Genesis 32:22-24 - "Wrestling with God"

The next 4 sermons  in  our  exposition of  the book of Genesis will  focus on Genesis 32:22-32. Our focus will be  on the God who will not leave  His  chosen   children alone in their sin. He will wrestle them down  and   then He will restore them, and they will be conformed to His will.  

OUTLINE

1.     32:22-24   Wrestling with God

2.     32:25          The  Touch of God that Hurts  and Heals

3.     32: 26-28    Winning by Losing

4.     32:29-32    Reaching the Place of Blessing

1. WRESTLING WITH GOD (32:22-24) 

Jacob, after he has served his uncle Laban for 20 years in a self- imposed exile (motivated by fear for his brother, Esau) is now on his way back to the land that God had promised him and his descendants on oath.  God had sovereignly chosen Jacob to be the covenantal head of the chosen seed, from which the Messiah – Jesus, would eventually be descended according to the flesh (Gen.25:23).   Against the background of this high calling  we stand amazed  to discover that   Jacob is such a poor reflection of his high and holy calling. His sinful deviousness  is the reason why he spends  20 years  in a land  of no promise, and no  spiritual blessing, and  under  the yoke of  his uncle Laban,  who is more than a match for him when it  comes to being deceitful. 

In fact, it almost seems that the plan of God is undone at the hand of the sin of man. But the God of the Bible surprises us time and again – and just at the right time. Human sinfulness and evil appears to be capable of undoing God’s work in the world.  But God!  The supreme illustration of this fact is seen on the cross. Just when Satan and his demonic and human agents thought that they had disposed of Jesus, God raised Him up from the dead.  So too it is in the book of Revelation, Chapter 11.  Just when the beast that rises from the bottomless pit thinks that he has disposed of the two witnesses (Gospel churches and gospel messengers), they rise from the dead, after 3 ½  days. Evil comes close, but it never ultimately triumphs.

And so, here too we were fearing the worst for Jacob, but God commands His angels concerning him (Psalm 91:11,12)[1].  We learn from the Bible that God allows human sinfulness to take its course and its  time and its toll, BUT it cannot  ultimately undo the plan and purpose of God. God is sovereign, and not man. In the end   God’s will be done and not man’s.

And so we saw  in  32:1  that  the angels   that ministered to him as he left the promised land  (Gen. 28:10-22),  meet  him again as he prepares to come back to the promised land.   Right now Jacob, now on his way back  to where God wants him to be, wavers between faith and fear,  as he prepares to meet with Esau.   God has more work to do in Jacob, for at this stage Jacob fears Esau more than God. Jacob needs to be conquered by God.

How God conquers Jacob

Our story begins with the crossing of the river Jabbok (32:22).  Jabbok in Hebrew means “wrestler“[2]. At this river Jacob sends everyone and everything ahead (32:23), and we read that “Jacob was left alone…”.  This proved to be a VERY significant time in Jacob’s life, for it is here that we are told, “that a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day”. This is all very amazing. Jacob wrestles (Hebr. abhaq ) at the  river Jabbok - the “wrestling river”.

The significance of this encounter is that Jacob was left alone in this wrestling. There are times when we must wrestle alone.  There are times when nobody can be with us, because God has a work to complete in us.  He is committed to complete the good work that He has begun in us (Phil.1:6). Before Jacob could enter the land, he needed to be thoroughly humbled and be made more useful for God’s purposes. In this Jacob needed to be alone.

What was the work that God needed to do in Jacob? And now remember that for 20 years, away from home, away from Esau, Jacob had suppressed his sinful past. During these 20 years (Chapters 28-32) we read of no spiritual progress in Jacob’s life. The only prosperity we read of, is material prosperity. We read of no spiritual progress in this head of the covenant family -no progress in his spiritual walk with God. To begin with, he was in the wrong place.  I wonder whether you can relate to this.  Perhaps you have run away from a situation, and you find yourself not at peace with God, or  with  your fellowman or yourself.  Somewhere along the  line you had said to yourself,  “if only I  can escape  from this or that situation  or  this  place  of oppression  ( insert ....town/city/country)   I can start again elsewhere.“  By escaping from such a situation   we thought that we may forget our situation or our broken relationships, our sin and we think that by running away we have escaped that situation and the sin.  For a while we may think that we are succeeding. We may even prosper materially, but deep down there is a restlessness. We know that we are not in the right place.   Sin is not just a theory or a doctrine. It is a stubborn fact!  And suddenly, something unexpected happens.  The God who has called you into a covenant relationship loves you too much to leave you as you are. He will not give you any rest until you have dealt with the matter.  He stirs the memory, and the undealt with sin is resurrected. It stares us in the face once more.   It insists on being dealt with, decisively.  We must learn this lesson well. Sin that is not dealt with in Christ, is never buried. It remains there below the surface, in a place called the conscience. Even an unbeliever like king Herod, who had John the Baptist killed, was not able to forget that he had that righteous man executed. His conscience troubled him. At one time he even thought that Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected (Matt. 14:2). Peter’s conscience  in denying Christ  was not dealt with until Christ had dealt  with him (John 21) . John’s  first letter in chapter 1 urges us to keep short accounts with sin.  Christian’s though they are forgiven, still have to deal with ongoing  sin in their lives.  Douglas Mc Millan reminds us  that  “there is only  one place  from which sin cannot be resurrected, and that is the grave to which  the Saviour took it , when he paid  its price upon the cross.” [3]  Have your sins and your guilt been buried with  Christ? The gospel says that when God forgives our sins in Christ, then He forgets them (Jer. 31:34 à Hebr.  8:12).  

Here on the border of the land to which Jacob was returning, his memory and his conscience were awakened, “…and Jacob was left alone.”   He found himself between God and his undealt sinful past. There is a sense of loneliness and isolation when you are locked in between with God and your sin. He was somewhere between God’s will and his own will, and he now had no friend to help him or to counsel him. He was now wrestling with God alone over his prideful sin and God was going to humble him.

Some of our most profound experiences in life are the times when we are all alone. We are alone in birth. We are alone in death. We are alone in all the great crisis experiences of our life.  Each one of us must one day stand alone, before the great judgement seat of Christ, where according to Romans 14:12, “each of us  will give an account of ourselves to God”.

When our sins catch up with  us  we can feel very alone. Depression and bi-polarism or schizophrenia may well  be the modern diagnosis. It’s a lonely experience, and you may even have this  sense of loneliness  now  as you sit in this congregation. The very symbolic place of wrestling (i.e. the river Jabbok) is a lonely place for Jacob, and there is no one  who can deal with this situation,but God. Thank God!  He is there in the lonely turmoil of our struggles. We are not alone after all. Let the wrestling begin!

Wrestling with God

For the Christian person this too is part of God’s grace in our lives.  Our lonely experiences in the dark night of the soul are known by God and God’s grace is sufficient for such dark times.  Douglas Mc Millan in his book ‘Wrestling with God’ speaks about the ‘isolation of grace’[4].  God is actually the cause of that isolation. Because He loves us too much to leave us as we are, He brings  us  to that place  because  of wrestling. He the God that will sanctify us through and through (1 Thess. 5:23). He disciplines those whom he loves (Hebr. 12:6).  He will bring  us  to the place where He can have our undivided attention! 

In a greater sense this isolating grace had been operative in Jacob  in a sovereign way even before birth (Rom. 9:18). Like Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5)  and Paul  (Gal. 1:15), and like every true believer  (Eph. 1:4) Jacob was set apart from birth for God’s purposes.  He was isolated by God’s grace, for God’s purposes, and God has a way of making this known time and again in a believer’s  life in terms of crisis  experiences. And so, on this night, Jacob found himself alone at the river Jabbok - and yet  he was not alone. He was alone with the God who had isolated him for a purpose. This is how the Scripture puts it in Genesis 32:24, “and Jacob was left alone.  And a man wrestled  with him until the breaking  of the day.”

From 32:30 (Peniel… for I have seen God face to face ) and also Hosea  12  we know that the man with whom he wrestled  was not just any man, but God Himself  in the form of a man. The prophet Hosea[5] uses this incident of Jacob’s life to describe the contemporary   deceitfulness of Israel against God in his day. There we read,

The Lord has an indictment against Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favour. He met God  at Bethel, and there God spoke with us…” (Hosea 12:2-4)

Hosea tells  us that   Jacob’s wrestling  with God  was in the form of prayer: “… he wept and  sought his favour…”.  This was soul agony. God was dealing with the depth of his sin, and Jacob was alternatively defending, and then repenting and letting go of his sin.

Please do not come to the conclusion that this was a wrestling match in which the outcome was 50/50, and where poor God was at times close to losing the wrestling match. No! This is figurative language, and this is what happened. The angel of the LORD came to Jacob. He dominates the scene; he dictates the pace; he directs this encounter   until the breaking of day. Jacob’s stubborn persistence needed to be broken, and God allowed him to wrestle himself to the point of exhaustion.  Horses, I understand need to be worked with to the point of exhaustion – and when they are broken in, they become useful for service.

Isn’t that true for us Christians as well?  Is not a part of the problem that we have dwelt too long in the country of Laban? Our lives there are not lived in conformity to God’s Word and will.  We have prospered in Laban’s land, with material goods, homes and families, but we have been soft on sin, our personal sin. We know in our hearts that we are not at home with God.  We need to be broken and healed by God.  Next week I would like to consider the touch of God which broke Jacob and at the same time healed him.

May our good, gracious, sovereign God bring us in these days to the wrestling river and cure us from our sinful, obstinate stubbornness- whatever that may be, and it may not be the same for everyone.  It has different dimensions and degrees for everyone! Thank God that He is committed to changing us for our good, even though in and off itself this may be a painful experience. Such pruning is designed to make us bear much fruit (John 15).  Thank God that the end product is spiritual freedom and liberty, and peace with God, as our hearts grow more and more attached to Jesus, and less to Laban’s world.

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[1] Cf.  Matthew 4:6  - the devil actually quotes this Psalm  to Jesus

[2] H.C. Leupoldt: Exposition of Genesis (Vol2) , p.874

[3][3] J. Douglas McMillan , Wrestling with God , Evangelical  Press of Wales , p.51

[4]J. Douglas McMillan , Wrestling with God , Evangelical  Press of Wales , p.54

[5] Hosea  has been called the death bed prophet of Israel, because he was the last to prophesy before the northern kingdom fell to Assyria in about 722BC.

John 10:22-42 " The Problem of Selective Hearing"

Selective hearing is the phenomenon that occurs when we only hear what we want to hear. It’s a type of mental filtering in which we tune out someone’s opinions or ideas, when they don’t agree with our view of seeing things.  Science has proven that our brains are able to tune out conversations. Our brains provide us with the ability to focus on specific conversations, while multiple conversations compete for our attention. I live next to busy highway with vehicles equipped with varying decibels  rumbling by, some which seem to be coming right through our bedroom. Generally though, my brain and my hearing have learned to shut out the traffic noises.

In this passage we find a classic case of selective hearing by the Jews when it comes to hearing what Jesus  has to say.  

10:22-24  The Setting - The  Feast of Dedication

From John 7:2 we know that  Jesus came to the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) which is in October, and now it is the Feast of  Dedication which happens about two months later – in December, in winter. The Feast of Dedication is not one of the ancient feasts of the Jewish faith. This feast was started by Judas Maccabaeus a Jewish priest in commemoration of the cleansing and rededication of the Temple, after it had been desecrated by Antiochus IV (Epiphanes)  the Seleucid ruler of Syria and Palestine from 175-164 B.C. Antiochus IV attempted to hellenize the Jews by force. He killed thousands that resisted him. And then he did something utterly horrendous. He desecrated the Jerusalem temple by putting a statue of the Greek god Zeus in it. He sacrificed  pigs in the holy of holies and he forced the Jewish priests to eat  the meat. [1] Judas Maccabaeus the temple worship in 165 B.C. and from this  the feast of Dedication (or Hannukah) had its origin.

Jesus is walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon[2]. This was an area in which rabbis would meet and teach their disciples.  “The Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’”  This is really a strange request  since nothing could have been clearer  than that, which Jesus had done and said thus far. He had in fact been  exercising the ministry of the Messiah.  No man ever did the things that Jesus  did by way of supernatural  manifestations. No one ever spoke like Jesus (John 7:46), and so this question, ‘Are you the Messiah?’,  is in fact not one of clarification, but merely a seeking  for more  ammunition for accusation against Jesus.  These Jews here have already made up their mind that Jesus is not the Christ – the Messiah, and if He now makes such a claim, then they will have reason to kill Him. There are none as deaf as those that will not hear. Selective hearing, hearing what you want to hear  is a very scary phenomenon.  They have their minds tuned out of Jesus. They are looking for a warrior personality like Judas Maccabeus, whom they are remembering now at this feast of Dedication. They want a political Messiah who will lead them in the overthrow of the oppressive  Romans.  This blinds them  to the fact that God  has chosen  a very different way   to save Israel.

John 10:25-26: The Rebuke

Jesus knows this and therefore He responds to them very bluntly.  “I told you, (i.e. you heard me) and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, bear witness  about  me, but you do not believe, because you are not of among my sheep.”

Incidentally, the whole matter of the lack of hearing is rooted in the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 13:11-13 concerning these Jews, “To you it has been given to know the secrets  of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 “For to the one who has, more shall be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 “This is why I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

As we have been making our way through the Gospel of John we have seen that there is ample evidence concerning His identity as seen in John 1:1ff. But they refuse to believe the evidence.  And so Jesus now plainly points out the reason for their unbelief: “… you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.”  Their selective hearing is influenced by a hardened heart.

John 10:27-29:  The  True Sheep  of Jesus

Who then are the sheep? What characterises them? Jesus describes the character of His sheep: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Jesus had described the nature of His sheep earlier in John 10:1-18.  Again, He points out that His sheep hear (not selective hearing- but real hearing) His voice. And correspondingly He says, “As shepherd I know them”, and therefore Jesus is saying to these Jews here, “I don’t recognise YOU as being my sheep.”  Jesus then points out that His sheep follow Him. 

Following is the consequence of listening to Jesus. I followed Jesus in June1978 when I first heard His voice. But these Jews  at Solomon’s colonnade were  neither listening to nor following Jesus.  They were not sheep.

Jesus tells us now  in 10:28  that there is a particular blessing attached to this hearing and following of Christ. The true sheep of Jesus are given eternal life. All human souls will exist eternally, but only those that are Jesus’ sheep will spend eternity with Jesus. Those who reject Him and refuse Him  will spend their  eternal days apart from Him, in the agony of hell [3]. Hell  among many other things is truth known too late! 

Jesus not only gives eternal life to His sheep, but He guarantees them eternal security: “No one can snatch them out of my hand.”  That  promise is further guaranteed in 10:29, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. This is double security. Secure in Jesus and secure in the Father. 

In fact it is actual triple security, because John will tell us later  that we are kept by the Spirit (cf.  John 14:15-26;16:5-15).[4] If you are one of Jesus’ sheep, then you are safe in the shepherd’s hands, for the security of your salvation is bound up in the very character, nature and work of the Tri-une  God Himself. Absolutely nothing, including yourself, can take you out of His hands once you are there.

In saying this, Jesus is continuing to declare what He has said over and over again to these Jews. The work that He is doing is the Father’s work. It is a declaration of His identity as the Messiah. It is a declaration of His deity. But since they are not hearing Him, He is now willing to say it very plainly!

John 10:30:  The   Bold Declaration 

“I and the Father are one”. This is as plain as you can have it. There is no ambiguity in this statement. Here we have the nature of the relationship between Jesus the Son, and God the Father revealed. They are different persons, but of one essence. Jesus is not the Father, but He has complete equality with the Father, being of the same substance and essence. Jesus is God.  Again , connect this  with the  opening verses  of John -  “ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

John 10:31: Their Response

They said, “Tell us plainly”, and Jesus tells  them plainly, and now what do they want to do?  They want to stone Him (cf. 8:59)  

John 10:32-33: Jesus’ question and their  accusation: Jesus faces them and  asks them: “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to  stone me?”. They respond, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself equal to God.” They had heard Him absolutely right! They had heard a claim to Deity. But still they  regarded Jesus simply as a man making a blasphemous claim to be God. They had their minds made up.  

John 10:34-38: Jesus’ next level of defense

“Is it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?  If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came - and  Scripture cannot be broken-  do you say of Him, whom the Father  consecrated and sent into the world,’ You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

Jesus is here quoting from Psalm 82.  Here God rebukes those He had placed in authority in Israel, because they had been unjust in their judgments, and He warns them that they will face His judgment. In verse 6, in speaking to these judges of Israel, God says, “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” The argument Jesus makes is this. God Himself calls these judges “gods” (Elohim)  because they were appointed by God as judges in Israel’s Theocracy. Jesus then contrasts Himself with them. They had only received a divine commission to rule according to God’s law. But Jesus  did not only receive a divine commission. He was the divine Commissioner!  Jesus is from God Himself. He is the Word of God in human flesh (John1:14). Jesus is saying that they would not accuse a judge of Israel for applying Psalm 82:6 to Himself because of the position they held as God’s representative, so how could they accuse Jesus of blasphemy when He has an infinitely higher position as the one sanctified and sent by God into the world? But Jesus does not stop there. He goes back again to the proof of His claim to be the Son of God in John 10:37-38:  “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe me; but if I do them, though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. ”Do you see what Jesus is doing here ? He is being  very, very patient with these rebels  against God.

John 10: 39 - Their Response  

Still they did not hear Him. They sought to arrest (note - not kill!)  Him - and again He escaped from their hands. They couldn’t, for Jesus’ time had  not yet come. It would be another four months before Jesus’ time would come and they would seize Him and bring Him to an unjust trial where He would once again be accused of blasphemy.

John 10:40-42 - The Response of Others

John concludes this section by showing that not everyone in Israel was responding to Jesus in the same way. The religious leaders had rejected Jesus,  and so would the majority of the people. However, God always has a  remnant that will follow Him in faith. That is what we see  now in these last verses. 

Jesus left Jerusalem to go to the place where John the Baptist had first been baptizing at Bethany, about 75 kilometers away.   And there, many believed in His Name.  Here, unlike the temple  there  is soil in which faith  can grow. This was the place where John’s message was  first preached  and  embraced and respected. John did not draw attention to himself, but to Jesus (John1:29-34; 3:22-36). No wonder that it was here that  faith in Jesus flourished.

Tell me plainly, is the preaching, the pointing to Christ producing the fruit of faith and  the following  of Jesus here among us at Eastside? Does He know you? Let every man, every woman, every child examine themselves.  

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[1] Daniel prophesies  of him in Daniel 11:21-45; see particularly Daniel 11:31

[2] John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12), was a colonnade, located on the eastern side of the Temple's Outer Court (Women's Court) in Jerusalem, named after Solomon, King of Israel.

[3]  E.g.  Matthew 25:46

[4]  See also Romans 8:38

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