Genesis (2011) 31C. No part of life lies outside His divine will. It s as if God is hiding in plain view

Transcription

1 Genesis (2011) 31C Gd s svereignty is abslute N part f life lies utside His divine will He knws all knwledge, cntrls all events, determines all ut utcmes Spurgen stated: I believe that every particle f dust that dances in the sunbeam des nt mve an atm mre r less than Gd wishes that every particle f spray that dashes against the steambat has its rbit, as well as the sun in the heavens that the chaff frm the hand f the winnwer is steered as the stars in their curses. The creeping f an aphid ver the rsebud is as much fixed as the march f the devastating pestilence the fall f... leaves frm a pplar is as fully rdained as the tumbling f an avalanche. The mst amazing thing abut Gd s svereignty is the way His cntrl masquerades as everyday life It s as if Gd is hiding in plain view A chance meeting f friends n the street, a unexpected check in the mail, a randm thught in ur minds Or as Spurgen put it, the march f an insect and the falling f leaves Gd is especially active in the lives f His peple, prmpting events and circumstances t encurage spiritual develpment In ur stry f Jacb, we ve reach ne f thse mments when Gd shws Himself in the details f a passing encunter And thrugh the experience, Gd shws Himself t be a patient, teaching Father wh lves His children and keeps His wrd We left Jacb and his family in the hill cuntry f Dilead He has fled Laban, but Laban fllwed and cnfrnted Jacb He accuses Jacb f leaving withut ntice, which was true But Gd has appeared t Laban t prevent him frm acting against Jacb 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 31C 2 f 12 Last week we nted Laban s example f hw Gd wrks thrugh unbelievers just as He des thse wh fear Him In fact, we marveled a bit at the way Laban can acknwledge Gd s existence And experience fear and respect fr His pwer And even bey His instructins.. Yet Laban never has a testimny f saving faith He is merely like the demns: a man wh experienced the reality f Gd but never btained a relatinship by faith Tday we cntinue t watch the cnfrntatin evlve and the lessns cntinue Gen. 31:27 Why did yu flee secretly and deceive me, and did nt tell me s that I might have sent yu away with jy and with sngs, with timbrel and with lyre; Gen. 31:28 and did nt allw me t kiss my sns and my daughters? Nw yu have dne flishly. Gen. 31:29 It is in my pwer t d yu harm, but the Gd f yur father spke t me last night, saying, Be careful nt t speak either gd r bad t Jacb. Gen. 31:30 Nw yu have indeed gne away because yu lnged greatly fr yur father s huse; but why did yu steal my gds? Gen. 31:31 Then Jacb replied t Laban, Because I was afraid, fr I thught that yu wuld take yur daughters frm me by frce. Gen. 31:32 The ne with whm yu find yur gds shall nt live; in the presence f ur kinsmen pint ut what is yurs amng my belngings and take it fr yurself. Fr Jacb did nt knw that Rachel had stlen them. Laban discvered the absence f the husehld idls In the haste t pack up supplies and ther necessities, Laban nticed that the idls were missing frm his hme These idls usually held a prminent place in the hme, ften at a sacred setting r altar S it wuld have been easy fr Laban t ntice they were gne This was a high crime in the culture 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 31C 3 f 12 Last week we learned that this idls are mre than merely religius icns They were the symbls f authrity within the family tribe The ne wh pssesses the family idls can lay claim t the patriarchal authrity and in the inheritance Laban is threatened by the prspect that Jacb culd return at anytime with the idls and displace Laban s sns Laban expects t use this crime as an pprtunity t cmpel Jacb t return t wrking fr him If Jacb refused, Laban wuld have the right t call fr Jacb s death as penalty fr his crime S Laban pursues Jacb, catches him, cmplains abut the departure, and then drps the bmb Yu stle my idls Jacb s respnse is exactly as we might expect frm smene in his situatin In v.31 Jacb gives a truthful, if a bit pathetic, excuse fr his surreptitius departure He was afraid that Laban wuldn t allw Jacb t leave with Laban s daughters Perhaps this is true, and Laban was certainly capable f such things Nevertheless, Jacb is cnfessing his wn lack f faith in Gd s pwer t slve these prblems It stands t reasn that if Gd appears t Jacb and directs him t leave Laban, then Gd has a plan fr hw t get the family ut safely Gd didn t need Jacb s help, especially help that came in the frm f anther deceptin This is an ends-justifies-the-means lgic Since Gd tld me t d smething, I am free t d whatever is necessary t bring this abut Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 31C 4 f 12 That is nt a faith-based walk At its wrst, this kind f thinking leads men t d very ungdly things in the name f fllwing Gd Crusades, Inquisitin, Saul and the Pharisees persecuting Christians, and many cntemprary examples abund Jacb s actins are less severe than my examples, but his apprach is fundamentally the same He lies t further the cause f bedience Instead, he shuld have dne the right thing at each step and watched as Gd cleared his path f bstacles When we act in this way, the experience builds ur faith better than any thing else I knw Then in v.32, Jacb respnds t Laban s secnd accusatin Jacb is insulted by the accusatin that he r anyne in his huse stle Laban s idls Remember, in this culture saving face and preserving hnr was all imprtant Laban made a strng accusatin that threatens Jacb s very hnr S Jacb respnds in an equally frceful way declaring his inncence, ffering t allw Jacb t cnduct a search, and prmising a severe penalty fr anyne wh may be guilty f the act Jacb s statement is the right thing t say, because the act wuld deserve such a penalty But f curse he has n idea he is placing ne f his wn wives under a death sentence He desn t knw Rachel tk the idls, s he s cnfident that he will be vindicated in the end Laban prceeds t search the camp f Jacb 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 31C 5 f 12 Gen. 31:33 S Laban went int Jacb s tent and int Leah s tent and int the tent f the tw maids, but he did nt find them. Then he went ut f Leah s tent and entered Rachel s tent. Gen. 31:34 Nw Rachel had taken the husehld idls and put them in the camel s saddle, and she sat n them. And Laban felt thrugh all the tent but did nt find them. Gen. 31:35 She said t her father, Let nt my lrd be angry that I cannt rise befre yu, fr the manner f wmen is upn me. S he searched but did nt find the husehld idls. Laban searches each tent in Jacb s caravan and find nthing Finally, he enters Rachel s tent Nw we knw that Rachel has the idls, s the suspense peaks at this pint Hw will Gd prtect Jacb and Rachel? There is still anther child t cme frm Rachel Hw will Gd keep Rachel frm suffering the penalty that Jacb prnunced? As Laban enters Rachel s tent, he finds her sitting n a saddle in her tent Saddles were made f leather and blankets, and when the caravan is encamped, they served as lunges in the tents Rachel is sitting n the idls, and nrmally she was required t stand in the presence f a man entering her tent as a shw f respect But wmen wh were experiencing menstruatin were nt required t stand Remembering this is an age f rudimentary sanitatin, wmen typically refrained frm much standing r walking during this time First, they were cnsidered unclean because f bld flw (even befre the giving f the law) And they didn t want that flw t be expsed S Laban must respect her decisin t remain seated 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 31C 6 f 12 Was Rebecca lying abut her cnditin? Perhaps, but perhaps nt It may have been a cnvenient time fr Laban s arrival Or she may have cnccted the stry t prtect herself Either way, it served the purpse f prtecting her guilt The idls are never fund Like Laban used custm t trick Jacb int marrying tw wmen, nw Rachel uses a custm t fl Laban As Laban cmes up empty handed, the shame mves frm Jacb back t Laban Laban is nw ashamed fr appearing t have made a false accusatin What s interesting abut this situatin is Jacb still desn t knw abut Rachel s guilt He suffered the humiliatin f watching Laban methdically search the camp, but all the time Jacb was cnfident n gds wuld shw up Nw Jacb assumes he s been prven right, but in reality Jacb himself is being deceived just like Laban Here we see Gd s svereignty in full display Over the curse f these relatinships, Laban deceived Jacb, Jacb deceived Laban, and nw Rachel has deceived bth f them With each step f sin, Gd turned it t prduce a gdly utcme He intended As all the deceptin cmes t a climactic end, Gd s purpse in grming and grwing Jacb begins t cme t the surface Jacb has endured 20 years f misery at the hands f Laban, and just as he thught he had escaped the man, he suffers ne mre indignity, r s he thinks Gd permitted each f these indignities t address sme character flaw in Jacb and t strengthen his faith 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 31C 7 f 12 And nw all thse lessns prduce a biling pint as Jacb let s laban have it Gen. 31:36 Then Jacb became angry and cntended with Laban; and Jacb said t Laban, What is my transgressin? What is my sin that yu have htly pursued me? Gen. 31:37 Thugh yu have felt thrugh all my gds, what have yu fund f all yur husehld gds? Set it here befre my kinsmen and yur kinsmen, that they may decide between us tw. Gen. 31:38 These twenty years I have been with yu; yur ewes and yur female gats have nt miscarried, nr have I eaten the rams f yur flcks. Gen. 31:39 That which was trn f beasts I did nt bring t yu; I bre the lss f it myself. Yu required it f my hand whether stlen by day r stlen by night. Gen. 31:40 Thus I was: by day the heat cnsumed me and the frst by night, and my sleep fled frm my eyes. Gen. 31:41 These twenty years I have been in yur huse; I served yu furteen years fr yur tw daughters and six years fr yur flck, and yu changed my wages ten times. Gen. 31:42 If the Gd f my father, the Gd f Abraham, and the fear f Isaac, had nt been fr me, surely nw yu wuld have sent me away empty-handed. Gd has seen my afflictin and the til f my hands, s He rendered judgment last night. This is a passinate and angry Jacb, a man wh has a lt t be angry abut He begins by asking rhetrically, What is my sin that yu shuld pursue me s htly and embarrass me in this way? Yu searched everything in my camp, s shw me what yu fund? Jacb is dne with pretense r saving face r preserving Laban s hnr He s talking plainly and hnestly with Laban And in his recunting f his life in Haran, we hear Jacb s testimny f Gd Jacb begins by reminding f Laban f his faithfulness in service t him He served twenty years, which was in keeping with their agreements Secndly, he did his jb well, ensuring that the gats and sheep didn t miscarry, demnstrating Jacb s care and skill in the wrk 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 31C 8 f 12 Despite Jacb s effrts, Laban treated him wrngly thrughut their time tgether Jacb reminds Laban that when a wild beast killed a gat r sheep in the field, Jacb bre thse lses himself Under the custm f the day, a shepherd wasn t expected t absrb the cst f animals lst t thieves r wild animal attacks He culd bring back the carcass f the dead animal t prve it was the result f an animal Jacb never bthered t prduce such prf when animals were killed Laban required that Jacb bear thse lsses himself, meaning it was Jacb s respnsibility t repay Laban fr thse animals Furthermre, Jacb wrked under difficult and harsh cnditins living in the fields caring fr the flcks Ht days, cld evenings, and sleepless nights in prtecting the flck While Jacb wrked fr 20 years in keeping with his agreements, Laban changed the wages ten times trying t minimize Jacb s wealth and maximize his wn In summary, Jacb wrked hard ding everything in hnr and accrding t his wrd, while Laban did everything in dishnr and in an attempt t win an advantage S what des Jacb cnclude in reflecting n hw the past twenty years have transpired? In v.42 he says that if the Gd f Abraham & Isaac had nt als been fr Jacb, Jacb wuld have had nthing t shw fr his 20 years We can fairly assume that n man had every ut-smarted Laban befre He was a true scundrel wh tk every advantage, yet he hadn t fund a way t best Jacb And when Jacb finally had enugh and left Laban, Laban was intent n fllwing Jacb, and destrying him with any excuse he culd find 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 31C 9 f 12 Jacb declares that Gd has seen his afflictin and his hard wrk and has rendered judgment in favr f Jacb At the end f v.42, Jacb add that Gd has rendered judgment against yu last night Literally in Hebrew, Jacb says Gd rebuked yu yesterday Jacb is referring t the dream Gd gave Laban telling him nt t speak gd r bad t Jacb Jacb is interpreting that dream t be a sign that Gd is wrking fr Jacb t prtect him Ntice thugh that Jacb has made a fundamental mistake in understanding why Gd did what he did Jacb believes that he is prevailing in this struggle with Laban because he was wrked hard and dne the right things And since Laban has dne bad things, Gd is passing judgment against Laban Is this hw Gd s favr wrks? Is Gd favring Jacb because Jacb is a man wh des the right things? And has Gd chsen t leave Laban at a disadvantage because he is a dishnest man? Well, if yu re cnfused abut hw t answer remember hw we gt here Jacb deceived Laban when he left and Rachel is hiding stlen idls Irnically, this is prbably the first time in their relatinship that Jacb is entirely in the wrng and Laban is entirely right, at least abut the immediate circumstances If Gd were ging t reward the persn in the right, it wuld be Laban receiving a reward and Jacb and Rachel receiving the rebuke Instead, Gd has prtected Jacb, just as Jacb has stated 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 31C 10 f 12 The basis fr that favr was nt Jacb s perfrmance, but Gd s grace Jacb has taken an imprtant step frward in his understanding f the Gd he wrships He knws that Gd is wrking t bring gd utcmes in Jacb s life But Jacb still has a false view understanding f his wn righteusness while verlking Gd s grace Jacb the man is als a picture f Israel the natin, and this thinking permeates the natin f Israel all f its existence Wrks abve faith, law abve grace External vs. Internal, appearance befre reality Jacb is simply the first in a family that reflects this thinking even as Gd wrks t shw them the truth In chapter 32, the Lrd takes the extrardinary step f appearing t Jacb in a thephany, a physical frm t impress upn Jacb that his view f Gd s mercy needs t change But fr nw, let s finish chapter 31 watching Gd in His wisdm turning man s sin t gd t prtect Jacb Gen. 31:43 Then Laban replied t Jacb, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flcks are my flcks, and all that yu see is mine. But what can I d this day t these my daughters r t their children whm they have brne? Gen. 31:44 S nw cme, let us make a cvenant, yu and I, and let it be a witness between yu and me. Gen. 31:45 Then Jacb tk a stne and set it up as a pillar. Gen. 31:46 Jacb said t his kinsmen, Gather stnes. S they tk stnes and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Gen. 31:47 Nw Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacb called it Galeed. Gen. 31:48 Laban said, This heap is a witness between yu and me this day. Therefre it was named Galeed, Gen. 31:49 and Mizpah, fr he said, May the LORD watch between yu and me when we are absent ne frm the ther. Gen. 31:50 If yu mistreat my daughters, r if yu take wives besides my daughters, althugh n man is with us, see, Gd is witness between yu and me. Gen. 31:51 Laban said t Jacb, Behld this heap and behld the pillar which I have set between yu and me Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 31C 11 f 12 Gen. 31:52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will nt pass by this heap t yu fr harm, and yu will nt pass by this heap and this pillar t me, fr harm. Gen. 31:53 The Gd f Abraham and the Gd f Nahr, the Gd f their father, judge between us. S Jacb swre by the fear f his father Isaac. Gen. 31:54 Then Jacb ffered a sacrifice n the muntain, and called his kinsmen t the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night n the muntain. Gen. 31:55 Early in the mrning Laban arse, and kissed his sns and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned t his place. In respnse t Jacb s prtest, Laban demands a cvenant Remember, cvenants were pwerful agreements that bund each party t mutual bedience under penalty f death In this case, the agreement Laban seeks is actually an agreement f prtectin He demands that Jacb never crss this line again, and likewise Laban will never crss int Jacb s territry Furthermre, Jacb can never take additinal wives Why des Laban insist n these rules in the cvenant? Superficially, Laban claims that since these tw men are at dds with ne anther nw, they must remain separated fr prtectin In reality, Laban has ther reasns fr this agreement Remember the husehld idls? Thugh Laban culdn t find them, he knws that Jacb has them S he fears that Jacb will return smetime with the idls and lay claim t Laban s prperty S the line in the sand prtects Laban frm Jacb s claims Secndly, Jacb is prhibited frm taking ther wives s that his family wn t extend int ther families r clans which then might inherit Laban s idls and crss the line lking fr his inheritance These are Laban s intentins, t prtect himself and prevent Jacb frm every harming him in the future 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Genesis 31C 12 f 12 But Gd is using this agreement t prtect Jacb and the natin f Israel By agreeing t never take an additinal wife, Jacb is prevented frm taking a wife frm amng the Canaanites, like Esau did Gd is at wrk in Laban s terms t ensure that Jacb remains apart frm the Canaanite peple Next week we ll see Jacb prepare t face his latest and greatest adversary, nly t discver he s been fighting in the wrng way frm the start 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.