Studies in Genesis

1. Studies in Genesis Presentation 44

2. The School of Discipline Gen 29v1-30 Presentation 44

3. Introduction After his encounter with God at Bethel, Jacob continued on his 500 mile journey to his Uncle Laban's. He proceeds with a spring in his step [that is the force of the Hebrew]. For the living God had revealed himself and made him promises of blessing. His new relationship with God shortened his journey and made it much more bearable. As we read the record of succeeding events, we are hard pressed to see a life that is blessed. Instead Jacob's life is buffeted to an extraordinary degree. He is confronted with one reverse after another. There is a simple explanation. Jacob has now enrolled in God's school and the curriculum includes hard knocks. It would take Jacob 20 years to graduate! Presentation 44

4. The Severe Classroom Jacob’s classroom would be the home of his treacherous Uncle Laban. Jacob is overwhelmed with emotion, when he learns in v11 that he had arrived safely at his destination. This emotion which has inspired a number of well known hymns. 'O God of Bethel by whose hand thy people still are led'. God had kept his promise to keep Jacob safe! But something else churned his emotions. His cover story for his journey had been to find a wife! When he saw his cousin Rachel he was completely bowled over. It is clear from v7 that he could hardly wait to be alone with this attractive young girl. For Jacob it seems to have been love at first sight. Presentation 44

5. The Severe Classroom Jacob is not slow to express his interest in this stunning Middle Eastern beauty. His immediate response in v11 is to roll away the stone placed over the well in order that Rachel could water her flock of sheep and then together they could then return to her father’s home. Young men are eager to demonstrate their love, and win the favour of those they have set their heart upon. “You say you need to visit your gran in hospital, let me drive you!” “But its an 100 mile round trip!” “ Oh that doesn't matter it will do the car engine good!”. Presentation 44

6. The Severe Classroom Jacob's love was patient as all truly great loves are. When Laban asked v15 what his wages should be if he stayed and worked for him, Jacob said he would work 7 years in return for Rachel's hand in marriage. Seven years! In an age of instant gratification that seems like eternity! But cf v20 'Jacob served 7 years to get Rachel but they seemed only a few days because of his love for her'. Do you see the patience of his love? Presentation 44

7. The Severe Classroom One writer comments “Here is the difference between love that has been to Bethel and love that has not been anywhere. Jacob looked upon Rachel and he never had eyes for anyone else. She was probably very young and the 7 years allowed for her growth to maturity. But Jacob was willing to wait because his heart was set upon her. Marriage in the Lord is one of the most wonderful things upon earth and Jacob’s marriage had been planned by God. True marriages are made in heaven and the reason the world says that so many of them are waylaid before reaching earth is that to few people are willing to wait seven years and know those years to be but a few days because of the depth and power of true love, in our hearts”. Presentation 44

8. The Severe Classroom All of this suggests such a promising beginning but then the true nature of the classroom is revealed. God knows the classroom we need. In Jacob’s case, he was deceived and taken advantage of. In years to come, Israel's classroom would be the wilderness, where her rebellious heart was subdued. David's classroom was the hillside and the outlaw cave, where he learned the courage, faith and leadership skills that he would need as a king. Jonah's classroom was the stomach of a great fish, where he learned the folly of running away from the will of God. God knows the lessons we need to learn and where best to teach them. Presentation 44 Presentation 44

9. The Severe Classroom Why does God choose such unpleasant means? Interestingly, in both the Hebrew and Greek languages the same word is used to translate both 'chastening' and 'teaching'. The instruction which we require is often only learned through chastening. George Whitfield the famous C18th evangelist used to tell his hearers that God, in his goodness, 'puts thorns in your beds'. It often takes chastening to awaken us to the spiritual reality of our situation and to reveal the imperfections in our hearts. Presentation 44

10. The Unusual Instructor God not only placed Jacob in a strange classroom, he provided him with an unusual instructor- Laban. After a month's gracious hospitality Laban offers to employ Jacob instead of merely offering him hospitality cf v15. But in actual fact he is giving him notice that he will not entertain him indefinitely and that Jacob is going to have to work for his keep. From this point on Laban will regard Jacob chiefly as a servant. He is to work for Laban and will in return receive wages. Jacob had never worked for anyone in his life. At home he had been surrounded by servants, who did all the menial jobs. He knew that the oracle associated with his birth had declared ‘the older would serve the younger’. Had no one told Laban he was to be served not to serve! Presentation 44

11. The Unusual Instructor Now that the yoke of servant-hood was placed on his shoulders it would get heavier and heavier until it became an unbearable burden. Laban's approach seemed friendly but it was cold and calculating. He was determined to take advantage of Jacob. Laban was a man of many masks. Here, he is presenting the kindly relative mask. He also had a caring father mask, the ruthless business mask, the pious religious mask and so on. You might ask, 'How could God use such a man to benefit Jacob?’ Exposure to someone like Laban would help Jacob discover that he too was a masked man. An educational jingle says, ‘I hear I forget, I see I remember, I experience I understand'. When Jacob was on the receiving end of deceit he would see the twisted sinfulness of his own heart. Presentation 44

12. The Unusual Instructor Jacob’s success in tricking both his brother and his father was built on his knowledge of their vulnerability. They were both slaves to their stomachs! Significantly, Laban is able to exploit Jacob because he has identified his nephew’s Achilles heel, his point of vulnerability. And the thing Jacob longed for more than anything else was love. Back home his father had little love to give him and his mother's love was by all accounts a possessive, manipulative, suffocating thing. Jacob longed to sustain a meaningful loving relationship with at least one other human being. Rachel was that woman and Laban knew that! There are many Jacob's in our world, who desperately need to be loved and cared for. Presentation 44

13. The Unusual Instructor This hunger for love can produce desperate behaviour. This desperation is reflected in the novel 'Jayne Eyre' - the heroine says, 'I would let my arm be broken if it would make anyone love me'. This search for love causes many people to be exploited? They are drawn into disastrous relationships and marriages or they are encouraged to retreat into the fantasy world of drugs, alcohol and permissive sex. Jacob had found ‘the right person’ and it is this appetite for a meaningful loving relationship, which Laban exploits. And so Rachel’s hand in marriage is offered in exchange for 7 years work. Laban then stretches that into 14 years and he is still exploiting the relationship after 20 years! Presentation 44

14. The Unusual Instructor The schoolmaster was teaching Jacob, what it was like to be on the receiving end of deceit. We all have a tremendous capacity for deceiving ourselves into thinking we are not as bad as we really are. Years ago the 'Times' newspaper invited reader’s letters on the theme, 'What is wrong with the world'. A variety of correspondents wrote at great length pointing out a great many sociological, political and economic causes. But the shortest letter to be printed under the theme, was submitted by the famous author G. K. Chesterton. It simply read, 'Dear Sir, I am. ' Presentation 44

15. The Unusual Instructor God used Laban to bring Jacob to a place, where he was confronted with an honest awareness of his own heart and to the place, where he could see himself as others saw him. His uncle’s treatment of him would leave a lasting impression! Does God have to introduce teachers like Laban into the classroom of our hearts that we too might learn from the sins of others. The very things that disturb us most in others are often the very sins that we cherish most in our own hearts. God wants us to bring us to the place where, having looked in our heart, we write, 'Dear Sir, I am.' Presentation 44

16. The Sore Lessons Jacob was having to learn humble submission. His scheme to steal his brother’s blessing sprang from a refusal to submit to God's rule. Ironically, he now submits to a human rule that would afflict him for 20 years! Hudson Taylor missionary to China wrote: “If our hearts were entirely submissive to his will.. how much fewer and lighter would our afflictions be. I have had much sorrow of late, but the principle cause I find to be a want of submission to the will of God”. How do we learn submission and begin to deal with our innate self-centredness? In Jacob’s case it was his love of Rachel that caused him to submit to Laban. Only a genuine love for God can cause us to sing, 'Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee”. Presentation 44

17. The Sore Lessons Secondly, Jacob needed to learn to respect the rights of others. And so first, his own rights were infringed. He made a contract with Laban for Rachel but after his wedding night he discovered he was married to her sister Leah instead. Had Leah come in wearing Rachel's wedding outfit with the veil down and smelling of Rachel’s perfume? Remember that Jacob had previously disguised himself as Esau! Jacob was furious because his legitimate claim on Rachel had been denied v25. Did he remember he had tricked his brother out of his Claim on his birthright! Laban excused his deception saying, ‘Leah is my firstborn and as such she has the right to be married first’. Jacob had infringed his brother’s rights! We are seldom sensitive to other people's rights until our own have been infringed. Presentation 44

18. The Sore Lessons Thirdly, Jacob was to learn patience in order to gain, what he wanted. Previously, he couldn't wait to get his hands on the birthright and blessing. He had run ahead of God with his planning and scheming. Patience is a quality that is all important in the work of God. After hearing a gripping sermon from an aged minister, a divinity student asked, 'How long did it take you to prepare that sermon?' The minister replied, 'All my life, for that is how long it has taken God to prepare me.' Do we share Jacob's impatience and want God’s best blessing now! Jacob was in this classroom for 20 years as God shaped his life and made him useful. Are we in danger of trying to rush God? God's timing in our life is never late. Presentation 44

19. The Sore Lessons We read in Gal. 6.7 'Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows'. Jacob reaped what he sowed and was paid back in his own coin. But had God not forgiven him at Bethel and entered into a wonderful new relationship with him?’ Yes, indeed he had! But forgiveness does not cancel consequence. And as Jacob reaps, he begins to understand that God is interested in doing much more than forgive sin. God wants to root sin out of our lives and that is a painful process. Before it can happen, we need to be persuaded of just how abhorrent sin is. What will convince us of that? Often we only see the seriousness of sin as we begin to reap what we sow. Presentation 44

20. Conclusion God can enrol us in some strange classes and provide us with some perverse instructors. We need to be convinced that God can use even wicked men to shape our lives and make us fruitful. Jacob began to learn and grow through his experience. He had fallen victim to the worldly philosophy that teaches, 'the end justifies the means'. And he clearly did not enjoy being on the receiving end. He was learning that God is so determined that our lives should bear fruit that he will go to the most incredible lengths to see his purpose achieved.