The verse “you will reap what you sow” is true of the story of Jacob and the deceit he displayed with his father. His uncle Laban would be used as an instrument of correction in Jacob’s life. May the truth of Christ continue to set us free.
Genesis 28: Jacob Sent to Laban
1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.
2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
3 God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!"
5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
Esau Marries an Ishmaelite
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,"
7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,
9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.
Jacob's Dream
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was 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!
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."
17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,
22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."
Genesis 29: Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large,
3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran."
5 He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him."
6 He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!"
7 He said, "Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them."
8 But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep."
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,
14 and Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh!" And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?"
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.
18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel."
19 Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me."
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed."
22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.
23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.
24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)
25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"
26 Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years."
28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)
30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
Jacob's Children
31 When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me."
33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.
34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.
35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
Things to think about…
1. Jacob was blessed by Isaac even after he deceived his father Gen 28:1-5. It is as if Isaac knew that he was trying to work against the Lord’s will but then concedes that the Lord was over all these events. He tells Jacob that he would “have the blessing of Abraham…and your offspring (and) the land”. God had dealt with Isaac’s sin and was now about to begin the process of dealing with the sin within his ‘supplanter’ son Jacob.
2. Esau still didn’t get it. He thought that it was just because he married Canaanite women that his parents were not happy, so he goes and marries a daughter of Ishmael, Gen 28:6-9. Even though she came from the line of Abraham, Esau would have known the prophecies of Ishmael, and that the Lord’s blessing would not rest upon this ‘wild donkey of a man’. We can never force the flesh to please the Spirit. Our earthly strength has no part in the Lord’s work. Our weapons are not carnal but spiritual as the Apostle Paul reminds us, 2Cor 10:4.
3. We all know the story of ‘Jacob’s ladder’ and the angels ascending and descending at this place Jacob called Bethel. But look at the bargain Jacob makes with the Lord. He says ‘If God will be with me and keep me….then the Lord shall be my God” Gen 28:20-21, – really? So, if the Lord doesn’t bless you He won’t be your God!!? Jacob clearly had a lot of flesh that needed to be burned away. God blesses his people, but the end is for His glory and not our own earthly comfort. Faith accepts and is content with the Lord’s provision; anything else is covetousness, which is a form of idolatry, Col 3:5. Jacob promises to give a tenth of all to the Lord, vs 29. Tithing should be a joy and a blessing. God more than makes up up any giving we offer. He loves and blesses the cheerful giver, 2Cor 9:7.
4. Do you see the significance of Gen 29:8? The sheep cannot be watered until they are gathered together and the stone is rolled away from the well. Jesus could only water his flock with the Spirit and eternal life after sin and death had been defeated and the stone had been rolled away – hallelujah!
5. The time of sanctification for Jacob begins with his uncle Laban – who was also a deceiver in Gen 29. There are some parallels here with Jacob and Abraham’s servant – but some critical differences. Jacob fetches the water for Rachel’s flocks, whereas Rebekah (Laban’s sister, Isaac’s wife) watered the servant’s camels. The servant of Abraham came and left Laban’s house straight away after he received word from the Lord – Jacob lingered for a month and was open to deception as a result. Once you know the Lord’s will for your life it is dangerous to procrastinate and thus be open to distraction. Lot lingered remember. Churches can also linger in doing the Lord’s will and waste valuable time – let’s redeem the time and be about the Lord’s work as individuals and as a church.
6. We see the fruit of someone who is loved (Rachel) as opposed to someone who is rejected (Leah) Gen 29:31-36. God blessed Leah with four sons, but Rachel was barren – for a season. It is as if Jacob was reaping from the deception he sowed with a brother who was not loved by him or his mother. If we are called to love even our enemies, Mt 5:44, what sort of love should we show towards our family? It is interesting that these first three sons of Leah would cause much grief to Jacob and the fourth would be morally weak.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to do alpha at church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for those on holidays and about your involvement in hospitality – help keeping the church running.
2. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
3. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
4. Pray for Rosie and Kids@church, pray for continued growth of this ministry.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for Ric’s Sunday’s ministry and message. Thankyou to the worship team.
2. Good ministry after the service. Continue to pray for this blessing to increase.
3. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Church community Day after church Sunday 8th Oct.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for September...
Q. 12. Does God know all things? A. Yes - nothing can be hidden from God.
