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Sermon
Genesis

The Lord Never Fails

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May 12, 2024
Genesis 29:1-31:55
Steven Lee
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

The Sovereignty of God

Sanctification & Growth

Manhood & Womanhood

Transcript

0:16Well, let me again wish the mothers among us Happy Mother's Day. We're so glad you are spending that time with us here this morning. Let me encourage you to open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 29, found on page 23 in the blue Bible. In the seat in front of you, I encourage you to pull up the passage on your phone or in that Bible in a physical Bible as we study God's word together. And now let me pray for us once again. Father, would you bless us by opening our eyes this morning? Protect us from the schemes of the evil one that seeks to pluck out your word before it has a chance to take root in our hearts and provide us food now this morning for our souls so that we might see more of the beauty and wonder of Christ.

1:11We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. This morning we are going to be looking at Genesis 29 30 and 31. A few weeks ago when I was looking ahead in the preaching schedule, I, I saw that on Mother's Day we were doing three chapters of Genesis and I saw who's the idiot who planned this. And then I remembered it was this guy. But there is a reason why we are looking at 133 verses this morning. These three chapters hinge together to show us that God is with Jacob. As was promised at the end of Genesis 28, God is going to fulfill that very promise. Now, this isn't the only way to preach Genesis 29 30 and 31.

2:05We could slow down and take a chapter at a time, but what I wanna do is help us to see the force of the unstoppable blessings of God as they rain down on Jacob. Now just giving you a little bit of context, these three chapters trace Jacob's time in Patran with Labin and it's divided into four main sections. And they kind of follow the natural divisions in your Bible. If you have an ESV, a English standard version Bible, hi, his marriage to Rachel and Leah is the first section, the birth of his children, the gaining of his flocks and wealth, and then his departure back to the promise land. And what this does, these three chapters summarize 20 years of time before he returns.

2:56And I'm gonna tell you the main point at kind of the front end here, the overarching framework of these three chapters is that God is on Jacob's side. He's gonna fulfill his promise, he's gonna provide and protect Jacob. Not a single word of the Lord will fail despite all the deception and opposition that Jacob's going to face and experience, God is orchestrating all of this for his good. So the main point could be summarized as the Lord will without fail, bless, protect, and provide for his people. The Lord will without fail, bless and protect and provide for his people. And because we're going very quickly through all of these, I'm gonna read portions, uh, and I'm gonna summarize a few.

3:52I told my family, I'm not gonna go double speed, uh, in, in talking maybe 1.25 when I read the passage. So we'll go just a little faster than we might otherwise normally. And we have four major divisions and they all start with the letter W. So we have the wedding, the we ones, the children, the wealth and the wayfaring. So wedding we ones wealth and wayfaring. So first we come to the wedding, look with me at chapter 29, starting in verse one. Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field. And behold, three flocks of sheep were lying beside it.

4:30For out of that, well the flocks were watered, the stone on the well's mouth was large. 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 over the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, my brothers, where do you come from? And they said, we are from Haran. And he said to them, do you know Laben, the son of Naor? And they said, we know him. He said to them, is it well with him? They said it is Well. And see Rachel, his daughter is coming with the sheep. And he said, behold, it is still high day.

5:02It is not time for the livestock, it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together, water the sheep and go pasture them. 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. While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep for she was a shepherdess. Now, as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laben, his mother's brother and the sheep of Lavin, his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Lavin his mother's brother.

5:36Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud and Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman and that he was Rebecca's son and she ran and told her father. So Jacob comes to these outskirts of Haran and he encounters Rachel Laban's daughter. And, and we see three different times. This is Rachel, the daughter of Laben, his mother's brother, his mother's brother, his mother's brother. It's repeated time and time again. And what we're supposed to see is that Genesis 29 is just like Genesis 24 when Abraham sent his servant to go find a wife for his son Isaac. Genesis 24 and 29 echo each other and they parallel one another and they're potentially even at the same well, and in the same way that God blessed the servant, God is now blessing Jacob on this journey and he immediately comes upon Rachel.

6:37And did you notice in this that Jacob, uh, does this feed of strength here? They, they, he has this conversation with the other shepherds and they say, we can't water the sheep until all the flocks come together because this is a heavy stone and we all need to work together to roll it away. And yet Jacob in verse 10 comes near, rolls the stone from the well's mouth and waters the flock and he does it all by himself. Uh, what what are we to see in that? Uh, I think there, there's several things. One is that he's trying to show off maybe for Rachel. Uh, but I think the other is that when the servant came in Genesis 24, it was Rebecca that watered all of his camels and now the tables are turned.

7:27But what we also see is that Jacob and the servant do very different things. When the servant comes to the well, he prays and he says, God, give me favor. And, and the woman who will even water the rest of the camels, then I will know that's the one. Whereas Jacob, he comes, he he comes potentially to the same. Well he doesn't pray, he isn't aware of God's guidance. Rather he wants to impress Rachel with his strength. And so we see a man who is under construction. Now if we look at verse 13, as soon as Laben heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he gets this warm welcome. He, he ran to meet him and embraced him, kissed him and brought him to his house.

8:12And then Laben said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him a month. So he gets this enthusiastic welcome, but it doesn't last long. Jacob makes a deal with Laben for seven years of labor. He will receive Rachel's hand in marriage. And again we see the difference. Jacob does not have much, he sh kind of shows up empty handed. Whereas the servant, he, he gave silver gold garments and jewelry and various ornaments to Rebecca and her family, a as sort of a bride price. But instead Jacob gives his labor seven years. Now look with me at verse 16. Now, Laben had two daughters.

8:59The name of the older was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Leah's eyes being weak could mean that they were feeble or dull or lifeless potentially that she's not very attractive. And this is contrasted with Rachel's beautiful form and appearance. And so verse 20 tells us, Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seem to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Now when the time comes to consummate the marriage, we all know kind of how the story goes. Laben deceives Jacob. So he consummate the marriage with Leah, the older daughter.

9:43And Laben gives the excuse that it's against their customs to give the older before the younger. And so he needs to work another seven years for Rachel. But this marriage is consummated A week later, verse 30 tells us. So Jacob went into Rachel also and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laben for another seven years. Jacob is going to play favorites with his two wives and playing favorites is what has plagued this family from the very beginning. So what are we to learn from this? Well, first we see that Jacob for the first time gets a taste of his own medicine, doesn't he? He sows deception and now he reaps deception.

10:32God is getting Jacob's attention. It's showing him that your sin is going to find you out. God is transforming Jacob through 14 years of hard labor. This is God's discipline at work in his life. Hebrews 12, six says, for the Lord, disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. So God loves and blesses Jacob, but he leads him now on this journey of transformation.

11:06Now we're gonna transition to this second scene in verses 29 or chapter 29, verse 31 all the way through 30 verse 24. And scene two is all about the birth of these babies. Verse 31 sets up the whole story. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. So Jacob hates Leah but loves Rachel. And this creates this sister wife rivalry and you kind of see this wi rivalry played out in their names. And later in the Mosaic law marrying sisters was forbidden. Leviticus 1818. Now I'm not gonna read this entire section, but let me summarize the births and the children's names concluding with a lesson.

11:55So Leah gives birth to four sons and each of their names reveals how she feels in that particular moment. If you have an ESV Bible, you can see the meaning of the names in the footnotes and we see that there's this uh, dynamic going on. Leah, the one thing that she wants is the affection of her husband. A as for Rachel, she wants a child, the other has what they want and neither can get ultimately what they want. And so the first son is Reuben, which means see a son, meaning that God has seen Leah's misery, the next son Simeon sounds like heard, meaning God has heard her cries. The third son Levi sounds like attached.

12:43And she feels like now Jacob will finally love me, be attached to me because I've born him three sons. And the next is Judah, which sounds like praise. And it's this expression of praise to God. In the first eight verses of chapter 30, Rachel says to Jacob, give me children or I shall die. And you hear sort of the desperation of this barren woman and and she says, and God, Jacob says, am I in the place of God? And as a result, Rachel gives bil ha her servant to be her surrogate like another wife, just like Sarah did with Hagar and through Bil ha Dan is born and she names him judged or vindicated it sounds like judged or vindicated, meaning that God has ruled in her favor.

13:37And then Naftali sounds like wrestling or struggle reflecting the wrestling that she's had with Leah. So just imagine it, you're you hate your sister so much, there's so much competition that you name your children to signify that very reality. You're like, oh, you just gave birth. What's his name told you? So what about the next son? Take that. That that's the idea of what's going on. Uh, there's just a lot of animosity and competition. Leah not to be outdone gives her servant Zpa as a surrogate as well. And through zpa, GAD is born sounds like good fortune. And then Asher, which sounds like happy.

14:23And so Rachel, how are you doing? Because I just gave birth to another one and I'm doing very happy. You can kind of just see the sarcasm, the anger, the rivalry that's taking place and it intensifies in verses 14 to 18, we see Rachel Barters for Ruben's mandrakes, this fragrant fruit that's believed to be an aphrodisiac or maybe that could enhance fertility kids. If you don't know what that word means, you can ask your parents later. I'm not gonna explain it now, but Leah received a night with Jacob in return by which she gets pregnant with Issachar, which means wages or higher. And so it could be that Rachel is the beloved wife and she sort of has control over how Jacob spends his evenings.

15:10And so Leah bargains and through that she gains another son. What we notice in this entire account is that Jacob is sinfully passive. He's like a pawn in the hands of these two scheming wives. Leah yet again in 19 to 21 gives birth to Zein, which sounds like honor, pointing to the honor that she so desperately desires from her husband. And then it mentions she gives birth to a daughter Dina, who is the only daughter mentioned by name. And the reason she's mentioned is because she's going to be a key character in Genesis chapter 34. And then we come now to the end, 22 to 24. God remembers Rachel opens her womb and she gives birth to Joseph, which means may he add meaning I want another one.

16:04And it also sounds like taken away, which means God has taken away her shame or her reproof. Now we have 12 children in seven years to four different women. Jacob was busy, 11 sons, one daughter, probably many other daughters. But they're not mentioned. This will become the origin story of the 12 tribes of Israel. What are we to learn from this passage? Well, first it's an opportunity to challenge the mothers among us on this Mother's day. We know that without godly moms in families and churches and society, everything falls apart. And so we need women today who are not like Leah, who find all of their worth in the love of their husband.

16:58And we don't need women like Rachel whose all of their worth is found in the ability to give birth, but rather whose hope is in the Lord. Don't find your validation in being able to give birth or the affection of your husband or your professional success, but rather put your hope in God. One Peter three, six says, be like Sarah who wasn't afraid of anything frightening. Or Proverbs 31, A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised her children rise up and call her blessed her husband also and he praises her. And so moms this morning, trust the Lord to bless the labor of your hands. And yet this passage, uh, I think hits a second group.

17:48Some of you know the pain and silent heartache of bareness. You can hear that deep desperation in Rachel's cry, give me children or I die. You're fighting to rejoice and yet you're overwhelmed with sorrow. Every time we announce a baby, you, you feel the pain of that personally. And what I want you to hear this morning, if that's you, is that God sees you, hears your cries, knows your sorrow. Psalm 34 18, the Lord is near to the broken hearted and he saves the crushed in spirit. It's God who opens and closes the womb and he may not give you children, but he has blessed you in Christ Jesus loves you, cares for you.

18:37And he does not give you barrenness as an excuse to wallow in pain. Rather see the lavish blessings of God in your life. You can be a blessing to others whether you have children or not. The third group, some are like Leah, who are just desperate for affection. You feel forgotten, unseen and unheard. This could be men or women, maybe the desperate for the love of a spouse, desperate for the love of a parent or the love of a child. Maybe you just feel like no one sees you, no one cares about you. And what you need to hear is that the Lord sees, hears and cares. That's what all those names we're pointing to, that God is the one who is seeing the plight of these women.

19:29Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. God redeems this rivalry to establish the 12 tribes of Israel and Jacob's offspring shall indeed be like the dust of the Earth's. Yet despite this dysfunctional family, God is going to do something unimaginably amazing and big isn't he? When you saw the fourth son born, Judah, Jesus is going to be born in the line of Judah, the offspring who will crush the head of Satan. So now we come to scene three, we look at the wealth turn from the wedding and now we look at Jacob's wealth. So he's been more or less an indentured servant for 14 years to laben and now he goes from popper to prince.

20:27So look with me at chapter 30, verse 25. As soon as Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laben, send me away that I may go to my home and country, give me my wives and my children for whom I've served you that I may go for you know the service that I have given you. But Laben said to him, if I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages and I will give it. Jacob said to him, you yourself know how I've served you and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came and has increased abundantly and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned.

21:04But now when but now when shall I provide for my own household? Also, he said, what shall I give you? Jacob said, you should not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it. Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it, every speckled and spotted sheep and every black sheep that black lamb and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later when you come to look into my wages with you, everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and the black among the lambs, if found with me shall be counted stolen Lavin said good, let it be as you have said.

21:44But that day laben removed the male goats that were striped and spotted and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted everyone that had white on it and every lamb that was black and put them in charge of his sons. And he set a distance of three days journey between himself and Jacob and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock. So we see that Laban's grown wealthy because of Jacob over these 14 years. And so what they do is they strike a deal that all the speckled and spotted animals will be Jacob's and Labin agrees. And then he plays a dirty trick in that he takes all the speckled and spotted and removes them and gives them to his sons a three day journey away, leaving only one color animals for breeding.

22:32So again, the trickster is getting tricked, but this time Jacob has a plan he seeks to outsmart laben. So he employs a folk custom of prenatal visual aids to somehow get the stronger animals to breed speckled and spotted and the other ones the solid colored ones to be the feeble ones. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm no farmer and I'm not the son of a farmer, but I'm pretty sure that this method doesn't work. But why does the story tell us that it does? You know, there's probably some explanation of recessive genes and and all of that. But, but why? Why does it work? Well, it's because God gives Jacob favor that we actually see that later in Genesis 31 that he, Jacob is speaking to Rachel and Leah and he says, your father kept changing my wages.

23:25This is verse seven of chapter 31. But he says, but God did not permit him to harm me. And then again in verse nine he says, thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me, Jacob attributes his success to what God was doing. And the result is in chapter 30, verse 43. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants, male servants and camels and donkeys. So Jacob gets amazingly wonderfully rich. So camels in those days were rare and costly. It means that he was able to sell his large flocks in order to purchase servants and donkeys and camels. So if you've ever seen the cartoon Aladdin, right?

24:13When the genie makes Ali the Prince and he goes to Aaba and he has this big kind of caravan of, you know, camels and elephants and riding on and you know, people playing trumpets or whatever else, that's the picture here. Jacob gets exceedingly rich. So what's the lesson? God blesses Jacob and he fulfills his promise. He is his protector detector. Now, do we live as those who are awake to God's blessing and his favor? Maybe you're out there thinking that all my success, the reason I'm climbing the corporate ladder, the reason I'm doing so well, making so much money is because I'm smarter than everyone else and I'm grinding harder.

25:01And yet from heaven's view looking down, you're just out there peeling sticks thinking, oh this is what's gonna work. God wants us to see that our success is because of his blessing, his protection, his presence, and his favor. And so do you give thanks this morning to God's favor at work in your life? Do you give thanks for your successes? Do you trust God to provide and protect you in the days ahead? I think this section is teaching us that God is the one who gives Jacob favor despite his less than stellar understanding of animal breeding. Now we come to scene four, the Wayfaring. This is the longest section 55 verses.

25:53And this fourth scene has a lot of drama but some confusing things as well. And I'm gonna read large portions of it because I want us to see some of this building tension and drama. So chapter 31, verse one. Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laben were saying Jacob has taken all that was our fathers and from what was our fathers, that he has gained all this wealth. And Jacob saw that Laben did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you. So Laban's sons are angry, Ja, Jacob has fallen out of favor.

26:31God calls him home. Jacob calls Rachel and Leah and he tells them these very things, your dad doesn't like me very much. God has protected us though. And so now it's time for us to return. Verse 14, we see Rachel and Leah's answer, is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners for he has sold us and he has indeed devoured our money. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then whatever God has said to you, do. And so Rachel and Leah say there, there's nothing here for us. There's no inheritance.

27:14Uh, we've fallen out of favor and God lab in our Father has spent the dowry. Now it all belongs to Jacob and they're loyal to him. We pick up this story in verse 17. So Jacob arose and set his sons on his wives, set his sons and his wives on camels. He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he acquired in Patra to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac Leman had gone to shear his sheep and Rachel stole her father's household gods. These are probably figurines little idols, maybe figures for ancestor worship or maybe even expensive heirlooms.

27:55Verse 20. And and Jacob tricked laben the airman by not telling him that he intended to flee and he fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead. When it was told Laben on the third day that Jacob had fled, he took his kinsman with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. But God came to laben the Arama in a dream by night and said to him, be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad. And so God promises to be with Jacob, he's protecting him. And he shows up to Laben and says, don't say anything good or bad.

28:36Doesn't mean don't say anything because Leman ends up saying a lot. But I think it's to say don't overstep your authority. You're on notice I'm on Jacob's side. Now we pick up in verse 25, Laben overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country and laben with his kinsman pitch tents in the hill country of Gilead. And Laben said to Jacob, what have you done that you've tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword. Why did you flee secretly and trick me and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs with tambourine and liar? Why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell?

29:17Now you have done foolishly. It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad. And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house. But why did you steal my gods? Jacob answered said to and said to Laben, because I was afraid for, I thought you would take your daughters from me by force anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live in the presence of our kinsman. Point out what I have that is yours and take it Now. Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

30:00So Laben chases down and pursues Jacob rebukes him, basically saying, I could hurt you. I I could do you a lot of harm. And yet God has protected Jacob. God has orchestrated Jacob's prosperity at Laban's cost and and Jacob admits that he was afraid of a situation just like the one he's in right now. Like I didn't want this to happen, which is why we fled secretly. But then he raises the stakes, I didn't take your gods, you can find them. That person will die. Not knowing that Rachel had taken them and we now look at verse 33. So Leman went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them.

30:47Notice that phrase. And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laben felt all about the tent and again, but did not find them. And then she said to her Father, let not my Lord be angry then I cannot rise before you for the way of women is upon me. So see, so he searched, but again did not find the household gods. It's mentioned three different times. So why do we have this almost secondary conflict, the main conflicts between Laben and Jacob? Why do we get this little story of these little household gods?

31:30Well I think it's to show us that laban's gods are nothing in comparison to the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Laban's Gods are sitting in a saddlebag beneath the backside of Rachel. And if she's on her menstrual cycle, they are now ceremonially unclean. Israel is to see that big giant neon sign when they read a passage like this. Don't fear the gods all around you. Don't fear the gods of the Canaanites and the parasites and the mites and the Amorites. They're like this. Don't fear because they're unclean and useless and impotent before Yahweh, the true Lord of heaven and earth. It's a picture of Psalm 27, 1 whom shall I fear?

32:26Yahweh is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And this is true for us today and something that many of us need to hear. Like Jacob, we can be fearful of the powers around us. We can be anxious about strongholds and covert or foreign powers or corruption or the onslaught of moral progressivism. We know that evil exists and Satan is on the prowl and he is our enemy. But here, this fear not God is on our side. Jesus is Lord. He will not, he will be with his people and he will protect his people. You don't need to fear the sexual revolution or the L-G-B-T-Q police or totalitarian governments or corruption at the highest levels or the zombie apocalypse or whatever doomsday scenario that you can dream up.

33:23There is nothing to be afraid of in this world because Jesus Christ is seated on his throne and he is Lord Jesus has all rule and authority and power and dominion in this age and in the one to come. There is nothing to fear. If God is for us, he is on our side to protect us. That's what we need to see here in this passage. Now that felt like the climax, but actually the climax of the story comes in the next section verses 36 to 42. So Genesis 31, 36 to 42, Jacob tears into laben. 20 years of frustration come flowing out. Verse 36, then Jacob became angry and berated laben. Jacob said to Laben, what is my offense?

34:25What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me for you have felt through all my goods? What have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsman and your kinsman that they may decide between us. Two. These 20 years I have been with you, your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried and I've not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beast I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself from my hand. You required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was day by day heat consumed me and the cold by night and my sleep fled from my eyes.

35:07These 20 years I have been in your house. I served you 14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flock. And you have changed my wages 10 times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night. Jacob is worked up, the vein is popping out of the forehead as he says this. He, he says, I've been a good shepherd. You've not suffered any loss. Instead, you got rich off of me. You changed my wages time and time again. And if God was not on my side, you would've let me leave empty handed.

36:02The significance of this moment is massive. Why? Because Jacob finally sees clearly and decisively. Yahweh is on my side. God is for me. God is the one who protected me. God is the one who prospered me. All of God's promises do not falter fail or fall short. The the very vow that he made at the end of chapter 28 has come true. And the lesson here for us is to trust God and to resist taking justice into our own hands. God's sovereignty, his protection, his goodness emboldens God's people to stand firm and to fight the forces of evil. We do not fear when you stand up for what is true and right. There are many possible consequences in your workplace, in our world, in our community.

37:14Recently I was down at St. Paul and I was part of a press conference and ended up on the news. And so maybe someone will dox my family, put my personal information out there and people can threaten me. And yet we do not fear at the end of the day because Yahweh, the one true God is on our side. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. And you can take that to the bank every day of the week and twice on Sunday. And it doesn't mean we don't take precautions, but we don't trust in precautions. We don't trust in chariots, in horses. We trust in the name of our God.

37:59Laben concedes. In this next section, I'm not gonna read 43 to 50, but Lavin concedes he, he seeks a compromise in the form of a covenant. He basically says It's all mine, but my hands are tied 'cause Yahweh is fighting on your behalf. And so they established this covenant. Jacob erect another stone pillar as a reminder of God's provision and his protection hearkening back to the stone pillar of Genesis 28. And they share a meal and these stones serve as a boundary marker between the two parties. And now I want to read 51 to 55 and see the conclusion. Then Layman said to Jacob, see this heap and the pillar which I have set between you and me, this heap is a witness and the pillar is a witness that I will not pass over this heap to you and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me to do harm the God of Abraham and the God of Naor, the God of their father judged between us.

39:04So Jacob swore by the fear of his father, Isaac and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsman to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country. Early in the morning, Labon arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laben departed and returned home. I want us to notice two, two different things. First, Labon calls in verse 53, calls the God of Abraham and the God of hor to judge between us. So who is hor? Hor is Abraham's brother, and Hor is the father of Laben and Rebecca. And so what's going on here? Well, I think it's this.

39:49We know that Laben is a idol worshiper. He has these little household gods. And so Jacob and Laben worship different gods, and he calls basically both of them to be witnesses between them. He says, well, we we'll call your God the God of Abraham to be your witness. And I call the God of hor to be our witness. You have your God. I have my God. But notice what Jacob does in verse 53. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father, Isaac. He doesn't swear to laban's God, but only to the fear of his father, Isaac. He says, you can have your God, but we all know your God is not real. I'm swearing to the one true God.

40:37Now, uh, the big question hopefully in your mind is like, what is the fear of Isaac? It showed up twice, once in verse 42, and now here in 53. What does that mean? In verse 42, we expect to read the father of Abraham, the father of Isaac and the father of Jacob. But instead we read the fear of Isaac. I think Jacob is referring to the fear that his God inspires in the hearts of his enemies. Laban's hands are tied because God appeared to him in the same way that God appeared to Pharaoh and to Aek. It refers to God's fearsome protection of his people and the devotion that he demands. Don't fear other quote unquote gods or evil powers, but be in awe of the one true God who is preeminent in power.

41:39Fear Isaac's God. As we come to the conclusion, what we see in these three chapters is that the Lord never fails. He doesn't falter, not a single promise will fall short. He protects his people, he provides for them, and he will fulfill his promises. After 20 years, Jacob leaves having plundered laben, and he leaves with wives and children and flocks and herds and servants and great riches. It shows that God has been faithful to keep his word. And as Israel sees this, they would be reminded of their own exodus as their pockets were lined with Egyptian gold. God uses all the various challenges and circumstances, deception and corruption and whatever else so that he might bless his people and use them to be a blessing for others.

42:47What Laben meant for evil, God used for good to fulfill his promises to Jacob. And we'll see Jacob's children become the 12 tribes of Israel, and then Joseph is going to be sold into slavery. But he will use that. God will use that to rescue this family from starvation in the midst of the famine and then into the Exodus. Israel will plunder the riches of Egypt and all their enemies will fear their God. And all of this is pointing forward, advancing to the person and work of Jesus. We this morning have God's presence, protection, power, and blessing in the person and work of Christ. Look to Jesus.

43:42And Jesus' death was likewise driven by deception and betrayal and unbelief and jealousy and false testimony. But all of this was to show that God's word would never fail. So even in the wickedness of the crucifixion, God brings about forgiveness of sins, salvation for mankind, redemption by the blood of Jesus, and he will crush the head of Satan. And so this morning, brothers and sisters, as we look at these chapters, we see a man who God is bringing on this physical and spiritual journey to transform him, to become the father of a nation. And we can look at our own lives. God is bringing us on this spiritual journey so that we might be transformed out of darkness into his marvelous light.

44:33And so that we would be people who see the beauty and the wonder and the majesty, the goodness, the blessing, the protection, the presence of Jesus that is with us wherever we go. God's promises never fall short, never fail, and you have nothing to fear. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. So let's walk and live and pray and labor to make much of Christ in all of life. Let's pray. Father, may you fill our minds and hearts with this truth, that God is with us. No one can stand against us, make us bold and courageous in standing up for what is right and good to shine forth the beauty and the majesty of Jesus in our families and workplaces and communities, and that Jesus would get great glory in and through this body.

45:35In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Jump to live

Jump to live

Sermon Text

Genesis 29:1-31:55

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