Genesis 29:31

Introduction

I think there is something to learn from what’s happened over the last few weeks, and I’m praying to God that the martyred life of Charlie Kirk was not in vain, but will create a movement of boldness in the Church in America like we’ve never seen before.

This one personally hit me different, as I always saw Charlie has a Kindred spirit. I grew up in the attractional church who’s message was , “let’s make church cool, and Jesus loves you.”

But I’ve watched as the country has become more and more secular. Less and less Christian. More and more evil ideology and belief. Confusion. Chaos.

What I’ve came to learn, is that evil must be confronted head on, and that the message of the gospel is hard to swallow, it’s not rainbows and butterfly message of, “you’re just fine the way that you are,” but turn from your wickedness, repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

See people believe that this message is offensive, and that we always have to do it in a way that tickles ears so not to offend anyone.

But that’s not how the gospel works.

You see, those that read the bible know that “our words” don’t save anyone, but the spirit of God working through our words, and the message of the gospel message that says, “christ died for sinners.”

This week I want to open with a biblical example of Charlie Kirk, a Man who’s boldness in the face of “unbelievers” and those that “rejected” Jesus Christ on the basis of their own self righteousness, and the words that Stephen chose to use.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

This week has been heavy. School shootings, a brutal and vicious murder of a woman on a train, and the premeditated martydom of Charlie Kirk.

As I watched him over and over through the years, being called every name in the book, people screaming bigot, racist, fascist, and spitting on themselves, I can’t help but visualize the unseen realm.

Where demons tremble at the Man who preaches Christ unashamed. A man that was willing to go to the most vile cesspool of godlessness in the universities, set up his little booth, and speak the name of Jesus un-ashamed.

Some of you may be thinking, just preach the gospel Josiah, we don’t need your political commentary. Politics matter because people matter. Your children matter. The future country that our grandchildren will grow up in matter. Politics is not a side category of who we vote for, it’s the worldview that people see the world through and how they live their lives. It’s stealing our children, it’s capturing the minds of millions of Americans and sending them straight to hell.

I think Charlie Kirk hit different, because he was one of those voices in the political arena that gave us real hope about the future of the country that we live in. Some of us are tired of hearing about children identifying as furry pets with litter boxes in the bathroom. 20% of an entire generation identifying as a different gender. Women increasingly walking around depressed and anxious, while the world mocks motherhood and wasting their life on children. Men sitting in passivity who no longer desire to lead a family into godly virtue, but instead work their job and live for their beers on the weekend. Sex being shoved down our throat on every media platform. Our teenagers and grown Men being addicted to pornography. Trans ideology permeating everything and everywhere, to the point our children were undergoing operations.

Ya, this one hits different because we had a Man, leading a wife, discipling his children, and on the front lines doing the Lords work and he was shot in the throat. It hits different as you read the millions of comments of people laughing saying, “he deserved it.”

Church, if you haven’t realized, we no longer live in the same country as when we were kids. We no longer live in the same country as when our parents were kids. The political lines have shifted, and we are now fighting against a liberal left ideology that wants nothing to do with our God, our Christ, and those that preach his message.

We are in a spiritual war.

You’re probably sitting there thinking: So what, we hate these people?

No, but we hate what they believe enough to start speaking out. To start confronting the lies when we see and hear them. To ruffle the feathers with family members that start toying around with the evil indoctrination of liberalism that touts “acceptance and toleration” which is nothing but a mask for “let us shove our sin down your throats and your childrens throats” and don’t say a word about it or you’re a racist bigot. Nope, not at Rock Church. We saw the response from the world as we posted pictures of beautiful families and the celebration of men and women in marriage. Lies, sabatoge, and hate.

The reality is that it is not “our” ideas at Rock Church that the world hates, it’s the bibles ideas they hate. And we MUST become people that un-apolgetically speak the truth, engage in the argument, confront the evil, preach the gospel, spread REAL LOVE.

The message of Jesus was not, “I love you just as you are.” The message of the Gospel was “repent and believe.” AKA I love you despite the way that you are.

I don’t know if this will be a turning point in our country, but it feels like it. I think it should motivate everyone of us in this room who have sat quietly and not spoke up. Who has for too long been scared to make someone upset, or cared about what people thought of them.

People hated Charlie and he left a HUGE mark of life change and Love.

People hated Jesus and he left an even bigger mark of life change and Love.

Doug Wilson says,

"Desperate times call for faithful men, and not for the careful men. The careful men come later, and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage."

That is also our calling.

Please stand with me for the reading of the scripture

Genesis 29:31-30:24

English Standard Version Chapter 29

When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”

33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”

2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.”

4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.

7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.

12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.

20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.

21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”

The Lord Blesses Leah

We continue with the story of Jacob and his sister wives. It’s important to note, that we read descriptive polygamous marriages in the bible, that are not part of God’s covenant plan for mankind, and are explicitly against what he ordained in the Garden of Eden. This is a great place to remind people that as we read about mankind post the fall of Adam and Eve, it’s important to understand that not every description we read about how they are behaving is prescriptive for us today.

I don’t know about y’all, but I have very little interest in following some of the disasterous decisions that people made in the bible, I have plenty of my own.

We pick up with the story of God opening the womb of “Leah” and remember that she is the wife given to Jacob which he did not prefer. Jacob was tricked into marrying her. God sees the pain of Leah, and he blesses her by opening her womb.

English Standard Version Chapter 29

When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”

33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing

Leah’s blessing and search for Love

I want to go through the process of Leah having Sons, and look at the names which represent the attitude of her heart after each child.

Reuben: “Look, a Son!” (

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Four by Leah (29:31–35)

“the LORD has looked upon my affliction.”)

Leah, “because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; now my husband will love me.”

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Four by Leah (29:31–35)

“now my husband will love me.”

2. Simeon - “the Lord has heard.”

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Four by Leah (29:31–35)

Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.’

Maybe “this” child will make Jacob love me?

3. Levi - Attachment

English Standard Version Chapter 29

“Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”

4. Judah - “Praise”

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Four by Leah (29:31–35)

“And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’

If this isn’t the story of Mankind. Our search for Love, and our search for fullfilment. While marriage is a blessing from God, it is not in the Love from a husband or from a wife that will satisfy our souls. God blessed Leah by opening her womb and giving her four boys, but with each of the first three boys, Leah’s deepest hearts desires was that it would move her husband to Love her, to be attached to her.

Illustration: (The Christian life is learning satisfaction in God above all circumstances)

Growing up in the Lord for me has been one long, slow process of dissatisfaction. Of learning about my own heart, and learning more about the Lord. For years, I was a young buck chasing the pleasures of the World. My biggest idols were business Men that had made a lot of money. I saw them as the most influential and satisfied people in the World. Like Leah, it took me time and time again before I would be on my knees and say, “this time I will praise the Lord.” 1 gym. nope. 2 gyms. nope. 3 gyms and a cafe.. nope. a Pharmacy, cafe, and gyms.. nope. a wife.. nope… 2 kids.. nope..

Desire in the Human heart is God given, but it was never meant by be satsfied by earthly things.

Your Journey is unique to You

I’ve learned that one of the most deadly things is comparing your life to other people around you. How many single Women look at other Women around them who are married with children and say, “I just want to be like them. I want to have what they have. Then I would be satisfied.”

God’s call for each and every one of us is that we would be people that praise him, and found satisfaction in him in whatever phase or stage of life we are in. Whether in youth and health, or being old with a decaying body, can I praise him just the same?

Leah’s reality is that her husband “Jacob” would never love her like he loved Rachel. Forced into marriage against her will. Yet in her submission, in her praise and satisfaction, from her lineage came the Lord Jesus himself.

It’s why Jesus says, “lay down your life and pick up mine. Lay down your desires and trust me. Nothing will give you what you’re looking for, except me.”

Becoming satisfied in God is becoming content in the life that he’s given you. Realize That Leah is the wife that isn’t loved by her husband, but God has given her other blessings and through it she’s learned to worship and praise God.

After God gave her another Son Jacob, instead of saying, “Now my husband will love me,” her response is, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy!”

Transition: In the next section of scripture, we move into this really odd and dysfunctional polygamous marriage, once again showing the chaos that comes outside of the biblical mandate of marriage between one Man and one Woman. But we learn about ourselves, as well as about God.

God Looks on the Lowly

English Standard Version Chapter 30

In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

This passage is so funny, and says about everything about who we are and who God is. Leah’s Son goes out into the Field and gets’ “mandrakes.”

Listen to how stupid this is.. what is a mandrake?

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Four by Leah and Rachel (vv. 14–24)

Gordon Wenham, “The mandrake (Mandragora autumnalis) is a perennial Mediterranean plant that bears bluish flowers in winter and yellowish plum-sized fruit in summer. In ancient times, mandrakes were famed for arousing sexual desire (cf.

So God has blessed Leah, the unloved with with a bunch of children, and Rachel wants in on the children. She’s desparate for a child. Leah’s son comes back with some aphrodesiac love fruit, and she’s like, “give me some of that and you can sleep with your husband.”

Wives, can you imagine someone telling you that about your own husband. Can you imagine having to get permission from the other wife? Can you imagine thinking how evil this Woman is?

Rachel says, “give me some of that fruit?”

Leah: Is it not enough that you have my husband, now you want my love fruit too?

Rachel: I’ll let you sleep with him.

Leah: Ok

Rachel sleeps with Jacob, and God opens her womb again to a fifth son.

Point: God’s purposes get done through sinful human choices. When we break down our lives and reality, the mistakes we made, were we not all just attempting to manipulate and make our own decisions by what we we thought would bring us happiness?

Back to the “Mandrake.”

This time was obviously more superstitious and mystical than our modern day. The enlightenment and materialist thinking has shifted our thought process to not believe that “a love potion” or “fruit” will open a barren womb, but we do believe that “material and worldly” things will bring blessing and happiness.

At the root of Rachel’s desire is “idolatry.” Trusting and believing in the Mandrake over God himself.

When thinking through comparison in today’s society, we see a parallel in Women making their own decisions instead of submitting to God and trusting him.

There has been a 30% increase since 2015 in “egg freezing.” This predomenantly comes from big cities, where careers and money are pursued more than children. Yet the increase of them trusting in the freezing of their eggs, over God who’s ways and timing are perfect.

I haven’t been silent about this, and I won’t be now. Women are more unhappy than they’ve ever been in this country, and it’s because they’ve become like Men in pursuing careers above everythying else, because they believe there is more meaning and purpose found in that than having, nurturing, and discipling children.

Transition: We often chase blessing by earthly means. We worship idols we believe will bring ultimate blessing and happiness. But in the end, God holds all blessing, all goodness, and our lives in his hands.

Our Mandrakes

If there was one amazing fact about being a believer in Christ, its our propensity to find our own mandrakes. We are sinners who often idolize and worship things other than him. Trust in things more than him. Looking back over our own lives, we can see all of the gods we have worshipped more than him.

Careers

Significant others

Drugs and Alcohol

Friendships

Our Morning Routine we Prefer, over spending time with God. (We need it)

Our neglect of prayer, because we don’t feel like it.

Our neglect of gathering with our Kingdom Communities, because we aren’t in the mood.

Our neglect of sharing the gospel, for fear of their opinions of us.

Our neglect of reading the bible, because we just aren’t good readers.

I did a search quick this week, and found out that on average we read 50,000 words a day on our smart phones, yet many of us struggle to read the bible at all. I put this on facebook, and one of our wise members said, “people will read what they want to read. It’s not a time issue, it’s a heart issue.”

We all have our modern day “mandrakes” we believe will fulfill us and make us happy. Will give us what we want. They are not evil in themselves, they’re evil because we pretend they are the solution to our happiness and fulfillment.

God Blesses Sinners

One of the most amazing parts of this story, that again shows the character of our God and his mercy filled love for his people, is even when we attempt to manipulate our lives, and worship things other than him, he still blesses us.

English Standard Version Chapter 30

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”

Perspective, and Joy are a choice. Paul says, “consider it all joy.” Paul says, “rejoice always.” If our perspective is that we somehow “deserve’ more than we have, we do not have a proper theology of our own hearts or the mercy of God.

Rachel didn’t cry out to God about her desires, she attempted to get some Love fruit that would somehow “give her” children. Yet even in her dumb mistake, God heard her desires and blessed her.

I think sometimes we think as Sons and Daughters of God, that the blessings of God are all earned. This is comical. Story after story we read of sinful people that God keeps pouring out tremendous blessing. It’s only in ungratefulness and an attitude of “I deserve more” do we miss this.

If I were to die right now, I have nothing to complain about. The life that I have lived, the mercy he’s shown me, the family he’s given me, the church family I live in, the house over my head, the people all around me. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt these blessings are not becuase i morally deserve them. SO many times in my own life I’ve chased after other gods and things I thought would give me more joy and meaning, and every time they came up empty, yet he kept blessing.

This is the character of our God.

You want to measure your growth in God, measure your gratefulness.

You want a deeper relationship with him, start “rejoicing always,” knowing that all things are from his hand for your good.

Conclusion

How many blessings in this life will it take before we praise the Lord?

God gave Leah 4 sons, before she finally said, “this time I will praise the Lord.”

In light of Charlie Kirk, much of his life was fighting against an ungrateful and unbelieving culture.

God you made me a female, but I want to be a male.

God you made me a male, but I want to be a female.

God you gave me sex, but I don’t want the child.

God you gave me marriage, but I can’t do just one sex partner.

God I make 35000 a year, but that guy makes 150,000 a year, and that’s not fair.

Leah Said, God you’ve given me these children, but I want my husbands heart also.

It’s not that God didn’t desire to give Leah heaven, her own husband, children, etc. It’s that he cared more about who she was becoming than what she was receiving.

God knows that if he gave us the lives we desired, we’d have little need for him. Our hearts can’t handle too much blessing, or we turn to worshipping creation rather than the creator.

I want to end with this, if this week has taught us anything, it’s that as we grow in Christ the World will increasingly hate us, and that is promised fruit of those that are walking in the ways of Christ.

Racist - You believe that all people and all colors are equally sinful. That saying “white people” are the problem is racist. Because we believe that our own sin is our biggest issue, not things that happened to us in the past or present.

Bigot - Because you love people enough to tell them that LGBTQ ideology is contrary to the word, and therefore hurting themselves by living in a lie. Because you refuse to submit to a lie.

Fascist - because you desire your country to be Christian, because that’s what love looks like, freedom looks like, and peace looks like.

Transphobic - because you believe in the common sense rationale and teaching of Genesis that God made Man Male and Female.

Homophobic - because you know the word of God says he created them male and female for one another in marriage.

Charlie left behind a wife and two beautiful little girls, not because he was simply a political commentator. But because he truly believed the message of Christ could shine a light into the World and change it, and it is.

Some of in this room need to repent. Repent from being so quiet an so passive. So embaressed to say the name of Jesus for fear of people’s opinions.