Genesis 31 “Running From The In-laws”

The 31^st chapter of Genesis finds Jacob running from his in-laws. Now the Bible teaches that upon being married, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife. (Gen.2:24 -cited in Matt.19:5; Eph. 5:31). But this is not what we see here. We see Jacob fleeing from his in –laws (31:20,21). Normally men fetch their brides from their father’s home and then leave, in measured steps, to begin their own homes!  Jacob went to fetch his bride from her father’s house, overstayed his welcome and had to flee. If Jacob  had simply fetched Rachel  and returned back to Canaan, it would have been a very different story. But it was not to be.

20 years have passed since Jacob had left his father and mother in Canaan (31:38,40-41), whilst also fleeing from his brother  Esau, and whilst looking for a wife among the people of his uncle  Laban  in Haran.  He  volunteered to  serve Laban 7 years  for Rachel (30:18), when his uncle Laban had tricked him into marriage with her sister Leah (30:23). Jacob then served a further  7 years to get Rachel also. That is 14 years. Then we read in 30:25-43  that Jacob wanted to go back  to his home in Canaan, when Laban tempted him yet again  to stay  another 6 years to look after his sheep  in return for  all the speckled and spotted  sheep that were born of the herd. This amounts to 20 years that Jacob has been away from his promised land. At the end of these 20 years Jacob had  become prosperous. “Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.” (30:43)

However, at this time, Jacob has truly had it. It was time to go. The relationship with Laban was no blessing to Jacob. There is no spiritual growth recorded here. The only thing that had happened in this time is that Jacob had grown materially prosperous. The sons of Laban, his brothers in law, were now becoming jealous of him and of his increased wealth. And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favour as before (31:1,2). 

Our text  divides into 7  portions: 

(i) Jacob thinking of leaving  

(ii) Jacob informing and consulting  with his wives 

(iii) Jacob fleeing 

(iv) Laban pursuing  

(v) Laban confronting         

(vi) Jacob responding 

(vii) Laban leaving

1.     Time to leave! (31:1-3)

The confirmation to leave his in laws came not primarily from the circumstances. Opposition from family or unfavourable circumstances are not necessarily a reason to leave, although the increased hostility would  have contributed to a loosening of the roots. However, the  ultimate confirmation came from the LORD: “Then the LORD said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, I and I will be with you’” (31:3).   Haran was never Jacob’s designated home. It can be at best a temporary home, just like  this earth is  our temporary home, “for here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebr.13:14). Canaan is the earthly promise of the heavenly reality. So, Jacob is now reminded by God to move on. It is a daunting move. His roots have grown deep here, and the future elsewhere is uncertain. But God’s promise is with him:  “I will be with you”. It is a repetition of the covenant promise God made to him twenty years ago at Bethel (28:13-15).

How was he to leave? In a sense Jacob is in a sense imprisoned by his father in law. In many ways his experience under Laban is  like the experience of a   future generation of the Jews  in Egypt, held hostage by Pharaoh  (Exod. 1ff). It is also similar to the slavery of sin and Satan in which we all are kept, until Jesus Christ delivers us by the mercy and free grace of God. The point is that unaided, Jacob, the Jews, or ourselves would never escape from our respective prisons if God were not at work for us.    

2.     Informing and consulting with his wives (31: 4-16)

An important question will be how Jacob’s wives will think and feel about this. This is, after all their familiar home. How will they settle in Canaan, 800 kilometres away? Jacob puts the situation before them.  He informs them how their father’s attitude to him has changed (31:5), despite long and faithful service (31:6). He reminded them that their father had cheated him so many times (31:7). Three times he draws attention to God’s blessing and protection in all this (31:5,7,9). He also tells them concerning his dream (which probably relates to 31:3) in which Jacob shows them that he did not cheat their father with a clever breeding scheme. It was the God of Bethel who did this. It was the God of Bethel who is now calling him to return  to   his country (31:13).

As we pause to reflect upon these 20 years we do need to commend Jacob for his exemplary patience and for his long suffering. And it seems  that at this point he  is  truly begin to see his life and the future, not as in his own hands, nor the hands  of his father in law  and the family in Haran. He sees himself as a man called of God.  A new phase is about to begin.   

Having spoken with his wives, they both endorse his decision to leave. In this matter they were united. Since they had no portion or inheritance left in their father’s house (the boys probably got that!) (31:14), and since they were now considered  foreigners  by their  father (31:15)  there was now very little attachment  left. They  had begun to see  that  the LORD, the  God of their husband Jacob,  was the One  who  had endowed them  with  the  material blessings. So they tell Jacob, “do whatever God has told you” (31:16).They trusted their husband and their husband’s God.  In that  sense Jacob’s God will be their God and Jacob’s people will be their people- echoes of Ruth and Naomi.

3.     Jacob and his family flee  from  Laban (31:17-21)

Taking everything he legally owned (31:18) Jacob fled at a time when Laban had gone out  to shear the sheep (31:19). He crossed the great river Euphrates, heading for the hill country of Gilead (31:21). Now whilst Jacob took that which was legally his, we are told that Rachel  stole her father’s household gods (Hebr. teraphim) (31:19).  In this we see that Rachel’s heart is not yet attached to the LORD. She represents those who cannot fully embrace the promises of God. She still has to rely on her familiar idols. She still must rely on other things. In this regard she is like Lot’s wife, who whilst fleeing from Sodom and Gomorrah longs back and looks back. Sadly this kind of attitude will define the nation of Israel at many times. Israel was always divided in their hearts. Whilst they partly desired God, they also flirted with the world.  This was to be a continual snare to Israel throughout her history. It is the greatest trouble with the church. So many in the church want the favour of God, but they also want the favour of the world. Well, you cannot have both. Choose this day whom you will serve, said Joshua to the Israelites (Josh. 24:15).  This tension will not be resolved until the true church, the true Israel will be assembled in heaven. Until then we must wrestle and struggle with sin. 

There is a magnificent play on words here in 31:20, which is lost in translation.  While Rachel had stolen her father’s household gods, Jacob tricked, (lit.) stole away, unknown to Laban (lit. stole the heart of Laban – see margin of ESV; see also 31: 26,27)

4.      Laban pursues Jacob 31:22-25

Three days after the fact Laban hears what has happened and he is furious. It takes him a week to catch up with Jacob’s slow moving trek. But again, God is at work in this situation. Laban is warned in a dream. Thank God for His interventions. We have no idea how many times God may have worked in the heart of those who meant to do us evil, but were prevented from doing so  by Divine intervention. Isn’t it strange that Laban will listen to God  in his dream at night and yet still cling to useless household gods that  can do nothing? Oh the  mystery of the hardness of the human heart.

5.     Laban  confronts  Jacob (31:26—35)

Upon  catching up, the questions  come fast and furiously: “What have you done? And driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?”. Well,  that's not true. They actually  went voluntarily. (31:26). Why did you flee secretly (31:27)? Why did you not permit me to say goodbye (31:28)? Why did you steal my household gods? (31:30). But he does keep in mind the fact that God had warned him (31:29) and so his fury is contained. But note the final irony. The true God has spoken to him in a dream, but he is more concerned about the loss of his  deaf and mute idols  who cannot utter a word.  The irrationality of fallen human beings! 

6.     Jacob responds  (31: 36-42)

Jacob does not know about  Rachel’s deceit  in terms of the household gods, and they were never found by Laban. This is the moment  in which  Jacob  feels himself justified to go on the counter offensive. He reminds him of the injustice that he has suffered for 20 years. Jacob knew  that had he not taken this course of action he would never have  left Laban. The man was just too strong  and possessive. It is really the first time that wesee Jacob standing up to his father in law  (31:42). This is a wonderful turning point in Jacob’s life: The God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac  is  his strength. Oh how we need this truth to stand up against  the fearful Laban’s of this world.

7.     Laban leaves (31:43-55)

Laban now knew that the best thing was  reconciliation in the form of making a solemn, binding covenant (31:44). Jacob set up two witnesses to this agreement- a stone heap (31:45,46), as well as a sacrifice  in the context of a fellowship meal (31:54). They parted peacefully, but we never hear of Laban again. He had plenty opportunities  to lay aside  his foolish  idolatry  and trust  in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  But he did not, and that is how he left.

CONCLUSION

We need to conclude our meditation with a word of perspective. Jacob points us to the true Israel, the true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He points us to our true country- which is heaven, our heavenly Bethel, the place where Christ rules and reigns for evermore.  

At Bethel Jacob had first seen God, standing at the top of a stairway into heaven. Here God had sworn to be with him. Jesus, in identifying with Jacob’s dream at Bethel identifies Himself as the stairway to heaven (John 1:51). This journey that Jacob begins here has been finished by Christ.

Remember then that  you are on a journey.  Your journey is to heaven via your  stairway who is Christ. Heaven is where your inheritance is located.  Therefore lay aside your idols, whether it be the things and people you  idolize, or whether it  is your  own abilities  that you rely on.  They are  a hindrance and they  are useless on this journey. 

Put your trust in God alone. Let your confidence not rest in any man, and not in your in-laws.  

Run to  God, run home and rest in  Him alone.

Genesis 30 “Jacob’s Crazy Mixed up Family- in God's Hands”

The Bible knows of no spiritual ‘über-mensch’. Our studies thus far concerning the revered patriarchs of the OT, Abraham, Isaac and now Jacob give us no indication of that. We cannot speak about spiritual giants. We can only speak about a great God who uses weak, sinful people despite themselves.  

Even the great apostle Paul falls into this category. He knows himself to be the worst of sinners, and he is constantly amazed at the grace of God to himself (1 Tim. 1:15). He testifies to his own weakness: “Who is weak, and I am not weak?” (2 Cor. 11:29). In further testifying to his own weakness, and his  thorn in the flesh, Paul testifies that  God’s grace was sufficient in his weakness, and therefore he could boast all the more gladly of his weaknesses so that the power of Christ might rest upon him (2 Cor. 12:8,9).  The Bible teaches us to glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).  Now, all of this  will be true of Jacob as well.

In Jacob we have previously found a deceiver and schemer of note. He grew up in a family where Isaac wasn’t listening to the God of his father Abraham.  His mother Rebekah manipulated Isaac, his father, in order to advance Jacob’s cause. None of this was necessary, for God had already determined and ordained Jacob’s future inheritance. He was predestined to be head of the covenant family (Gen. 25:23).  All they needed to do was to wait on God to work out His purposes.  But the whole family took matters in their own hand. This disobedience had tragic consequences, and although God’s cause ultimately suffered no setback, the family as a whole suffered severe setbacks. This is what sin does. 

For instance:    

·       Isaac and Rebekah were a divided couple.

·       The two brothers, Esau and Jacob were alienated from each other.  Jacob was forced to flee to escape his brother’s wrath.

·        In Haran, where he had fled to be with his uncle Laban, he was going to be deceived in a bad way (Genesis 29).  He was basically reaping what he had sown.

Despite all this God was working on Jacob in the context of his own family situation in Haran. In Chapter 29 we saw that Jacob’s dream of being married to Rachel and to live with her happily ever after was not to be.  God had work to do on Jacob, and he loved Jacob more than his dream to be married to the perfect girl.  In fact, Jacob needed a major spiritual course correction, and God did this in spite of a crazy, mixed up family set up.

Talk about crazy. I recently read the biography of Mez McConnell (Is Anybody out there?).  Mez was recently in Cape Town  with  Mario and Quintin Maneville, two brothers used by the Lord in Bellville South in the context of a drug and gangster infested  area. Mez was once an abused, addicted, homeless, Christian-despising criminal. He now serves as senior pastor of Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the founder of 20 Schemes, a ministry dedicated to building gospel-centred churches for Scotland’s poorest communities. God can bring amazing good out of a crazy warped situation. God has dealt with Mez’s bitterness in an amazing way. He relates this in an article entitled, “Ding Dong the Wicked Witch Is Dead! A Pastor’s Response to the Death of His Childhood Abuser.” [1]  In this article he speaks about the death of his wicked stepmother that abused him so very badly. And he openly speaks about his feelings to her and how God has helped him through this. God is at work in his life. 

In Genesis 29 Jacob was abusively tricked  into a marriage by his uncle  Laban with Rachel’s older sister, Leah. This is a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless God is at work. Leah proceeds to bear him 4 boys, whilst Rachel, the favourite wife for whom he works another 7 years, remains barren. 

GENESIS   30

And so Genesis 29: 31 – 30:24 becomes the record of the origin of the twelve tribes of Israel.  11 boys are born in this text –  with the exception of Benjamin who will be born in Chapter 35. This is the story of a crazy mixed up family.  Again, the Bible does not soften the blows. The Bible doesn’t paint pretty pictures of people and situations. The Bible leaves us astonished, time and again, how God works out bad situations for His own glory.  In heaven, I believe we will be astonished at the immensity and greatness of God’s grace to us sinners. We will sing with John Newton, ”When we’ve been there then thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s grace then  when we’ve first begun.”

So, here we have a messy family story of one father and four mothers. It all began with his father in law’s deception – actually it all began before that, in Genesis 3!  The story about four mothers is complicated, to say the least!  Leah is frustrated because she is the unloved wife. Rachel is frustrated because she is loved, but cannot have any children. And the two servant ladies, Bilhah and Zilpah, become pawns in the process. And as for the boys...would you be proud to tell the world that your dad had 4 wives and that you were one of 12 boys? Never-mind! God has a plan. He will build a nation and a people, despite this crazy mixed up family mess that Jacob had gotten into.  This is how God’s grace  works…despite ourselves.

1.         30:1- 8  Rachel’s jealousy and her frustrated solution- Bilhah [Dan, Naphtali]

“When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, ‘Give me children or I shall die’!” Two things to note: (i) She is envious of her sister and (ii) she is mad at her husband.  Rachel wasn’t what we would call a godly woman to begin with. She was the one who would steal her father’s idols, his household gods (cf.31:19,34). This tells us something of her inner life. She wasn’t a prayerful woman. She was the pretty girl, but she had a shallow soul.  Her desire at this stage is not to be a wonderful covenant mother.  This is not what drives her. Envy of her sister drives her.  Social status for a woman meant having children.  She had none at this time.  This envy makes her competitive. The Lord will also sanctify her through this experience, and we shall see something of a changed heart in  30:23. But right now she is frustrated and in search of a solution. Her solution was ‘I need a child’, and since she could not provide that child she gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob, and have her bear children, so to speak as a ‘surrogate mother’.  The logic was this. A servant male or female belonged to the master’s house. Her children would therefore be the master’s children.  And so her servant Bilhah bears two of Jacob’s  sons [Dan; Naphtali]

As we reflect Jacob at this moment, it is clear  that he has learned nothing from the painful lesson of his grandfather Abraham and his grandmother Sarah, who gave  Hagar to Abraham to bear a surrogate son, Ishmael- and what a drama  was associated  with that!  

2.  30:9-13  Leah competes with Rachel

30:9 “When Leah saw that she ceased bearing children…”. Can you see what all this is producing? It is producing a ‘baby war’. And it is all driven by an intense envy and jealousy for each other’s status in the eyes of Jacob, and Jacob is doing nothing right now   to stop the war. There is a very thin line here between a woman’s legitimate desire for having children, and   the motives that drive that desire. But that is what  happens when the law of marriage  according to Genesis 2:22-25 is disregarded. Sin begets more sin and  sin is the mother of all unhappiness and discontent and jealousy and envy. And so Leah gives her servant  Zilpah to Jacob  ‘as a wife’  (30:4,9). Did you see that?  These two servant women became wives. This tells us something about the theology of marriage, and the sexual relationship involved in it is an integral part. Jacob’s troubles have just multiplied. He is now a sinner in the hands of 4 angry wives  who all demand their rights! Zilpah gives birth to two more sons  [Gad; Asher]

3.  30: 14-16  And the  battle between the two women continues through carnal means

And still the two  sisters are not happy. Little did young Reuben know when he brought his mother Leah some mandrakes  from the field.  Mandrakes are plant with a yellow, plum like fruit and a distinct smell (see Song of Songs 7:13). They were used as aphrodisiacs and they were also thought to be a cure for infertility. To this day they are known as love apples.[2]  When Rachel saw this relatively rare plant, she immediately wanted some of this to cure her infertility. The end of the story, as you see was that Rachel, the favourite wife, traded Jacob for one night for the mandrakes. This shows us how desperate she was to have her own children. Surrogate children ultimately do not answer her deepest longing for her own child.  It also tells us that Jacob must have neglected Leah.

30:16-24  Amazing grace – Leah and Rachel undeservedly rewarded with more children

What a sad situation this is. Leah had to buy her husband’s attention. However, into this sad situation comes the amazing grace of God, as He grants Leah 2 more sons [Issachar; Zebulun] and Rachel He grants Joseph. Joseph will become the next significant personality in the Genesis narrative. Take note of the grace of the God who answers the prayer of two desperate women. “And God listened to Leah…” (30:17) Leah was desperate for her husband’s love and attention and thought that the bearing of 6 sons would do this.  Concerning Rachel we read, ”And God remembered Rachel and God listened to her and opened her womb…” (30:22).  Suddenly she acknowledges that it is God who has taken away her reproach. For the first time  we hear from  Rachel's  mouth   spoken the Name of God  (Elohim)  and then as she names this son Joseph (May He add), she  petitions the covenant Name of the  LORD  (Yahweh)  for another son in 29:24, who will, as we have said be given in Chapter 35.  Leah by contrast  use the covenant name of God frequently  (29:32,33,35) but you will not find the covenant name of God coming out of Rachel's mouth until 29:24.

LESSONS   

1.     A Warning: Please do not try this at home! This is not written to provide anyone with an excuse to have 4 wives and 12 children and get away with it. This is an exceptional story, and the purpose here is not to provide an example for us to follow. This is not an invitation to sin so that God’s grace may increase (Rom. 6:1). This is simply a lesson   to show us  that  nothing  will stop God  from  carrying out His  great purpose to purify for Himself a chosen people, a royal priesthood…  called out of darkness into His wonderful light  (1 Peter 2:9).

2.   This is a strong lesson! The ignoring of the terms of the original marriage - creation ordinance has fatal consequences. No man is capable of having more than one wife. No wife is capable of having more than one husband. Even though this was acceptable by current social customs, it was not acceptable in the sight of God, and it did not work.

3.     Sin has very strong and far reaching tentacles. Only the free grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord can overcome these. The sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit alone can drive sin out of us, as we believe the Word of God more than the conventional wisdom of the world.

4.      We must be very careful to take spiritual shortcuts in this journey. Remember that we are called to lean on God. We dare not manipulate Him, but prayerfully walk with Him, always waiting for Him to open the doors.

5.     Amazing Grace! This is what  ultimately drives  the  life of this crazy mixed up family. It's grace that has led them safe this far, and grace will lead them home. I suspect  that the same will be true for you and I.  

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[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ding-dong-the-wicked-witch-is-dead-a-pastors-response-to-the-death-of-a-childhood-abuser/

[2] Philip Eveson : The Book of Origins,  EP, p.417

Genesis 29 “Jacob’s Failed Dream”

Jacob is on his way to his uncle  Laban, firstly to escape the wrath of his brother Esau and -to find a wife  from among his mother’s people. We know that he is the chosen seed – the line  of a long line  of men, chosen and predestined of God, a people  for His own glory. They are  remarkable  not because of who they are in themselves, but because of the remarkable God  who calls  them.  

And so we come to Genesis 29. We saw that God had made Himself known to Jacob in a most remarkable way in 28:10-22.  Strengthened by that experience, which must have provided  Jacob with remarkable levels of assurance and confidence in God’s plan and purpose,   he arrives safely in Haran. At this stage he has nothing but the clothes on his back. And he has absolutely no idea  what the future may hold.

The 29^th and 30^th chapter are both beautiful and disturbing. Beautiful, because Jacob   meets  Rachel, the girl of his dreams;  disturbing because Jacob is going to get his own  medicine  from his uncle Laban – in fact, he will receive an overdose of  deceitfulness.  

The first 15 verses are filled with love and romance and a warm reception of Jacob by Laban and his family (29:14).  But reality is beginning to set in 29:16,“Now Laban had two daughters!” The fact is that Jacob had only eyes for one – Rachel. 

Jacob loved Rachel (29:18) so much that he was willing to serve uncle Laban for 7 years for her. After 7 years had passed, they were more than ready for each other. But the problem was that Laban had two daughters, and Leah was weak sighted and perhaps not as pretty. For this reason she sadly appeared to be considered as inferior  marriage material. 

It is at this point that the story becomes ugly and twisted. Laban is going to abuse this situation to put a Leah into an unsuspecting Jacob’s marriage bed (29:23).  Women in those days had very little choice in the matter of whom they  would marry. This is still the case in many parts of the world today.   To add  to this complexity, we read in the next verse (29:24) that  “Laban gave  his  female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be  her servant.” Although this seems to be an obscure, irrelevant addition to the text, it is not. Soon we are going to learn that  Zilpah will also become one of the wives of Jacob, as  domestic squabbles play themselves out against the background of Laban’s  deceitful dealings with Jacob. When Jacob wakes up in the morning next to Leah  he is  confronted with the reality. “What is this that you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?   (29:25) Look who is talking now!  The deceiver is being deceived.

Laban’s response  in  19:26 is  off- handed;  “It is not done so in our  country, to give the younger  before the firstborn.”  Why did he not tell Jacob  of this  at the beginning? Jacob’s  dream for a happily- married – ever- after to the woman of his dreams   was shattered, and he was forced to work for Rachel for another  7 years  (29:27-30).  And  so  Jacob  would land up in a situation where he was eventually married to 4 women: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah. As we shall see, this is a recipe for severe interpersonal conflict among the 4 women.  And it  goes against  the creation  principle of marriage, for  from the beginning God had made one man and one  woman alone  to be  exclusively  married (Genesis 2:21-25). 

But this is what sin does. Sin distorts and destroys the good life that God has intended for the people  made  after His own image. Later under the law of Moses polygamy was forbidden (Lev. 18:18). Jesus in speaking about God’s intended purpose in marriage in Matthew 19:4-6 goes back to Genesis 2:21-25.

In this  mess,“all things  work out for good, for those who are  called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28).  And in the midst of this mess, in his own struggle against sin (Hebr. 12:4) God disciplines Jacob, the son  whom he loves (see Hebr. 12:5,6).  God shows His love to Jacob in the discipline that he receives at the hand of  his  deceptive uncle Laban. 

We are called to learn from this.  

• God’s called and chosen people  must never be idolised. Never say, 'what a great  man Jacob is. What a giant of the faith!’. Rather, be amazed at the work of the  great God  behind the man. What patience  God  portrays in our human mess. Thank God, that in all these things  there are lessons learnt  as the love of God changes us  every step of the way. 
• Let us not presume upon the kindness and patience of our God. The  deceitfulness, such as Jacob  and Laban portrayed,  may never be excused. Thankfully in all this  the work of God  is not hindered.  The unfaithfulness of man does not nullify the faithfulness of God. 
• Let us also understand also that it is rarely God’s way  to protect His people from  their own foolish sin  or the sin  that is  propagated against them (e.g.  Laban using  Leah). He allows us to  experience  the force of our  sinful  actions, and He teaches us in these  moments to  learn to live in dependence upon His divine  grace and mercy.  We can learn from this in terms of our own parenting practise.   As  parents we  want to soften the consequences of sin that our children  sometimes  get themselves into.  If all we do is to consistently bail our children out, we are not following the pattern of God.  God, because He loves us, allows us live with the consequences of our sin in order that we will be more careful  with sin.  This is how  God deals with Jacob in this setting. He loves Jacob.  But He loves Jacob more than his sin. He loves Jacob more than his desire for a healthy marriage, or his health  or  his well- being.  God  loves Jacob so much that  He  will teach him the lessons  that he needed to learn. Jacob needed to learn  that  the way he dealt with his brother Esau  was not ok. To teach him this leasson God will make  him  serve Laban for twenty years of hard labour. It will be 20 years before  Esau actually   will serve Jacob, in accordance with  the prophecy of  25:23 that the older will serve the younger. Jacob  needed  to learn, in receiving Leah instead of Rachel  to respect the rights of the first born. What had he done with Esau? He had not waited on God to arrange  this. He conspired on his own to usurp the rights of his first born brother, and now he wakes up and he is with the wrong woman.  Isn't this  interesting? He usurped the rights of his first born brother ( instead of waiting upon God to bring the prophecy about)  and now he will have to honour the rights of first born Leah.  Again, we  cannot  excuse  the deceitfulness  of what Laban did here. But God  uses this occasion  to  teach Jacob a  lesson. Jacob also  needed to learn  from   being deceived by Leah's father, that this was exactly what he did to his own father Isaac when he  deceived him into thinking that he was Esau, thus receiving the blessing. The Lord disciplines Jacob according to  his wrongdoing.  And again we are reminded of  Hebrews 12:4-11, that the Lord disciplines those whom he loves.

And so we see  that God has allowed Jacob to be in a situation in which he will have Leah, an unloved wife, bearing him  the first four sons  and a loved wife, Rachel  who  can't produce children. In this  situation  God  will be  sanctifying Jacob. God is more committed to our holiness  than our happiness. It is better that we limp to heaven  than go  to hell with all the arrogance of  our human  faculties intact! 

God's discipline  is His means of blessing! (29:31-30:24)

• God builds  his kingdom in spite of sinful follies. God builds His people and His church in spite of us – in spite of a dysfunctional family.
• God still uses Jacob, despite the fact that he is such a  self willed man.
• God is blessing Leah, ven though she was an unloved wife. In fact she will bear 6 of Jacob’s 12 sons. Despite her hardships she seems to have kept  herself from bitterness.  From the names she gives to her children she  seems to have been a spiritually minded woman. Ruben means the Lord sees. The Lord has seen my affliction, she says, and heard. Simeon refers to prayer. The Lord has heard me. Levi, which sounds like the Hebrew word for attachment.  She longs to be attached  to her  husband, and she prays that God would bring that about.  Judah means  praise , because she desires to praise the Lord.
•  God  will be  blessing  Rachel who at this stage  is barren (29:31).

No one  comes out of this experience, not having learned a  lesson that God intended to teach. 

• Jacob would have to live with the consequences of his deception.
• Leah would have to wrestle with being an unloved woman, an unloved wife. 
• Rachel would have to wrestle with barrenness. 

And in  all this, and through this,  and against all odds  God is building His  chosen people, his church.  God is working His purposes out. He will get the glory  and not any man. This is the nature of God's work in this world. 

"Not  to us, O  LORD, not to us, but to your Name give glory , for the sake of your steadfast love  and your faithfulness."  (Psalm 115:1) 

Genesis 28:10 -22 “Jacob’s Dream”

Jacob’s History

As we find him in Chapter 28 he is living in fear of his brother Esau.  You will remember that he has twice deceived and taken away significant privileges from his brother Esau. He  took away his brother’s  birth-right (Gen. 25:29-34)  - the  rights of the firstborn by  which he would inherit his father’s land  and  the family line would be perpetuated through him. He also took away Esau’s covenant blessing  (Gen.27), which was  ordinarily  reserved for  the oldest son.  

But that is not all. Esau himself had contributed to the problem, for he had sat loosely and indifferently on these privileges.  Beware of sitting lightly on spiritual privileges!  He was a man whose belly was his god. He was sensually driven. When he came home hungry from the fields and smelled that pot of lentil stew that his brother had made, and because he wanted it now, he   sold his  birth-right for that  pot of lentil stew.  And so it was that he lost his spiritual inheritance.

However it was not only Jacob’s connivance and Esau’s unprincipled way of thinking that got him into this mess. Their  parents,  Isaac  or Rebekah had  contributed greatly to it all.   The result of  this family’s poor relationship with  God and  with one another  ultimately caused  the fact  that  Esau’s heart grew bitter and that  he  therefore intended to kill Jacob after  their father Isaac had died (Gen. 27:41).  His bitterness serves as an example  and a warning in the NT.  

Hebrews 12:15-17 reads,   “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birth right for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears."

And now remember that over and above all this  there is the fact  that God had decreed  that  the promised seed (the Messianic line) should  continue via  Jacob the younger brother (Gen. 25:23àMalachi 1:2,3; Rom 9:12,13). The fact that this plan came about in such a crooked manner, has caused Bible expositors to spill much ink on this subject.  The Bible however weaves  the story  together in an astonishing  and shows us that  all of man’s sin will not  derail God’s purposes. Isaiah  reminds us  of this: “Remember this  and stand firm , recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God and there is no other; I am God and there  is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and  I  will accomplish all my purpose…”   (Isa. 46:8-10).

God’s purpose was that Jacob was God’s chosen vessel. No matter how little you may like this quote from Malachi 1:1,2,  “… I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated…”, …it is a prerogative that belongs to the sovereign Lord. The sovereign God expects us to trust Him in this matter. As Creator, He commands us to wait patiently for the unfolding of His plan and the opening of the doors. Unfortunately, we  like Jacob and Rebekah, are  all too  tempted  to engineer  our  own futures. We think that we can speed up God’s plans by lending Him a hand here and there through devising our own plans. In this process we will not even shy away from deception and manipulation.  Rebekah sought to push Jacob into the “fast track“.  But did not the LORD tell her at the birth of her sons that “the older shall serve the younger “ (Gen. 25:23)?   All she needed to do was to wait for God to act. He was already destined for this position by God.  Instead, she pushes her son Jacob to   act deceitfully so that he might inherit the covenant blessings by force. But there are no shortcuts to Christian success. We must keep in step with the Spirit (Gal.  5:25). 

As a result of this  deceit, and also as a result of his own twisted, emotionally driven, feelings orientated  personality   Esau  hated Jacob so much, that he had  begun to devise murderous  plans  in his heart against his brother  (which would be a repeat of Cain  and Abel in  Genesis 4). Deceit  destroys   family relationships.  The result of this is that Jacob had to flee and actually spend 20 miserable years under the roof of his deceitful uncle Laban, and away from his promised land.

Thankfully God loves His people still, even when their steps are momentarily away from Him.  Moses, Elijah and Jonah all ran away from God’s decreed will for a while.  But, the God who had called them and who had decreed their work for them, brought them back to His purposes – even in a roundabout way!  God’s plan for Jacob was not hindered by the favouritism of Isaac, nor by the schemes of Rebekah, nor by the  evil intentions of Esau. Man can neither thwart God nor help him. Isaiah 46:10 says,   “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’.

And so it happens  that Jacob  flees from Esau to the house of Laban his uncle.  As he flees, he came to a certain place and stayed there the night (28:11).  At this point God  appears to him in a remarkable dream. 

Jacob’s Dream (28: 12-15)

In his dream he saw“…a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold (!) the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold (!) the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac…”  (28:12,13)

Just a brief word about dreams;   at this stage there had been no written revelation such as we have in our hands today.   Even the law of Moses was still in the future.  Hebr. 1:1 says that  “Long ago , at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers….”.  God spoke very directly to people then, but since Jesus, the Son of God, and the last prophet has come and has spoken the last word, we now have the Bible as our ladder to heaven.

In his dream there was a ladder between earth and heaven. The ladder showed Jacob that there was a way made by God from earth to heaven. The angels that were ascending and descending the ladder were God’s ministering spirits (Hebr. 1:14), but what is most amazing about this picture is the way in which the Lord Jesus makes reference to Jacob’s dream in John 1:51, where He speaks with Nathanael, “And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  Jesus was showing Nathanael there that He Himself was that ladder to heaven! He was telling Nathanael that He is the new and living way to God! What a picture!  This OT story is an illustration of the saving work of God.  Jesus is our ladder to God in heaven. He leads us to God. He is the way to God (John 14:6).  At the top of this ladder (behold! Hebrew “hinneh”) there stood the LORD (Yahweh).

This was the first time that Jacob would actually meet the God of Abraham and Isaac, his father personally. This experience becomes the pivotal, life- changing event  of his life.  Nobody meets God and is not changed. This is the experience that changes him. And here  the Lord  confirms once again to Jacob  what He had  already promised to his mother Rebekah – and  even more significantly what He promised to Abraham  (Gen. 15):  The land on which you lie I will to give to you and your offspring (28:13).  This land was not better or more fertile or more beautiful than other parts of the world.  The Lord chose this land because He needed a spot where a cross could be planted[1], on which His Son would bear the sins of the world. This land would  bring forth the  incarnate Son of God , and so we can truly see  the  real and ultimate  fulfilment of this promise …“ in you  and your offspring  shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (28:14)

28:15– “Behold, I am with you … and will keep you… I will not leave you”.  This is what makes it possible to be a follower of God. Those were also the words that the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples. “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”   (Matt 28:20)

This dream – this meeting with God came just at the right time.  Up to this point Jacob had been a man on his own mission.  Up to this point he was not running into the arms of God, but he was running away from the brother who wanted to kill him.  And behold (!) now God came to give him direction.

Jacob’s awakening (28:16-22)

Jacob woke up - and it is the awakening that tells us whether the dream had been real or not.  For many of my dreams I am thankful that they were only dreams. But in this case Jacob realized that this had been more than a dream. He  knew that he had been in the Lord’s presence, and he said,  “surely the Lord is in this place” (28:16).  “And he was afraid and  said,’ How awesome is this place! This is  none other than  Bet-el – the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’” (28:17) This was the manifested glory of God. This place was heavy with the sense of God’s glory.  That is why he was afraid. The Hebrew word for ‘glory’  (kabod) indicates ‘weight’.  God was ‘heavy’ in this place.  All God’s people  in the Bible were afraid  when confronted with the glory of God.

Jacob calls this place  Bethel  (Hebr. “House of God” ). There is no temple building   - but it does not matter.  The presence of the Lord, the dwelling of God is here.  The presence of God in our midst is what matters.

This place and this encounter transformed Jacob from a worldly man into a worshipper. We have never heard him speak like this. Before this he is on the run because of his fear of Esau. Before this he is a man without real peace.  The intrusion of God into his life transforms him. When the true voice of God speaks, true transformation, true renewal takes place. Until now Jacob had only heard and known about the God of his fathers. From this moment on he knows God personally - in an experiential way.  Before this he had only known him as the God of Abraham and Isaac. Now He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!  

He knows that he is now in God’s hand and trusts Him for future  bread and clothing (28:20). He now trusts God for  a return to his  father’s  (Isaac’s) house – where he ought to be, and he commits himself  to  place a memorial stone  in this place, and later  build   an altar  (which he does in Ch. 35) to remember this remarkable dealing  of God  with his soul. Notice too that his pocket is liberated to give a tenth of  all he has to God.  (28:22)

In Jacob we now see a truly liberated man, because he has encountered the Living God.  He is now truly free to love God, truly free to serve God, to worship God and to give a tenth of all his possessions   to God with a free heart. 

 

This is what Jesus has come for us – to set us free indeed!  When you are a liberated man or woman, then your God is  at the top of the ladder, and you climb  that ladder  by   faith in Jesus, who is your ladder, and He leads  you into the  Father’s House,  our heavenly Bethel. 

All this does not mean that God was done  with  Jacob and that he was perfect in every way. We shall see that his journey of faith had just begun, and he had far to go. But he was in God’s  hand now, even through the  difficult days  that lay ahead. There will come another time when Jacob will meet God is a special way (cf. 32:22-32).

Thank God for days such as this. God surely knows how to encourage His people through difficult days, days of coldness and sin, days when we walk out on Him, days when we sigh, days when we want to die, all those days are in His hands. At the end of the ladder of life there is God, and there is Jesus who takes us there. All by grace.   

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[1] Donald Grey Barnhouse, Genesis Vol 2. P.86