Jacob sat on the mat beside Rachel and took her hand in both of his. His heart was bursting with the joy of finally getting to sit beside her and actually hold her hand. It was small and soft, and the perfume of her garments was subtle and hypnotic. There was the hint of spring flowers and he realized her wedding dress had undoubtedly been packed in sprigs of lavender.
He struggled to find words that suited the occasion and expressed his feelings. He had worked so hard and waited so long for this moment; he must not spoil it in any way.
He glanced at her and found to his surprise that she was looking at him. He was relieved to see that her face and lips hadn’t been painted in the customary masklike rigidity. Her eyes were rimmed with dark kohl and her lips were touched with crimson, but it was still the dear, familiar face he’d grown to love. She smiled at him, then giggled, and finally fell back among the cushions laughing. Her cap of silver fell off and her bracelets jangled as she tried to fit it back in place. “I have frightened you,” she said as she dabbed at her eyes lest the black kohl streak down her face.
“Of course you frightened me,” Jacob said, laughing.
“I love the fuss and bother of being a bride,” she said, holding out her arms and admiring the jingle of her bracelets and the sparkle of her rings. “Don’t you find me much more interesting this way?”
Jacob reached for the small, jeweled hand and slowly began to remove the ornate rings. “There,” he said when they were lying in a pile beside her, “it’s you I have loved from the moment I first saw you. Whether you are dressed in worn homespun wool out with your sheep or in the elegance befitting a princess makes no difference.”
“Are you angry that you have already worked seven years for me and now have to work seven more?” She was serious now. Her eyes studied his face to catch any hint of unhappiness.
Jacob took both her hands in his and smiled. “I am a man who knows real value, and I assure you that I am the one who has won the prize in this bargain.”
* * *
The next afternoon Jacob called his second servant to him. “Go back to my family in Beersheba and tell my parents I must work seven more years. Tell my mother she was right about her brother, but in this bargain I have won. He has given me both Leah and Rachel, and with Rachel I will be unbelievably happy.”
Rebekah was delighted when the first seven years were up and she knew Jacob would at last be coming home. She had been terribly upset that her brother had made him work seven years to pay for his daughter. She was glad she had warned Jacob to watch out for her brother’s greed and craftiness. She should have known that going to get a bride without the bridal price gave Laban too tempting an opportunity to cut a sharp bargain.
She blamed herself for his having to leave home so quickly and going so unprepared. He should have gone to her brother loaded with gifts, but there had been no time. Esau was probably still angry. She would have to test the situation carefully, even now, to be sure Esau would not harm Jacob.
The opportunity came the next evening when she saw Esau near the tents. “Your brother will be home soon,” she told him.
Esau’s body tensed and his face clouded. “What does he want from us?”
“He doesn’t want anything,” she said. “He’s just soon to be married. The seven years are up and he’ll be coming home with his bride.”
“I suppose he’s expecting to benefit from all my hard work.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He’s been gone seven years,” he said, “while I’ve been here tending the sheep and building up a big flock.”
“And you think he’ll come and claim the two-thirds as his birthright.”
“Of course, I can see it all now. It’s just like him to come and reap the benefit while I’ve had to do the work.” He paced angrily back and forth, then with a great curse strode out of the tent. Once outside, he turned abruptly, and clutching the tent flap, leaned in to confront his mother. His face was red and distorted with hatred. “I said I’d kill him before and my threat still stands,” he said, biting off the words in sharp, forceful thrusts.
With that he was gone, leaving Rebekah in tears. “My poor, poor boys,” she cried. “Esau’s whole life is colored by this anger. He hates me as much as he hates his brother. And Jacob, what will become of him, armed only with his wits and muscle to get a bride?”
As she sat alone in her tent trying to face the ugly facts and find a way to welcome Jacob in spite of Esau’s threat, Deborah arrived. “Rebekah,” she said. “There’s bad news from Haran.”