Identity - wk 4 - Unexpected Blessing
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Unexpected Blessing
Unexpected Blessing
Livestream!
We’ve been following Jacob in this series about identity. Jacob struggled with a bit of an identity crisis from before the time he was born. His brother, Esau, didn’t put much stock in his identity and actually sold his own birth right as first born son for a bowl of beans. Last week we saw that God wanted Jacob to realize that He is always with him, even when Jacob doesn’t realize it. We also briefly mentioned Jacob’s family situation. Once he made it to his uncle Laban’s house, Jacob found the woman of his dreams, but ended up marrying her and her sister, then having kids with both sisters and their servants! So get out your popcorn and box of tissues because today we are going to talk about that soap opera.
If you have your bibles and want to follow along, this story can be found in Genesis 29. While search for it I’ll tell you a quick story.
Once there was a group of people on a crocodile safari adventure. When the boat would reach a certain point in the river where you could see the most crocodiles, the tour guide would often joke with the patrons, “I will give $30,000 to anyone who was brave enough to jump into the river and successfully swim to the shore without dying.”
At first everyone seemed to laugh when suddenly a man jumped into the river and began frantically swimming away from the crocodiles who were chasing him. After the quick swim he made it to the other side and everyone cheered for him for winning the money. When they got back to the hotel the manager applauded him for being brave and jumping out of the boat.
The man responded, “I did’t jump! Somebody pushed me!” To which his wife laughed. Behind every successful man is a woman.
That was just a joke, so nobody needs to take some kind of strange inspiration from this story! The couple in that story must have had some serious issues in their relationship. Hopefully none of you have ever wanted to push someone into a river full of crocodiles, but I’m sure we have all experienced some serious challenges in our own relationships as well. Today we are going to talk about Jacob and issues he faced in his relationships and allow God to give us some insight and encouragement into some of the challenges we face today. If you are taking notes, this story focuses on 3 specific people, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. Though they face the same struggle, they will each have a completely different experiences within their specific perspective.
To me this story is a great representation of how God can take one experience and teach multiple lessons to us, whether we continually learn new lessons throughout our lives from one experience or if we share an experience with someone else and our takeaway is something completely different from theirs. Since our focus is on Identity, today we will look at how these three people allowed their pain and circumstances to influence decisions they made. Then how God used these red flags to not only change their lives, but fulfill His promises and bring hope and change to countless people in the future. We will start by focusing on Jacob.
JACOB: DECEPTION
JACOB: DECEPTION
Something we already know about Jacob is that he typically represents deception. We probably should have just been calling him “Fake-ob” from the beginning. We are going to pick up the story after Jacob travels to his uncles and right before he meets Rachel for the first time.
He had just finished this long trip to his uncles place and he was probably very excited to have finally made it. The first half of chapter 29 describes Jacob and his string of divine coincidences. His experience actually mirrors the encounter in chapter 24 that lead to his mother and father meeting and getting married. Both stories imply that God provided some kind of divine guidance. One commentary describes it this way...
He “happened” onto a spot where a well was located; it “happened” to be near Haran, where Laban lived (29:5), and Laban’s daughter Rachel just “happened” to be coming to the well (v. 6). This timing was the work of the loving sovereign God who was leading all the way (cf. 24:27). The fact that the meeting took place at a well is significant because a well was often associated with God’s blessing (cf. 16:13–14; 21:19; 26:19–25, 33).
If you reach chapter 24, Abraham’s servant who was searching for a wife for Isaac happened to be at a well that happened to be near Isaac’s uncle when Rebekah happened to be coming to the well for water. There are more parallels in Jacobs story and I will mention some of them, but this is another story that is a good one to dig out the concordance and see where it takes you.
For example, this story also parallel’s the time when Jesus was at the well with the Samaritan woman. Jacob wanted to give the flock of animals water, but his uncles shepherds wanted to wait. He would eventually be in charge of his uncles animals and through him they would prosper. Jesus wanted to give the Samaritan woman living water so that she would never thirst again and have abundant and eternal life.
At the end his encounter, Jacob told Rachel who he was and she ran to get her father. Laban then ran out to meet him and after Jacob shared his story Laban believed as well. After Jesus told the woman that He is the Messiah, she ran into town to tell others and they listened to Jesus’ story and believed.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”
There are all sorts of interesting parallels and wordplays being used in this story. For now, let’s talk about three ways deception can derail our identity, if we allow it to. First...
JACOB ACTS WITHOUT THINKING
In terms of identity, he doesn’t take the time to let his identity speak for itself. Instead he immediately tries to impress everyone with an extravagant bridal purchase price for Laban’s younger daughter. He only worked for his uncle Laban for a month when his uncle offers to hire him as an employee. To Jacob, this is a great opportunity to marry Rachel, the younger daughter. Even though Laban had two daughters, Rachel and the older, Leah, Jacob only loved Rachel even though he’s only known her a month. How does he KNOW that he loves her? Great question... He thinks she’s hot!
17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.
That’s the bible’s way of saying Rachel was hot. She had GREAT eyes. So what does Jacob do? I mean, he is a guy and probably trying to impress her and her dad, so he over commits. “Yeah, I can bench 350!”...
18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
It was customary during this time for the father of the groom to pay or give expensive gifts to the father of the bride in exchange for the two to marry, but Jacob WAY over does it. At the very least he wasn’t using good negotiating tactics. You are supposed to start out small and work your way up. His first offer was so huge that Laban didn’t give him a chance to reconsider. One could say that Jacob was aware of the custom of marrying the older daughter first and he may have been attempting to avoid the situation he found himself in (married to the wrong daughter), but he ends up making the same offer again for Rachel after his marriage to Leah. The second
JACOB ACTS ENTITLED
Entitlement is just another way of saying that someone has deceived himself. After he works the 7 years, Jacob decides that he has earned his reward. You can tell by his language that he isn’t concerned about anyone but himself. Jacob is about to learn a hard lesson about humility. He is about to see what happens when someone else shows him the same love and respect that he showed his older brother 7 years ago. He goes to Laban and demands what belongs to him!
21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.
We’ve talked a lot about Jacob being a deceiver. In this story we see how Jacob’s role changes and now he’s the one being deceived. He was on the run for tricking his brother and father, now he is the one being tricked by his mother’s brother. By technicality, Jacob the younger took something belonging to the older. Now, his uncle Laban uses a technicality to trick Jacob and marry off his older daughter first. The irony of the deceptions must have echoed in his mind. He must have known by this point how he made his older brother, Esau, feel.
JACOB LIVED A LIE
Jacob was good at deceiving others. He was good at pretending to be something he wasn’t. He was so good at it that he got comfortable living in his lies. I think that is one reason he made such a huge offer for Rachel. He might have thought, “How could anyone try to rip me off when I am giving them such a great deal.” But when you live a lie, it will eventually catch up to you...
25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
Jacob worked for 7 years expecting to marry Rachel, but he found himself lying next to Leah. The deception Jacob had sown his whole life had come back to haunt him. Sometimes, like Jacob, we will pretend to be something in order to get something. We will spend our lives working for Rachel, but then wake up next to Leah.
Next, Jacob agrees to work for 7 more years to marry Rachel. This time he actually get’s to marry her at the beginning of the seven years though. Two sisters married to one guy. One sister unwanted. How is this going to go? Let’s start with Leah...
LEAH: REJECTION
LEAH: REJECTION
Obviously this story gets pretty sad, especially for Leah. She faced some pretty harsh rejection. When you read through her experience you can almost feel the torment that she faces from not being loved. It is so hard on her that she even names her children after her pain.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
Reuben means “Look, a son!” It also sounds like the Hebrew for “He has seen my misery.”
33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”
Simeon probably means, “One who hears.”
34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”
Levi sounds like a Hebrew term that means “being attached” or “feeling affection for.”
35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.
Judah is related to the Hebrew term for “praise.”
Because Jacob didn’t love her she tried to earn his love by giving him a bunch of children. She even gave Jacob her maidservant so he could have more sons, but even after all of this he still didn’t love her. She would go on to give him 6 sons and a daughter and her maidservant gave him another 2 sons. And she never stopped seeking the love of her husband. Even so, something changed when she had Judah. When she named the first three sons you can hear the depression and dark misery in her words. But when she had Judah, her words and her tone completely changed.
Before she was trying to earn acceptance through her achievements. How many times do we do the same thing? “Maybe if I get this job, they will accept me. Maybe if I do this thing, I could fit in.” We should realize what Leah finally realized. We shouldn’t live to earn acceptance through our achievements because we are already accepted in Jesus. What Jacob rejects is what God accepts. When God saw that she was not loved, He enabled Leah to conceive. Jacob said, “I don’t want you, you’re not pretty enough.” But when God looked at Leah, He said, “I choose you.” We all have flaws and defects that cause us to be rejected, but God chooses us.
God chose Leah to bear Judah. From the line of Judah, God brought forth Jesus. From the rejected one, God brought forth His son to be the Savior of the world. Don’t let someone rejection of you steal your identity in Christ. They may reject you, but to God you are chosen. God often chooses to fulfill His purposes by using those who are overlooked by others. What about Rachel...
RACHEL: FRUSTRATION
RACHEL: FRUSTRATION
Rachel had everything going for her. She was loved. Jacob worked for 14 years just to be able to marry her. She was beautiful. She had it all! But just like Leah, Rachel had her own struggles. The glaring difference between the two was the fact that Leah’s troubles were pretty obvious, but Rachel’s were more internal. Sometimes those can be the worst because we can try to hide them but they can get to a point where we don’t feel like we can manage them any longer. Rachel was unable to have children and it was starting to frustrate her and really eat at her. Listen to how she handles this situation with Jacob...
1 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
Have you ever let something weigh on you so much that you start to be unreasonable about it. Maybe you are frustrated because someone isn’t being fair. Or you are frustrated because this one thing that is important to you never goes the way you want it. You bottle it up and try to hide it and make people think you are in control, but on the inside you feel like you are going to die because your husband never cleans up after himself. Or because your wife won’t stop complaining about your mess.
We live in a world that emphasizes external beauty so much that many people have figured out how to be like by other people, but don’t really like themselves. Just because someone’s life looks beautiful from the outside doesn’t mean they aren’t inwardly hurting and miserable.
Rachel became jealous of Leah, then she said the something to Jacob that is very similar to what Esau said when he was hungry. Esau wanted food, but Rachel wants children. I can just see Jacob coming home from the fields one day and she’s just lost it! Frustration is getting the better of her, she isn’t thinking clearly, she has to be better than her sister in every way. So she comes up with a solution to her problem. She will give Jacob her maid to have children for her.
5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”
When we get frustrated like Rachel we lose sight of who God has created us to be and our motives start to go all over the place. How would you like to be named after a baby battle with your mom’s rival? “Mom, why did you name me Naphtali?” “Because I’m winning! Go outside and play so mommy can win some more.”
This whole thing just looks like a massive mess. I have a box at home that is full of cables and wires and I hate opening it. When I pull out one wire, the whole ball of wires comes out. Then when I try to put everything back, the lid never shuts. This story is that mess. I call it a soap opera. Once you start reading it, everything gets confusing and it never goes back into your brain straight. At the same time, when you dig around long enough you will probably find the one wire you need. The thing God is trying to show you. The lesson God wants to teach you.
The reason is because our lives are the same way. Nothing is ever straight forward. As we walk through life we find ways to weave one story through another and tangle everything up. We mess up and accidentally put the wrong wire in the box and it gets sticky duct tape residue all over clean cords, then the next time we use them they get dog hair and carpet fuzz all over them. Then Steve gets mad because the cable we burrowed gets ruined. But just like the lives of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, God uses it all.
GOD USES IT ALL
GOD USES IT ALL
While all they could see was this huge mess, the crazy love triangle, the jealousy, the competition, the bribery, the depression, the joy… God saw the nation of Israel being formed. Jacob had twelve sons from these sisters, and those sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. God worked through the mess to fulfill His promise to Abraham.
While Rachel could only see her barrenness, God was giving them an opportunity to trust Him as he created a pattern of mercy and gratitude. Think about the first 3 patriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel… They were each described as being beautiful, and as being unable to have children.
Jacob, Leah, and Rachel are also used to introduce the “first shall be last and the last shall be first” principle that Jesus mentioned so often.
31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
In the Faithlife Study Bible, Gary Fenton says this...
Faithlife Study Bible Leah’s Legacy in Scripture
Jacob, the younger son, was used in the redemptive lineage usually reserved for the firstborn. Similarly, Leah—the oldest, but the least preferred by Jacob—became a chosen instrument to ultimately bring us Christ.
Their story also gives us an illustration of law and grace. Jacob had to work 7 years before marrying Leah. This paints a picture of the Old Testament law where you had to work to get to God. But Jacob married Rachel before serving his 7 years for her. This paints a picture of grace. In Jesus we get to God first, while we were still sinners, THEN we serve him out of that love. It is our response to His love for us. We serve Him, not because we have to, but because we get to.
When we face rejection and frustration we need to remember that it is not about us, it’s about something much greater. Just keep being the person God has created you to be. No need to be fake and try to hide who God has created and called you to be. God is working through everything in our lives, the good and the bad, to build His kingdom on earth.
Think about some unexpected blessings that you have received from God. God will use things you never expect to bring about blessings that you never knew to ask for. If you can’t think of any, my challenge for you is to sit down with a pen until you come up with three unexpected blessings, because I know that God has blessed all of us in unexpected ways at some point in our lives.
If you agree, then I have a challenge for you too. How can you be an unexpected blessing for someone else this week? God wants to use us in amazing ways to be a part of amazing things. This week ask God to make you a part of an unexpected blessing.