Tag Archive for: Genesis

I’m reading Genesis 31:7

Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 

Notice that ten times in those twenty years old Laban had changed his wages! Poor Jacob. He’s puzzled and frustrated and doesn’t know where to turn but then, God intervened.

That brings us to Genesis 31 verses 8 and 9 and we read,

If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked.  So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

Here, Jacob explains to Rachel and Leah that it’s God who’s blessed him, to the extent that Laban and his sons have become very jealous of him; in fact, they hate him.

Now Jacob tells the actual reason why he wants to leave.

Verses 10 to 12,

“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 

Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 

And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you

We see here in these verses the explanation for what had taken place in the breeding of the stock.

So many people have struggled to explain this for so long. How did it happen that the stock became streaked, speckled and grey-spotted? Here we have the answer. God says, “I did it!”

We don’t need to look for natural explanations.

Although we can be sure that God used some natural method that He, being the Creator, was completely aware of and we, being the created, have very little clue about. However, since God didn’t tell us which method He used, we simply don’t know. But we DO know that God did it!

Many explanations have been put forward, and we can take any one we want, but by far the best one is, God says, “I saw what Laban was doing to you, and I blessed you.”

Now to verse 13,

I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ “

God says, “I am the God of Beth–el.” God goes back to the time He appeared to this bloke when he was running away, that first night away from home which he spent at Bethel.

God wants him to get up and leave Haran. Jacob’s got eleven boys now who’re growing up, and they’re already beginning to learn some things which they shouldn’t be learning. God wants to get Jacob and these boys away from the place of idolatry just as He got Abraham out of a home of idolatry.

This takes us to verses 14 and 15,

Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 

Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.

You see these women are well aware of their father’s skullduggery. They’re saying that as the daughters of their father, they should receive some inheritance, and that ought to keep Laban from being so dedicated to keeping Jacob under his thumb and preventing him from prospering. But, friends, old Laban’s not motivated by those petty details. it’s always all about him and he can’t be trusted one little bit.

There’s a good lesson here for us today as Christians, and how we handle the blessings that God’s given us. So many believers live as if God’s blessings are an exclusive right to them and them alone. Not so. We’re blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

Verse 16 reads,

For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

How sweet it is when a man has a woman by his side who supports him even when he slips and falls. I am personally blessed by God in that area. These women, Rachel and Leah, tell Jacob to do whatever he wants to do. They stand with him, and they’re fully aware that their father, Laban, has robbed them of an inheritance for both them and their children.

Now we come to Genesis 31:17-19,

Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 

And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. 

Now, here, God’s revealing something very interesting.

Jacob rises up and leaves in a hurry again. Remember, this is the same way he left home when he was escaping from his brother.

Now he’s leaving his uncle the same way except but it’s not all his fault this time. It’s obvious that he’s prepared for this. He has all the family, the cattle and the servants ready to march.

The verse states, “Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.” We know that they lived in a home of idolatry and God didn’t want Jacob’s boys to be brought up there. But, you see, Rachel had been brought up in idolatry, and she wanted to take her gods with her.

Even Jacob had thought that he could run away from God when he left his home, but at Bethel God appeared to him. He found he couldn’t run away from God. God is simply not a clay figure or some sort of statue or painting that you can leave in a particular place. God is omnipotent, all-knowing and everywhere. He’s in and above all things. This understanding of God’s power and might along with the understanding of His mercy and grace had not yet come upon these people. Even Jacob, who’s now heard from God, is yet to see Him for who He really is.

Many years later David wrote in Psalms 139:7-10,

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 

If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 

If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 

Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

That is, even death won’t separate us. You won’t get away from God by going to some other location. You simply can’t run away from Him.

Back to our verses again and we see that “Laban went to shear his sheep.” Jacob waited until Laban went out to shear sheep which was probably quite a few miles away from home. The sheep grazed over a very large area in that land even to this day. Due to the scarcity of good grazing, it takes a large area to feed stock.

While Laban’s away from home, Jacob just conveniently “forgets” to tell him that he’s leaving.

Verse 20,

And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 

So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

They have come within sight of Mt. Gilead. As far as I can tell from bible maps Gilead is east of the Jordan River, in the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan which is mostly contained in present-day Jordan. Padam Aram designates the area of Harran in what we know of as upper Mesopotamia today and it’s quite a distance between the two places.

They really have covered a lot of ground.

Now verse 22,

And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 

Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.

Although Jacob covered a lot of ground very quickly, Laban travelled even faster to overtake him. You may be sure that Laban doesn’t mean any good as far as Jacob is concerned. We can easily imagine that he’s angry enough to kill him. But God intervened.

To verse 24,

But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

In other words, God tells Laban to be very careful what he says and does.

Verse 25,

So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 

Laban’s a clever rascal, for sure. He’s been coming, breathing out fire and brimstone, and wanting to recover all the possessions which Jacob had taken. He probably wanted to kill Jacob and take back the two daughters and their children.

Now let’s listen to Uncle Laban in verses 26 and 27,

And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 

Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?  

How diplomatic! Laban tries to make Jacob feel guilty for depriving his family of a wonderful send–off party with celebrations and a fond and warm farewell that he would have bunged on had he known Jacob was leaving. Although that’s what he says, we can be pretty sure that’s the last thing he’d have done. Then he goes on to appeal to sentiment.

Verse 28,

And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.

We can easily imagine him putting on the pathetic, “I’ve been so badly treated”, look with puppy eyes and maybe even a few forced-out tears.

These “sons” would be his grandsons. They’re destined to be very prominent as far as the history of this world’s concerned.

Laban’s true character comes out however in verse 29 when he says,

It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’

Laban lets Jacob know that he surely didn’t mean good toward him and in fact, doing him harm was the real intention, but that God had prevented it.

To Verse 30 now,

And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

Now he asks about the stolen gods. Actually, Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the gods. When he answers Laban, he’s answering about his running away without letting him know.

Verse 31,

Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’

Jacob knew that Laban wouldn’t have let him take his wives and his family and that which belonged to him.

Now he replies to the charge of the stolen gods.

Verse 32,

With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. 

These gods were probably carved stone or wooden figurines or images known as teraphim which were cult objects used as domestic or house gods.

Jacob’s sure no one would have stolen these from Laban. You see, Jacob didn’t believe Laban. He thinks Laban’s lying about the gods being stolen and using it as an excuse to do him harm.

But Laban didn’t believe Jacob either. They had absolutely no confidence and no trust in each other at all. What a nice, pleasant little twenty years these two have spent together.

Now verses 33 to 35 and we’re still in Genesis chapter 31,

And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 

Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. 

And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

Laban really expected one of his daughters to have these idols but Rachel’s quite a clever girl herself. After all, she’s her father’s daughter!

She’d taken them and put them in the camel’s furniture, which is the box that went on the camel’s back. Then she sat down on them and excused herself to her father. She said she couldn’t get up because she didn’t feel well that day. All the while, she’s sitting on them. What a picture we get of this family!

Rachel’s taking of the teraphim from her father was probably much more serious than we imagine. The possession of those household gods implied leadership of the family, which meant that Jacob was going to inherit everything old Laban had! That’s the reason Laban was so wrought up over it.

He surely did not want Jacob to get his estate. He felt Jacob had already got too much.

Jacob gets a little bit confident now. They can’t locate the images, and Jacob’s sure that they aren’t anywhere around. He wants to rebuke his father–in–law who’s come after him.

Verse 37,

Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 

Now Jacob voices his complaint to Laban. He’s come a long way through his schooling in the reality of life and he’s now beginning to put those lessons into practice.

Hear what he says to Laban in verse 38,

These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

All that time and he didn’t even get his meals. He had to pay for them.

Verse 39,

That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

He even bore the cost of any animals that were lost on his watch. When a lamb was stolen or killed by a wild animal, Jacob had to pay for it. Believe me, old Laban’s a hard taskmaster!

Verse 40 reads,

There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

He didn’t get a holiday or any other time off. When the weather grew cold, he still had to stay out with the sheep and with the animals. Through many nights and in all sorts of weather he had to watch and protect the flock. 

Verse 41,

Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

So, this is what has happened to Jacob. Here is this cocky, clever man, who thought that he could get by with sin, but God didn’t let him get by with it because God’s made it very clear that whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

Jacob refused to submit to God at home; so he had to submit to his uncle.

Jacob came to receive a wife in dignity, but he was made a servant because God respects the rights of the firstborn. Jacob had deceived his father; so he was deceived by his father–in–law.

Jacob, the younger, became as older. Then he found out that he was given the older when he thought he was getting the younger.

He revealed a mercenary spirit that outworked itself in the way he got the birthright, allowing his mother to cover his hands with the skins of kids of goats.

Later on, we’ll see that his own sons will deceive him in very much the same way. They killed a kid and dipped Joseph’s coat of many colours in its blood. He deceived his father about being the favourite son, and he will be deceived about his favourite son, Joseph.

Yes, friends, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

Genesis 31:42,

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.” 

Jacob has had his day in court. He’s vented his grievances and now he’s going to leave Laban. They bid each other goodbye and make a contract.

Verse 43,

And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 

Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

Jacob set up a stone for a pillar, a heap of stones was gathered, and a contract was made.

Verses 48 and 49,

And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

This is a contract made between two rascals that are really as bad as each other. It’s a contract to prevent them from stealing from each other.

May the Lord watch between me and thee. In other words, may the Lord keep his eye on you so you won’t steal from me anymore.

Before we close today and by way of a footnote, lets back up into the story a little and see if we can get a glimpse of the wider picture of the separation of these flocks of sheep and goats.

As we said last time, this part of the story of Jacob is not only part of the recorded history of the line that’ll eventually become God’s chosen people, the nation Israel, but at the same time it’s a picture consisting of an intricate tapestry telling how God is looking at our hearts and our spiritual condition, not external works.

Like the Jews who rejected Jesus, those flocks that have the external mark, but not the true mark are separated. The true marks are the ones that come from God’s provision whle the non true ones are the ones that come from Laban’s flock. They come from the world and are left to the world. The world is depicted by Laban and God’s people by Jacob.

In other words this story depicts the difference between the exterior marking or those who appear genuine believers from their own self righteousness and the interior markings which come only from God’s provision. The mark here is circumcision.

This is what the Apostle Paul speaks about in Romans 2-26. I’m reading from the ERV.

Those who are not Jews are not circumcised. But if they do what the law says, it is as if they were circumcised. 

You have the written law and circumcision, but you break the law. So those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still obey the law, will show that you are guilty. 

You are not a true Jew if you are only a Jew in your physical body. True circumcision is not only on the outside of the body. 

A true Jew is one who is a Jew inside. True circumcision is done in the heart. It is done by the Spirit, not by the written law. And anyone who is circumcised in the heart by the Spirit gets praise from God, not from people.

What is this circumcision of the heart that Paul’s talking about? Nothing but the belief in the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, who was God taking on humanity and suffering in our place to pay the wages of sin which is death. When we believe we’re marked, sealed by the Holy Spirit for eternity, not externally but internally in our very being, our heart. The real us.

Then Paul goes on to say in Romans 3:27-30, and I’m reading from the ERV,

So do we have any reason to boast about ourselves? No reason at all. And why not? Because we are depending on the way of faith, not on what we have done in following the law. 

I mean we are made right with God through faith, not through what we have done to follow the law. This is what we believe. 

God is not only the God of the Jews. He is also the God of those who are not Jews. 

There is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith. 

All of this is being pictured by the separation of these animals. The specially marked flocks come about by God’s grace, the others which are marked, but only outwardly have been removed from the grace of the true flock.

Now Jacob and Laban are going to separate and we’re going to see the great experiences in the life of Jacob in the next chapter Genesis 32.

Until then may God bless you and keep you and make His Word real to you.

Ahab, through false accusations, had Naboth slain and the dogs licked his blood. God sent His prophet Elijah to Ahab with the message that, as the dogs had licked the blood of Naboth, they would lick the blood of Ahab. And that was literally fulfilled.

King David found this to be an unstoppable, unchangeable law which applied to his own life.

He committed the terrible sins of adultery and murder. Sure, God forgave him for his sin but, the chickens still came home to roost. He reaped what he’d sown. His own daughter was raped and his son killed.

Even Paul the apostle felt the weight of this universal law. He’d given his consent to the stoning of Stephen. Later, Paul was taken outside the city of Lystra and stoned and was left for dead.

Jacob is the classic example of this unmovable law. Jacob had lived by his own wits.

He was cocky, clever and self assured. He’d practiced deceit. He had no problem stooping to the use of shady methods to accomplish his purpose, and he was proud of his cleverness.

But, he will reap what he’s sown.

In this episode we see Jacob leave Bethel and resume his journey.

After a period of time (we don’t know how long), he arrives in Haran. and has his first contact with his bride to be.

We begin in Genesis 29:1-3,  “So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 

And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. 

Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.” 

We see here the importance of water in that part of the world.

It’s still a very important commodity because there’s a shortage of it in many places.

It must be conserved, cared for and protected.

The large stone would have both stopped impurities like dust and plants to blow into the well and would also stop evaporation from the sun’s heat. That’s why at a certain time during the day the stone was removed from the top of the well, and then everybody watered their sheep. Everybody got the water he needed then the stone was put back on to close the well.

Now Jacob arrives on the scene before they take the stone away from the well and he’s as cocky and self-important as ever.

Verses 4 and 5,  And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”  

They knew Laban alright, but Jacob didn’t know him yet. But, oh dear, Jacob is certainly going to get acquainted with him.

Verses 6 and 7 now,  So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”

So, here’s Jacob. He’s just arrived in the land, he knows nothing of the local customs and conditions, he’s never met these people but he’s telling them how to water their sheep and what they should do! This is very typical of the man.

Verses 8 and 9  But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.” Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

Rachel is a shepherdess who takes care of the sheep. This was woman’s work in that day.

Verse 10,  And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.   

Now, nobody is recorded as telling him to water the flock of Laban, but he did it anyway. He just assumes that his knowledge is superior to these people. He assumes command with no more authority than just the fact that he was there and he knows it all. Jacob’s not following anyone’s law but his own. He made the rules for the game as he went through life, at least that is, through the first part of his life. He has a tremendous lesson to learn, and Uncle Laban is the one that’s going to teach him.

Genesis 29:11,  Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

Rachel must have been quite surprised when a man she’d never met before greeted her, kissed her, then cried out and wept.

ThiIt could simply be an outworking of emotion. Jacob had had a lonely trip from the moment he had left home. Also from Bethel, where the Lord spoke to him in the dream of the ladder to heaven, he had to go up by the Sea of Galilee, then up into Syria. He had to cross the desert. He probably had many experiences along the way.

When he arrived, he was very cocky and greeted the men there in a matter–of–fact way as though he’d known them all of their lives.

He asks them questions, then probably in a meddlesome, opinionated way takes the stone from the mouth of the well. I suppose when he greeted this girl who was a member of his mother’s family he welled up with emotion and wept. That is really the only way it can be explained. But, we can be sure that the next time he kissed her he didn’t weep!

Verse 12 now,  And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. 

Notice how he calls himself her father’s brother?

The Hebrew doesn’t make a lot of the distinctions we make today about family and relatives. In that day and in that culture, if you were related, you were a brother. That’s the way it’s translated here and quite properly so, but in English, we’d say that Jacob was her father’s nephew and that he was a son of Rebekah, her father’s sister.

To verse 13  Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 

Jacob certainly had much to talk about.

From the personality traits he’s displayed so far it wouldn’t be surprising if he entertained them at dinner with his story of how he tricked his brother to get his birthright, and how he used trickery to get the blessing, and generally how clever he was. He probably he told them about that night at Bethel, too because the verse says, “He told Laban all these things.”

Verse 14,  And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

Laban’s now convinced that Jacob really is his nephew, and he says, “For sure you’re my relative, so come in and make yourself at home.”

Now a month goes by, and notice what happens. Jacob’s not working. He’s a nephew from a far country, and he’s come over to visit his uncle. He probably felt entitled to free room and board for as long as he liked.

During that time he’s eying off this girl, Rachel and probably she’s casting her eyes in his direction as well.

Now, we can imagine that it was during a meal or a family chit-chat when the next incident took place.

Verse 15,  Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”

Old Uncle Laban’s clever. Who had said anything about going to work? Jacob certainly hadn’t. So Uncle Laban is very tactful and says that he doesn’t want Jacob to work for him for nothing. He says that he’ll pay Jacob.

You just don’t live with Laban a month for free. He’s going to extract some sort of an arrangement to pay your board.

Laban’s had a month to get the measure of Jacob, so to speak, and now he knows exactly how he’s going to deal with his nephew.

To Verse 16 now,  Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 

Here we are introduced to another daughter, Leah. Uncle Laban’s been watching this boy, and he’s noted that his nephew has become very much interested in his daughter Rachel, the younger of the two. The next verse, verse 17 tells us why, Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. 

Rachel was a very beautiful girl but Leah was, quote, “tender eyed”,  which is a way of saying that she was not beautiful. She was sort of an ugly duckling or at best a plain sort of a girl.

So Laban has these two daughters, and it’s obvious that Jacob’s in love with Rachel.

Now to verse 18 and we are of course in Genesis chapter 29,  Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” 

We find here that Jacob’s quite besotted with Rachel, so when Uncle Laban suggested he go to work, he had something in mind himself. He knew that the boy was in love with the girl; so he probably wasn’t in the least bit surprised at Jacob’s answer when he asked what his wages should be. Jacob was willing to work for seven years for Rachel. We can imagine Laban’s inner satisfaction at the proposal and he’s probably already planning how to exploit it to the max.

Verse 19,  And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”

Laban accepts that bargain.

Now this next verse, verse 20, tells us one of the most delightful things that’s said about Jacob.

Quite frankly, in the early years of Jacob’s life, the only appearance of anything beautiful or fine or noble is his love for Rachel.

We read, So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. 

You can just see Jacob working and old Uncle Laban’s got him working hard.

He worked out in the cold, out in the rain, in all sorts of weather, but his thoughts are always for Rachel who would’ve been there to meet him after a hard day. That’s what made it all worthwhile. He was desperately in love with her.

Now to verses 21 and 22,  Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 

And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

Now we see the next phase of Laban’s plan unfold.

Verses 23 to 26,  Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 

And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 

So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” 

And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

At the marriage ceremony in those days, the woman was heavily veiled, so that she couldn’t be seen.

Poor Jacob didn’t see the girl he was getting until the next morning. Lo and behold, he wakes up and it wasn’t Rachel he’s just spent the night with, it was Leah!

At that moment he saw that he’d been tricked. We wonder if, at that moment, he recalled something of his own father when he, Jacob, had pretended to be the elder. He deceived his father, and that was the reason he had to leave home. You see, God just does not approve of that type of conduct. The chickens are now coming home to roost.

Jacob pretended to be the elder when he was the younger. Now he thinks he’s getting the younger and he gets the elder. The tables are turned now, and it’s become an awful thing for Jacob, in fact, it’s a criminal act that Laban has done, but notice how Uncle Laban passes it off. He’s an expert at this type of thing and certainly far more experienced at deceit than Jacob.

He tells Jacob that there was a little matter in the contract, a clause in the fine print so to speak, that he’d forgotten to mention to Jacob. It was a custom in their country that the elder daughter must marry first, and the younger daughter couldn’t marry until the elder daughter was married.

But Uncle Laban is willing to be very generous in his dealings; so he has an offer to make to Jacob. Can’t you just see the smug grin on his face?

To verse 27 and 28,  Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years. Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

This week, you see, is another seven years. Uncle Laban’s really getting his money’s worth, is he not? And poor Jacob is really going to school. But, he’s taking two wives which he shouldn’t do and he’ll be in trouble before it’s all over, but we’ll have to wait till next time to see it all unfold.

 

Until then my friends may The Lord bless you richly and keep you in His care.

The method Jacob used in getting the birthright can’t be supported in any way. He used fraud and deceit. His conduct was pretty lousy. God didn’t condone this any more than He condoned what Sarah and Abraham did with Hagar and Ishmael. God couldn’t use the trickery and cleverness of Jacob. As we’ll see, God deals with him in a very definite way. Jacob had to pay for his sin in the same coin in which he sinned and we’ll see this as we get into this chapter.

So where are we? Chapter 26 concluded with Esau, who was about forty years old at this time, marrying two Hittite women. This caused Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief. Now they realise that, in order for Jacob not to marry a Hittite or a Philistine, he must be sent away to Haran where Isaac got his bride from the family of Abraham.

So let’s see the story unfold from Genesis 27:1-4, Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 

Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 

Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 

And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” 

We’ve seen that Isaac was an outstanding man, a great man, in fact. Abimelech and the Philistines came to make a treaty with him because they feared him.

He was patient and peace loving but also prominent and powerful. Here, however, he reveals that weakness of the flesh.

All during his life, Esau had been his favourite while Jacob had been the favourite of Rebekah. Esau was the outdoor boy who would go out and bring in a deer or some other animal. He would barbecue it, and the old man would enjoy it.

Now, Isaac was very old and his eyesight was so bad that he couldn’t see and he believed his time to die was close.

He probably wasn’t as near death as he thought because his age has been calculated to be 137 at this point and he lived to be 180, 43 more years.

He wants to bless his favourite son. It’s his way of settling his affairs, sort of a last will and testament.

He knows very well that God has said the elder will serve the younger, but he bypasses that because he wants to bless Esau, the one whom God did not choose, the one who despised his birthright, and who married pagan wives. It seems that Isaac rejected godly thinking and spiritual wisdom, in exchange for what pleased his natural feelings. He was determined to pass on the blessing to Esau, despite what the LORD had said and what the boys had shown in their lives up to this point.

So he tells Esau to go out and bring home some meat and he’ll bless him because of it. What a revelation this is of this family and the underlying strife. There was strife in the family of Abraham because of Hagar, now there’s strife in this family over these twins

We continue the story in Genesis 27:5-8,  Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 

So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ 

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 

Rebekah overheard what Isaac said.

And, here we go again!

Instead of trusting God to fulfil what He had promised in Genesis 25:23, Rebekah used manipulation and scheming to bring about what she thought God’s plan was, and, probably, also her own desire.

How very wrong we are and how twisted we get when we think of helping God in the fulfilment of His promises and prophecies.

Jacob is Rebekah’s favourite; so she concocts this deceitful plan of absolute trickery, and it can’t be condoned on any basis.

God’s recording it as history, but He condemns it. We’ll soon see that. Remember the things that are being outworked here, and later we’ll see the chickens come home to roost for Jacob.

Now Rebekah goes on to say to him in verses 9 to 11,  Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 

Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.” 

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 

Esau was not only an outdoor man a red man as we’ve seeen, but he was also a hairy man.

Verse 12,  Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 

Well, not only will he seem to be a deceiver; he is a deceiver.

Now to verses 13 to 17,  But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 

And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 

Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 

And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 

Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.  

She put that skin of the kid of the goat on the back of his neck and on the back of his hands so that when his father would feel him, he’d think it was Esau.

Issac couldn’t see Jacob, but he could touch him and smell him.Esau was an outdoors man, a hunter. He would have had a very distinct scent about him, in fact he probably stank looking at the whole thing through our eyes today.

Now to Genesis 27:18-20,  So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 

But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.” 

Oh, dear.

This boy at this point is so typical of pious frauds. You find them all over the church. They talk about the Lord leading them. Sort of standing, hands clasped trying to look holy with one eye pointing upward as if in continual verbal contact with God. Most of the time this is a desperate desire to have all who are roundabout marvel at this person’s spirituality and how amazing it is that God has hand-picked them to lead and talk to.

Through my 40 or more years as a Christian, I’ve seen so much pain and hurt and quite frankly, utter stupidity, generate from these people.

Oh My, sometimes the Lord “leads” these ones to do and say some very unusual things, but they can very piously pray about it and openly say that it’s the Lord’s will and the Lord told me.

So often its purpose is to promote self and it’s nothing but pride, the mother of all sin.

Believe me, Jacob at this point is a pious fraud. The Lord had nothing to do with this deception.

We continue with verses 21 to 27,  Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 

So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 

And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 

Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” 

He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 

Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 

And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.

You can tell that Isaac suspected something was wrong, but Rebekah knew Isaac very well and she’d worked out every detail of the plan.

Verses 28 and 29,  Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 

Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!

Here we see Isaac giving the same blessing to Jacob that he’d received. He’s passing it on but not to God’s chosen heir. The interesting thing is that it already belonged to Jacob. God had said that it did. God had already blessed Jacob. God’s not accepting this deception at all

Let’s see what happens next in verses 30 to 33,  Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 

He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 

And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 

Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” .” 

Now Isaac sees how he has been taken in by this plot.

verse 34 to 40 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” 

But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 

And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? (and indeed he was rightly named. The name Jacob means Userper which means to take or make use of under a pretence of authority but without any actual right.) For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 

And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 

By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.” 

Verse 41,  So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 

Esau is thinking. My father’s old and he won’t live much longer. Just as soon as my father dies, I’ll kill Jacob. I’ll get rid of him! This is the thought of his heart, and he evidently talked about it to others.

verses 42 and 43,  And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 

Here again, we see Rebekah taking things into her own hands. She tells Jacob that he’s going to have to leave home.

Little did she know that she’d pay for her part in this, for her own sin.

She never saw her favourite and beloved son again. She said she would send him over to Haran for a little while but it was a long while and she died before he ever got back.

She wants Jacob to go to her brother, Laban, and that’s where she’ll send him. This is where Jacob is going to learn some very hard lessons. This is where the chickens come home to roost. Old Uncle Laban is going to put him through some hard life training and teach him a few things. Jacob thought he was clever, but Uncle Laban is an expert at cleverness. Poor Jacob’ll find out he is just an amateur, and he is going to cry out to God in desperation before it is all over.

To Genesis 27:44-45,  And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” 

Notice that she says she’ll send him away for a few days.

Those few days lengthened out to twenty years, and during that interval she died. She never saw her boy, her pet, her favorite, again.

We can picture the life of Rebekah during those years when we consider that Esau probably didn’t think much of his mother after that little episode.

On to verse 46,  And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Remember that Esau had married these heathen, godless women from the people of Canaan and that caused deep sorrow in the home. Even Rebekah was overwhelmed by it.

Now she tells Isaac that if Jacob stays there he’ll probably do the same thing. She uses this as an excellent excuse to get Jacob away from home to protect him from Esau because Esau is planning to kill Jacob and he seems to make no secret of it. That takes us into chapter 28 where she has this little conference with Isaac to convince him that the thing to do is to send Jacob back to her family, to her brother Laban.

Remember how Abraham’s servant had gone there to get her? So now the task is to get Jacob back there to find a wife and also to get him out of danger. It was a wise move because if he’d stayed at home, Esau would’ve certainly tried to kill him.

However, the way it turned out was that Rebekah was the first to die. Jacob got back later for his father’s funeral. But he never saw his mother again.

Now we get into chapter 28:1, Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 

All through the old testament, we learn time and again how God forbids the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, to inter-marry with the surrounding heathen nations. This is something God made very clear. Every time the people break this command, and they do regularly, it ends in disaster and primarily disaster for God’s chosen people. It’s hard to overstate how deeply against this God is.

Now to take a little sidebar here. This is the simple explanation of the 6th chapter of Genesis where the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. It’s simply the Godly line intermingling with the ungodly line of Cain which finally resulted in the judgment of the flood leaving only 1 Godly man left.

Now I realise it’s an unpopular thing to say in the day and age we’re living in but intermarriage between the Godly and the ungodly always leads to more godlessness and eventual sorrow and deep regret. Some Christians may think that if they marry that ungodly man or woman they can influence them to come to God. This is not impossible but it’s very rare. Most of the time the influence pulls the wrong way. It’s just a fact of life. Ever notice how even when you feel positive and high-spirited and you get to spend time with negative, depressed and dissatisfied people you’re seldom able to lift them to your level? More often than not they’ll bring you down to their level. We tend to emulate those we associate with most.

God is adamant all through the Word that the godly are not to marry the godless. 2 Corinthians 6:14 tells us, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”

The New Testament strictly tells Christians not to be unequally yoked. You don’t get unequally yoked by working with or talking to unbelievers, as some people think! You do it by intermarrying. That’s the way you join up with them. And God’s very much against it.

To Genesis 28:2-4,  Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

So now Jacobs off back to his mother’s family and back to old Laban who wrote the book on skullduggery. Jacob doesn’t know it yet but he’s in for quite a ride and it’s a far from pleasant one but we’re going to have to wait till next time to find out about it and I hope you’ll be with us. Until then friends may God bless you and keep you.

It records the death of Abraham and the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. It gives the generations of Ishmael and also the generations of Isaac.

Then there’s an incident involving the birthright of these twins. Abraham’s life is concluded in this chapter, but, really, his story ended back in chapter 23 when he sent the servant out to get a bride for Isaac.

There’s a great deal of ground covered in this remarkable chapter.

So let’s beginat Genesis 25:1-2 and I’m reading, Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 

She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 

Now old Abraham has quite a family.

It’s growing rapidly since the death of his beloved Sarah.

Now, you may have thought that Abraham’s capability to father children was finished after the birth of Issac but God never said that the miraculous power to father children would be a one-time only miracle. He apparently kept that ability right up to his death.

Anything God does bears His signature and here we see that signature in the way that Abraham wasn’t only able to bring Isaac into the world, but he now brings another 6 children. We’re not told this but maybe there were even more. There could have been female children also. Female offspring are generally not named in the bible unless they are destined to become important later in life. This is because the scripture, especially here, is dealing with the nations and tribes that come through the seed of the males.

It’s interesting that Medan and Midian are mentioned in the children born from Keturah.

The other 4 boys will have nations come from them also, but we can’t identify them, while Medan and Midian do cross our pathway in Scripture.

We’ll find out later that Moses will go down into the land of Midian and take a wife from there. Remember that the Midianites are in the line of Abraham and so are the Medanites. So we find here the fact that there are other sons of Abraham, but the Lord has said that it’s through Isaac that Abraham’s seed is called, not through any of these other sons.

Now let’s read verses 5 through to 10. Verse 5,  Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. 

But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. 

Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 

This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. 

Ishmael comes for Abraham’s funeral also, Abraham is his father after all. So Isaac and Ishmael together bury Abraham in the burial place that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. Then Isaac goes down to live at the place where he first met Rebekah.

Now we have this reference to Abraham’s concubines in verse 6.

Abraham lived another thirty-five years, after the marriage of Isaac, but all that’s recorded concerning him during that time lies here in just a few verses. We don’t hear any more of God’s amazing appearances to him or any of his trials. The scriptures give us almost no further history of him.

It’s worth pointing out that there’s no complete account of the every day lives of even of the best and greatest saints. That’s not the purpose of the bible. Some of the bible’s most prominent people just slide silently off the pages of scripture. This’s how it was with Abraham. Remember the bible is the story of Christ and His redemption and only that which teaches us about that is included in the Bible. It’s not a book on world events, or science or how to win friends and influence people.

So we come to this reference in verse 6 about Abraham giving gifts to the sons of the concubines.

The only relationship of this sort that we know of in Abraham’s life was with Hagar in Genesis 16:1-4.

Bible scholars and teachers differ on how this fits. Most see it as that although Keturah was Abraham’s second wife, she was on a different level than Sarah. There’s also some uncertainty around the word “concubine” itself. However, because of the lack of any events relating to Abraham’s life after the death of Sarah, we just don’t know.

What we do know is that in regard to God’s covenant promise to Abraham and his descendants, only Sarah and Issac matter and the bible only tells us of the things that matter to God’s ultimate purpose.

The greatest part of Abraham’s inheritance went to Isaac. The other sons (Ishmael included) migrated to “the East country,” that is, Arabia, but each received a portion of Abraham’s wealth, perhaps in cattle and other things.

We move to verse 11,  After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. 

From the next verse, Genesis 25:12 through to Genesis 25:18 we have the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham.

The rejected line is given first and then set aside and not mentioned anymore. Then the line that is leading to Christ is given and followed.

Again we should be aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit uses this method in the Book of Genesis.

So it’s after the line of Ishmael’s given that we come to the line of Isaac. After the list of descendants from Ishmael is listed there’s a statement made that’s always been true of those descendants from then right up till today. The statement is, They lived in open hostility toward all thier relatives.

Now we arrive at Genesis 25:19 and I read,  This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 

This is the line we’re going to follow.

“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob”. That’s the way the first chapter of Matthew begins.

Each of these men had other sons. Abraham had quite a few sons, but the genealogy of those men is not followed. It’s the genealogy of Isaac that is followed. We can forget Ishmael and Midian and Medan and all the rest. They will cross paths with the descendants of Isaac time and again, but we’ll not follow their lines.

We continue this account of Issac’s family from verses 20 to 21,  Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 

Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  

It’s interesting that Rebekah, just like Sarah, was barren. But Isaac pled with God on her behalf, and now she’s pregnant with twins.

To verse 22,  But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 

The struggle of these two boys, which began before their birth, represents the struggle which still goes on in the world today. There’s a struggle between light and darkness, between good and evil, between the Spirit and the flesh. Every child of God knows a bit about this great struggle which Paul tells us about in Romans 7 where he uses his own personal struggle as an example.

Rebekah didn’t understand the struggle which was going on within her so she went to the Lord with the question, “Why am I like this?”

In verse  23 the Lord explains to her,  And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 

What God said is simple; Rebekah would give birth to twins. The twins would each father nations. One shall be greater than the other, and the younger will be greater than the older.

In this case, God chose to go against the accepted pattern of the younger serving the older. In Romans 9:10-13, the Apostle Paul used this choice of Jacob over Esau before their birth as an illustration of God’s sovereign choice.

Both Rebekah and the younger son should have believed it but again we’ll see humans deciding to help God along towards His purpose.

Verse 24 now,  So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.  

The name Esau means “red” or “earth–coloured.” Because he is born first, he is considered the elder. But remember, the elder is to serve the younger.

Verse 26,  Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 

Isaac and Rebekah had been married for about twenty years before the children were born.

The older one was Esau. They called him “Red”.

Jacob took hold on Esau’s heel; so they called him Jacob, meaning the usurper, because he was trying to become the elder or to take his place. As we’ll see he need not have gone to so much trouble because God had already promised that to him.

Genesis 25:27,  So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 

Now we’ll look at these two boys as they grow up in the home.

Here we have twins, but no two boys were ever more different than these two.

They not only struggled in the womb, but they’re against each other from here throughout most of their lives. They have totally different viewpoints, different philosophies of life.

Their thinking is different, and their attitudes are different.

To most men, we would see Esau as more attractive than Jacob. But we learn that we can’t and shouldn’t judge by outward appearance.

We must judge by what’s on the inside and we learn that in this case.

“The boys grew.” This fellow Esau was a cunning hunter, the outdoor boy, the athletic type, the typical Okker. He was into sports and everything that was physical, but he had no understanding and no capacity or even the slightest desire for spiritual things. He was only interested in that which was physical. He represents the flesh.

Jacob was a plain man. We can probably say he didn’t excel at much. He was sort of unremarkable. He lived indoors with mum and as we’ll see he was a real mummy’s boy tied to mum’s apron strings. We notice this when we see that he did what she told him to do.

But this boy Esau is Dad’s boy and we see that in verse 28 and I read, Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 

We see there’s a problem in the home.

We just know that under these circumstances there’s going to be trouble, and there is.

When one parent favours one child and the other parent favours the other child, there’s always trouble. That’s exactly what took place here.

Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his venison. You see Esau went out hunting, and he always got something when he went hunting. He brought home the venison. Isaac liked that. He liked this outdoor, rough and tough type of lad. Rebekah loved Jacob because he was a mummy’s boy.

Esau seems to be a more wholesome boy whereas Jacob’s cunning and tries to be clever. He doesn’t mind doing things that are absolutely wrong, and God will deal with him for this.

Interestingly, although Esau was very attractive on the outside, down underneath he really had no capacity for God whatever. If ever there was a man of the world, he’s that man. He’s just a physical man and that’s all. That’s all he lived for.

Down underneath in Jacob there was a desire for the things that are spiritual. It took God a long time to rub off all the debris that was on top and remove all the coverings in order to get down to where the spiritual desire was, but He finally did it. Before we’re through with our study of Jacob, and his story goes almost all the way through the Book of Genesis, we’ll see that he was God’s man all along, although he didn’t demonstrate it until late in life.

Now we’re told of an incident which took place in the home. In it we see the favouritism shown by both the father and mother that would contribute to the difficulty and conflict. It certainly couldn’t be called a happy home.

Now we come to Genesis 25:29-32,   Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 

And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 

But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 

And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 

This incident reveals the nature of these two.

Esau came from the field. He’d been outdoors, and he was tired. He wasn’t starving to death. Some commentators think he was, but noone who’d been brought up in the home of Abraham was starving to death. There’d always be something to eat. The thing was that there was nothing prepared right at that moment but this pottage, this stew, which Jacob had made.

Jacob was the indoor boy and evidently a good cook.

“Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red stew for I am faint. In the King James Version, the word for the red stew is pottage. For I am weary or faint as in the King James.

Therefore his name was called Edom.” Edom means red or earthy just as Esau does. This man asks for some of the stew, and Jacob saw his chance. He’s a trickster and a traitor, and he wanted the birthright. He said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

Let’s stop and look for a minute at the value of the birthright and what it means. It means that the one who had it was the head of the house. It also means that the one who had it was the priest of the family. In this particular family, it means that the one who had it would be the one who would be in the line that would lead to Christ.

Do you think that Esau valued any of that at all? Jacob knew that he didn’t. He attached no importance to it, and he didn’t want to be the priest of the family. In fact, that’s the last thing that he wanted to be.

That was Esau. He didn’t want to give any impression of regarding spiritual things. If anyone had called him “deacon” or “preacher,” it would’ve been an insult to him.

He just didn’t want the birthright. He didn’t care about being in the line that led to Christ. No one could have cared less about being in that line.

Jacob sees this, and he says to him, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do, if you’ll give me your birthright, I’ll give you a bowl of stew.” Esau was very happy with the bargain. He said, “I’ll be very happy to do it; what profit is the birthright to me? What do I care about the birthright? I’d rather have a bowl of stew.” That is the value that he attached to spiritual things.

Let’s remember that Jacob also was wrong in what he did. God had promised, “The elder shall serve the younger.” The birthright is coming to Jacob in God’s own time but Jacob can’t wait; so he reaches out to take that which God has promised him. How many times do we see this? He takes it in a clever, tricky fashion but he should’ve waited for God to give it to him.

This man’s attitude was that he’d do what he could for himself. He thought that as long as he could help himself there was no reason to look to God to perform it. He felt thoroughly capable of taking care of his own business. In the beginning, he did quite well at it as far as the world’s measurement went. But there came a day when God sent this man off to college, and his Uncle Laban was going to be the schoolmaster of that college. It was known as the College of Reality, and Jacob was going to learn a few things the hard way in that college. But here he is still operating on the principle that he’s clever enough to get what’s coming to him by his own works. Oh, the spiritual lessons here!

Now we’re in the last two verses of Genesis 25:33-34,  Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 

And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. 

“Esau despised his birthright”. That’s the important thing to see here.

So Esau sat down and ate his stew. He had surrendered his birthright because it meant nothing to him. Nothing that was spiritual meant anything to him. Unfortunately,

You know there are many church members like that with no spiritual capacity and no understanding of spiritual truths. The mark of a true Christian is one whom the Spirit of God can teach and guide. The great Charles Spurgeon once said, “Great numbers of persons have no concern about eternal things. They care more about their cats and dogs than about their souls.” It’s beyond belief how easily eternal truths can be waved away by the flick of a hand. That’s exactly what Esau did.

But Jacob’s also wrong, and we’ll see more of his cleverness and trickery next time.

But Jacob’s also wrong, and we’ll see more of his cleverness and trickery next time.

Now Abraham’s going to get a bride for Issac his beloved son of God’s promise and in so doing he’s really entering into the next phase of God’s promise where the line of multiple descendants will continue through Issac.

He doesn’t want to get a bride from the Canaanites who inhabited that place. They were deeply embedded in idolatry and paganism so he wants to find the bride from back in his own people. We’ll see a great significance in all these events and we’ll see how they relate to you and me today.

We come now to the story of how Isaac secured his bride.

Abraham sends his trusted servant back to the land of Haran in Mesopotamia to get a bride for Isaac. He’s successful and secures Rebekah. This is a great love story and it reveals that God is interested in who you marry.

Now, there are two institutions that God’s given to the human family. One is marriage, and the other is human government. God permits man to rule himself. When these are broken, a society falls apart.

The home is the backbone of any society and God knew that and so He established marriage, intending it to give strength, purpose and stability to society.

The same thing is true of human government. God is always the foundation of both. When the home or the government start to fall apart as it surely will when God ceases to be the foundation, all of society begins to suffer and fall.

It starts slowly at first with a gradual falling away from God and rejection of His wisdom and then picks up speed dramatically. Trust in the home environment where children are supposed to learn of God and the foundations of morality, discipline and goodness are eroded and instead of a peaceful loving environment, there’s tension and strife and rebellion.

When governments reject God’s wisdom they gradually cease to fulfill their purpose of maintaining peace and freedom and instead cause the opposite.

God is intensely interested in your love story, and it’s wonderful when you bring God into it.

This chapter of Genesis is one of the richest sections of the Word of God because it tells a love story that goes way back to man’s early history. It’s a very dramatic account of the way that a bride was secured for Isaac, and again, a fantastic spiritual picture is presented to us also.

There are two things that we should notice as we go through this chapter. One is the leading of the Lord in all the details of the lives of those involved. Time and time again we see God’s leading. Even in these early days, there were those who were looking to God and following His leading.

If God could lead in the lives of these folk, He can lead in our lives today.

The second thing to notice in this chapter is the straightforward manner in which Rebekah made her decision to go with the servant and become the bride of Isaac and we’ll see that more clearly as we go through.

Let’s begin by reading from verse 1 to verse 4 of this chapter 24. Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 

So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 

and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 

but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 

The servant named Eliezer held this position before in Genesis 15:2. Since he is described as the oldest servant of his house, this was likely Eliezer. He held a position of great honor and responsibility, managing all that Abraham had.

The LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. Did God bless Abraham when he commanded him to slay his son? Yes; he ‘had blessed him in all things.’ What about when he took away his wife Sarah? Yes, for ‘the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.’ Those things may not have seems much of a blessing at the time but they added greatly to the picture of Abraham’s life, which was blessed.

Put your hand under my thigh. What does this mean?

According to ancient custom, this described a solemn and serious oath.

Abraham was extremely concerned that Isaac not be married to a Canaanite bride, making his servant swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth.

“The person binding himself put his hand under the thigh of the person to whom he was to be bound. That is, he put his hand on the part that bore the mark of circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant.

Our ideas today may be appalled by this but, when we consider the nature of the covenant, of which circumcision was the sign, we perceive that this rite could not be used lightly.The parties to this action would be well aware of the importance and to each party it was an extremely solemn pledge

Take a wife for my son Isaac. Abraham was clear that he didn’t want Isaac to have a Canaanite wife, and that the wife should be found among Abraham’s ancestors in Ur of the Chaldees. Go to my country and to my family, Abraham says.

Now to Genesis 24:5-6, And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” 

But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 

In other words, the servant says to Abraham, “Suppose I can’t find a girl who will come with me. Shall I come back and get Isaac to take him to that land?” And Abraham says, “Never take Isaac back! This is the place where God wants us. Do not return him to that land under any circumstances.” This is very important for us to see.

Verse 7,  The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 

Abraham really is a man of faith. He demonstrates it again and again, and here he’s magnificent.

He says to this servant, “You can count on God to lead you. God has promised me this.”

Abraham’s not taking a leap in the dark. Faith is not a leap in the dark. It must always rest on the Word of God. Many people say, “I believe God, and it will come to pass.” That’s fine. It’s wonderful for you to believe God, but do you have something in writing from Him?

Abraham always asked for it in writing so to speak and as we’ve seen previously he got it. God had made a contract with him. Abraham is really saying, “God’s promised me that through my seed Isaac He’s going to bring a blessing to the world. You can be sure of one thing: God has a bride back there for Isaac.”

You see, Abraham rests upon what God said. We need to not be foolish today. Faith is not foolishness. It’s resting upon something. It’s always reasonable. It’s never a leap in the dark. It’s not betting your life that this or that will come to pass. It’s not a gamble, it’s a sure thing. Faith is the surest thing there is when it’s based on what God said. Abraham is perfectly sure.

Verse 8,  And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.

Abraham says, “Don’t ever take my son back there, but if the woman won’t come, then you’re discharged.” What does that mean? It simply means that Abraham was saying, “God has another way of working this out. I don’t know what it’ll be, but I’m sure that God doesn’t want my son to marry a godless girl.”

My friend, that’s what faith is. It’s acting on the Word of God. Real faith rests upon something. God wants us to believe His Word, not just believe. It’s nonsense to think that you can force God to do something and that God has to do it because you believe it. many of us have been told that we can force God and that God’ll heal us if we demand it. You and I don’t know exactly what His will is or what His purpose is in every circumstance of life but whatever it is, that’s what we want done. God wants us to bring our needs to Him, but He has to be the One to determine how He’ll answer our prayers. Abraham has something to rest upon. He’s not demanding anything of God. He says, “If this doesn’t work out, then God has another way to work it out.”

Now we read verse 9,  So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. 

Now watch the servant as he goes out to get a bride for Isaac.

Verse 10,  Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 

Abraham’s servant (most likely Eliezer) is off to Mesopotamia now to get the bride and takes ten camels along which was a large and impressive caravan with quite a number of people.

They carried substantial riches and the scripture says, all his master’s goods were in his hand.

The journey was long. The line of sight distance from Canaan to Ur of the Chaldeans was about 500 miles or 800 kilometers, but the most common route was about 900 milesor 1,450 kilometers.

To verse 11 now,  And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 

It may seem strange to you and me that the women came out to draw water, but they were the ones who did the watering of the camels in that day. Women did lots more work hard, physical labour in those days.

The women were the ones who watered and took care of the stock. The men were supposed to be out trading and doing other work. They weren’t loafers, by any means. But it is  was the custom of that day for women to go out to draw water. This servant was waiting because it was not the proper thing for him, as a stranger, to water his camels before the others who lived in that community.

This servant is depending upon God. Abraham had put all of this in the hands of the Lord, and now the servant does also.

Now we come to Genesis 24:12-14,  Then he (that’s Eliazer the servant) said, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 

Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 

Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” 

The servant’s prayer is something like this: “The daughters of the men of the city will be coming out. I don’t know which one to choose, and it’s just left up to me to pick one of them. I pray that the one that I pick might be the one that You pick.” In other words, he calls upon the Lord to lead him in making the right choice.

Who do you think he is going to pick? Well, he’s a man, and he’s going to pick the best looking woman who comes out. And you can be sure of one thing—Rebekah was a good looking woman. The Puritans had the idea that beauty was of the devil. The devil is beautiful—he’s an angel of light, by the way—but he doesn’t have it all.

After all, God is the Creator, and you’ve never seen a sunset or looked at a beautiful flower that He didn’t make. He makes women beautiful, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure this man’s going to pick the best looking one who comes out—he’d be a pretty poor servant if he didn’t.

Now to verses 15 and 16,  And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 

Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 

This confirms what we’ve said. Rebekah was good looking.

“Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold” She was not just an ordinary girl. She would have won a beauty contest. She was “a virgin; no man had known her.”

Verses 18 to 19, So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 

And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 

Notice that Rebekah is a very polite and courteous girl as well as beautiful. Also, she’s not dumb, and she’s very polite.

Verses 20 and 21, Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man (the servant), wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. 

Notice that servant just stands there in amazement. He’s wondering whether this is it, whether God’s leading or not, He believes He is.

Now to verses 22 to 24 and we are of course in Genesis 24,  So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?” So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 

Remember Nahor? He’s a brother of Abraham.

Verses 25 and 26, Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.” Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. 

The servant sees the hand of God in this. It is wonderful to have God leading and guiding, is it not?

Verse 27,  And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 

This is a great statement here: “As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” The Lord leads those who are in the way—that is, those who’re in His way, who are wanting to be led, who’ll be led of Him, and who’ll do what He wants done. God can lead a willing heart anytime.

Now we come to Genesis 24 verses 28 and 29,  So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things. 

Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 

Now, here’s a warning! Keep your eye on old Laban. He’s a shrewd operator, to say the least. He was greatly moved by material things. Notice what happens in verse 30.

So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 

The servant just waited out there at the well to see whether anyone would come out to lead him into the home of Rebekah, whether he really had a welcome or not.

Now, Believe me, when old Laban saw those rings, he knew it was a very wealthy guest they were dealing with and old Laban’s not one to miss a deal. He’s a real piece of work as Jacob, Issac’s son will find out later. He was an even better hustler than Jacob himself was and that’s saying something. So Laban went out to welcome the servant.

Verse 31, And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” 

Even old Laban recognised the fact that there was the living God, the Creator, the one God.

Then verse 32, Then the man (the servant) came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 

Again, we have this foot-washing ceremony. Note that there’s quite a few men who have come with this servant. The servant is entertained royally in this home. Shrewd old Laban sees to that.

Next time we’ll see how the servant wins this girl Rebekah and she’s going to go back to Abraham’s home to become the bride of Issac. Until then friends may God bless you and make His face to shine upon you.