He blessed her with a son – Joseph.
After Joseph’s birth, Jacob asked Laban to let him return to his homeland, but Laban wanted him to stay, after learning through divination that Adonai had prospered him because of Jacob. Laban asked Jacob to name his wages, and Jacob said he would take all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats. Laban agreed, but removed those animals from his flocks that day and put three days’ distance between themselves.
Jacob, using a form of animal husbandry, took newly-cut branches from poplar, almond and sycamore trees and placed them by the watering troughs, so that Laban’s flocks would be drawn there and produce streaked and speckled offspring when mating. Since these branches are colored white, their use is emphasized as a play on words, since Laban’s name also means “white”. Laban unwittingly helped Jacob! Jacob repeated this process, and the stronger females produced offspring for him, which gave him larger, healthier flocks than Laban’s. Jacob also gained many servants, camels and donkeys during this time.
In chapter 31, Jacob realized that Laban and his sons were resentful of his success. God told Jacob to return to Canaan and that He would be with him. Jacob told Rachel and Leah what happened between him and Laban, and about a dream he had where the Angel of the Lord told Jacob that God was prospering him due to Laban’s actions. The Angel identified Himself as the God of Bethel, which lends to what we call a Christophany, or an appearance of Yeshua in the Old Testament.
Rachel and Leah declared they had no reason to stay, and encouraged Jacob to obey God; so the family left for Canaan without telling Laban. Unknown to Jacob, Rachel had stolen Laban’s household idols before they left. Flavius Josephus, a famous Jewish historian, wrote that Rachel took them to gain Laban’s pardon in case they were caught. Whether it was for that reason or not, she did steal them.
After three days, Laban discovered Jacob’s departure and went after him. He found Jacob in Gilead, but had been forewarned in a dream by Adonai to be careful how he spoke to Jacob. When they met, Laban confronted Jacob about his sudden disappearance and the theft of Laban’s idols. Jacob replied that he left secretly because he was worried Laban would try to stop him, but denied any knowledge of the idols. Protesting his innocence, he said whoever was found with them would die. Neither man knew it was Rachel, who had hidden them in her camel’s saddle and lay on the saddle, telling her father she couldn’t stand up because she was having her period.
After the unsuccessful search for his idols, Jacob confronted Laban about the hardships he put him through and said that if it hadn’t been for the faithfulness of the God of his fathers, Laban would have left Jacob with nothing. Laban offered to make a covenant with Jacob and they piled stones to symbolize this covenant. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, or “witness pile”, in Aramaic and Jacob called it Galeed, which meant the same in Hebrew. Laban also called it Mizpah, or “watchtower”, to remind Jacob that God was watching him if he took other wives or harmed Laban’s daughters.
Jacob took an oath in the name of the “Fear of Isaac” and offered a sacrifice there. Laban left the next day after blessing his daughters and grandchildren. It’s interesting to note that Jacob refers to God twice as “the Fear” in connection with his father Isaac, which shows the reverence both Isaac and Jacob had for God’s power. It should remind us to always respect God for His power and might.
The parasha ends in chapter 32 with Jacob naming the place he saw the Lord’s angels during his return to Canaan, as Mahanaim, or “camps”.
Parasha Vayetzei shows us the supremacy of God’s will over human desires and schemes. We should be humble and accept that God’s will is good and to be trusted. There is no need for scheming. Jacob acted somewhat superstitiously in his use of branches to “influence” the mating patterns of goats and sheep, and Rachel and Leah showed superstitious beliefs about fertility when bartering over Reuben’s mandrakes. Scripture teaches us very clearly that their blessings came from a gracious God, not as a result of superstitious practices.
Even though Jacob loved Rachel and not Leah, God allowed Leah to provide Jacob with most of his children, including Judah, from whose tribe would come the Messiah! Although God had promised to bless Jacob, Jacob’s conniving for his personal gain led to animosity and turmoil between he and Laban and their families.
Jacob’s dream about the ladder bridging earth and heaven found it’s fulfillment in the person of Messiah Yeshua. In John chapter 1 He claimed to be that very ladder – the only One who could bridge the gap between heaven and earth, and mediate between a holy, righteous God and sinful mankind.
Loyally following Yeshua as Messiah and Lord and Redeemer is the only way to be reconciled to God. Just as Jacob’s faith was tested, so too your faith will be tested in this journey through life. Make sure you pass that test! Remain close to Yeshua, and don’t scheme, but trust God to fulfill His promises, for His faithfulness is everlasting!