Does this chapter have anything to do with the Messiah, or is it just a history about the family of Ya’akov (Jacob)? The meanings of the names of each of these children in sequence tells the story of the Messiah and how He will gather the nations (gentiles) into God’s family. The entire Bible is about Yeshua the Messiah, not just about Abraham, Yitskhak (Isaac), Ya’akov, Yosef (Joseph) or their descendants.
The vision of “Ya’akov’s ladder” and his being hoodwinked on his wedding night with Leah instead of Rachel make for entertaining reading, but why does the message of Yeshua the Messiah touch on these accounts? Genesis 28-29 also shows us how involved God is in this world throughout time.
Before studying the life of Yosef (Joseph), we look back at some of what we have learned about God and His interaction with some of His notable people. The Flood and the Tower of Babel were the two most monumental events in mankind’s history. Everything we experience today is the result of these two events.
Rachel envied her sister, Leah, and Leah hated Rachel because Ya’akov (Jacob) loved her. The names of the his 12 sons reflect this tug of war between the sisters and contain prophecies to be fulfilled hundreds of years later.
Ya’akov (Jacob) is sent away to find a wife and finds God first at the bottom of a ladder to Heaven. Then he finds Rachel and ends up with her sister and two slave women. There seems to be something prophetic about Rachel.