Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it,
for out of that well the flocks were watered.
The stone on the well's mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there,
the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep,
and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.
Jacob said to them, My brothers, where did you come from?
They said, We are from Haran.
He said to them, Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?
They said, We know him.
He said to them, Is it well with him?
They said, It is well, and see, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep.
He said, Behold, it is still high day.
It is not time for the livestock to be gathered together.
Water the sheep and go, pasture them.
But they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together,
and the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well.
Then we water the sheep.
While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep,
for she was a shepherdess.
Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother,
and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother,
Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth,
and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman,
and that he was Rebekah's son.
And she ran and told her father.
As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son,
he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house.
Jacob told Laban all these things.
And Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh.
And he stayed with him a month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my kinsman,
should you therefore serve me for nothing?
Tell me, what shall your wages be?
Now Laban had two daughters.
The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.
Jacob loved Rachel, and he said,
I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.
Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than I should give her away to any other man.
Stay with me.
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel,
and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
Then Jacob said to Laban,
Give me my wife that I may go into her, for my time is completed.
So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.
But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob,
and he went into her.
Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.
And in the morning, behold, it was Leah.
And Jacob said to Laban,
What is this you have done to me?
Did I not serve with you for Rachel?
Why then have you deceived me?
Laban said,
It is not so done in our country to give the younger before the firstborn.
Complete the week of this one,
and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.
Jacob did so and completed her week.
Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.
So Jacob went into Rachel also,
and he loved Rachel more than Leah,
and served Laban for another seven years.
When the Lord saw that Leah was hated,
he opened her womb,
but Rachel was barren.
And Leah conceived and bore a son,
and she called his name Reuben,
for she said,
Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction,
for now my husband will love me.
She conceived again and bore a son,
and said,
Because the Lord has heard that I am hated,
he has given me this son also,
and she called his name Simeon.
Again she conceived and bore a son,
and said,
Now this time my husband will be attached to me,
because I have borne him three sons.
Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son,
and said,
This time I will praise the Lord.
Therefore she called his name Judah.
Then she ceased bearing.
Thanks, Jane.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Nice to see you again.
Today's the topic of the sermon is
Blessing in the Red Rays.
Initially I was preparing for three sermons
for my trip back to Malaysia.
This is an extra one.
The third one is for next week.
And this sermon covers three chapters,
which is quite long.
So I'm not going to be able to cover,
or maybe I only cover about 10%
of what those three chapters has in it.
But as I prepared for the sermon,
I learned many things,
and I hope that I can help you
to see something in it,
and also enjoy reading that part of the Bible,
and get a lot more out of it
as you read through the three chapters.
Why is it called the Red Rays?
That's because it's just like us.
Jacob just suddenly got himself
into this situation,
which he never dreamt or hoped
or thought of when he came to the uncle's place.
And he started needing to learn how to work,
how to compete with others at work,
deal with the uncle's treachery,
deal with other work makes,
and then having a family,
and having so many wives and children.
All this will occupy his time,
and hopefully through this sermon,
we'll see how the Lord was blessing him.
Even through that,
he may not knew that at that time,
but as the year went on,
he gradually learned
and appreciated what the Lord has done for him.
And that will show us
we come next week
to chapter 32 and 33.
Let us pray first before we start.
Father,
we thank you for your goodness
in helping us
through all that happened to us
in our daily lives,
to see the truth,
and to see the truth about us
and about you.
And thank you for your word
that we can learn from,
and the word that will transform us as well.
Lord,
we ask that you might do so
as we dwell into your word at this time.
Thank you, Lord.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So,
last time,
when we
talked about God promising
to be with Jacob,
that is,
while he had the dream
at night,
and that God promised
that he would be with him
and brought him back
to this land.
And when we
heard that God
was blessing someone
or to be,
will be with someone,
we would
straight away
usually think that,
oh,
Jacob would become successful
in whatever way he do.
We will see that Jacob
did become a rich man
20 years
after God promised
to be with him.
First 14 years,
he worked for the two wives.
He didn't actually get
anything.
But the last six years,
he became very rich.
However,
we will also see that
his wealth
that he accumulated,
eventually,
it was for him
to pay back a debt.
And that we'll see again
next week.
So,
even when he became rich,
it wasn't ready for him.
And we know that
being wealthy and healthy
is not often the outcome
of having God
in our lives.
Majority of
faithful servants of God
live in poverty
under persecution.
Psalm 25,
verse 8,
says that,
good and upright
is the Lord,
therefore,
he instructs sinners
in the way.
Because God is good
and upright,
so if God promised
to be with us,
he would not just sit there
and let us
do whatever we like.
He will
automatically,
and this part is the nature,
to make us
like him,
good and upright.
and to do that,
he will,
through his work,
I mean,
we read
and we learn,
and through
our interaction
with people
and our living
in this world,
it perpetuates
through difficulty,
difficult times.
And in today's story,
we will see
how God did that
in Jacob's life.
we will see
that
his interaction
with
Laban,
Rachel,
and
Leah and Rachel
in particular.
There are a lot more,
but I could only
cover these three.
So,
last time we came
to the part
when Jacob was sent
to his uncle's place
to find a wife,
though the real reason
was to find refuge
from his brother,
Esau,
who was planning
to kill him.
And then God
appeared to him
and promised him
that he would go
with Jacob.
And then,
so Jacob kept walking
for many weeks.
I'm sure on the way
he'd been asking people,
are you from Haran?
Do you know Laban?
It would take many weeks.
I suspect it would take
about two months
before I arrived
in this well
when there are shepherds
who actually knew
who Laban was.
And it happened
that Rachel
was coming
to the well,
too.
And you can imagine
how relieved
Jacob was
to finally arrive
after being
on the lonely journey
for so long.
He was so excited
that his son
managed to roll
the stone
from the well's mouth
to water
his uncle's ship.
I suppose
they were all waiting
for people to come
so that they could
all do it together.
But somehow,
the long journey
seemed to have
made Jacob
strong enough
to do that
by himself.
And maybe he was
also one thing
to show off a bit
to Rachel.
So he did that.
He kissed Rachel
and cried aloud
and then Laban
heard about him
coming.
He ran to meet him
and took him in.
And we read that
Laban was quite excited
to know that
Jacob was there.
And when we first
read it,
you may think,
oh,
Laban must be
quite a good uncle.
he wants to look
after Jacob.
But as we read
through,
read on,
we find that
it's not the case.
Laban was just
trying to
make use of
Jacob
for his own gain.
But why was he
so excited?
If we know
about
Jacob's mom,
Rebecca,
who is
Laban's sister,
so when
Abraham's servant
came
to
get a wife
for Isaac,
that is
Jacob's father,
brother,
Abraham's
servant
brought a lot
of gifts,
a lot of gold
and precious
things.
I think
Laban was
expecting the
same thing,
oh,
now the
second generation
has come,
what is he
bringing to me?
But unfortunately,
Jacob didn't
bring anything.
Jacob was by
himself and
he didn't
have anything
with him.
But Jacob
was attracted
to Rachel.
I think it
was not
only because
Rachel was
pretty,
but most
sadly also
because Rachel
was the first
person,
Jacob could
be a hero
too.
Jacob showed
himself to be
a man.
If you know
Jacob's background,
he wasn't loved
by his father
and now he's
running away
from his
brother.
He's an
insecure man.
He finds
himself insignificant
and now he
could show
that he
was a man
to Rachel.
That's why
it's part of
it in terms
of not only
Rachel was
attractive to
him,
but Rachel
was sort
of dependent
on him
in Jacob's
mind.
However,
as time
goes on,
after a month,
it became
clear that
Laban was not
going to let
Jacob marry
his daughter
without payment
and so they
make a deal
and verse 20
says,
so Jacob
served seven
years for
Rachel and
they seemed
to him
but a few
days because
of the love
he had for
her.
In Rachel,
Jacob had
the first
taste of
sacrificial
love.
He never
had this
sort of love
before.
He suddenly
was so
occupied,
his mind
was so
occupied by
Rachel.
He seemed
to have
gone crazy.
He could
only think
about Rachel.
He was
never one
who would
be taken
advantage
of,
but then
for Rachel
he was
willing to
work without
wages.
So he
worked for
seven years
and it
seemed to
be a short
time to
him.
So you
can imagine
how he
was expecting
to get
Rachel.
So his
love for
Rachel helped
him to
enjoy the
hardship and
abuses
experience at
work.
He would
otherwise
not have
learned how
to be a
good shepherd
through this.
He learned
how to
spend his
night in
the wilderness,
look after
the sheep
and be a
strong man
I suppose
over this
time.
If you
remember,
Jacob's
mother,
Rebecca,
did love
Jacob
sacrificially,
love for
the
parents.
Jacob
did not
appreciate it
then as
most children
would not
appreciate how
their parents
loved them.
Jacob was
happy to let
his mother
take the
curse for
him if
his deception
was found
out by
Isaac and
that showed
that he
didn't actually
appreciate that
love.
But now
that he
is actually
loving
someone
in a
similar way,
he had
the chance
to understand
how his
mother had
loved him.
And for
us,
if we
have such
a love,
we could
understand how
God has
loved us
as well.
The end
of seven
years came.
Nabhan
did nothing
until Jacob
reminded him
that he
had fulfilled
his side
of the deal.
Then Nabhan
held a wedding
feast for
Jacob and
Rachel,
but cheated
Jacob by
replacing
Rachel with
Leah under
the darkness
of the night.
Nabhan
profited a
lot from
Jacob's
service.
And he
could not
get anyone
to pay a
good price
for Leah,
so he
deceived
Jacob.
He let
Jacob have
Rachel as
well,
with the
condition that
he served
for another
seven years.
So in
Nabhan,
Jacob had a
taste of
what it
meant to be
deceived.
We cannot
appreciate the
harm we
do to
others until
we are
the victims.
Jacob would
not have
understood how
his father
Isaac and
his brother
Esau felt
until he
himself was
a victim of
deception.
Being on the
receiving end
of deception
also helps us
to empathize
with those
who have been
deceived.
love.
And we
know that
because of
Jacob's
dependence on
Nabhan and
his love for
Rachel, he
had little
choice but to
submit to
Nabhan's
scheme at
this stage.
So he
had Leah
and
Rachel.
With Rachel,
he got no
problem, he
loved Rachel.
But in
Leah, Jacob
needed to
learn how to
love someone
who was not
lovely, at
least someone
not lovely
in his
eye.
Jacob had no
interest in
Leah.
But divorcing
Leah was
not out of
the question
in his
time.
And God
gave Leah
some help.
Leah had
four sons
in a row
while Rachel
could not
conceive.
At that
time, having
children, in
particular
sons, is
very important
to develop
into a
strong family
to do
farming, all
those things.
So having
four children
would definitely
help Leah's
position in
the family.
And at
least because
of the
children,
Jacob started
to care about
Leah and
learn how to
love her.
However, Leah
was not
contented with
having children.
She wanted
more.
She wanted
like what
Jacob gave
to Rachel.
So Leah
and Rachel
started using
children to
strengthen their
position in
the family.
In that
time, a
woman's
security and
significance
were dependent
on their
father before
their marriage.
After their
marriage, it
depended on
the husband.
And so having
the husband's
love was
very important.
children.
And so they
both tried to
have more
children and
they gave
Jacob their
mates to
have more
children as
well.
So both
Leah and
Rachel wanted
to be the
most secure
and significant
person in the
family.
Neither of
them feared
God or
trusted God.
They became
stuck in
constant
scheming for
prominence in
the family.
In a way,
they condemned
themselves to
live unhappily
ever after if
they don't
change in
the way.
As you
know, my
father had
two wives
living under
the same
roof.
My mother
was a
younger wife.
When I was
young, I used
to sleep in
my mother's
room because
there was no
other place
for me to
sleep.
So my
younger
brother and
myself were
the two
younger,
and so we
sleep with
our mother.
And my
father was
always in
my mother's
room overnight.
I didn't
think much
of it until
I was
older.
Then I
started to
think,
why is it
that he
never spent
time with
my senior
mother?
I mean,
I was young,
I didn't
think that
it was
something
unusual,
but as
I get
older,
I thought,
why is
my father
always in
my mom's
room?
And then
as I look
back now,
I could
understand
why my
senior
mother was
so demanding
in nature.
So she
was the
mistress
of the
household
to assign
jobs to
each of
us.
I would
always try
to hide
from her
because every
time she
saw me
doing nothing,
she would
get me a
job to
do.
So there's
no freedom
in a sense.
After school,
going,
getting home,
there's always
job,
regardless,
even if you
have homework
or whatever,
there's also
job to do.
I was
talking to
my
eldest
sister
who
actually
looked after
me when
I was
young
because my
mom was
too busy
working and
doing all
the jobs.
So my
eldest sister
said he
hated coming
home just
because every
time she
came home,
she got
no time
for herself.
You can't
plan anything.
Basically,
we couldn't
plan anything.
If you
plan to
do something,
forget it.
If you
don't do
it,
you get
a scolding.
So the
home was
like a
factory.
My senior
mother was
very well
known in
our hometown
to produce
the best
Chinese
delicacies.
And all
those things
take a lot
of manpower
to produce.
And my
senior mother
was well
known for
it.
And that
is her
significance.
And that's
why she
needs that.
And that's
why she
traded her
relationship
with her
children for
her significance.
Even her
own children
seemed like
her eventually.
It was
not close
to her.
My mom
worked from
early morning
until late
at night.
But my mom
never complained.
I think
he had my
father's
attention and
that was
enough for
her.
And she
just
suffered.
But
because she
suffered
together with
us,
so she
is very
close to
all the
children,
including
my
senior mom's
children,
even now.
So
I fell
for Leah
in this
sense.
Because Leah
didn't have
the significance
and security
he needed
to fight
for it.
He didn't
know where
to get it.
If he
had his
security
and significance
in God,
then in
the first
place,
he would
not have
collaborated
with
Laban
in deceiving
Jacob.
And
secondly,
if he
did marry
Jacob,
he would
not need
to make
herself so
miserable
in
scheming and
fighting
over
Jacob with
Rachel.
So
Leah
was hoping
that by
marrying
Jacob,
her life
would be
happier.
but in
fact,
she was
disappointed.
Things that
we get
by deception
don't usually
bring
happiness.
So
as Jacob
tried to
relate to
Leah,
he was
reminded
about how
his father
Isaac
related to
him.
Leah
in Jacob's
eyes
was like
Jacob
in Isaac's
eyes.
As Jacob
wished Isaac
would love
him more,
Leah was
wishing
Jacob
would love
her more.
At this
point,
we may
ask,
why didn't
God stop
Laban
from deceiving
Jacob?
The same
question can
be asked,
why didn't
God stop
Jacob from
deceiving
Isaac?
Or why
didn't God
stop the
serpent from
deceiving
Eve?
Throughout
the Bible,
we see that
God intervenes
in some
matters and
not in many
other matters.
If you are
a parent,
you may know
that you should
not intervene
in everything
in your
child's or
children's
life.
some
parents
want to
protect
their
children
and
would
not
allow
them
to
make
mistakes
or
get
hurt.
My
mom,
who is
95 years
old now,
she still
scolds my
70-year-old
brother when
he did
something that
she is not
pleased with.
My oldest
brother,
her oldest
son,
and my
oldest sister,
oldest daughter,
both of
them are not
married because
they were
just too
busy.
to socialize
when they
were young.
Now my
oldest brother
and my
mom live
together and
they care
for each
other,
but they
don't talk.
Whenever I
go back
home,
the interaction
is argument
over something
or blaming
or something.
That's because
my mom
had never
treated my
oldest brother
as an adult
and still
exerting
control over
her.
In a way,
it's a bit
sad that
they lose
that enjoyment
of talking
as friends
and as
adults,
not only as
mother to
son.
Even all
these years,
if the
parents just
want to
control the
children and
prevent them
from getting
hurt,
they will
lose a lot
of enjoyment
together in
the relationship.
So this is
about God's
heart.
God has
got a
father's
heart in
terms of
how he
deals with
us.
We should
also consider
what is in
our hearts
when we
do foolish
things.
Why was
Eve
deceived?
Because she
wanted to
be like
God, who
can determine
what is
good and
what is
evil.
She
wanted to
be more
significant
than being
Adam's
wife and
God's
daughter.
She
could not
deny her
desire to
be more
significant.
Why was
Isaac
deceived by
Jacob?
Because Isaac
was blinded
by his
own love
of Esau.
He was
determined to
bless Esau.
He heard
Jacob's
voice.
It should
have been
sufficient for
Isaac to
realize that
it was
Jacob.
But when
our minds
are occupied
with the
desire to
accomplish
something,
we usually
ignore
warning signs.
Why was
Jacob
deceived by
Laban?
Because he
was blinded
by his
love of
Rachel.
Before
Jacob
left home,
he was
full of
himself.
During his
trip to
Haran,
he encountered
God.
In
Haran,
then he
encountered
Rachel.
Jacob
was beginning
to change
from worshipping
himself to
worshipping
God.
Now it
seems that
Rachel became
his idol.
I believe
that there
would be
many telltale
signs.
Laban was
manipulating him
over the
seven years.
He could
see how
Laban
treated
other
people.
And there
would be
signs that
something was
not right
in the
wedding night.
But Jacob
was too
focused on
Rachel that
he lost
his objectivity.
While it was
not wrong
for Jacob
to love
Rachel,
but when
such a love
does not
submit to
God's
guidance,
it does
not usually
end well.
if his
focus was
on God
who promised
to be
with him,
Laban
would not
be able
to use
Rachel
to manipulate
Jacob.
The amazing
thing is that
God will
always achieve
his purpose
regardless
of our
foolish choices.
And we
see that
as the
story develops.
In these
three sermons,
I have
mentioned
many times
about security
and significance
as a
motivation
for our
behaviors.
to be
secure
is to
have
protection
and provision.
And to be
significant
is to have
respect
and recognition.
And that's
what we
want in
our whole
life.
But in
Jacob,
so that's
why Jacob
deceased his
father to
get the
blessing.
That's
why he
wanted.
But in
Rachel,
we found
a third
motivation
force for
Jacob's
behavior.
It was
not for
security
or
significance
that
Jacob
worked
14
years
for
Rachel
because
he
did not
receive
any
wages
or
position
for
his
work.
And getting
Rachel
would not
make him
wealthier
or more
powerful.
What was
motivating
Jacob
then?
That was
love that
we talk
about.
Love can
mean
different
things.
In here,
I'm talking
about the
feeling that
your life
is incomplete
without the
presence of
that object
or the
person
of your
love.
When Adam
first saw
Eve,
he said,
this at
last is
born of
my bones
and flesh
of my
flesh.
Adam
meant that
if you
take Eve
away from
him,
it was
like taking
away his
bone and
flesh.
When
Laban
first met
Jacob,
he also
said the
same thing,
surely you
are my
bone and
my flesh.
love.
But then
Laban
has
changed
the
definition
of love.
He was
deceiving
himself and
Jacob when
he said
that,
as if he
said that
he loved
Jacob.
He was
in fact
telling
Jacob that
you are
mine,
therefore
serve me.
But Adam
was telling
Eve that
you are
mine,
therefore I
will serve
you.
This is
a love
that I'm
talking
about that
Jacob was
starting to
experience
that he
could love
someone just
purely because
the person,
not because
the person
can give
him anything
in the sense
of security
and significance.
However,
there is
still a bit
of self-centeredness
in this
style of love
as we love
people.
There's always
the pleasure
or something
that we get
from the
person,
which Jacob
couldn't get
from Leah.
But that is
at least the
start of that
love.
So in
Rachel,
Jacob first
experienced
self-denying
love.
Love made
him do
everything
just to be
with Rachel.
In Leah,
Jacob had a
challenge of
loving someone
who was not
lovely.
And in
Laban,
Jacob saw
the degradation
of love.
So when
a man
loved God,
he would
love other
people and
things appropriately.
When a man
does not
love God,
he will
not be
able to
love other
people and
things appropriately.
What was
Laban's object
of love?
It was
quite obvious,
it's money.
Why did
Laban love
money?
Because money
can be exchanged
for security,
significance,
and pleasure.
Laban could
only see life
in terms of
profit and
loss.
Laban could
only relate to
people in
terms of
benefit or
burden.
He would
only do
what he
thought would
profit him.
He would
befriend people
who would
benefit him.
Once Jacob
saw Laban's
real face,
he did not
want to
become another
Laban.
Jacob started
to realize
that while he
suffered under
Laban,
he was also
becoming a
person who
was different
from Laban.
did Jacob
learn his
lessons?
We shall
see that
he did
as we
read the
subsequent
chapters of
Genesis,
which will
be the
topic of
next week's
sermon.
When God
promised that
he would
be with
Jacob,
he would
ensure that
Jacob would
be changed.
This change
did not come
about as if
God just
put a spell
on Jacob.
This change
came about
as God
led Jacob
to see
Jacob's own
heart in
the light
of the
holy God.
and also
in the
midst of
the red
race as
Jacob
makes
decisions
and choices
in his
relationship,
in his
work,
in his
family.
All this
are still
happening in
our life
right now.
In
Matthew
chapter 16
verses
24 to
26,
Jesus
told his
disciples,
if anyone
would come
after me,
let him
deny
himself
and take
up his
cross
and follow
me.
For
whoever
would save
his life
will lose
it,
but whoever
loses
his life
for my
sake
will find
it.
For
what
will
profit
a man
if he
gains
the whole
world
and forfeit
his soul?
or what
shall a
man
give
in
return
for
his
soul?
First
of all,
we
consider
why
would
anyone
want
to
come
after
Jesus?
I
can
give
you
four
reasons.
Number
one,
Jesus
said he
came
as a
good
shepherd
who
gave
his
life
for
his
sheep.
Jesus
denied
himself
of
comfort
and
status.
He
died
for
our
sins
on
the
cross.
Adam
told
Eve,
you
are
my
bone
and
my
flesh.
I
will
love
you.
Laban
told
Jacob,
you
are
my
bone
and
my
flesh.
You
should
serve
me.
Jesus
told
his
sheep,
here
is
my
body
and
blood
broken
and
spilled
out
for
you.
Jesus
did
not
give
a few
years
of
his
life
to
redeem
Jesus
said
he
came
to
seek
sinners,
those
who
are
not
lovely,
to
change
them
into
those
who
are
lovely.
Isaac
found
it
difficult
to
love
Jacob,
Jacob
found
it
difficult
to
love
Leah.
We
find
it
difficult
to
love
many
people.
Jesus
did
not
only
die
for
us
when
we
were
yet
sinners,
he
will
also
change
us
into
saints.
Reason
number
three,
Jesus
rose
again
and
will
never
die.
In
Jesus
we
will
find
our
souls
who
will
never
die
again.
This
gives
us
meaning
and
hope
for
our
existence.
Reason
number
four,
Jesus
is
Lord.
At
the
name
of
Jesus
every
knee
should
bow.
Why
would
we
follow
anybody
else?
Would
Laban
come
after
Jesus?
He
would
not.
He
would
consider
the
message
of the
cross
something
foolish
and
weak.
He
would
only
come
after
the
way
of
this
world.
He
would
get
what
he
wants.
He
would
scheme,
he
would
compete,
he
would
cheat,
he
would
do
anything
to
satisfy
the
desires
of
his
heart.
Because
the
desire
of
his
heart
was
not
satisfiable
with
whatever
he
could
gain
in
this
world,
he
would
scheme
some
more,
compete
some
more,
cheat
some
more,
until
the
freedom
he
thought
he
had
in
doing
things
become
a
bondage.
He
becomes
a
prisoner
of
his
own
desire.
He
will
keep
seeking
for
satisfaction
for
eternity
but
will
never
find
it.
It
is
like
a
drug
addict
who
cannot
stop
using
drugs
even
when
he
finds
that
drug
is
no
longer
pressurable.
Laban
can only
boast
in his
achievements,
he
can never
boast
in the
cross.
In
the
process
of
gaining
his
wealth,
Laban
abused
everyone
else,
including
his
own
family,
now that
he
was
very
wealthy,
he
became
a
lonely
old
man.
Like
Esau,
Laban
sold
his
birthright
for
a
single
meal.
He
had
exchanged
eternal
satisfaction
with
transient
pleasure.
Would
Jacob
follow
Jesus?
Not
initially.
However,
God
took him
away from
the comfort
of his
home and
go through
a lonely
journey and
left him
under
Laban
for
20
years.
Jacob
observed
Laban's
life.
He saw
Laban's
wealth,
comfort,
and power.
He also
saw Laban's
no-needness,
restlessness,
and joylessness.
He saw how
Laban treated
his children and
servants.
Everything is
about profit.
He saw how
Laban could
not keep
promise and
kept changing
his wages
to get more
profit out of
him.
Jacob also
saw that
God had
increased
his own
wealth
under
impossible
circumstances.
So he
got wealth
and then he
got four
wives and
many children.
But even
then it
did not
give him
joy that
he was
looking for.
Someone
once said,
if you
think you
are perfect,
go and
get married.
you can
imagine Jacob's
marriage,
how chaotic
it would be,
how much
stress in
that marriage.
Imagine him
working the
whole day,
tired,
coming home,
different wives,
wonder his
attention,
children,
wonder his
attention.
It's a
messy,
very messy
life.
life,
and then
Jacob would
lose his
temper.
So Jacob,
this marriage
would quickly
help Jacob to
see how
flawed and
weak he
was.
He was no
better than
his father
Isaac.
He could
not love
his family
equally.
Even the
wife he
loved the
most,
Rachel,
almost betrayed
him when
she stole
Laban's idol
during the
escape from
Laban's
control.
When Jacob
saw his
own foolishness
and sinfulness,
he could
begin to
deny himself.
What did
Jacob see in
his heart?
You see,
he saw at
least four
things.
One,
Jacob began
to understand
what evil
was in
his interaction
with Laban.
And he saw
the same evil
in his heart.
Number two
is he began
to realize
that there was
a type of
love that
does not
care about
benefits.
And that
was the
love that
he wanted
from his
father.
He did
get it
from the
mom,
but that
wasn't
sufficient
because he
wanted
from his
father.
And that
was the
love that
Leah was
looking from
him.
Number three,
Jacob began
to long
for justice
when he
was mistreated.
But at
the same
time,
he knew
that he
had also
mistreated
others.
So the
justice
doesn't
only apply
to other
people,
it
apply to
himself
too.
Number four,
he began
to wish
for forgiveness
for all
the wrong
he had
done
because
justice
he couldn't
bear,
he couldn't
hope for
forgiveness.
Where does
one find the
display of
evil,
love,
justice,
and forgiveness?
In the cross.
When man
nailed Jesus
on the cross,
it was the
ultimate display
of evil.
And when
Jesus died
on the cross
for our
sins,
it was the
ultimate
display of
love,
justice,
and forgiveness.
Justice
because God's
wrath has
been satisfied.
Unless we
see our own
foolishness and
sinfulness,
we will not
deny ourselves.
We also
cannot deny
ourselves
unless or
until we see
someone who
is righteous,
pure,
and wise
for us to
turn to.
Many of us
live in the
red race.
We hardly
have time to
think about
our life.
We want to
be significant
and secure
and to have
love.
We all
lose our
life for
something or
someone.
It can be
your boyfriend,
your girlfriend,
children,
careers,
hobbies,
or addictions.
Only when
you lose
your life for
Jesus shall
you find
your soul.
I hope that
today you can
have time to
think how God
has been blessing
you in your
failures and
frustrations.
I hope that
you can deny
yourself and
turn your eyes
to the Lord
Jesus who
loved you and
gave his
life for you.
In denying
ourselves and
coming to
the Lord
Jesus Christ,
we will find
our souls.
Next week,
we shall see
what happened
when Jacob
found his
soul.
Let us
pray.
Amen.
Father, may
you speak
to our
hearts.
Help us
to see
care of
what is in
our hearts
and at
the same
time,
help us
to see
care of
the Lord
Jesus Christ
that we
might turn
to him.
Thank you,
Father,
for we pray
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.