Laban, Leah & Rachel

Wednesday 07/19/17

Message – Laban, Leah & Rachel

Series: Thru the Bible – Genesis 27b-29

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:12:32 — 43.1MB)

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***No Video this week only Audio***

Isaac’s anger is NOT long lived…

Gen 28:1-5,

“(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.”

Sin and self serving – ULTIMATELY lead us to sabotage our own lives…

Gen 28:6-9,

“(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.”

The baton is passed and Jacob meets with God

Gen 28:10-22,

“(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.”

Following Jacob’s vow, he departed for Syria, where Laban, the brother of Rebecca his mother was. And after he came back, he was reminded by God of his vow(Gen 35:1), and he built an altar (Gen.35:3) :

Gen 35:1-7,

“God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” (2) So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. (3) We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” (4) Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. (5) When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. (6) So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. (7) Jacob built an altar there and called the place God of Bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.”

Jacob’s act of building an altar, and later, pouring out offerings and making sacrifices on that altar, are a precursor to the “tithes” he would pay through his children, and later, his children by faith-who “rest” upon the Rock that Jacob had lain his head.

And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

Genesis 29

Jacob finding his wife happens very much the same way as Isaac’s had.
Jacob is star struck with Rachel from first glance.
Laban warmly receives Jacob.
Laban agrees to give Rachel to Jacob for 7 years service.
Laban deceives Jacob and gives him Leah.
- Deception is in the family blood!
- You might ask “how could Jacob have sex with Leah and NOT know it wasn’t Rachel?” Good question, here are some facts that may help you understand.
  - First, let’s just say that the relations between men and women were different back then. I mean the mechanics were the same but, women of the east often kept themselves covered (at least their faces) and so upon initial marital intercourse, Leah’s veil almost certainly remained unlifted.
  - It was dark – no central lighting.
  - Virgin’s of the east also did not speak much, and in this instance she was only immediately wed, so she had not started talking much. Furthermore, knowing she was participating in a deception she would not have given her identity away by letting Jacob recognize her voice.
  - Drunk! Jacob was very likely drunk. We do not know this, but it is FAR from a reach in suppositions since it would have been typical to drink much at a wedding celebration – especially one in which you desire to deceive your future son-in-law.
The next morning Jacob is NOT a happy man – and confronts Laban about his deception.
- This is part of Jacob reaping what he had done in deceiving his father to receive the blessing.
- Laban requires that Leah be honored with her “week” and then he would give Rachel to Jacob as his second wife for 7 years of future service.
Leah was not loved by Jacob.
God knows Leah’s pain and opens her womb to conceive 4 times in a row while He allows Rachel to remain barren.
Leah names her sons with her heart’s emotions, dreams and intents…until she turns her heart towards God.
- Reuben – Behold a son “Now my husband will love me.”
- Simeon – Heard “The Lord has heard that I am unloved.”
- Levi – Joined to “Now this time my husband will be joined to me for bearing him 3 sons.”
- Judah – Praised “Now I will praise the Lord.”

There is much more information in the audio/video of the actual message. I hope you listen, learn and enjoy!

…Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!