Genesis 29

CONTEXT:

Jacob = he who supplants

Genesis 27:13-14 “But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only listen to my voice, and go, get them for me.” So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a savory dish such as his father loved.”

Disregard for others

Genesis 27:19 “19 And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Rise up, please, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”” `

Lying deceiver

Genesis 27:20 “20 Then Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because Yahweh your God caused it to happen to me.””

Mocker of God

Genesis 27:21-24 “21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.””

Genesis 25:27-33 “27 And the boys grew up; Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had an appetite for hunted game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob had cooked stew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Then Esau said to Jacob, “Please give me a swallow from the red stuff—this red stuff, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.”

Manipulator who takes advantage of others for self-gain

Genesis 28:13-15 “13 And behold, Yahweh stood above it and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your seed. 14 “And your seed will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you back to this land; for I will not forsake you until I have done what I have promised you.””

Despite who Jacob has proven to be thus far, God promises Jacob

This land (Canaan) - The land… I will give it to you and your seed… I will bring you back to this land.

How can God bring Jacob back to his homeland when his older brother is waiting there to kill him?

Many descendants - your seed will also be like the dust of the earth

How can God give children to a man with no wife?

Blessing to others - in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed

Fellowship - I am with you

Protection - I will keep you wherever you go

How can God watch over a man who is determined to watch over himself?

Why has God promised these things? Because He has given His promise to Abraham, an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT

Genesis 12:1-3 “1 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, And from your kin And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

Numbers 23:19 “19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?”

Genesis 28:20-21 “20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey on which I am going, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in peace, then Yahweh will be my God.”

Lack of trust in God. Jacob does not respond with obedient faith but he tries to bargain with God.

Deuteronomy 6:16 “16 “You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.”

OUTLINE - Don’t go your own way

Genesis 29:1-7 “1 Then Jacob took up his journey and came to the land of the sons of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they gave water to the flocks to drink. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 And all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and give water to the sheep to drink and return the stone back to its place on the mouth of the well. 4 And Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 7 And he said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep to drink, and go, pasture them.””

Jacob finds the right land, the right family, and the right circumstance.

God is truly with with Jacob as He promised.

Verse 7… does Jacob try to send away all the workers to be alone with Rachel?

Genesis 29:8-14 “8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we give water to the sheep to drink.” 9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now it happened, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and gave water to the flock of Laban his mother’s brother to drink. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father. 13 So it happened that when Laban heard the report of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and he embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he recounted to Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him one month.”

Differences with Genesis 24 (A wife for Isaac)

Isaac is represented by a servant who carried the express blessing of Abraham vs. Jacob on his own making his own way.

Abraham sends great gifts/wealth vs. Jacob comes with nothing

Rebekah married Isaac the next day vs. Jacob will not see marriage for another 7 years

Observation: Yahweh fulfills the same covenant through 2 very different ways

(1) LESSON 1 : God is not required to fulfill His word by our preferences; we need to trust God and take Him at His word even when things don’t happen the way we expect them to.

Genesis 29:15-23 “15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his sight but a few days because of his love for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it happened in the evening that he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her.”

Similarities with Genesis 27 (Esau and Jacob vs. Leah and Rachel)

2 sons vs. 2 daughters

Isaac favors Esau vs. Jacob favors Rachel

Isaac is deceived by Jacob vs. Jacob is deceived by Laban

Esau has his birthright stolen vs. Jacob has his marriage right stolen

What is really happening here?

Laban has pulled a Jacob on Jacob

Using Laban as His instrument for punishment, God has exposed and judged Jacob’s sin and gave him a taste of his own medicine.

Jacob got what he deserved.

He stole Esau’s blessing so God allowed Laban to steal 7 years of Jacob’s life

He deceived Isaac so God allowed him to be deceived by Laban

He brought distress on Isaac’s house and so God brought distress on Jacob’s house through 2 infighting wives (Genesis 30)

At the same time, both Leah and Rachel will bear Jacob the 12 tribes of Israel.

God still fulfills His word to Jacob in the end.

Man’s sin does not nullify or hinder God’s Word

Romans 5:20 “Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,”

LESSONS 2 & 3awq

(3) Just because we are chosen and saved by God does not we’re off the hook when it comes to the consequences of sin.

Galatians 6:7 “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

Genesis 29:24-30 “24 Laban also gave his servant-woman Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a servant-woman. 25 Now it happened in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 “Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28 And Jacob did so and fulfilled her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his servant-woman Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant-woman. 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.”

Laban's sinful profile

He is a cunning man more than equal match for Jacob’s cunning

Laban obviously saw Jacob’s interest in Rachel (he kissed her and she went running to her dad).

He offers Jacob wages but obviously knows Jacob is only after Rachel so he suckers Jacob in to serve him for 7 whole years.

Not only that but he probably planned for a very long time if not since the beginning to deceive Jacob into serving him for twice that amount by taking advantage of Jacob with Leah.

Laban has always been this way… a greedy self-seeking man

Genesis 24:29-30 “29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30 Now it happened, when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists,...

Genesis 24:53-56 “53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. And then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, or even ten; afterward she will go.” 56 And he said to them, “Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful. Send me away that I may go to my master.””

(4) LESSON 4 - God can use anyone to expose and judge our sin.

Numbers 32:23 “23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Proverbs 13:21 “21 Evil pursues sinners, But the righteous are repaid with good.”

Isaiah 3:11 “11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he has dealt out will be done to him.”

Genesis 29:31-35 “31 And Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.”

Observation: God initially provides more blessing to Leah because she was despised and shunned by Jacob; God cares for the disadvantaged and the unloved

(5) LESSON 5 - Never take advantage of others weaker than you

Exodus 22:22-24 “22 “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 “And if you indeed afflict him, and if he earnestly cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; 24 and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

Deuteronomy 24:17-18 “17 “You shall not pervert the justice due a sojourner or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge. 18 “But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”

(6) LESSON 6 - Scheming and deceiving will get us nowhere, but only when we are humbled and dependent on God does God bless.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions and hardships, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Genesis 32:24-30 “24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of dawn. 25 And he saw that he had not prevailed against him, so he touched the socket of his thigh; and so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been delivered.””

Jacob is humbled and finally he can say that it is God who delivers his life rather than himself.