Genesis (2011) 31A. A pastor was addressing his congregation one Sunday with a message of preserving their bodies, the temple of the Lord.

Transcription

1 Genesis (2011) 31A The stry f Jacb in the bk f Genesis is fundamentally a stry f Gd s svereignty wrking in and thrugh the flawed lives f men Standing at the the head f the line is Jacb himself Gd intended t give Jacb the blessing, but he tk it fr himself thrugh dishnest means Gd intended fr Jacb t take a wife frm Abraham s relatives in Haran, but Jacb s deceptin required him t flee there under threat f death Gd intended t give Jacb ne fertile wife, but Jacb chse t take three mre in lust and Each f these decisins will cause him grief in ne way r anther A pastr was addressing his cngregatin ne Sunday with a message f preserving their bdies, the temple f the Lrd. "The material we put int ur stmachs is enugh t have killed mst f us sitting here years ag. Red meat is awful. Sft drinks crrde yur stmach lining. Fast fd fd is laded with preservatives. High fat diets can be disastrus, and nne f us realizes the lng-term harm caused by the germs in ur drinking water. But there is ne fd that is the mst dangerus f all. Can anyne here guess what fd causes the mst grief and suffering, even many years after eating it?" After several secnds f quiet, a 75-year-ld man in the frnt rw raised his hand and said, "Wedding Cake." His life is a tug--war between trusting Gd and relying n himself Increasingly Gd has revealed Himself t Jacb as the One in authrity and cntrl in Jacb s life But Jacb is a slw learner, s he s struggling t trust and rest in Gd s authrity and cntrl Tday Jacb takes anther step in that directin even as his family lags behind 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 31A 2 f 11 Jacb s family becmes an increasingly bigger fcus in this stry Such that we ll see the true cnsequences f Jacb s sin play ut in the lives f his family whm he has influenced by his sin Gen. 31:1 Nw Jacb heard the wrds f Laban s sns, saying, Jacb has taken away all that was ur father s, and frm what belnged t ur father he has made all this wealth. Gen. 31:2 Jacb saw the attitude f Laban, and behld, it was nt friendly tward him as frmerly. Gen. 31:3 Then the LORD said t Jacb, Return t the land f yur fathers and t yur relatives, and I will be with yu. Gen. 31:4 S Jacb sent and called Rachel and Leah t his flck in the field, Gen. 31:5 and said t them, I see yur father s attitude, that it is nt friendly tward me as frmerly, but the Gd f my father has been with me. Gen. 31:6 Yu knw that I have served yur father with all my strength. Gen. 31:7 Yet yur father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; hwever, Gd did nt allw him t hurt me. Gen. 31:8 If he spke thus, The speckled shall be yur wages, then all the flck brught frth speckled; and if he spke thus, The striped shall be yur wages, then all the flck brught frth striped. Gen. 31:9 Thus Gd has taken away yur father s livestck and given them t me. Jacb wrks fr six years under these new terms, building a large and impressive inheritance fr himself (v.38) In that time, Laban s sn have taken nte that their inheritance has withered away t nearly nthing The part f the herd that belngs t them is weak and getting weaker even as Jacb s flck is grwing And Jacb gets wrd that Laban s sns are beginning t accuse Jacb f theft They cnclude that Jacb s strength is cming at their expense But they g a step t far t assume that Jacb has dne smething unfair in the prcess We knw frm last week that Jacb s actins were in keeping with the agreement he made with Laban 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 31A 3 f 11 Jacb acted entirely in his wn self-interest, resulting in large strng herds f sptted, speckled, and black lambs and gats The inevitable utcme f this breeding was t leave nly weak animals in Laban s herd S Jacb wasn t stealing frm Laban, as the sns suggest He was fulfilling his end f the bargain in the mst advantages way he culd Jacb tk nte f these accusatins and then bserved that Laban was nt friendly as he was befre The Hebrew literally states that Laban s face was nt tward Jacb as befre Laban s entire attitude tward Jacb has dne an abut face Befre Laban was inclined tward keeping Jacb and favring Jacb s lng as Jacb wrked fr him The reasn fr that favritism was simple: Jacb was increasing Laban s wealth Nw that Jacb was hurting Laban s wealth, everything was different This is the wrld s frm f friendship The wrld is friendly tward thse wh give us what we want Whether mney, pwer, fame, cmpliments, sex, whatever If the thing we want disappears, then the reasn fr the friendship r relatinship ges with it This is cnditinal lve, the wrld s kind f lve, the nly kind f lve sinful flesh has capacity t experience The lve f Gd is entirely different It is agape lve, self-sacrificial brtherly lve that is uncnditinal It desn t seek relatinship fr what it can get ut f it, but what it can give t it 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.

4 Genesis 31A 4 f 11 This is a type f relatinship that the wrld cannt knw apart frm the lve f Gd in their lives Luke 6:32 If yu lve thse wh lve yu, what credit is that t yu? Fr even sinners lve thse wh lve them. Luke 6:33 If yu d gd t thse wh d gd t yu, what credit is that t yu? Fr even sinners d the same. Luke 6:34 If yu lend t thse frm whm yu expect t receive, what credit is that t yu? Even sinners lend t sinners in rder t receive back the same amunt. Luke 6:35 But lve yur enemies, and d gd, and lend, expecting nthing in return; and yur reward will be great, and yu will be sns f the Mst High; fr He Himself is kind t ungrateful and evil men. With that recgnitin, Jacb hears frm the Lrd This is the first time Jacb has heard frm Gd in twenty years since leaving the land Nw the Lrd is directing Jacb t leave Haran and return t his wn land The fact that the Lrd is speaking nw tells us that the Lrd has wanted Jacb t remain here fr the previus twenty years Thse years served a purpse in Jacb s life, but nw the time has cme t g hme Jacb apparently hears this while in the field shepherding the flck, s he calls t his tw wives t meet him there Away frm Laban and Laban s sns, Jacb explains his situatin After six years f wrking fr Laban, Laban s daughters wuld have naturally assumed this wuld be their life frever They had n reasn t suspect that Jacb wuld ever return t his father s land Essentially, Jacb has been wrking as an adpted sn f Laban And this wrk has bviusly benefited Jacb s family 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 31A 5 f 11 S Jacb must make a strng case fr these wmen t fllw him Thugh they have a legal bligatin t fllw him, Jacb is wrking t win them ver t the plan He knws he will have a fight n his hands with Laban, s the last thing he needs is divided allegiance amng his wives Jacb begins by nting that his relatinship with Laban has changed in recent years Laban is nt lnger Jacb s ally and friend Yet Jacb is blameless in their wrk relatinship Jacb has always served Laban in gd faith And yet Laban has been nthing but dishnest In fact we learn here that Laban has changed Jacb s wages ten times In v.8 Jacb says that after Laban saw Jacb s flck grwing, Laban unilaterally changed the rules He wuld declare that nly the speckled sheep and gats were t be Jacb s rather than speckled and sptted and black But then the herds wuld prduce speckled nly Then Laban wuld respnd by declaring that nly the striped wuld be Jacb s And then the flcks began prducing primarily striped This was particularly unfair, since a striped animal was very unusual This switcher happened n less than ten times in the curse f the six years Clearly Laban was making every effrt t cheat Jacb He wasn t interested in a fair deal; he was nly interested in manipulating Jacb int remaining in his emplyment 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 31A 6 f 11 But nw after six years f watching his wealth disappear, Laban is n lnger friendly tward Jacb In v.9 Jacb tells his wives that the Lrd has been behind this surprising increase f the flcks We knw frm chapter 30 hw Jacb accmplished the prcess f mating the herds and interbreeding the animals He used his knwledge f animal husbandry and careful breeding t select fr the kind f animals he wanted But as Laban changed the rules ten times, hw did Jacb s breeding prcess respnd s quickly? The nature f the breeding prcess wuld have made turning n a dime very difficult Once the Jacb had islated the desired types f animals, he wuld have fund it nearly impssible t begin selecting fr different characteristics Yet smehw he managed t cntinue cllecting the kind f the animals he wanted Nw Jacb knws that the real secret behind his success has been Gd all alng As Jacb wrked t respnd t each f Laban s unreasnable demands, he successfully prduced exactly the right kind f animals Jacb says this was prf that the Lrd was at wrk enriching Jacb at Laban s expense We can understand why the Lrd may be blessing Jacb, because Gd has prmised by His wrd t bless Jacb But why des the Lrd chse t bless Jacb at Laban s expense? This is als a result f the Lrd s prmises The Lrd said that He wuld bless thse wh blessed Jacb and curse thse wh cursed Jacb Laban is a perfect example f this prmise played ut 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 31A 7 f 11 Fr the years where Laban was blessing Jacb, the Lrd ensured that the relatinship resulted in a reciprcal blessing fr Laban Laban gave Jacb a hme and wives, s Laban saw his flcks increase under Jacb s care But nw that Laban has turned against Jacb and cntinued t cheat him, the Lrd has brught these sins back against Laban Meanwhile, the Lrd cntinues t bless Jacb Hw did Jacb cme t the recgnitin that the Lrd was behind these blessings? He tells his wives... Gen. 31:10 And it came abut at the time when the flck were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behld, the male gats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mttled. Gen. 31:11 Then the angel f Gd said t me in the dream, Jacb, and I said, Here I am. Gen. 31:12 He said, Lift up nw yur eyes and see that all the male gats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mttled; fr I have seen all that Laban has been ding t yu. Gen. 31:13 I am the Gd f Bethel, where yu aninted a pillar, where yu made a vw t Me; nw arise, leave this land, and return t the land f yur birth. Jacb received a dream frm the Lrd The dream was simple: everywhere Jacb lked in the flck, all he saw was striped, speckled and mttled male gats mating Remember, Jacb is caring fr bth Laban s flck and his wn flck S in real life, the make gats and sheep wuld have als included the white and slid clred But in the dream, the entire herd was speckled, stripped, etc. The message f the dream was that regardless f what the animals lked like Gd wuld prduce the kind ffspring Jacb needed The entire flck had the DNA necessary t ensure Jacb success This was Gd s wrk behind the scenes 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 31A 8 f 11 S what d we cnclude? Did Jacb s effrts at interbreeding lead t his success r was it Gd s grace t bring Jacb success? The answer is yes Jacb s wrk led t the utcme and Gd s wrk made it pssible Prv. 16:1 The plans f the heart belng t man, But the answer f the tngue is frm the LORD. Prv. 16:9 The mind f man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. It desn t diminish the Lrd s svereignty t acknwledge that the Lrd wrks thrugh the plans and actins f men In the end, we must recgnize that all gd things cme frm the Father f lights, as James says It s anther encuraging sign that Jacb received the dream in the prper perspective and recgnizes the Lrd s rle in His success And this is his argument t his wives as well The Lrd has been the ne prtecting them in the face f Laban s tricks, and this same Gd is nw telling Jacb t leave Laban The Lrd will prtect and care fr them s they can trust His directin and leave this gd situatin This is a challenging call fr these wmen, and perhaps even fr Jacb himself Essentially, Jacb has called a family meeting with his wives, and he has has annunced that the Lrd says I must quit my jb and mve away frm ur hme This life is all the wives have ever knwn And the wrk has made Jacb s family rich But nw Jacb is expecting the wmen t simply pull up stakes and mve t a great unknwn future Similar t the way the Lrd called Abraham in the first place: leave everything and fllw me t a new place 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 31A 9 f 11 Dn t yu think this wuld have been a difficult request fr the wmen t accept? And lk at hw Jacb tries t gain their cnfidence...he says their prvisin is frm the Lrd and nt frm Laban This is the essence f fllwing the Lrd successfully, especially in the area f ur material life and material needs Gd is cntrl, including f yur finances and yur wealth Sme men are wealthier than thers and this will always be the case Gd made Slmn the richest man in the wrld and yet it was Jesus Himself wh said we will always have the pr in the wrld Gd isn t uncncerned with ur physical needs, but the wrd says clearly in many places that His first cncern fr us is ur bedience, nt ur net wrth Like Jacb, we can and shuld cntribute t ur wn needs, but what cmes f ur effrts is directed by the Lrd and His grace Therefre, we are t exhibit cntentment in whatever He gives us Otherwise, ur pursuits fr greater wealth will becme an impediment t ur spiritual develpment 1Tim. 6:6 But gdliness actually is a means f great gain when accmpanied by cntentment. 1Tim. 6:7 Fr we have brught nthing int the wrld, s we cannt take anything ut f it either. 1Tim. 6:8 If we have fd and cvering, with these we shall be cntent. 1Tim. 6:9 But thse wh want t get rich fall int temptatin and a snare and many flish and harmful desires which plunge men int ruin and destructin. 1Tim. 6:10 Fr the lve f mney is a rt f all srts f evil, and sme by lnging fr it have wandered away frm the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Jacb finishes his testimny t his wives by recunting the wrd he received frm Gd In v.13 Jacb says the Lrd spke and reminded him f the pillar f stne Jacb aninted in Bethel befre he left the land 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 31A 10 f 11 Jacb s aninting f the pillar was smething he did in cnnectin with a vw Jacb made D yu remember that vw? Gen. 28:20 Then Jacb made a vw, saying, If Gd will be with me and will keep me n this jurney that I take, and will give me fd t eat and garments t wear, Gen. 28:21 and I return t my father s huse in safety, then the LORD will be my Gd. Gen. 28:22 This stne, which I have set up as a pillar, will be Gd s huse, and f all that Yu give me I will surely give a tenth t Yu. The Lrd has dne all the things that Jacb expected Nw the Lrd says it s time t keep that vw, t return t the land and wrship S Jacb has presented his case t these wmen, and thugh Jacb isn t exactly the best mdel f a gdly husband, there is smething husbands can learn frm this mment Jacb had a difficult decisin t make, ne that impacted his entire family And as he went abut making that decisin, he invlved in his wives in a very sensitive, caring and Gd-centered way First, Jacb entered int a private discussin with his wives in a place and time and manner that was clearly intended t shw he valued their pinins and respected their views His patient effrts t include them in this decisin and t seek their supprt cmmunicated that their pinins mattered t Jacb Obviusly, Jacb culdn t leave Haran successfully withut their supprt and agreement Secndly, Jacb presented a case, built n facts and intended t shw that his thinking is grunded in cncern fr them and the family He desn t declare the plan in a Because I said s... manner He explains his thinking and wrks t win them ver Thirdly, and mst imprtantly, He places Gd s actins and desires in the center f decisin-making and cnversatin 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.

11 Genesis 31A 11 f 11 His explanatin t the wives is centered n what he has learned frm Gd And when it cmes time t supprt his decisin, he rests n the wrd f Gd In this case that wrd was a statement Gd delivered in a dream Jacb is the head f the husehld and the husband, and by culture, law and accrding t Gd s plan fr the family, Jacb culd make this decisin withut his wives cnsent But that wuldn t have been the lving r smart thing t d A lving husband values his wife s pinin and values his wife s insight A lving husband gives time fr deliberatin and explring ptins A lving husband demnstrates his wn willingness t listen t the Lrd and fllwing His wrd And a lving husband is willing t d all these things as he leads his family in beying the vice f the Lrd As husbands, we culd d much wrse than fllwing Jacb s example here Jacb is shwing great prgress in his character and his faith And these twenty years have becme an imprtant part f hw the Lrd has is wrking t grw him But Jacb s wives lag behind him, in part because f his wn weaknesses as a husband And that becmes very evident as the family makes it s escape frm Laban in the secnd part f chapter 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.