WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.740 This morning we're going to continue our series through the book of Genesis. 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:10.800 ! It's really not through the entirety of the book, but it's an intense focus on the life of Jacob. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:20.140 And this morning we come to a portion that's in another installment of Jacob being a tricky trickster, 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:23.920 deceiving those around him. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:29.300 But as we'll see in a minute, the deception is not simply at the hands of Jacob. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:36.119 So if you turn to your Bibles, turn with me to Genesis chapter 30, verses 25 through 43. 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:43.939 And as you turn there, let's give attention to the reading of God's word. 00:00:44.299 --> 00:00:46.460 So Genesis 30, verse 25. 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:51.000 As soon as Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:54.799 Send me away that I might go to my own home and country. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:01:00.079 Give me my wives and my children from whom I have served you that I may go, 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.579 for you know the service that I have given you. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:04.319 But Laban said to him, 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:11.759 If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 00:01:12.479 --> 00:01:14.379 Name your wages and I will give it. 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:16.099 And Jacob said to him, 00:01:16.479 --> 00:01:22.939 You yourself know I have served how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:27.420 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.000 And the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:35.079 But now when shall I provide for my own household also? 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:36.319 And he said, 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:37.420 What shall I give you? 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:38.900 Jacob said, 00:01:39.259 --> 00:01:40.560 You shall not give me anything. 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:46.179 If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it. 00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:48.819 Let me pass through all of your flock today, 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.780 removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:55.439 and every black lamb in the spotted and speckled among the goats, 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:57.319 and they shall be my wages. 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.500 So my honesty will answer for me later. 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:03.539 And when you come to look into my wages with you, 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:08.460 everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.620 if found with me, shall be counted as stolen. 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:13.200 And Laban said, 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:15.439 Good, let it be as you have said. 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:19.800 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:22.680 and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.159 and everyone that had white on it 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:29.620 and every lamb that was black and put them in the charge of his sons. 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:33.040 And he set at a distance of three days journey 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:34.459 between himself and Jacob, 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:38.400 and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:43.520 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plain trees 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:47.060 and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 00:02:47.700 --> 00:02:51.759 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:55.659 that is the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.420 And since they had bred when they came to drink, 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:00.120 the flocks bred in front of the sticks. 00:03:00.540 --> 00:03:04.180 So the flocks brought forth striped and speckled and spotted. 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:09.800 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:11.680 and all the black in the flock of Laban. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.960 He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. 00:03:16.420 --> 00:03:18.520 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:22.300 Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.640 that they might breed among the sticks. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:32.099 But for the feebler of the flock, he would not lay them there. 00:03:32.959 --> 00:03:35.899 So the feebler would be Laban's and the stronger as Jacob's. 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:40.399 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks of female servants 00:03:40.399 --> 00:03:43.899 and male servants and camels and donkeys. 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:45.639 Let's pray together. 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:47.779 Lord, we need your help this morning. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.959 We need your help to see the beauty of Jesus. 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:56.680 Father, we pray that you would bless not simply the reading of your word, 00:03:57.040 --> 00:03:58.719 but our hearing as well. 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:01.740 Father, that we might imbibe it in our hearts 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:03.960 and that we might worship you because of it. 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:06.140 And we pray these things in Christ's name. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:07.000 Amen. 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.080 Whenever I think of the life of Jacob, 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:14.100 I think of a man that I knew when I was a child. 00:04:14.420 --> 00:04:17.220 And this man, he was an older gentleman 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:18.900 and he was a friend of my grandfather. 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:21.819 And I would see him no matter where I moved in the world. 00:04:22.299 --> 00:04:24.139 He always seemed to keep up with me. 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:26.219 And I would hunt with him and I would fish with him. 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:27.759 I would see him on the lake. 00:04:28.219 --> 00:04:30.579 And he's a pretty unassuming older gentleman. 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.500 I'm pretty sure that he had a uniform. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:37.000 And that uniform was overalls at all times. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.120 No matter the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter, 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:41.819 that man wore overalls. 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:45.159 And one day, I asked my grandfather, 00:04:45.379 --> 00:04:47.919 because I knew him as an older gentleman that no longer worked, 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.060 I said, what's this guy's deal? 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:51.620 I'm pretty sure is how I said it to him. 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:53.579 Kind of in a disrespectful way. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.899 Like, what's this deal with this older man who only wears overalls? 00:04:57.220 --> 00:04:58.920 Who knows everything about my life? 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:00.160 Like, what was he about? 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.819 And he revealed who the man truly was. 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:09.160 He said he was the man who saved the state of North Carolina. 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:12.920 And I was like, you have to be kidding me, right? 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:17.880 This man who wears overalls that I see sitting at the gas station more often than not 00:05:17.880 --> 00:05:20.160 saved our state. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.320 You see, this man that wore overalls in his old age 00:05:24.320 --> 00:05:27.280 also wore a business suit in his younger years. 00:05:27.500 --> 00:05:28.980 He was a lawyer by trade. 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:31.600 He actually looked like Matlock. 00:05:31.820 --> 00:05:34.420 So Andy Griffith of the 80s and 90s, 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:36.780 the show Matlock, where he was in the courtroom. 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:38.639 But he wasn't a courtroom lawyer at all. 00:05:38.859 --> 00:05:42.039 He worked for our state version of the IRS. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:46.779 And as he did so, he would go and travel to all these other banks 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:50.059 and financial institutions many times in New York City. 00:05:50.359 --> 00:05:53.339 And if you're from North Carolina and your uniform is overalls, 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:55.059 you hate New York City, okay? 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:56.979 And he would travel there, 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.279 and he would try to negotiate deals with these financial institutions. 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:03.079 In doing so, to raise money, to sell bonds. 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:05.000 And he would do all the paperwork and negotiating. 00:06:05.539 --> 00:06:09.079 And on one such trip, he was hoodwinked. 00:06:09.419 --> 00:06:12.620 Or at least that's what the Wall Street bankers thought. 00:06:12.819 --> 00:06:17.599 Apologies to all you reputable financial institution employees that we have in our midst. 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.680 But they thought he had, they had him. 00:06:21.419 --> 00:06:25.180 What they didn't realize is this man was very much like Jacob. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.339 He was deceitful, but so were they. 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:32.479 You see what they did when they agreed to the negotiation of the terms, 00:06:32.599 --> 00:06:34.179 they slid a contract to him. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:35.379 And he signed it. 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:40.060 But what they didn't realize is that he noticed that they had changed the terms. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:43.519 And so he signed it and then slipped it into his briefcase. 00:06:43.979 --> 00:06:47.699 And as he did so, he pulled out another version that he had already signed 00:06:47.699 --> 00:06:49.779 and slid it across the table to them. 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:57.339 So these high-moving, very well-dressed New York City bankers had been hoodwinked 00:06:57.339 --> 00:06:59.939 by somebody they thought was a bumpkin. 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:01.379 He was slow talking. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:06.079 So surely his mind moved equally as slow. 00:07:06.919 --> 00:07:13.179 But what they didn't realize until their error was uncovered weeks later 00:07:13.179 --> 00:07:15.119 was that they had been had. 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:19.059 The tricksters had been tricked by an even greater deception. 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:23.899 This slow-talking lawyer, much like Jacob in our story, 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:26.920 had saved the state from financial ruin. 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:33.459 And Jacob, much like he's tricked Laban all these years, is now reversed. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:38.139 Laban is the one who's tricking Jacob, or so we think. 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.360 Deception, reversal, financial ruin. 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.840 All these same things that we see in this story. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:51.600 The same thing that we've seen time and time again in the life of Jacob. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.620 This is just another installment in that story. 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:58.780 But unlike the man who saved North Carolina, 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:03.939 the story of Jacob and Laban is not simply a story of cunning deception 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:07.680 and leather briefcases and the old switcheroo of contracts, 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:11.379 or switcheroo of wives, or Wall Street bankers, 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:15.959 or fox of sheep and goats and all this craziness with stripes and sticks. 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:21.519 This story of deception is one of the deceiver being deceived, 00:08:21.979 --> 00:08:23.839 and then the deceiver deceiving. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.659 But in all the midst of that, in all of that, 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:29.639 God is still present, 00:08:29.979 --> 00:08:32.019 which is the hard part of the story, 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:34.779 because if we read it, we ask, where is God? 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:37.959 In the same way, we do that. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:41.019 We forget God is at work in our lives. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:44.100 We forget, even when we read the story of Jacob, 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:47.500 because we don't even really see mention of him that often. 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:49.439 We forget. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:51.339 We see the characters. 00:08:51.659 --> 00:08:52.799 We see the plot line. 00:08:53.079 --> 00:08:56.059 We see all their faults, their failures, their sin. 00:08:56.419 --> 00:08:59.600 And we question, what's the difference between Laban and Jacob? 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:01.559 They're both tricking each other. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:04.179 We see their shady business deal. 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:07.939 And just like in our own lives, 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:13.240 we get enamored with the hurry, the hurt, the pain, the loss, 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:14.779 the details, the logistics. 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:18.339 We feel worry over things that we can't control. 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:20.399 We feel sadness. 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:22.439 We feel loneliness. 00:09:23.939 --> 00:09:27.459 And in all of that, God is at work. 00:09:28.699 --> 00:09:31.839 The anger, frustration, falling again, 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.519 sinning again, wrestling with sin, 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:36.779 and winning and losing. 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:39.899 We remember that God is at work, 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:42.799 just as in the life of Jacob. 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:43.799 God is at work. 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:48.000 God reigns no matter the circumstances, 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:50.059 and he reigns even now. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:53.779 So let's look and see how Jacob's deception, 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:55.419 or how Jacob is deceived, 00:09:56.079 --> 00:09:57.519 and yet God still reigns. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:03.720 The irony in that statement of Jacob being deceived is he's most often the one that's doing the deceiving. 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.899 He's the tricker, but now he's being tricked. 00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:11.759 This section begins on the heels of what we've seen so far in the life of Jacob. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:15.299 If you remember, he got the old wife switcheroo, 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:17.519 and he realized it, 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:18.539 and then he said, 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:21.259 hey, I'm going to stay a little bit longer to gain her back. 00:10:21.319 --> 00:10:22.600 I'm going to stay a little longer, 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.819 as he worked for Laban. 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:28.680 So he comes with this ask. 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:31.700 The first verses that we read were this ask. 00:10:31.800 --> 00:10:35.560 As soon as she had borne Joseph to Jacob, 00:10:35.780 --> 00:10:36.800 he says to Laban, 00:10:37.140 --> 00:10:41.360 send me away that I might go to my home and country. 00:10:41.780 --> 00:10:44.180 If you have kids, it's like saying this. 00:10:44.260 --> 00:10:46.000 Not just, I want ice cream. 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:48.780 I want ice cream, ice cream, and I want it now. 00:10:49.180 --> 00:10:50.360 Okay, that's what he's saying. 00:10:50.540 --> 00:10:52.000 I want to go home. 00:10:52.920 --> 00:10:53.760 It's direct. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:55.679 He's not saying, please let me go. 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:57.740 He says, I want ice cream, ice cream. 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.700 I want to go home, and I want to go home now. 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:04.000 And Laban is kind of caught off guard, 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:06.220 but he shouldn't be at all, right? 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.019 Remember, there's going to come a point 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:11.379 where Jacob asks for his children, 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:13.139 and it's kind of murky here 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:16.559 because children that are born in slavery to a master 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.659 belong to the master, 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.600 but Laban is no ordinary master, right? 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:22.179 He's his father-in-law. 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:23.279 So is he his master? 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:24.220 I don't know. 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:27.259 But he asks to take his children and wives 00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:28.639 and go to his home. 00:11:29.579 --> 00:11:31.459 And Laban responds to this request. 00:11:31.579 --> 00:11:31.839 How? 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.839 He acknowledges that Jacob is the source of his blessing. 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:39.379 I don't think it's all flattery at this part. 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:40.199 It's not deception. 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:45.840 But he says, you are the source of my great wealth. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:51.620 And in doing so, Jacob points him 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:54.240 to something greater than even himself. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.600 In the middle of this, it's not just trickery. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:11:59.480 Laban's not coming to him and saying, 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:01.120 I'm going to appease you. 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:03.020 There is a part of that that might be true, 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:05.899 but he's pointing him to a greater reality. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:07.220 And in doing so, 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.500 we see Laban's confession of what he actually believes. 00:12:10.699 --> 00:12:13.340 If you look with me at that beginning section, 00:12:13.699 --> 00:12:16.779 we'll see what Laban really thinks about God. 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:19.019 He says to him, 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:22.620 not only if I have found favor in your sight, 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:25.059 I have learned by divination 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:27.980 that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 00:12:28.579 --> 00:12:31.339 The Lord has blessed him because of Jacob, 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:33.179 because of Jacob's God. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.240 But Laban combines the worship of the true God 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:38.600 with a magic trick. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.319 Now, Israel does some really terrible things in its history, 00:12:42.319 --> 00:12:45.319 but they know that they're not supposed to do magic tricks. 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:47.400 And so what we see here is a comparison 00:12:47.400 --> 00:12:50.300 of the world's way and God's way. 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:53.520 He's not misunderstood at this point. 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:56.060 They've both done wicked things. 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:59.960 But in doing so, we see Jacob's realization. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.260 He knows the reality that God is true 00:13:03.260 --> 00:13:05.640 and that God has blessed Laban because of him. 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:09.960 But we also see Laban's heart on display. 00:13:10.420 --> 00:13:11.520 He's not faithful. 00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:14.320 There's a mix of faithfulness 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.480 and worship of all those other nations around them. 00:13:18.680 --> 00:13:20.420 And the message for us 00:13:20.420 --> 00:13:22.480 and the billboard with the flashing lights 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.080 and the bright colors 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:26.700 is Laban is not the good guy. 00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:27.700 He's wicked. 00:13:28.540 --> 00:13:29.900 And in doing so, 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.760 we should realize that Laban, yes, is shrewd. 00:13:33.420 --> 00:13:35.000 That's why he says to Jacob, 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.620 name your price and I'll stay. 00:13:38.060 --> 00:13:40.820 The deal that he wants to make with him 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:44.000 is at the expense of Jacob's life 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.300 and he wants greater wealth. 00:13:47.520 --> 00:13:48.800 So what does he do? 00:13:49.780 --> 00:13:51.820 Jacob begins with recounting 00:13:51.820 --> 00:13:53.980 how God has blessed Laban financially. 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:56.260 The reason I'm saying that 00:13:56.260 --> 00:13:57.420 is because this livestock 00:13:57.420 --> 00:13:59.400 is not just simply cattle. 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:00.980 We have to think bank accounts 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:02.379 and it's big. 00:14:02.760 --> 00:14:03.640 And Jacob says, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:04.519 before me, 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:05.600 you were poor. 00:14:06.059 --> 00:14:07.139 You had a little 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:08.500 and now you have a lot. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:10.919 He says not arrogantly 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:13.120 that the Lord has blessed me 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.159 wherever I have turned 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:17.659 and in turn has blessed you. 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:19.100 The image here 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:20.679 is that God is walking 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:23.039 in the footsteps behind Jacob 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:24.539 and he's blessing him 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:25.939 in every footsteps. 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:27.480 Where he walks, 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:28.319 God is there. 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:30.799 God is the one 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:32.299 who's caused this increase 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:34.559 and not my savvy. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:35.959 So Laban, get it straight. 00:14:36.339 --> 00:14:37.099 It's not me, 00:14:37.219 --> 00:14:37.819 but it's God. 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:39.679 So Jacob at this point, 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:40.139 we think, 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.099 we know both of these individuals 00:14:42.099 --> 00:14:42.859 are tricksters. 00:14:43.319 --> 00:14:44.779 We know something is coming, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:45.979 but what's coming? 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:46.959 And at this point, 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:47.459 as a reader, 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:48.199 we have to wonder, 00:14:48.339 --> 00:14:49.599 how is this going to end up? 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.259 Laban is rich 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:52.019 and getting richer 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:54.159 and Jacob wants to leave. 00:14:54.199 --> 00:14:55.339 We're kind of having an impasse. 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:56.139 What's going to happen? 00:14:56.859 --> 00:14:58.439 And Jacob pitches his plan 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:00.520 to Laban 00:15:00.520 --> 00:15:01.380 and he says this, 00:15:01.780 --> 00:15:03.280 I'll keep all your flocks for you, 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:03.800 all the sheep 00:15:03.800 --> 00:15:04.500 and all the goats 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:05.700 and for everyone 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:07.340 that's spotted or discolored, 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:09.040 I'll keep that one 00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:09.840 and you keep the really 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:10.800 good looking ones. 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:12.660 And then we're going 00:15:12.660 --> 00:15:13.620 to separate them 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:15.960 and when I go to leave, 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:17.780 we know all the discolored ones 00:15:17.780 --> 00:15:18.260 are mine 00:15:18.260 --> 00:15:19.460 and all the ones 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:20.360 that look really great 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:20.940 are yours. 00:15:21.780 --> 00:15:23.060 And if you know, 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:25.260 you'll know if I've been honest 00:15:25.260 --> 00:15:26.560 because we can see it. 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:29.019 Now there's something in us 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:29.899 that makes us hesitate 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:30.659 because we know 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:32.519 they both have a history 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:33.579 of tricking one another. 00:15:34.579 --> 00:15:35.659 It's just like when you know, 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:36.759 when you watch a movie 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:38.719 and you hear the ominous music 00:15:38.719 --> 00:15:40.459 and the lights change color, 00:15:40.579 --> 00:15:42.079 we know something's about to happen 00:15:42.079 --> 00:15:43.319 but we don't know what. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:44.899 And we think 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:47.379 something's going to happen 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:49.699 because we're really sure 00:15:49.699 --> 00:15:51.239 that they're both 00:15:51.239 --> 00:15:53.019 really deceptive. 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:55.219 And the warning signs 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:55.860 are all there. 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:57.600 It's not just the music 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.920 or the change in lights. 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:01.200 It's even in Laban's name. 00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:02.899 His name means white. 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:04.740 His name is pointing 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:05.300 to the fact 00:16:05.300 --> 00:16:06.500 that he's going to accumulate 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:07.580 all the sheep 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:08.360 that are pure 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:10.100 and all of these things. 00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:10.860 So as a reader, 00:16:11.060 --> 00:16:12.580 it should be flashing to us. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:14.019 Something is about to happen 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:16.399 but we don't know what yet. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.899 And Laban responds 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:19.740 and we see it. 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:21.240 Look at verse 34. 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:25.180 Laban hears this plan 00:16:25.180 --> 00:16:26.840 and doesn't hesitate. 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:30.100 It's a deal too good to pass up. 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:31.639 And he says this, 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.860 good, let it be as you have said. 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:36.019 Now keep in mind, 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:36.860 this is a culture 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:38.899 where negotiation goes back and forth 00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:40.379 and there's none of that 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:42.340 because the deal is too good. 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:44.700 And now we know where the trick is. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.919 Laban is running some kind of play 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:48.220 but we don't know it yet. 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:50.320 And he runs to tell his sons, 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:51.879 get all the striped ones, 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.139 get all the spotted ones 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:54.720 and then we're going to take them away. 00:16:55.060 --> 00:16:56.920 So Jacob starts with nothing. 00:16:57.500 --> 00:16:58.879 And so when he goes to leave, 00:16:58.920 --> 00:17:00.800 he's not going to actually take that much. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.879 And they go at a distance 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:05.339 and Jacob, the deceiver, 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.559 is deceived once again. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:11.900 When we think about Laban and Jacob 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:14.600 and the story about goats and sheep 00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:16.259 and the trickery that's involved, 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:20.579 we have to think not some mastermind plan. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.140 We have to think like the three stooges. 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:25.079 If you know the three stooges, 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.680 there's a bit in their comedy trio 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:32.700 and one of them will trick the other one 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:33.940 by waving his hand 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.759 and then what happens next? 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:37.700 He gets punched in the face 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:39.619 or he gets poked in the eyes. 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:41.319 That's what's going on here. 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.759 Laban is waving his hand like this 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.660 and then he punches Jacob in the face 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:48.720 because he's distracting him 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.259 and then he takes from him. 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:54.279 That's all good and well. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:56.619 We know Jacob, 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:00.200 we know Laban is really up to his old tricks. 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:05.220 But what are we supposed to take from this? 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.720 How are we supposed to apply this? 00:18:09.180 --> 00:18:10.619 What does this mean for us? 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.679 We don't have, probably most of us don't have goats or sheep. 00:18:14.779 --> 00:18:16.319 Probably most of us would say 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:18.219 we shouldn't wave our hands 00:18:18.219 --> 00:18:19.759 and then punch someone in the face. 00:18:20.139 --> 00:18:21.399 That would be a good thing. 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:23.959 We shouldn't deceive one another. 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:27.619 The story of Jacob is not really a story 00:18:27.619 --> 00:18:29.179 of scamming and scheming. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:30.059 That's present, 00:18:30.479 --> 00:18:33.059 but it's rather one of God's blessing, 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.839 especially this section. 00:18:35.479 --> 00:18:37.739 Who is the one that causes the growth? 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:39.839 Who is the one that causes the increase? 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:40.980 It's God. 00:18:41.639 --> 00:18:43.119 God is the one that does it. 00:18:43.419 --> 00:18:44.720 It's not Jacob's cunning. 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:48.059 It's not Laban scheming and planning. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:51.339 Jacob reminds Laban of that, 00:18:51.419 --> 00:18:52.939 that God is following. 00:18:53.199 --> 00:18:55.220 God is walking in his footsteps. 00:18:56.399 --> 00:18:58.859 But we, when we look at this story, 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:00.279 when we look at our own lives, 00:19:00.639 --> 00:19:01.899 do we think that's true? 00:19:02.459 --> 00:19:04.959 Do we think that we have what we have 00:19:04.959 --> 00:19:05.839 because we're wise 00:19:06.439 --> 00:19:08.199 or we really work hard? 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.600 And the reason that others don't have any 00:19:10.600 --> 00:19:13.019 is because they're lazy or foolish? 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.680 Or do we think that God is the one 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:20.900 that causes everything to increase? 00:19:22.340 --> 00:19:24.779 After all, Jacob's life is a mess 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:25.620 if you look at it. 00:19:25.840 --> 00:19:27.960 He's enslaved to his father-in-law. 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:30.500 He doesn't have any children. 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:32.680 He's duped into a marriage. 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:35.019 Then he struggles to have a child. 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:36.600 And then he wants to go home, 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:39.740 let alone his relationship with his brother. 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:45.720 Jacob is surely not blessed. 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:48.480 We can look at his life and think 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:50.299 his life is a wreck. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.700 And yet Jacob will say he is blessed. 00:19:56.060 --> 00:19:57.860 Laban is blessed because of Jacob. 00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:01.359 Jacob is blessed as well. 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:03.979 How can we think like that 00:20:03.979 --> 00:20:06.279 when we think of all the difficulties 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.839 that have befallen Jacob? 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:10.819 How can we think of that 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:13.379 when we don't have those things? 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:15.899 When we don't have this promised blessing? 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:18.859 We don't have the full bank accounts 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:19.979 or the full flocks. 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:21.679 We don't have the children 00:20:21.679 --> 00:20:23.699 or the children who don't get along 00:20:23.699 --> 00:20:25.000 and hate each other so much 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:26.079 like Jacob and Esau. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:30.699 Or we don't have our health, wealth. 00:20:31.399 --> 00:20:32.500 After all, I struggle. 00:20:32.659 --> 00:20:33.179 I hurt. 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:37.799 I can't even get out of bed without pain. 00:20:38.439 --> 00:20:40.599 My marriage is not Jacob and Rachel, 00:20:40.939 --> 00:20:42.879 but it's Jacob and Leah. 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:45.179 I don't want her or him. 00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:47.279 How am I blessed? 00:20:49.419 --> 00:20:50.480 The truth is, 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.419 Jacob could say all those things as well. 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.240 And yet he is blessed. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:54.680 Why? 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.120 Not because he is rich, 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:58.599 but because he has the Lord's presence. 00:20:58.940 --> 00:21:00.099 It's there with him. 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:01.700 He's certain of that promise 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:02.759 that was made to Abraham 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:04.279 that's now his, 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.900 that he will increase. 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:09.240 And yet Jacob falters, 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:10.680 just like we do. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:11.799 We doubt. 00:21:12.140 --> 00:21:13.140 We have uncertainty. 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:15.700 We don't remember. 00:21:16.099 --> 00:21:19.019 We don't see God's hand in our story. 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:21.180 And so what do we do instead? 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:22.740 We scheme and plot 00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:25.980 and come up with all kinds of plans. 00:21:28.139 --> 00:21:30.160 If you have faith in Jesus this morning, 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:31.980 remember that you are blessed. 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:36.259 You are blessed and rich beyond all measure. 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:38.139 And I don't mean that in a trite way, 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.039 but think about you have 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.000 the presence of the Lord. 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:44.500 If you have faith in Jesus Christ, 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:46.720 it doesn't matter if you have a wife or a husband. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:48.460 You have the Lord. 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:50.579 It doesn't matter if you have children. 00:21:50.860 --> 00:21:52.799 It doesn't matter if you have riches. 00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:55.039 It doesn't matter if you have all those things 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.279 and then you lose them 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:59.259 because we have Christ. 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.860 Those promises that were made to Abraham 00:22:02.860 --> 00:22:04.740 and now to Jacob, 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.380 glory beyond compare, 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:08.339 are not sheep and goats. 00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:10.839 It's something far greater 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:13.720 that God was gracious to you 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.960 just like he was to Jacob. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.120 Yet we forget that 00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:20.640 because we get involved in the sheep 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:21.819 and the goats 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:23.180 and the bank accounts 00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:24.799 and the striped sticks 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:25.880 and all of that. 00:22:26.840 --> 00:22:29.440 You're not blessed because you've earned it. 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:32.500 You're blessed because God has been gracious to you, 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:35.400 because he's been merciful to you, 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:37.500 because he's forgiven your sin. 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:43.380 The riches that await are not gold or flocks, 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:44.420 but God himself. 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.099 And the story of Jacob points to this greater reality 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:52.839 that that is what makes you wealthy and blessed, 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.299 even in the muck and messiness of life. 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:58.039 Is that enough though? 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:00.579 Or do we so often think, 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:03.159 I want Jesus plus all of those things. 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:06.000 I want my Jesus and I want my health. 00:23:06.259 --> 00:23:09.159 I want my Jesus and my kids to be smart 00:23:09.159 --> 00:23:11.799 or to graduate or go to college. 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:14.019 And I want Jesus and a bank account. 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:17.559 When we do that, 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:20.200 we think like Laban. 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:24.319 And God, when we read this story, 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:26.180 is trying to show us, 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:29.240 trying to put us at the intersection of Jacob's life 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:29.680 and say, 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:32.359 see, I've loved you and been merciful 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:35.119 and I've blessed you even when you can't see it. 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:36.920 Even when you don't know it 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:39.339 and even when you don't acknowledge it. 00:23:39.339 --> 00:23:41.819 So how could we look at him and say, 00:23:41.919 --> 00:23:43.379 we haven't been blessed, 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:45.039 that it's not enough. 00:23:45.919 --> 00:23:47.679 This morning, if you're with us 00:23:47.679 --> 00:23:51.259 and you've never tasted or seen that goodness, 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:55.199 I invite you to explore that. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.879 Just like the prophet Amos says, 00:23:58.199 --> 00:23:59.899 seek the Lord and live. 00:24:00.699 --> 00:24:02.419 Jacob is saying the same thing. 00:24:03.179 --> 00:24:04.980 In the Lord, you are blessed. 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:07.519 Seek me and be blessed. 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:09.700 Seek the Lord and live. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.859 Maybe our love has grown cold. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.240 Our relationship is stagnant 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:16.240 and we think to ourselves, 00:24:16.379 --> 00:24:18.579 I don't feel that blessing here and now. 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:19.440 That's normal. 00:24:19.879 --> 00:24:20.920 That's life in this world. 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:22.599 That's life with sin. 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:24.319 May we be encouraged 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:27.039 just as we look back at Jacob's life 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:28.519 and see God's hand, 00:24:28.639 --> 00:24:29.720 even in blessing him, 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.599 we see all the ways the Lord is working in our lives. 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.299 May we be reminded of that. 00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:39.819 And these stories of Old Testament people 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:42.639 are road markers along the way 00:24:42.639 --> 00:24:44.599 for God to point us back and say, 00:24:45.099 --> 00:24:47.139 look at Jacob's life and see how he's worked 00:24:47.139 --> 00:24:48.879 and look at your own life 00:24:48.879 --> 00:24:50.779 and see how he's worked 00:24:50.779 --> 00:24:53.859 in spite of what you see and feel 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:55.460 that God is at work. 00:24:55.639 --> 00:24:56.379 God is reigning. 00:24:56.380 --> 00:24:58.900 So Laban deceives Jacob 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:01.300 once again 00:25:01.300 --> 00:25:03.480 and God reigns. 00:25:03.780 --> 00:25:06.320 But Jacob deceives again 00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:07.980 and God reigns. 00:25:08.280 --> 00:25:09.700 Jacob's got a plan for this. 00:25:10.260 --> 00:25:11.180 We have to remember, 00:25:11.320 --> 00:25:13.720 this is not an isolated series of events 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:15.240 that unfold in the next day, 00:25:15.300 --> 00:25:17.060 but over the series of next year. 00:25:17.060 --> 00:25:19.440 You can't increase a flock of sheep and goats. 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.860 I hate to break it to you. 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:22.560 I'm no high school biology teacher, 00:25:22.760 --> 00:25:23.900 but that doesn't happen overnight. 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:24.820 Okay. 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:27.880 So this is a series of days or years, 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.240 not just hours. 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:32.000 So Laban has tricked Jacob once again, 00:25:32.080 --> 00:25:33.240 but Jacob has a plan 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:35.320 and this plan has two parts. 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:36.820 The first one is really, 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:37.680 really strange. 00:25:38.080 --> 00:25:38.380 Okay. 00:25:38.540 --> 00:25:39.980 I admit that from the outset. 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:41.380 Look at verse 37. 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:43.300 He takes sticks of poplar, 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:43.740 almond, 00:25:43.840 --> 00:25:44.540 and plain trees. 00:25:44.800 --> 00:25:46.500 He peels off the white 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:48.200 or he peels off the bark. 00:25:48.540 --> 00:25:50.240 So there's white streaks in them. 00:25:50.600 --> 00:25:52.760 And so they can see the whites of the sticks. 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:54.520 And then he sets the sticks 00:25:54.520 --> 00:25:55.620 that he's peeled 00:25:55.620 --> 00:25:57.620 in the watering places 00:25:57.620 --> 00:26:00.320 so that when the sheep and goats 00:26:00.320 --> 00:26:01.380 come to drink, 00:26:01.620 --> 00:26:03.240 they're exposed to that. 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:05.840 It's really an ancient wives tales. 00:26:06.020 --> 00:26:06.920 What's going on here 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:09.640 is that if you're about to have a baby 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.120 or you're about to conceive, 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:13.640 whatever you see 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:15.039 is going to be impressed upon 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:16.759 that baby that you give birth to. 00:26:17.080 --> 00:26:18.160 So you see sticks, 00:26:18.360 --> 00:26:20.060 you get a striped sheep. 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:21.380 You see sticks, 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:22.900 you get a spotted lamb. 00:26:23.320 --> 00:26:24.180 You see sticks, 00:26:24.360 --> 00:26:25.300 you get a striped goat. 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:27.820 Drink water in front of the trees 00:26:27.820 --> 00:26:28.880 with the bark off 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:30.279 and you get speckled, 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:30.740 striped, 00:26:30.820 --> 00:26:31.740 and spotted flocks. 00:26:32.100 --> 00:26:33.120 I don't know how that works. 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:35.620 I don't actually think it does work. 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:36.840 All right. 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:39.140 Which is kind of the point, right? 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:39.940 John Calvin, 00:26:40.300 --> 00:26:41.680 the great French theologian, 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:42.360 says this, 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:44.500 that God superintends 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:45.800 the normal course 00:26:45.800 --> 00:26:49.940 of normal animal husbandry 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:51.519 to make these striped 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.620 and speckled sheep. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:55.759 And even as he does so, 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:58.180 Jacob has another trick up his sleeve. 00:26:58.420 --> 00:27:00.380 He takes all the really healthy sheep 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:01.360 and moves them away. 00:27:01.560 --> 00:27:02.640 And those are his. 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:04.019 And he only breeds those together. 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:05.660 And then he takes the weak, 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:05.720 weak, 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:07.680 and feeble. 00:27:08.040 --> 00:27:10.080 And those are Laban's. 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:12.120 And the result of all of this, 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:13.680 we see at the very end. 00:27:14.360 --> 00:27:15.620 Look at verse 42. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.680 But for the feebler of the flock, 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:18.940 he would not lay them there. 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:22.100 So the feebler would be Laban's 00:27:22.100 --> 00:27:23.800 and the stronger Jacob's. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:25.259 So in all of this, 00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:27.180 he's tricked Laban again. 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:28.860 Laban had him tricked 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:31.379 and Jacob tricks him back 00:27:31.379 --> 00:27:33.259 through this hokey process 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:36.939 that God miraculously blesses. 00:27:37.639 --> 00:27:39.339 So in all this scheming, 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:41.299 God is still at work 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:43.479 and has caused Jacob to be successful. 00:27:43.959 --> 00:27:46.779 And we see this report in verse 43. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:49.759 Thus the man increased greatly 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:51.439 and had large flocks, 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:54.719 female servants and male servants, 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:56.539 and camels and donkey. 00:27:57.539 --> 00:27:59.519 Jacob increased greatly. 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:00.920 Or literally, 00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:02.519 he increased very, very, 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:03.779 which I think is really funny. 00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:05.480 But that really funny language, 00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:06.680 increased very, very, 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:08.240 is the same language 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.000 that God uses of Abraham 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.000 when he promises to bless him. 00:28:12.360 --> 00:28:12.779 Abraham, 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:15.120 you're going to increase very, very. 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:15.940 Jacob, 00:28:16.140 --> 00:28:18.220 you're going to increase very, very. 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.940 It's very easy in stories like these 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:24.220 to miss the bigger part of the plot. 00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:26.100 We can focus on the sticks. 00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:27.819 We can focus on the stripes. 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:30.100 We can focus on how goats and sheep 00:28:30.100 --> 00:28:31.220 and baby goats and sheep 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:32.079 come into existence. 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.380 And as we do so, 00:28:34.700 --> 00:28:38.819 we miss not just names and actions. 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:41.480 We miss God in the midst of it. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.720 We think about the characters. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:46.059 And there's so much to glean 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:47.000 from all the characters 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.059 and all their failings. 00:28:48.600 --> 00:28:50.039 And we think about 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:52.819 what would we do? 00:28:53.360 --> 00:28:55.360 The point is not what you would do 00:28:55.360 --> 00:28:56.140 if you were a shepherd 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:57.519 or what you would do 00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.799 if you raised goats. 00:28:59.100 --> 00:29:00.740 We have to look at this 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:02.799 and see God's hand. 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:05.400 The point is not for us to think about 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:07.019 how terrible our in-laws are 00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:07.960 because I'm pretty sure 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:09.180 none of us have been enslaved 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:10.940 to our father-in-law or mother-in-law. 00:29:12.600 --> 00:29:14.200 The point is not for us 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:15.019 to look at Jacob 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:16.680 and see all of his sin. 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.579 It's that, 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:19.399 but then to see God working 00:29:19.399 --> 00:29:20.319 in the midst of that. 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:22.399 After all, 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:23.259 I don't have sheep. 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:25.960 I may or may not have in-laws. 00:29:26.179 --> 00:29:27.599 I may or may not have children. 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:30.759 I may or may not have a wife 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:32.240 or two like Jacob 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.720 or servants. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:38.039 But Jacob is a man 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:39.819 that's following after God, 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.240 that sins, 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:43.519 that goes out and cheats 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:44.440 on business deals. 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:46.559 All of these things are true, 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:48.279 but the reason these stories 00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:50.460 of Jacob are so powerful 00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:53.059 is that we can see God working 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:56.359 even when he doesn't show up. 00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:58.859 In the midst of this, 00:29:58.919 --> 00:29:59.740 there's a notable absence 00:30:00.379 --> 00:30:02.200 of reference to God 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:04.279 and that should stand out to us. 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:06.059 That should be like alarm bells 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:06.359 saying, 00:30:06.659 --> 00:30:07.639 where is God in this? 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:09.819 But we do the same thing 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:10.740 in our own lives. 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:11.919 In our loss, 00:30:12.399 --> 00:30:13.519 we ask, 00:30:13.659 --> 00:30:15.119 where's God in the midst of this? 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:16.740 In our relationships, 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:17.279 we think, 00:30:17.379 --> 00:30:18.919 where is God in the midst of this? 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:20.259 In wanting a husband, 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:21.059 we think, 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:21.680 where is God 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:22.680 in the midst of this? 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:24.599 When we get frustrated 00:30:24.599 --> 00:30:25.879 at kids 00:30:25.879 --> 00:30:27.059 because they won't obey, 00:30:27.160 --> 00:30:27.480 we think, 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.140 where is God 00:30:28.140 --> 00:30:29.099 in the midst of this? 00:30:29.379 --> 00:30:30.859 When we don't have enough money 00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:32.539 to pay for our rent, 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:32.859 we think, 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:33.859 where is God in this? 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:35.680 In our sadness, 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:36.900 because we feel alone, 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:37.240 we think, 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:37.900 where is God 00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:38.819 in the midst of this? 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:40.799 When we see Jacob, 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:41.980 we think, 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:42.799 where is God 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:43.920 in the midst of this? 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.799 When we feel like 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.059 quitting all of this, 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.000 we ask, 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:55.680 where's God in the midst of this? When we have all these things and then they're taken away from us, 00:30:55.819 --> 00:31:03.859 we ask, where's God in the midst of this? God reigns. We have to think of that. We have to be 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:09.539 reminded of that in our own lives. And when we read the life of Jacob, that God is reigning, 00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:16.720 whether they're blessed financially, whether they don't have children, whether they're enslaved, 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:23.620 or whether they're free, whether they're at home or they're in a foreign, far, far land, 00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:31.660 whether we plot and scheme or whether we don't even have the energy to fight, God reigns. 00:31:32.360 --> 00:31:39.920 This morning, may we be reminded not just of Laban's deception, not just of Jacob deceiving, 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:46.960 but in the midst of all these things that God reigns. And we have to hold fast to the reminder 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:56.680 from the lips of Jacob that God has blessed you. Let's pray. Lord, may we be reminded in the life 00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:05.440 of Jacob of your reigning power, of blessing, of plenty of want, and all of those times in between 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:12.140 that you reign. Father, by your good hand, you cause us to prosper. And by your good hand, 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:22.640 you take things away. May in all of that, we confess that you are great, that you reign, 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:29.400 and Father, you have blessed us. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand and sing in response 00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:30.080 to God's word. 00:32:30.080 --> 00:32:30.160 Amen.