Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20000206.htm

GENESIS: THE SOURCES OF GOOD AND CALAMITY IN OUR ORIGINS
Part III - God's Ongoing Program Of Countering Man's Apostasy At Babel
U. Round Twenty - Being Disciplined To RELY On God Versus Manipulating To Attain Our Goals
(Genesis 29:1-14, 15-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. Jesus said the second greatest commandment is for one to love his neighbor as himself, Matthew 22:37-39.
    2. However, if one aims to achieve certain goals, and tries to secure those goals by manipulating people or events that bypass the opportunity for others to block his reaching those goals, he reveals a lack of respect for others and their space. That lack of respect is unloving, is hurtful and makes manipulating others a sin.
    3. God has a program in place for His own that stamps out such manipulation tendencies in them as follows:
  2. Being Disciplined To RELY On God Versus Manipulating To Attain Our Goals, Genesis 29:1-30.
    1. Jacob had to flee to his Uncle Laban in Haran because He had manipulated events to steal by deception his brother, Esau's blessing, Genesis 27:15-35, 41, 42-44:
      1. Under Rebekkah's guidance, Jacob pretended to be his brother, Esau before his blind father, Isaac so he could deceptively receive the coveted blessing aimed for Esau, Genesis 27:15-19.
      2. This manipulation produced the reception of Esau's blessing, but at a huge price: Esau was hurt by Jacob's taking what belonged to him, and planned to kill J acob in revenge, Genesis 27:20-35, 41.
      3. Accordingly, Jacob fled from Esau to Haran to live with his mother's relative, Laban, Genesis 27:42-44.
    2. As Jacob fled, he did so in obedience to his father and mother, apparently coming to the point of heeding his parents, Genesis 28:7. God then met Jacob at Beth-el, promising to be with him and to bless him in grace to preserve the Abrahamic Covenant, Genesis 28:12-15.
    3. Well, since Jacob had come to heed God's way, submitting to his parents and God, God stepped in to COUNTER Jacob's tendency to MANIPULATE like he had his brother, Esau: (Genesis 29:1-30)
      1. Upon arriving in Haran, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, producing his desire to marry her, 29:1-18:
        1. Jacob's love for Rachel is revealed in his rolling away a huge well-covering stone when she arrived: (a) The shepherds needed to be sure no single shepherd took more water from a storage well than was his due. Thus, they unitedly placed a large stone over the well's mouth so that only all the shepherds together could remove the covering so they could be accountable to each other for the water's use, Leupold, Genesis, v. II, p. 784; Gen. 29:1-3. (b) Because he saw Rachel, the keeper of Laban's sheep was beautiful, Jacob single-handedly removed the stone, Ibid., p. 788; Gen. 29:4-10.
        2. When Jacob greeted Rachel and her family and was asked by Laban how Jacob could be paid for serving him, Jacob asked for Rachel's hand in marriage, Gen. 29:11-18.
      2. Well, in marrying Rachel, God permitted Jacob to feel the PAIN of being DECEIVED as HE had deceived ISAAC and hurt ESAU so as to PURGE Jacob from manipulating again, Gen. 29:18-30:
        1. Laban agreed to give Rachel to Jacob for serving him for seven years, Genesis 29:18-20.
        2. However, at the wedding, Laban deceived and hurt Jacob the same way he had deceived Isaac and hurt Esau, Gen. 29:21-30. (a) The bridal couple physically consummated the marriage at night, so Laban used the opportunity custom and darkness supplied to slip Jacob the older daughter, Leah, Gen. 29:21-24. (b) "With Jacob this deception was perfectly fitted . . . He had deceptively presented himself to his father under the guise of Esau the firstborn; now Leah the firstborn was deceptively introduced to him under the guise of Rachel, the younger!" (Bib. Know. Com., O.T., p. 76) (c) Jacob was left serving Laban another seven years for Rachel's hand, Genesis 29:25-30.
Lesson: God let Jacob reap similar painful fruits of manipulative deception from Laban's hand that he had dealt out to his brother, Esau, Bib. Know. Com., O.T., p. 76 (Gal. 6:7). In this way, he learned how unsavory is the experience of being manipulated so as to learn never to manipulate again.

Application: (1) If God has allowed us to be unlovingly mistreated, and we note that we OURSELVES have done the same thing to others in the past, we are to LEARN to AVOID doing it again! (2) Like Jacob, in place of lovelessly manipulating others to reach our goals, we must learn to TRUST God to BLESS us in SPITE of what others might do temporarily to BLOCK us from reaching those goals!