Genesis: Lesson 10

Overview

The Deceiver Deceived: God's Faithfulness Amid Family Dysfunction

Fleeing Esau's murderous anger Genesis 27:41, Jacob travels some 400 miles to Haran, where he meets Rachel at a well and is welcomed into Laban's household Genesis 29:1-14. He agrees to serve seven years for Rachel as the mohar—the customary bride price paid to a father—and the years pass quickly because of his love for her. Yet on the wedding night, Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel, perhaps aided by heavy bridal veils and the long days of feasting. Jacob, who had once disguised himself as Esau to steal a blessing, now finds himself disguised against. The deceiver is deceived Genesis 29:15-30. It is a sobering pattern: we often despise in others the very faults we ourselves practice.

The story takes a tender turn with Leah, the unloved wife. "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb" Genesis 29:31-35. Through her come Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah—and through Levi the priestly line, and through Judah the royal line that culminates in Jesus the Messiah. God surprises us with the people He uses. The overlooked, the wounded, the seemingly second-best are often the very ones through whom He advances His purposes. It is worth keeping a record—like the memorial stones of old—of the people God has unexpectedly placed in our lives, so that in the rearview mirror we can see His hand clearly even when the road ahead seems cloudy.

The cycle of scheming continues in Genesis 30:25-43. Laban admits he has learned "by divination" that he is blessed because of Jacob—a practice Scripture roundly condemns Deuteronomy 18:9-14, and certainly not an endorsement of such arts. Jacob proposes to take only the speckled and spotted animals as wages, knowing they were considered less valuable; Laban quickly agrees, then secretly removes those very animals to a three-day distance. Jacob counters with peeled rods at the watering troughs and selective breeding of the stronger animals. Deceiver against deceiver, and Jacob grows exceedingly rich.

But here is the heart of it: God had already promised Jacob, "I am with you and will keep you wherever you go… I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" Genesis 28:15. God did not need Jacob's scheming. The blessing did not come because of his cleverness. The popular slogan "God helps those who help themselves" is not the gospel—it is works-righteousness in disguise. Like Jacob, we bring nothing to the table. Election is mercy; blessing is gift. The families of Genesis—Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Sarah and Hagar, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Jacob and Laban—are dysfunctional from beginning to end. And yet, in the midst of all that brokenness, God keeps His promises and keeps blessing. That is the good news for rascals like us.

Transcript

Welcome as we continue on in our study of Genesis 26 and through chapters 50. 3s

Let's pray together, please. 11s

Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the beauty of this day, the beauty of 14s

this day that is saturated with your promises. 20s

We ask you, O Lord, that as we open up the pages of Scripture that you will guide us and 24s

lead us and speak to us clearly through your Word in Jesus' name. 28s

Amen. 35s

Well, we studied last week the story of Jacob and Esau as we resumed in chapter 26 of Genesis. 36s

And to recall that Jacob and his mother deceived to get the blessing there that belonged 45s

to Esau. 52s

And we ask the question, why is it that Jacob received the blessing? 54s

And we see in Scripture that God obviously is God and that God chose Jacob and that there 61s

was absolutely nothing about Jacob that caused that blessing to come to him. 69s

It was simply God's election, God's choice, all about God's mercy. 77s

It's the same thing in God choosing us, right? 83s

In God choosing us to be as a part of his family. 87s

We bring absolutely nothing to the table. 91s

Nothing. 95s

There's nothing about us, nothing that we do, nothing to the table. 96s

It is solely 100% God's work and God's action in our life. 101s

We talk last week about like Jacob, we're all rascals. 107s

We're all rascals. 111s

We're all sinners. 112s

We don't deserve God's love, but God showers His mercy upon us. 114s

You know, if you notice that as you look at families in Holy Scripture, the stories of 121s

the families so far in Genesis, they're rather a dysfunctional lot, aren't they? 127s

In fact, as you look at, story after story in Scripture, you see dysfunction in families so often. 134s

When you think of back to the Garden of Eden, there's Adam and Eve. 144s

God places them into perfection. 148s

God gives them purpose. 151s

God says that they are to serve Him by serving others. 152s

God delineates the difference between Himself and the creation. 157s

I'm saying you can eat freely of every tree. 163s

You save one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they use to terminate for 166s

yourself with right and wrong. 170s

That's death. 171s

God places them in perfection. 174s

Adam and Eve, they rebel against God. 176s

We see Cain kill his brother, Abel. 181s

We see Sarah grieved over their infertility, taking matters into the own hands, then in saying 185s

to Abraham, go ahead and have a child with my maid, Hagar. 193s

And then after the child is born, Ishmael, after the child is born, Sarah then is jealous 198s

of Hagar. 205s

And we see this dysfunction within the family. 207s

We saw last week about Isaac and Rebecca and how they had two boys and they played favorites. 211s

Remember how it said, one loved one and one loved the other. 218s

We see in Scripture how Issa grieved his parents by marrying a Cain tonight woman. 224s

And we see in Scripture how Issa carried a grudge for 20 years, 20 years against his 231s

brother for the blessing being deceivingly taken away from him. 238s

Well, guess what? 246s

The Soulbopper continues here. 248s

In fact, what we see is a line that quite possibly could wind up in the Soulbopper. 250s

So let's start. 258s

In Genesis 27 here, Genesis 27, verse 41. 259s

Now, we saw Hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. 271s

And Issa said to himself, 276s

He called to Rebecca so she sent him called her younger son Jacob and said to him, 288s

Your brother Issa is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 293s

Now therefore my son obeyed my voice, flee at once to my brother, Laban and Heron, and 298s

stay with him a while until your brother's fury turns away until your brother's anger 303s

against you turns away and he forgets what you have done to him. 310s

Then I will send and bring you back from there. 315s

Why should I lose both of you in one day? 319s

Let's go to chapter 29 now. 324s

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 328s

As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside 333s

it. 341s

For out of that well the flocks were watered. 342s

The stone on the well's mouth was large and when all the flocks were gathered there, 346s

the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and 352s

put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. 358s

Jacob said to them, My brothers, where do you come from? 364s

They said, we are from Heron. 369s

He said to them, do you know Laban, son of Nehore? 371s

They said, we do. 376s

He said to them, is it well with him? 377s

Yes, they reply. 380s

And here is his daughter, Rachel, coming with the sheep. 382s

Jacob would have traveled 400 miles, 400 miles here to link up with Laban. 388s

Going on into verse 9. 397s

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep and she kept 401s

them. 405s

Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother's brother Laban and the sheep of 407s

his mother's brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well's mouth 412s

and watered the flock of his mother's brother Laban. 418s

Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 424s

And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman and that he was Rebecca's son and 428s

she ran and told her father. 434s

When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him. 439s

He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. 445s

Jacob told Laban all these things and Laban said to him, surely, you are my bone and 450s

my flesh and he stayed with him a month. 457s

Total hospitality to a stranger was the norm in that day. 463s

When a relative shows up, it gets bumped up even more. 469s

This is a culture that understood the expression and importance of hospitality. 475s

You see that throughout scripture. 482s

But here, now with a relative, he is welcomed hardly. 485s

Verse 15. 490s

Then Laban said to Jacob, because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? 493s

Tell me. 499s

What shall your wage as be? 500s

Now, Laban had two daughters. 503s

The name of the elder was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel. 505s

Leah's eyes were lovely and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 510s

Jacob loved Rachel. 516s

So he said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter, Rachel. 518s

Laban said, it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man. 525s

Stay with me. 533s

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and don't you love this line? 535s

And they seemed to him, but a few days because of the love he had for her. 541s

Isn't that lovely? 548s

Isn't that lovely? 550s

So he's in love with Rachel here and serves now Laban for seven for seven years. 551s

This is what was called the Mohar. 561s

The Mohar in ancient day was where there was a payment to the father for losing his daughter. 564s

Oftentimes that was money. 576s

In this case, it was a years of service. 578s

So he falls in love with Rachel. 583s

He's going to give now these seven years of service to him. 584s

But Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel. 590s

So the wedding ceremony in ancient day, the women would be heavily veiled. 599s

One theory is she was so veiled that Jacob just didn't even know who he was marrying. 608s

Ancient day, wine and song would last for days. 618s

Remember at the wedding at Cana there, when Jesus comes and then turns the water into wine, celebrations in ancient day would last a week. 624s

The bride and the groom would long be gone and the wedding party is still going on. 635s

To run out of wine, remember it was a huge social full-paw in ancient day at a wedding. 640s

Here he goes. She was veiled. 649s

Maybe Jacob just didn't know that it was Leah. 653s

Or he had had too much wine in the celebration. 658s

And he wasn't aware of a lot of things. 663s

In fact, the matter is, is in the morning he wakes up. 668s

Now with Rachel, he wakes up with Leah. 674s

And Laban has arranged for this to happen. 680s

Picking up now in verse 25. 685s

When morning came, it was Leah. 690s

And Jacob said to Laban, 694s

What is this of you done to me? 697s

Did I not serve with you for Rachel? 700s

Why then have you deceived me? 704s

Laban said, 708s

This is not done in our country giving the younger before the first born. 709s

Complete the week of this one. 716s

And we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years. 718s

And the deceiver is deceived. 731s

Psychologists tell us that sometimes we can despise in other people. 738s

The very things that we do. 747s

And isn't it ironic that the deceiver, Jacob, 753s

is all up in arms with regard to Laban 760s

and what he has done in deceiving him? 765s

And what did Jacob do with his mother in the first place regarding Esau? 771s

The deceiver is deceived. 781s

Chapter 29, verse 30. 786s

Second part, he loved Rachel more than Leah. 791s

He served Laban for another seven years. 799s

But God sees Leah in her crisis, verse 31. 807s

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 813s

He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 817s

Leah conceived in Borsan and she named him Ruben, 822s

because the Lord has looked on my affliction. 825s

Surely now my husband would love me. 829s

She conceived again in Borsan and said, 832s

because the Lord has heard that I am hated. 835s

He has given me this son also, and she named him Simian. 838s

Again, she conceived in Borsan and said, 844s

now this time my husband will be joined to me because I have born him three sons. 846s

Therefore he was named Levi. 850s

She conceived again in Borsan and said, 854s

this time I will praise the Lord. 857s

Therefore she named him Judah. 859s

Then she ceased bearing. 861s

These four sons here are going to play an instrumental role in the unfolding of the salvation story, 866s

in the Old Testament. 873s

Ruben, Simian, Levi and Judah. 875s

We see in Levi, remember you hear about the Levi's? 880s

The Levi, through that line, establishes the priestly line. 884s

So when you hear Levi's, that goes all the way back to Levi. 888s

And Judah, that's the line, who comes out of Messiah, right? 893s

That is the royal line that leads to Jesus. 901s

God uses Leah. 909s

God surprises, doesn't he, with regard to who he oftentimes uses. 913s

Reflect on your own life. 920s

Reflect on the people that God brings in. 922s

Sometimes it's only just for a short, short period of time. 925s

It might be just a brief encounter. 929s

Maybe even some, you hardly even know, 931s

that is serendipitously arranged by God. 935s

And God uses them in some kind of blessing or impact in your life. 939s

God oftentimes surprises us with the people that he uses. 948s

So also here with Leah. 953s

Jacob loves Rachel more. 958s

And you can just feel, can't you? 964s

You just can feel Leah's heart. 968s

And God sees Leah and God uses Leah. 973s

And it is from Leah, that the priestly line is started. 980s

It is from Leah then, that the royal line is started. 986s

And God's surprise, and God's grace. 992s

It can be sometimes helpful in our lives, I think, to catalog and to write down 1001s

when we see examples of God bringing people into one of lives in an unexpected fashion 1006s

and using them in unexpected ways. 1013s

To write that down. 1017s

Remember in ancient day they used to put up the memorial stones as reminders of the actions of what God had done. 1019s

To write that down, maybe in a little diary or a little log or something like that, 1025s

it is helpful to look back because you then see the actions of God in the rearview mirror. 1030s

Oftentimes it is hard to interpret them as you are going through something or you are looking forward 1037s

or the present and the future seems cloudy. 1043s

But in the rearview mirror, when you constantly see God's actions and what God does in using people 1047s

and bringing them into our lives, it gives us confidence then as we move forward into the uncertainty of all things. 1054s

To know that God uses people in our lives in different ways and God brings them in and also in times surprising people. 1061s

Leah is one of those people that God uses in a wonderful, wonderful way. 1071s

Chapter 30. 1079s

Verse 25. 1081s

When Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Levin, 1084s

Send me away that I may go to my own home and country. 1091s

Given my wives and my children for whom I have served you and let me go, for you know very well the service I have given you. 1097s

But Levin said to him, 1105s

If you will allow me to say so, 1107s

I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 1111s

Name your wages and I will give it. 1119s

Jacob said to him, 1122s

You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me. 1124s

For you had little before I came and it has increased abundantly. 1130s

And the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. 1135s

But now when shall I provide for my own household also? 1139s

He said, What shall I give you, Jacob said? 1144s

You shall not give me anything if you will do this for me. 1147s

I will again feed your flock and keep it. 1150s

Let me pass through all your flock today, 1153s

removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb and the spotted and speckled among the goats. 1155s

And such shall be my wages. 1162s

So my honesty will answer for me later when you come to look into my wages with you. 1167s

Everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs. 1173s

If found with me shall be counted stolen. 1179s

Levin said, Good, let it be as you have said. 1182s

Do you just get the feeling here that Jacob is up to something? 1187s

Because you see the two people that are in the frame here. 1195s

The two people that are in the frame here is Levin. 1198s

We see what he has been up to and Jacob, we see what he has been up to. 1202s

And now these two are in the frame together. 1207s

Let's back up. 1210s

Back up to where Levin says in verse 27, 1212s

If you allow me to say so, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 1216s

Let's turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 18, Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 1223s

Deuteronomy chapter 18 will pick up in verse 9. 1231s

Deuteronomy 18 verse 9. 1238s

When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, 1242s

you must not learn to imitate the abhorrent practices of those nations. 1246s

No one shall be found among you who makes a son or a daughter pass through fire 1251s

or who practices divination, or as a sooth sauer, or an auger, or a sorcerer, 1256s

or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. 1262s

For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord. 1270s

It is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 1273s

You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God. 1280s

Although these nations that you were about to dispossess do heed to sooth sayers and diviners, 1284s

as for you, the Lord your God does not permit you to do so. 1291s

So, Levin then finds out this information through evil means, 1296s

through supernatural means that the Lord has condemned. 1301s

This is not an affirmation of divination, not at all, 1306s

because sometimes the evil can mimic things of God, 1310s

we think back into the plagues, etc., in the Old Testament. 1315s

So, this is not an affirmation of divination at all. 1320s

God roundly condemned that. 1324s

So, back then to the text. 1328s

Levin quickly agrees here to this proposal, 1330s

quickly agrees to it by Jacob, and why is that? 1334s

Because speckled or spotted sheep would have been lesser value, 1337s

and there would have been fewer numbers. 1342s

Levin thinks this is a great deal. 1344s

Ventastic deal. 1346s

That's why he takes it in a heartbeat here. 1347s

But, in keeping with Levin's deceitful nature, 1352s

notice what he does, verse 35. 1356s

But that day, Levin removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, 1360s

and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, 1364s

everyone that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, 1367s

and put them in charge of his sons, 1371s

and he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, 1373s

while Jacob was pastoring the rest of Levin's flock. 1378s

And the deceiver? 1384s

Deceives the deceiver. 1387s

Jacob isn't done yet. 1391s

He's not done. 1393s

Look at verse 37, please. 1397s

Then Jacob took fresh rods of popular, 1400s

and almond and plain, and peeled white streaks in them, 1403s

exposing the white of the rods. 1407s

He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, 1411s

that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. 1415s

And since they bred, when they came to drink, 1420s

the flocks bred in front of the rods, 1424s

and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. 1427s

Now, what's the backstory on this? 1434s

In ancient day, there was a belief that an embryo could be changed 1437s

by whatever the parents would be looking at when mating occurred. 1445s

That's what's behind this. 1450s

Now, notice, Moses never says that that's the cause of the outcome here, 1453s

because God is involved. 1459s

But that is what is going on. 1461s

Picking up in verse 40, then, 1465s

because Jacob also understands selective breeding. 1469s

Verse 40, Jacob separated the lambs, 1473s

and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped, 1476s

and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban. 1479s

And he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock. 1484s

Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, 1489s

Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock 1493s

that they might breed among the rods. 1497s

But for the febler of the flock, he did not lay them there. 1501s

So the febler were Labans, and the stronger Jacob's. 1506s

Thus, the man grew exceedingly rich, and had large flocks, 1513s

and male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 1519s

He intentionally pairs the animals in selective breeding, 1525s

so that the outcome will favor him. 1533s

And the seaver, the seeds, the seaver. 1540s

See the cycle? 1549s

Let's go back to chapter 28. 1552s

Verse 15, God says to Jacob, 1557s

Know that I am with you, and we'll keep you wherever you go, 1564s

and we'll bring you back to this land, 1569s

for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. 1573s

Here's the point. 1581s

God did not need Jacob's scheming to help him. 1584s

God did not need Jacob's scheming to help him. 1591s

God didn't bless Jacob because of his scheming. 1596s

God didn't need Jacob's scheming. 1603s

God didn't bless Jacob because of his scheming. 1606s

This is not a situation where if you ever heard the phrase, 1611s

God helps those who help themselves. 1614s

This is in a situation of Jacob helping himself, 1618s

and therefore God blesses. 1620s

We can so easily fall into that trap of saying, 1622s

God helps those who help themselves, 1626s

and we are squarely then in a works righteousness framework, 1627s

where we say, God will bless them because of my actions. 1632s

I'm going to win from God the blessing, or the phrase. 1637s

When one is blessed, have you heard it, said, 1644s

they are so deserving of the blessing? 1647s

You see that on HDTV all the time, don't you? 1651s

When they are surprising people with the remodels of their house, 1654s

I mean you always have every episode. 1657s

If there are two people that are deserving of this, it's them. 1659s

You see that's the mindset that we deserve our blessing, 1663s

or we win our blessing. 1668s

Or we will do that, which we will get then from God, 1670s

the blessing then that is coming to us. 1675s

Nothing that Jacob did caused God to choose him, 1681s

and nothing that Jacob did caused him to be blessed by God. 1686s

God just blessed. 1696s

Same thing with us. 1703s

Same thing with us. 1704s

Nothing in us that he chooses us. 1707s

Nothing in us that causes them to bless us. 1708s

Nothing that we can do scheme. 1712s

That causes them God to bless. 1715s

It's all the language that sometimes you'll hear from false teachers 1718s

that will say, you have to do this in order to get your breakthrough 1723s

with God. 1727s

You heard that language? 1728s

You hear it. 1729s

You're right back into the words of righteousness and scheme. 1730s

You're right back into what do I have to do to get something from God? 1733s

Instead of the scriptural witness that keeps telling us over and over again 1739s

that it is God's blessing of us, and we do nothing to learn it. 1744s

Adam and Eve, 1754s

Cain killing Abel, 1757s

Sarah and Hagar and Abraham, 1760s

Isaac and Rebecca and their favorites, 1764s

Esau hating Jacob, 1767s

Lavin deceiving, 1770s

and Esau returning the favor. 1772s

All the families in the Bible are just perfect, aren't they? 1776s

It is perfect, 1780s

hardly, 1782s

and amidst our sinful dysfunction, 1784s

God is at work in our lives, 1789s

still blessing, 1794s

still blessing. 1797s

Well, next week we're going to take a look at an unexpected and mysterious meeting. 1800s

We'll continue next week. 1805s

Thank you. 1815s