The Rock

 Genesis 29: 1-12

“1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” 7 He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” 9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.”

In this scripture we begin to see a changed or transformed Jacob.  He is no longer the boy who stayed at home and cooked soup while his brother, Esau, hunted.  He is no longer the boy who was shielded and protected by his mother.  

He is a man who has found and experienced the God of creation.  He is a man who is led and empowered by God. He is no longer just fleeing a past, he is pursuing a revealed future.  He is a man of focus and purpose.

The first sign of this transformation is when he moved the stone.  He rolled the stone away that kept the well closed and dark, protecting the water’s purity in darkness.

Moving the stone was no easy task.  It was normally the work of several men.  Yet, when Jacob saw Rachel and knew she was Laban’s daughter, he “rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother”

God had become Jacob’s rock and his strength, the key to his survival in the years to come.

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  (Psalm 18:2)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)