在创世记二十九章十三、十四节，拉班“跑去迎接，抱着他与他亲嘴，领他到自己的家”。然后拉班对雅各说，“你实在是我的骨肉”（创二九14）。拉班是个政客。雅各和他同住了一个月后，他认为雅各对他应该很有用，就说，“你虽是我的骨肉，岂可白白的服事我，请告诉我你要甚么为工价？”（创二九15）。拉班是在想如何捉住、留住并利用雅各。在创世记中，没有一个人比拉班更精明，甚至雅各也不如他。雅各虽然精明，但神更精明，神似乎说，“雅各，你很精明，但我要豫备一个比你更精明的人”。拉班不是偶然出生的；他是照着神的豫备出生的，为要变化雅各。外科手术在手术室进行以前，很多工具要豫备好。同样，像弯刀一样的拉班，是为雅各豫备的。
拉班似乎对雅各说，“你不该白白的服事我。请告诉我你要甚么为工价”。深爱拉结的雅各，对拉班很诚实，他说，“我愿为你小女儿拉结服事你七年”（创二九18）。爱情使人盲目并愚蠢。当我读雅各的故事时，我说，“雅各，你太笨了，你不该说你愿意为拉结工作七年。你应该说你愿意工作七个月”。像雅各这样狡猾的人，怎么会这样愚蠢？因为他爱拉结，不惜任何代价要得着她。然而，雅各也相当聪明，他知道如果题议短期受雇，拉班不会同意这项交易。因他惟恐失去拉结，所以题议为拉班工作七年，好得着拉结为妻。如果我是雅各，我会先题议工作七个月，然后关于时间长短，再和拉班讨价还价。
拉班很贪心，剥夺他的外甥七年。圣经没有说，七年满了之后，拉班叫雅各来，告诉他娶拉结的时候到了。不，乃是雅各向拉班说，“日期已经满了，求你把我的妻子给我，我好与她同房”（创二九21）。雅各似乎说，“拉班，我的七年已经满了，我的妻子在那里？我已经为你工作，现在你必须给我工价”。拉班非常精明。他摆设筵席，请齐了那地方的众人，然后将女儿利亚送来给雅各”。雅各就与她同房”（创二九22-23）。筵席是在白天，结婚却是在晚上。那晚拉班欺骗了雅各，把大女儿利亚代替拉结给了雅各。
信息重点：雅各善于抓夺，但神预备了更精明的拉班来对付他。神常藉着那些我们觉得难相处的人，暴露我们的天然生命，并带来真实的变化。
应用祷告：主耶稣，求你让我不只看见别人的问题，更看见你藉着他们在我身上的工作。愿我接受你的对付，而不是坚持自己的天然。
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Laban Deceives Jacob by Giving Him Two Daughters (1) — Gen. 29:18
In Genesis 29:13-14, Laban “ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house.” Then Laban said to Jacob, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh” (Gen. 29:14). Laban was a politician. After Jacob had lived with him for a month, Laban recognized that Jacob would be very useful to him, and said, “Just because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” (Gen. 29:15). Laban was thinking about how to capture, retain and exploit Jacob. In all of Genesis, no one is more shrewd than Laban — not even Jacob. Although Jacob was shrewd, God is more shrewd; God seemed to say, “Jacob, you are very clever, but I am going to prepare someone even more clever than you.” Laban was not born by accident; he was born according to God’s preparation for the purpose of transforming Jacob. Before surgery is performed in an operating room, many instruments must be prepared. In the same way, Laban — like a scalpel — was prepared for Jacob.
Laban seemed to say to Jacob, “You should not serve me for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be.” Jacob, who deeply loved Rachel, was honest with Laban and said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel” (Gen. 29:18). Love makes a person blind and foolish. When I read Jacob’s story, I say, “Jacob, you are too foolish — you should not have said you were willing to work seven years for Rachel. You should have said you were willing to work seven months.” How could someone as cunning as Jacob be so foolish? Because he loved Rachel and was willing to pay any price to obtain her. Yet Jacob was also quite clever — he knew that if he proposed a short-term arrangement, Laban would not agree to the deal. Fearing he might lose Rachel, he proposed working seven years for Laban in order to win Rachel as his wife. If I were Jacob, I would first propose working seven months, and then negotiate the length of time further with Laban.
Laban was very greedy and exploited his nephew for seven years. The Bible does not say that after the seven years were complete, Laban called Jacob and told him the time to marry Rachel had come. No — it was Jacob who said to Laban, “My time is completed. Give me my wife, that I may go in to her” (Gen. 29:21). Jacob seemed to say, “Laban, my seven years are up. Where is my wife? I have worked for you — now you must give me my wages.” Laban was very shrewd. He prepared a feast, gathered all the men of the place, and then brought his daughter Leah to Jacob. And he went in to her” (Gen. 29:22-23). The feast was held during the day, but the marriage took place at night. That night Laban deceived Jacob by substituting his older daughter Leah for Rachel.
Message Focus: Jacob was skilled at grasping and scheming, but God had prepared someone even more shrewd — Laban — to deal with him. God often uses the people we find most difficult to get along with to expose our natural life and bring about genuine transformation.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to see not only the faults of others, but also the work You are doing in me through them. May I accept Your dealings rather than insisting on my own natural ways.