God Prospers Jacob

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 119:97-104

Psalm 119:97–104 ESV

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Scripture memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:31-39 (Gideon)

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sermon:

Good Morning Church!

I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

I should start by thanking you church for your grace and your kindness towards us, allowing me to be gone last Sunday that I could go and attend the funeral of my cousin. It was Bittersweet... yet still sweet. To be with family. The book of Ecclesiastes is not wrong I think when it says: “It is better to go to the house of mourning”. There's, there's a sweetness to being with family to being with loved ones as we remember fondly. The life of someone we loved. And so, thank you for the the opportunity to go be with family last weekend.

Thank you also for the privilege and opportunity to be back here with you this morning. Back into the book of Genesis, we're just smack dab in the thick of it. We could say. Genesis chapter 30, verses 25 through 43, is our text for this morning. And we're moving now through Jacob's life. And in front of us. Today is a passage that is all about. God blessing Jacob in a mighty and profound ways.

Jacob is blessed. In spite of Jacob... In spite of Laban... in spite of the circumstances.

Jacob thus far in the Book of Genesis. Has not been an extraordinarily praiseworthy character. So, if we look at his life? It starts at a high point in some ways, as Jacob is wrestling in the womb with his twin brother Esau and Rebecca is experiencing this difficult pregnancy. She, she feels the struggling of the twins within her. She cries out to God, God prophesies over Jacob: That the older will serve The younger Esau the older and Jacob, the younger… the blessings will flow through the younger of the two.

And so they're born. And we see. This might pan out a little differently than we might have thought. Esau is born a hairy red child with Jacob already grasping at his heels. Literally and figuratively grasping at the heels.

And then the first narrative we have, where Jacob's old enough to to work he's “Taking advantage”... I don't think he, coned, I think taking advantage is a better way to look at this. He's taking advantage of his brother. His brother comes in desperate, hungry, thirsty and Jacob's cooking some red stuff... And Esau trades his Birthright for a bowl of red stew.

As we move on through Jacob's? Life, the next real scene we see. Is him. Now, with his mom conspiring to lie to his father to steal a blessing. Though the blessing was rightfully his, he feels the need to lie, cheat, and steal to get it. And so he deceives his father, steals the blessing from Esau. So he has taken advantage of his brother. He has lied cheat and stolen from his brother and father. And so his brother Esau is. In some ways, rightfully upset. In some ways, he's not right because he's murderously upset...

and so Jacob has to flee seemingly in the cover of Darkness by himself. He's heading back to the his mother's family. To go find a wife, that's the external reason. There's a lot more going on here… And on his way, as he travels alone, he has a vision. Here's another high point of his life. He sees God... well First, he sees a ladder Angels coming down and going up at the top of the ladder. Is God? And God speaks blessing. Upon Jacob: “you'll return. You'll return, blessed with wives and children. Your descendants will inherit this land.”

God blesses Jacob. But then? When Jacob finally gets to Laban? Uncle. Laban. Is a trickster just like Jacob, and he tricks Jacob. Jacob moves from seven years for one wife that he wants to 14 years of service… indentured servanthood really. For a wife that he desires, and that wife's older sister As another wife.

Then, Two weeks ago. I guess now, we we read of Inner workings of his familial life as he gains - in the text 11… We fast forwarded to saw, ultimately, 12 sons. Through four different women, his wives both, but also both of his wives maidservants.

This is kind of a sticky situation and and Jacob, just sort of there. He's being purchased for mandrakes, he's an active participant in that he is needed to help procreate the children, but he doesn't do any active things… He's not the direct object of very many verbs in the the way that we read the text here. That's the technical way to say it... but he's not doing much. And yet, God's favor is upon him. God looks on him. And God prospers. Everything Jacob sets his hands to. That's what we'll be looking at today. Genesis chapter 30, verse 25.

Genesis 30:25–43 ESV

As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” But Laban 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 have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall 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 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. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the 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. Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

These are the words the Lord for us this morning. Let's open our time together with a word of prayer.

Dear Lord, we do. Thank you. For your blessing. For your goodness and your grace. We thank you that you have seen fit to look on us. When we were dead in sin and trespasses, you made us alive together with Christ. When we were Rebels, you called us your own. When we were not your people. You called us your people. When we were people and not worthy of Mercy. You gave to us Mercy. You're a good God! Great and greatly to be praised. May we see clearly your hand at work in our lives, and here in this text, may we be a people changed by the reading of your word. I ask this morning that you would speak through your word and that you would speak through your servant. May my words be your words. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. And amen.

Though Jacob is unworthy. Though Jacob has no right to really demand anything of God, though. Jacob is a trickster. God blesses. Jacob.

God Blesses Jacob:

This is the heart. The this is the one message we could say of this text. And it feels like... I mentioned to someone that. If you were here for the book of Isaiah, let me remember. There was a section a large chunk of Isaiah, where it felt like, okay, how many more sermons in a row do we have of trust God and don't trust man, trust God And don't trust. Man, that was like the the heartbeat for a large portion of Isaiah here. It feels like the heartbeat for most of Genesis, we're being honest is “God will bless whom God will bless how he will bless them, when and where, and how and why he wants to”. This is all just a work of God.

And here again, this is the the the heartbeat of this text. God is the one blessing. Though Jacob has no right to claim any sort of blessings... other than the fact that God promised. And the ONE thing Jacob could say is he could look back to this scene with the ladder. and proclaim: God you promised blessing. You promised I would return with blessing and decent, you promised this God?

But in himself. He has no right. In himself. He has no standing. He has nothing. This is why, when he came to Laban, all he could offer was his service for seven years because he had nothing, and yet God is multiplying, and God is blessing, and God is prospering.

The only time we see this being explicitly said, though. It's in the background of this whole text is actually. Said twice, once by Laban and once by Jacob, and they both. It's interesting how this goes down. The first one in verse 27, Laban, says that “I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you”.

Now what Exactly divination here. We're not certain, right? There's some debate. This is how I think it's best Understood: I think Laban is guilty of... Your fancy ten dollar word that you can use.... He's guilty of something we would call syncretism. Where he is taking the practices, the beliefs, the the things that usually occur in his culture and around him. “Divination”. Whatever this looks like, it's. It's trying to read and predict and know what's going on. And he's mixing that with. Praising the god of Jacob...

He uses divination to understand that God is the one who's doing this. So, Laban, he's a little off here in HOW he got to the conclusion, but the conclusion is correct… but he's correct in saying that the Lord has blessed Laban because of Jacob.

And Jacob also sees this. He says, In verse 30: Genesis 30:30 “For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned.”

So Laban uses divination to understand that this is the Lord's blessing and Jacob as he looks at the situation. Like, man, God is blessing Laban a lot because of me. So from one thought we might ask, is this actuiall a story about God blessing Laban? NO!.

the truth of this story is that God is working this about to. In incredible ways. Bless Jacob - to fulfill his promises to care for him. God does so throughout, and in the midst of all of these things. And so, as we read through this story, it's important we understand this. Is God blessing Jacob. God prospering this man: Jacob. God, setting his favor upon Jacob in such a way that Jacob is blessed beyond measure.

At the beginning of this story, what I want us to see and understand is God blesses Jacob in spite of treacherous dealings.

In spite of TREACHEROUS DEALILNGS

And here, the treacherous one, the deceiving one, the one going around doing underhanded, sneaky things, is in fact, not Jacob at all. In this whole story. In fact, Jacob, I would argue, is beyond praiseworthy. He has grown up and matured. This is our first seeing of Jacob as we want him to be. Jacob, the patriarch Jacob, the one worthy of being in the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

For, he stands, and he's willing to sacrifice.

As we open the story, what does he want? He wants to go home. Let me go. Let me have my wives and my children so that I can go. And Laban is like, well, you worked for me, and I'm doing good. Why do you have to go? and Jacob's response is? Well, I need to take care of my own household. This is verse 30, “but now, when shall I provide for my own household?” This is good and right, and praiseworthy. At the risk of sounding outdated I will say thins clearly: men should provide for their family.

It's a Biblical principle. This desire is good and right. The desire to provide for his family, it's stirred up in him… I need to provide for my own household. So Laban says, okay, what do you want? Jacob says this, “I'll work for you some more.”

I will Pasture your flock and keep it. I'll spend more time working. I Don't just want a handout. I'll keep working… but this is what I want.

And we get in this whole thing where Jacob, basically, you have clean all white single colored goats and sheep, and that would have been the bulk, the vast majority. And you'd have this recessive trait for speckled and spotted goats and sheep. As a recessive trait, there should be less. And so, Jacob says, look, you keep the bulk. I'll just take the speckled and spotted

For Laban... His willingness to accept this is a sign of his treachery, like knowing who Laban was seeing his deceitfulness, his willingness to. Ruin his daughter's lives in many ways for what he want, like. If Laban's going to accept a deal, we should know it's probably already a but suspicious.

He thinks it's a great deal - for him. It says great, this is good. Let it be, as you have said.

SO why would Jacob take this “bad deal”?

I want to focus on verse 33 real quick. To show the treacherous dealings are not from Jacob. What does Jacob say? “So, my honesty will answer for me. Later.”

Why is Jacob willing to take the Lesser portion? Why is Jacob willing to to do this to work even longer? Pasture the flock even longer? Well, so that he has in many ways the moral High Ground. We've seen this sort of story play out before. If we remember back to Abraham purchasing the burial plot for his wife, Sarah. And there is this whole scene where he goes to these people, he says. I need to buy some land, And they were like, oh no, no, don't worry, we'll give it to you. He's, like, no, I will buy it. I will buy it here in the city gate. I will buy it in front of all of these Witnesses because the Integrity is, I will do this the right way, so that nothing can come back later to get me.

Here, Jacob's doing the same thing. I will do this in the right way, and the easiest way to do this speckled spotted all of these things. They're mine, and then later at any point you can come walk around, and you can see what I have that I have not stolen it. Hidden under that, is this idea: “that way you and everyone knows that God is the one who has blessed me?”

My honesty will do this.

Laban says, great. But then, what does Laban do? Commentators disagree as to. Just exactly how crooked this is? But they all agree. This isn't great. This is NOT Kind and generous and forthright business practices by Laban. What does he do?

Genesis 30:35–36 “But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the 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.”

that very day, we strike a deal great done that very day. Laban collects all of the goats that he's just said. Yeah, those can be yours. And he sends them away. He, he tells his sons. You take those, just go three days Journey. That's a long way. How far? I don't know, but actually the phrase three days Journey just means a long way away. He takes those away. So that all Jacob has to look after now are sheep that cannot be his. Just go ahead, go walk through.… Laban thinks he has won

And yet. God will still bless Jacob. Here's our first sort of lesson. It's important to understand.

God is the one who is working all things. And so the man plots and conspires and the desire of Laban is to take advantage and cheat Jacob. But He cannot confound the will of God. And so if God is going to bless and keep him. God's going to bless and keep him.

Word of advice? I am not. Elaborately shrewd or wise business person. So, maybe, don't take all of your business advice from me. I'm a pastor, take spiritual advice. That's what I pride myself on. I will preach God's word, and I will preach principles and things from God's word and Gods word speaks to all of life... If you need to know how to incorporate all that other stuff, I'm not the person to ask.… But if you want to follow the Lord, look to his word, But I'll just say this. If God is the one who is blessing us and keeping us?

Maybe? Just maybe As Christians. We should understand that God has the final word, and it's not for us. To be the most shrewd business people in the universe. Hear my heart on this one. I'm not saying, like, go around getting cheated and taken advantage of. But I am saying. Along the lines of what Jesus would say. If a man asks you to go with him one mile, go with him too. If a man asks for your jacket, give him your cloak as well.

Because it doesn't matter if there's treacherous dealings going all around. God will bless us still. He will keep us. He has proven it. He did so with Jacob. In spite of the treacherous dealings in spite of what Laban is trying here. In spite of all of this, God will still bless and prosper Jacob. He does so in spite of treacherous dealings. and he does so also through Strange and unknown ways.

Through STRANGE AND UNKNOWN WAYS

Verse 37 to 42... If you were to say David, I need to know exactly what's going on here. I can't necessarily help you that much. Let me tell you exactly what happens. He peels some sticks, and he sets those sticks in front of the watering trough of the sheep. And when he does this, the recessive Gene of speckled and spottiness? Somehow work out. And The Offspring. Exhibit the recessive trait. And then, as that's going on. Jacob then moves from just setting these out so that these speckled and spotted lambs and goats and sheep come out. He then also works about a selective breeding program, where the recessive genes show up in the stronger, more fit the better of the sheep, and he allows there to be a breeding of the ones who show the dominant trait, which is single coloredness, but only with the weaker sheep....

And so he, he selectively breeds so that he gets the stronger and Laban gets the weaker. Surface level that is what is happening... Okay.

But why is he peeling sticks? What's the point of putting sticks in the watering trough? What does that have to do with all of this stuff? I don't know. And I actually would be willing to wager. Jacob might not know either.

In chapter 31, in verse. 10, he says

Genesis 31:10–11 “In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’”

Basically, Jacob is saying, I had a dream. God said, this is going to happen. And so it's sort of, like, yeah, I'm peeling these sticks, but but God's the one working, Jacob, admits this. Possibly… I mean people go into the weeds on this. Maybe part of what's going on, is, is this peeling of the sticks and exposing the flesh? He's preying upon The divination that Laban has previously done. That Laban shown himself to be a superstitious man. And so, Jacob's just showing? Right, I'll do this external thing. So that he thinks that's what's going on. But really, God's the one who's doing this? Could be. It Could be that Jacob's a little bit superstitious himself? Could be. It could be that there actually is something scientific going on here that that and peeling these sticks. It's exposing some sort of nutrient or changing the PH of the goats so that the thing that is more likely to, I don't know, I don't know. Is it strange and unknown what exactly is going on!

But God's using it to bless Jacob. Jacob says. God has blessed me. God has done this. And that's just the testimony of all of Genesis. God is the one who is doing this. Just like God is the only one who could open and close the wombs of the women. In the last passage, it was NOT mandrakes.. we looked at, so too. Here, only God is the one who can cause sheep to come forth speckled and spotted and motted, or just all one color God's the one Sovereign over all of these things. And so, though the way is strange, and we don't fully know what's going on here. God has said, this is how I will bless you.

Again here, a lesson for us. Many of us often think. How could God ever bring any good because of this?

I'll be honest with you. Desire, and I spent the last couple weeks counseling and ministering to A dear friend of ours. Who's found herself in a very difficult situation? And she looks around and thinks. Why would God send this to me? Why would God do this to me? I don't know. I don't always know. But this I do know… I do know that God is the one who works through all things. For, we know that in all things, God works for good. For those love him and are called according to his purpose.

Those whom he loves and cares for. Those who he has called and Sanctified and glorified. Those who are his - God will work all things out.

So he works out Abraham going and sojourning. And all these different places God works about for blessing. And all the Ishmael and Isaac drama and all the things that are going on there. God works it out. And Jacob and Esau and the twins and all this going on here. And the younger shall be blessed and the older shall serve the younger … gods working it out? And his his fleeing by night through to Laban. God works it out, and here God is working out using sticks and all this other stuff. On the outside. That's what it looks like at the heart of this God is working. As we fast forward, and we look through what's going to happen. Through his, the oldest son of. Most loved wife. Who is one of the most young Sons? God will bring about salvation.

And when the fullness of time had come, he sends his son. Jesus Christ, Our Lord, to be born of the Virgin. To be born under the curse of the law to redeem. From the curse of the law. I cant tell you what the stripes on some stick mean or do but I can say this: By his stripes, we are healed… strange, and unknown. How does this work out? God is working things out how he desires to. And so we trust in him. God blesses us. It's not for us to demand that the way God blesses us makes sense. And so sometimes, what happens is the treacherous dealings that are going on around us are, in effect, what God will then use to bless us.

They desire to cheat us... what they mean for evil. God means for good. This is why we're memorizing this verse in this series. God will use this to bless his people.

And so God bless us. In spite of treacherous dealings and God bless us through strange and unknown ways, but know this when God blesses. He does so. Mightily.

MIGHTILY

We have this line that feels just like a throwaway line at the end. But there are no throwaway verses in scripture. They are all critical, and this is what it says.

Genesis 30:43 “Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.”

Thus, the man? Jacob, you, the man. Thus, the man increased greatly. And had large flocks. And somehow God has blessed him so much that this idea of look, I don't have anything. But I'll just take this small portion: the, the speckled, and the… here's all sorts of fun words here. Variegated… all of the the not fully one color sheep, I'll I'll just take that little group. God blesses it and grows it. And somehow over 6 years. I do not know how this moves from Jacob having nothing. He, at the beginning of this, he's like, I need to leave. Can I please have my wife and kids to now? At the end of this text, he's leaving with. He's going to leave… next week. He's going to leave with his wife, his kids, and. Large flocks, noyt a pittance, but a LOT

and female servants and male servants and camels and donkeys.

What started out as a deal to get a few Lambs and goats so he could provide for his family. God has blessed him. Mightily.

Here, then, is our final message. From this text.

God doesn't bless us. In halfway measures. It's always mightily.

He blesses us in ways Beyond measure. How do we know? He did it to Jacob. He doesn't over and over again. We read our Bible. How do we know? Romans chapter 8, verse 31,

Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

In the context of what we've read: Laban in all his scheming and plotting. If God is for us, who can be against us, not you Laban? Go check out your divination again laban and see who blessed me. It's the Lord three days journey and sending this sheep. It should have been mine… but that is not going to conquer God in his will.

If God is for us, who can be against us, not laban! Paul's answer is going to eventually be nothing. Nothing can be against if God is for us. Nothing can stand against us, but why?

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

God will bless us mightily.

When I think of treacherous dealings, and I think of in terms of thinking through this whole lesson in terms of myself, God's blessings to me in Christ. This is what's even more crazy.

If anyone is guilty of treacherous dealings in the economy of God blessing me, it's me.

Because how often is it for selfish reasons? How many of us desire to serve and and come to God? For what he can do for us? The god of the universe who deserves all glory, honor, praise, adoration, Lord, and. Humble, submissive worship, all service he deserves it all. And we try to cut deals with God. I'll do this if you do that. God, I'll do that

if anyone's guilty of treacherous dealings. It's us. And yet, God still bless us in spite of treacherously.

And God sends discipline. He sends difficulty. He sends things that I could never explain why or how these are working in my life. And yet God works them out for his glory and for my good. Strange and unknown ways.

I look at my life. Countless times. I look at my life and say, if I were in charge of my life, if I were writing the story of my life. If I were the one who was orchestrating all things in my life, I'll promise you this right now. I would not be standing in front of you today. But because I'm not... because God's the one working things out in ways I could not fathom, he brings my life about so that here I am. By his grace and mercy and goodness, blessed beyond measure. I don't know how I don't know why it's strange and unknown. God doesn't have to tell my how or why or make it make sense to my puny created brain… .

And God blesses us mightily. He gives us all things. For him who loved us. Through Christ Jesus. God's still working in the same ways the same way he's blessing. Jacob is the same way he blesses us.

May we worship Him? Giving him all glory and honor and praise do his name.

Let's pray.