I invite you to turn with me in your copies of scripture to Genesis, Genesis chapter 30. It's a pleasure to be back with you today. You have a new building, you have a new pastor, much has changed since I was last with you. So happy for you. In Genesis 30, we'll be looking at verses 25 to 43. As you may know, the book of Genesis is a book of beginnings. It gets to the roots of things. You have the first 11 chapters of Genesis which speak of creation. God's making all things in the space of six days out of nothing by the word of his power, making them all very good. And shortly after that, in Genesis 3, you have the fall, you have corruption. But even in the midst of corruption and the curse that comes upon the world and upon mankind, Even in the midst of cursing, you have that covenant of grace, that first gospel promise that God would provide the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. And then you follow the gospel promises, you follow the covenant line, the seed of the woman in the people of God, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, these patriarchs of God's people. You see, this is about the beginnings not only of creation, but the beginnings of the church. So this is the roots of your history, O church. And so we get to listen to it, and we get to listen to the life of Jacob this morning, part of the life of Jacob. We have to remember that this was written for our instruction. By this time, Jacob has been born. He was born a twin. His brother Esau was born first, but Jacob came out. You know, children, when Jacob was born, Jacob came out grabbing his brother's heel. Can you imagine that? And so he was called Jacob. He was a heel grabber. A name also that means, perhaps, a cheat or a deceiver. Well, Jacob and Esau, they grew up, and Jacob and Esau were very, very different from one another. Esau liked being out in the field. Jacob liked being in the home. Isaac favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob. And you may know the story of how Jacob ended up with his brother's birthright. He sold him that bowl of red stew, and so bought his birthright. He stole that blessing of the firstborn from the father by pretending to be Esau and fooling Isaac, his father. Well, Esau didn't like that at all, and so Esau sought to kill his brother. He sought to do what Cain did to Abel. Jacob flees. He goes to the land that his fathers are from. He goes to Paddan Aram, to the land of Mesopotamia, And there his parents are hoping that he'll find a wife among their descendants, or from their family, their people back east. Well, on the way to Mesopotamia, you might remember that Jacob stops at a place and he lays down for the night, he sleeps, he lays his head on this rock and he has this dream And the Lord appears to him in this dream at this place that he'll call Bethel, the house of God. This is that dream with Jacob's ladder. And God made certain promises to Jacob, covenant promises in this dream. He promised to him land. The promised land, the land of Canaan, would be his. It was promised to Abraham, it was promised to Isaac, and now it's promised to Jacob. He promised offspring, as numerous as the dust of the earth, and at this point, Jacob doesn't have a wife. So what a promise. He promised that Jacob would break out and spread abroad to the west, to the east, to the north, to the south. He promised that in Jacob and in one of Jacob's offspring, all the families of the earth would be blessed. That great gospel promise of Jesus. He promised to be with Jacob, to keep Jacob, to bring Jacob back to the land of promise. So friends, I want to remind you that we have a promise-making God. You worship and serve a promise-making God, and he is a faithful God. He is a true God. He's a promise-keeping God. Because as you see, as promised, he was with Jacob, providentially providing him with a wife from among the daughters of Laban, in line with his parents' instruction. He had blessed him with numerous offspring. By the time of our passage in Genesis 30, he's still living under Laban, Uncle Laban, but Jacob now has 11 sons, one daughter, and soon he'll have another son, Benjamin. And as we'll hear today, the Lord makes Jacob to be a blessing, just as He promised. He's a blessing to Laban. Additionally, the Lord will cause Jacob to break out, to increase greatly, so that when Jacob finally does return to the promised land, he will not go as he came. He came to Laban with nothing but a staff. He will go out having become rich in children, rich in possessions. He will go out just like the nation of Israel after him will go out of Egypt, having plundered the people who had afflicted him and held him as a servant. And so today we're going to hear that our God is a promise keeping God. He keeps his gospel promises. That he's working out these promises and these blessings and benefits of the covenant promises come to Jacob. They come to Jacob who's the embodiment of God's people. Later he's going to have his name changed to what? Israel. He's a template, he's a microcosm of the nation of Israel, of God's people, even of the church today. And these blessings, these gospel blessings, they come to Jacob, even here, despite bleak conditions, despite deceitful opponents, and despite his own fallen nature. And so that's what we ought to see today in our text. The Lord blesses Jacob. So give now the reading of God's word to your attention. Genesis 30, beginning in verse 25. As soon as Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, send me away that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go. For you know the service that I have given you. But Laban said to him, If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages, and I will give it." Jacob said to him, "'You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned.' But now, When shall I provide for my own household also? He said, what shall I give you? Jacob said, you shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it. Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later when you come to look into my wages with you. Everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen." Laban said, good, let it be as you have said. But that day, Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted. and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, everyone that had white on it and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. And he set a distance of three days journey between himself and Jacob. And Jacob pastored the rest of Laban's flock. And Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plain trees and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks, and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks. But for the feebler of the flock, he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants, and male servants and camels and donkeys. You pray with me. Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Show us wonderful things from your law today. We pray that you would feed our hearts by your word and show us Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. When we study large portions of scripture, large narratives such as this one, it helps if we break it up into smaller parts. The two major parts of this portion of the Jacob narrative are the contract in verses 25 to 34 and the contest in verses 35 to 43. And there is a sermon outline if you would care to follow that. In the contract, Jacob and Laban, they make an agreement. This verbal contract that will leave Jacob working for Laban another six years. And if you know this portion of Genesis, this portion of scripture, you know that he's already served Laban 14 years for his wives, Leah and Rachel. In 14 years, he's grown from a family of one to having two wives and many children. But now he will serve so that he can provide for his growing family. So the terms are set and the work begins. But as we see, it's not so much work as it's this contest, right? A contest of deceit and wits. Jacob versus Laban. And Jacob, with God's blessing, wins. He increased greatly. He had large flocks. They're speckled and spotted among the lambs and the goats. He has female servants and male servants, camels and donkeys. He ends up plundering Laban in these six years. Now, let's not get the wrong idea. This is not a sermon on how to get rich quick or how to one-up your wicked uncle. In the Old Testament, the blessings of God are often expressed in material form. But this doesn't mean that all wealth is a blessing. Sometimes wealth can be a curse. The wealth which Jacob comes to possess, though, is indicative of the Lord's favor, of the Lord's covenant blessings to this covenant family. It is a way in which God is making a clear distinction between Jacob, the chosen of the Lord, and Laban, the wicked, deceitful pagan. And what's amazing about this particular passage is that we see penniless Jacob blessed with these covenant blessings despite looking very much like Laban. And despite being cheated by his father-in-law. So that's the point of this passage. That's the idea that we must consider today is that God's covenant promise of blessing comes to us despite bleak conditions. despite deceitful opponents and despite our own fallen natures. It's despite these things that a Christian stands in Christ under the shower of God's blessings. So we begin with that contract in verses 25 to 34. It opens with Jacob's request and moves to Laban's response. and is enacted with what we'll call a deceiver's deal, a deal made between these two deceivers. We're told verse 25, as soon as Rachel bears Joseph, Jacob makes his request. Rachel now has a son through Jacob. Remember, she had been barren, but now she has a son, thus securing her even further to Jacob, her husband, than before. Now, thinks Jacob, now's the right time to return to the promised land. And so he says to Laban, send me away that I may go to, notice, my home and country. He hasn't forgotten where he's from. He hasn't forgotten where his true home is. He knows he's been living in exile. He's homesick. His true home, his true country, is the land which the Lord his God is giving him. So he's looking forward to receiving what God has already promised. And Christian, is that you today? Are you homesick? Are you longing for that promised land, that promised paradise? Do you remember that your citizenship is in heaven, as the apostle Paul writes? Along with his request to leave, he asked Laban to give him his wives and children. By the way, polygamy is not condoned by God. It is something that we see here, though, in the ancient world. Also in the ancient world, the wives and the children of a servant belonged to the master. Jacob's wives and children belonged to Laban. So Jacob has been treated as nothing more than a servant, nothing more than a slave, not a son-in-law, not a nephew. And so Jacob must ask Laban to give him his own, to give him his family. And his request is enforced with a number of reminders of what Jacob has done for Laban. He says, for you know the service that I have given you. How does Laban respond? He responds as we would expect him to, as we get to know Laban in the scriptures. It's not a yes or no. It's a business deal. He's only thinking in terms of selfish gain. He doesn't care about his daughters. He doesn't care about his grandchildren. He doesn't care about justice, what's right or wrong. He only cares about himself and his own interest. And so he wants Jacob to stay because he says he's found out through divination that the reason his business has been doing so well, the reason his table is fuller, the reason his flocks are growing abundantly is because of Jacob. Jacob is Laban's golden goose. But what about Jacob has brought about this prospering? What is it about Jacob? Answer, it's the blessing of God. It's the blessing of God. The blessings of God have been mediated through Jacob and enjoyed by those around him, just as God promised him at Bethel. In him is blessing. And friends, in this sense, Jacob is a type of Christ. In him, we are blessed. Apart from him, we are cursed. In Him, in Jesus. It's a blessing to the nations. Even as Jacob is a blessing to Laban. And for us, we need to consider this. Are we, as Christians, as those united to Christ, are we a blessing to those around us? Do we labor well for our employers? Do we labor with excellence? You can be a blessing, believer. You can be a blessing by your words, by your conduct, by your witness to God's grace and goodness. Are you a blessing? Before we move on, we need to ask the question, what is all this about divination? Laban says, I've learned this by divination, that I've been blessed through you. The Israelites were prohibited from practicing divination. Deuteronomy 18 verse 10 says, This is not something that God's people are to do. We're to stay clear of it. That kind of pagan practice is forbidden. Israel God's people today were to seek the word of the Lord. Divination's an unlawful, demonic attempt to provide knowledge, to get knowledge. And so Laban's use of divination, it's sinful, but notice the information he obtains is accurate. Again and again in Genesis, we see this principle. We see this truth that the chosen seeds, the people of God, mediate the blessings of God. The world is blessed through Noah. It remains. All the animals get on the ark. That's a blessing, isn't it? The world is blessed through Abraham, through Jacob, through Joseph. We're told that all the world goes to Joseph to get food during the famine. Pre-eminently, the world is blessed through Jacob's seed, the Lord Jesus Christ. All the world go to him for the food of salvation. All nations are blessed through him. We learn that through God's word, not through divination, that the Lord has blessed us in Christ with forgiveness of sins. and with eternal life on account of the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the descendant of Jacob. And so here's Laban. He's looking at Christ's ancestor Jacob, this Christ-like figure who's been mediating the blessings of God to him, and he wonders, how can I keep him? Do you think he cares anything for Jacob, the source of blessing? No. He cares for the blessings themselves. He cares for the prosperity that's come through Jacob. It should be a caution for us as we consider Christ the source of our blessing. Do we only care about what he gives us or do we actually care for him? Laban doesn't care for Jacob, only the blessings of being associated with him. And so he says, name your wages and I will give it. What's it gonna cost? And Jacob, he's probably thinking he's experiencing some deja vu here because this is exactly what Laban told him in chapter 29, verse 15. Tell me, what shall your wages be? At that time, Jacob offered Laban seven years of service for Rachel's hand in marriage. You might remember that story and how that goes. He's hoodwinked. During the marriage festival, the marriage feast, he wakes up in the tent and it's not Rachel next to him, it's Leah. But here's Laban, again, offering to make a deal so that he can keep Jacob his source of divine blessing. We're told Jacob, he's just wanting to provide for his own growing household. At this point, he's still penniless. All that he has, all that he's working with, that's Laban's. He's at the mercy of Laban. But now he wants to acquire his own possessions, and so Jacob names his wages. He asks Laban to allocate all of the animals with specific markings for Jacob. He says, this'll help keep track of what's mine and what's yours. You'll know that I'm not stealing from you. It's also gonna make a very clear distinction between how God is blessing Jacob and how God is cursing Laban. This deal, which was made by two deceivers, it looks airtight. Jacob has asked for what would ordinarily be a small percentage of the flock, only about 10 or 20% of the sheep would have these speckles or spots on them, and the goats for the same way. Jacob says, I'll do all the work, and I'll only retain a small percentage of the profits for myself. Laban jumps on the deal, he says, good, let it be as you have said. And so now we come to the second part of our passage, to the contest. The passage immediately preceding ours today, there was another contest, a contest between these rival wives, Leah and Rachel, regarding who could have more children. It got quite fierce. Rachel cried out for a son. But now it's a contest between Laban and Jacob regarding who could take advantage of the other, who could acquire the most possessions. So what did Laban do? Verses 35 and 36, notice the shady practices. The same day, they've just shook on it, right? The same day after they've shook on it, Laban secretly removes all the animals that had been allocated to Jacob. He gives them to his sons and they go a three days journey. Laban's deceitful nature influences his treatment of Jacob at all points. And so Jacob begins this new arrangement working under these new conditions with absolutely nothing. No speckled, no striped sheep or goats. Everything's pure white. What usually happens if you breed pure white animals with pure white animals? You're gonna get pure white animals. That's the idea. But I want us to notice that Laban's sin, and it is a sin, is so deep on so many levels. He's breaking the ninth commandment. He's being false. He's being shady in his business practices. But like Laban, Jacob isn't squeaky clean either. He's been scheming as well. Jacob begins with nothing but through these superstitious breeding techniques, he's seeking to recover what was lost. He's attempting through manipulating the breeding process to take back what was stolen from him. He takes these fresh sticks of poplar, almond, and plane trees. He peels white streaks in them, exposing the white of the streaks. See, there's a common belief in that day that if you expose the animals to a certain sight while they're breeding, that the imprint of that sight would appear in the offspring. And so the sticks correspond to the desired genetic makeup. Jacob's trying to produce speckled, spotted animals. And lo and behold, it happens. The flocks bring forth striped, speckled, and spotted. Now Jacob's success should not be understood to imply that there's a causal relationship between the sticks and the animals. Just like Rachel and her mandrakes, he's resorting to superstitious, manipulating breeding tactics. He's fighting fire with fire. He separates his spotted, speckled animals from Laban's white animals. And then he adopts this selective breeding program to ensure that the strong animals will breed with the sticks, the strong animals will be the speckled spotted ones, and the weak, feeble animals will become Laban's. Is that a good worker? I don't think so. He's scheming just like Laban. Interestingly, I think to support this idea that Jacob's practice here is not good, interestingly, Laban's name means white. It was with white streaks that Jacob plunders Laban of his property. Earlier, it was the red stew that bought Esau's birthright. Esau, whose name is Edom, which means red. I think these connections show us that Jacob is still that crafty deceiver that he was before. He's still the heel grabber, the cheat. Friends, as Christians, we are called to speak and to practice the truth. In all of our agreements, in all of our contracts, in all of our business dealings, we are to be truthful. In a world of darkness and deception and selfishness, we must be a people of light and of truth and of service. We come to the last verse, verse 43, and it's both surprising and instructive to us. Jacob's worked hard to increase his wealth. In six years of work, six years of this practice, he's going from having no animals to this strong, numerous flock. But Moses, the author of Genesis, does not attribute his success to his schemes or his trickery. Rather, Moses says, thus the man increased greatly. Literally, in the Hebrew, Jacob broke out. very much, or he spread out very much. What had God promised to Jacob back in Genesis 28 verse 14, back at Bethel? He promised that Jacob would break out. And here's Moses alluding to that very promise. He's telling us it's not Jacob's skill or scheming, It's the Lord's sovereign good pleasure which has now caused Jacob to succeed, caused Jacob to increase greatly. And God does this despite the fact. that Jacob has come to Paddan Aram with nothing but a staff. He does this despite the fact that Laban, his adversary, has been deceitful and cruel and has changed his business agreements time and time again. And he did this despite Jacob's own corruption and sinfulness. Jacob has increased greatly solely by the blessing and providence of God. And Jacob here, he's getting not what he deserves. He deserves cursing. But also, Jacob is getting exactly what our gracious God had promised him at Bethel. He's getting these blessings. And so we see from this passage that God's covenant promise of blessing comes to Jacob despite bleak conditions, deceitful opponents, and his own fallen nature. And friends, it's here at this point that I want us to remember that idea that Jacob, later named Israel, is the embodiment of Israel. He's the embodiment, a microcosm of the people of God. Pastor Kent Hughes had this to say about this passage. He said, what we have here in Jacob's life is a mini preview of redemptive history. Because Jacob's exile in Mesopotamia with Laban is a microcosm of what would happen in macrocosm to Israel in the later exile in Egypt. Just as Jacob's family multiplied in the exile, so the tribes of Israel would multiply to a vast multitude by the time they leave in Exodus. Just as Jacob would so prosper in his exile that Laban felt himself to be plundered, so also Israel would plunder the Egyptians. Remember, they send them away with gold and silver and all sorts of things. And just as God would have to protect and free Jacob from Laban and clear the way back to the promised land, even so God would loose Israel from Pharaoh and open the way into Canaan in the Exodus. So here in Genesis, we have a picture of God's people that will later come about in Exodus. But folks, it's more than that. It's also a picture of the life of the true and ultimate Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ. Because if you remember, Jesus is one who's called out of Egypt, just like Israel. Out of Egypt, I called my son. Jesus is the one who brings his people out of spiritual Egypt, out of bondage to sin and death. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the one who mediates his saving blessings to all the families of the earth. And so even though we're reading of the life and history of Jacob, I hope you see that we're having a snapshot, a shadow, of Israel and of Israel's Messiah, the Lord Jesus. And because we see a picture of Jesus, we can see a picture of our own life and our own relationship with the Lord Jesus here. In fact, that's what we must see today. That God's covenant promise of blessing, God's gospel comes to us in Christ despite bleak conditions, despite deceitful opponents, and despite our fallen natures. Just think for a moment about the blessing of salvation that we have in Christ. This free gift of eternal life that we have in Jesus. It's a blessing that comes to us despite bleak conditions. What does God have to work within us? Nothing! Like Jacob, we're penniless. We start with nothing. I'm all unrighteousness. I'm a worm. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. We don't come to God with good works, but with the debt of sin, with guilt, with corruption. Remember, Jacob didn't even have a right to his wives and children. He started with no speckled or spotted animals, but does that matter to God? No. In fact, it's in our poverty that God makes us rich in Christ. God loves to fill that which is empty. He loves to supply that which is lacking. He loves to give to the needy, to exalt the humble. And so we ought to know this, that our circumstances, whatever they might be, Whether or not you grew up in the church, whether you're a so-called good person, whether or not you've done things, know this, your circumstances cannot keep you from Christ. Despite the bleak conditions that you might find yourself in as a sinner or as a sufferer, God is pleased to keep his gospel promises to you in Christ, to bless you richly in the Lord Jesus. If we ever needed proof of this, just think of Jacob, but also think of the thief on the cross. What did he have going for him? He was being hanged on a cross, hung on a cross as a condemned man, as a thief. But he sees Christ hanging next to him, Christ with his arms open wide. That's all he needs. That's all we need. And secondly, this is true despite deceitful opponents. Jacob's dealing with Laban, really in Genesis, the classic trickster and schemer. He's cunning like the serpent. He's twisting deals like the serpent in the garden twist words. Jesus himself, he was afflicted with deceitful opponents. Even a familiar friend became the one who betrayed him with a kiss. But despite the opposition, despite the betrayal, the affliction from sinful men, God's purposes came to pass. So we see that the malice of men cannot keep us from the blessings of God. Laban wanted to take everything away from Jacob, but God kept giving it right back to him. The malice of men cannot keep us from the blessings of God in Christ. Their plans, their schemes, their strength, they cannot shut the door to Christ and His gospel. And friends, if God can use the cruel cross of Calvary to save sinners from eternal damnation, then He certainly can use the deceitful dealings and malicious plots of your adversaries for your temporal and your eternal good. No one can keep you from Christ and his gospel. In fact, God often providentially uses crooked sticks to drive us to Jesus. I was reflecting on this and thinking of a missionary family I know. They're connected with a PCA and OPC. They work in Cambodia with trafficked children. Let me tell a story of a young girl whose mother sold her into this traffic. And despite that wicked, wicked act, this girl came out of that and she found Christ. She was rescued by this Christian organization that these people work for. She was brought into their group home, and she was introduced to Christ. Would she have been introduced to Christ if she had not been sold? I don't know. The Lord knew. The Lord was guiding her steps. So no one can keep you from Christ and the gospel. And finally, God's blessings in Christ come to us despite our own fallen natures. Jacob has not put away his sins. He's seeking to overcome Laban's false ways with his own false, treacherous ways. But despite his foolishness, despite his sin, despite his superstitious attempts to tip the scales in his favor, God blesses Jacob anyway. We might expect God to punish Jacob, to revoke the blessing. But Jacob's sin is laid on Jacob's Lord, the Lord Jesus. And Jesus is punished for his sin. And because Jesus is punished for the sins of his people, his people are blessed despite their own fallen natures and sin. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. Peace with God. And with His wounds we are healed. Friends, not even your sins can keep you from the blessings of God in Christ because in Christ they are forgiven. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve. Psalm 103. By His blood we're made whiter than snow. If you would but repent and believe, gospel blessings abound to those who do so. Gospel blessings abound to those who repent of their sins and turn in faith to Jesus. This is what God promises us, and as we've seen, God keeps His promises. Truly, God's covenant promise of blessing comes to us in Christ. despite bleak conditions, deceitful opponents, and despite our own fallen, sinful natures. We see this today in the life of Jacob. And I ask you to examine your hearts and ask yourself, do I see it in my own life? May God make it so. Let's pray. Our Father, We thank you for blessing us despite our poverty, our want of righteousness, despite the precarious position we are in as corrupted, depraved sinners. We pray that you would encourage our hearts today with these thoughts. that we would see in your dealings with the patriarch Jacob, a template of how you deal with us in Christ, so graciously, so sovereignly, so effectually, lovingly, savingly. Lord, pour out your spirit upon us that we might take what we've learned, that we might remember it this week, that we might incorporate it into our lives, that we would give you all the praise, all the glory, because salvation is of the Lord. Would you be pleased to exalt the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in us and through us and help us to be a blessing to our neighbors? We pray all this in Jesus' name.