Text: Genesis 29:1-20. "Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. 3 And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. 4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7 And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. 8 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. 9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. 13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. 15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. 20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her."

Introduction: Here we find Jacob following his parents orders. He is doing exactly what they told him to do. He is on a journey away from home, moving towards a new life. Soon he will be greeting his mother's brother, Uncle Laban, and his family. His uncle will welcome him with open arms. It had been a long time since Laban's sister had ridden away to become Isaac's bride. Perhaps he remembered the lavish display of wealth brought by Eliezer, Abraham's servant. Perhaps he was impressed by the strength of this young man named Jacob. He might prove handy and become a good shepherd. Almost certainly he considered the possibility of Jacob becoming a husband to one of his daughters. Leah and Rachel were both eligible. Laban never missed an opportunity to drive a hard bargain.

Most importantly, Jacob will meet Laban's younger daughter Rachel, and his life will change forever. Yes, this is one of those boy meets girl, ...boy and girl fall in love, ...boy gets deceived by girl's father and marries girl's older sister stories. But, before we get sidetracked, there is a lesson here concerning how to find a true love. This message is about the squeeze before Jacob gets squeezed. As Jacob holds his true love in his arms, we can pull from this passage five helpful truths in finding a true love. Here they are:

First, when it comes to finding our true love, we must listen to the right people. Back in Genesis 28, Jacob's father and mother blessed him and charged him not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. They told him in verse 2, "Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother." Jacob will find Rachel greatly because of the advise and direction of his parents.

Of course all of this is set against Esau's poor example. Esau did not seek advise from his parents and when they gave it, he did not heed it.

It pays to listen to the right people, to get advise from the right people, when it concerns our love interest. In this case, the best people in Jacob's life to turn for advise was his parents. If not parents, God has placed people in our lives who have wisdom, a knowledge of the Scriptures, who have maturity to be a good judge of character.

There are only two times in my life when I remember my father meddling in my love life. On one occasion, he told me to stop seeing a specific girl because she was of a different faith. I guess you could say she was of the daughters of Heth. So, that is what I did, I stopped seeing that girl. The second occasion was his recommendation that I date a certain young lady in the church named Brenda Kitch. Which I promptly did, and the rest is history!

Jacob eventually marries Rachel with the blessing of both sets of parents. The second most important decision of life is who we will chose as a lifetime mate. Make sure to get wise, Holy Spirit led, biblical, godly counsel in this decision.

Second, when it comes to finding our true love, we must look in the right places. Jacob found Rachel in Padanaram, at a well. If you were a young man living in that time frame and looking to pick up chicks, where would you go? You would hop a camel, and go to the nearest well! There was no Dairy Queen. There was no Mall. The well was the happening place! This might be the very well where Abraham's servant Eliezer found Rebekah for Isaac.

As we consider going to the right place to meet our true love, we might first ask ourselves the question, "What are we looking for?" Are we looking for a good, decent, godly person? Are we looking for someone who knows God, and loves God? Are we looking for someone who loves and respects his or her parents? If this is the type of person we are looking for, then we must ask the question, "Where is the most likely place to find such a person?" There are many who are looking for the right people in all the wrong places. For sure we can meet a true love almost anywhere, however there are some places, some crowds, we had better avoid.

I met my wife in church. I cannot think of a better place to meet a mate than in church! Now, just because a person is in church doesn't mean he or she is a good choice. Do not check your brain in at the door when you go to church! We can meet the wrong person in the right place. However, looking in the right places does make a great difference.

Jacob met Rachel among his people. They had much in common, most importantly, they possessed a common faith in God!

Third, when it comes to finding our true love, we must look for the right person. Jacob leaves home with the blessing of his parents. We find Rachel living at home in obedience and submission to her parents. How do we know? She is keeping her father's sheep!

Listen, a rebel at home is a rebel against God! Be wary of anyone who puts down his or her parents.

If we are going to look for the right person, we must have in mind some criteria. Listen, as young as possible, we ought to establish a criteria for our future mate. We must set down and write out the characteristics and qualities we are looking for. This is wisdom. Establish a good, godly, biblical criteria for a future mate and do not compromise it!

If we are looking for a certain type of person, then we ought to dress, present ourselves, in such a way as to interest or attract that type of person. If you dress like jerk bait, don't be surprised when you catch a jerk!

Fourth, when it comes to finding our true love, we must wait for the right time. How do we know when we are ready for a lasting serious relationship?

Check your relationship with God. This encounter with the house of Laban and Rachel happens after Jacob's encounter with God. He now had the ladder in his life, meaning he had the Lord in his life. He had made a commitment, a vow to God concerning how he would live his life.

Check your maturity level. Jacob is no kid here. He a mature young man ready to take responsibility to support and care for a wife. He is willing to work seven years for the right to marry Rachel.

Also, Rachel is the keeper of her father's sheep. Sheep meant money back then. Believe me, knowing Laban, he would never leave Rachel in charge of his precious sheep if she was not trustworthy and responsible! Check out the number of great leaders in Israel who began as shepherds. Moses and David for starters.

Fifth, when it comes to finding our true love, we must seek him or her for the right reasons. There are all sorts of reasons for getting married, many of which are not the best reasons.

Some marry out of rebellion. Jacob's brother Esau did this as he chose two wives from the daughters of Heth. This sounds like the young man who rebelled against is parents. He was sick and tired of them bossing him around, so to spite them, he joined the army!

Some marry to escape a bad home situation. Jacob is for sure escaping as he leaves home, but it is not so much about his parents as it is his angry threatening brother.

Some marry because of social pressure. We get married because are supposed to get married. It is the normal thing to do, and we want people to think at least that we are normal; whatever that is. It is time to get married because everyone gets married about this time.

Some people get married because of physical attraction. Jacob was attracted to Rachel's beauty. In verse 17 we read, "Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured." Leah was weak eyed, but Rachel was very striking in appearance. She was beautiful! There is nothing wrong with being physically attracted to someone, but if that is the sole reason for getting married, it is not reason enough! Those who marry solely based on physical attraction, end up with a fatal attraction.

The greatest reason to get married is to fulfill God's plan for our lives. Jacob gave Rachel the customary greeting which was a kiss on the cheek. As she left and ran to tell her father of Jacob's arrival, it says in verse 11b that Jacob "lifted up his voice, and wept." What was this about? Jacob was learning a lesson here. When you line up your life in the will of God, He goes ahead of you and opens doors, meets needs. If the covenant promise is to be fulfilled in Jacob's life, he must have children, which means he needs a wife.

Let me say here that it is not God's will for everyone to be married. There are good Christian men and women who never marry and live very happy and fulfilled lives for the Lord. The apostle Paul in I Corinthians 7, actually recommends this choice.

Another great reason to get married is for love's sake. There is no question, Jacob is smitten by this woman Rachel. Perhaps it was love at first sight. How do we know? Notice verses 7-10. "And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. 8 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. 9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother." Love is the greatest motive and motivator. Jacob and these shepherds are standing around waiting for someone to come and roll the stone away from the mouth of the well. No one seems to volunteer, and then in verse 9, Rachel shows up, Jacob takes one look at her, and suddenly Jacob is Superman! He finds muscles we didn't know he possessed. He steps up and moves the stone out of the way for the little lady! Some things never change!

The most revealing statement about Jacob's love for Rachel is made in verse 20. "And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her."

This message is really about living in total obedience and submission to God. When we are walking with God, it enables Him to give us His best. Psalm 37:3-5 reads, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."