Lord, we thank you for this time to be together this evening. And I thank you for those who have been able to make it this evening and pray that you would bless us as we read scripture and help us to remember these are not just idle words, they are our life. And without the word of God in the Bible, we're lost. We don't know who we are, what we are, where we're from, or where we're going. And so we pray you'd help us to see and understand and learn what you would have us to learn from Genesis 29 and following here, however far we get. And we thank you for explaining Earth's history to us and giving us a true account of what happened. And we just thank you so much for the glorious light of your word. And we pray that the gospel of Christ would Resonate in our hearts and that we would believe in him and trust only in him for our eternal life and his personal righteousness his cross to satisfy divine justice and we bless you for your providential care of us your people and we do pray for those that are sick and those that have brothers in law that are sick and those that have family that are sick and we pray especially for Neal and his family and pray for his dad that he would trust in you and we pray for Our whole church family those that are sick as I know that there's families that it's still running through and I pray that you would Get everyone well and better and help us to have a good Lord's Day Sunday and to be able to worship you in spirit and truth and to glorify you and praise you and thank you for your grace that you've shown to us in Christ and the Wonderful and blessed hope and expectation that he gives to us by faith alone in him alone in his work alone We ask in his name. Amen Okay, we're on Genesis 29. Good evening. More brave people. That's good. Genesis 29 is where we are this evening. So here we have where Jacob meets Rachel. And I was doing a little digging around. We might watch the documentary, The Ark of the Darkness. Has anyone here heard of that or seen that documentary? It came out not too long ago. It's a wonderful documentary about the Ark, about Noah's Ark. Yeah, the Ark and the Darkness, it's called. And it's an hour and 50 minutes long, so it's fairly lengthy. But they interview lots of good creation scientists. And it's just so packed full of information. I was thinking about watching it in half hour segments and taking notes and giving you guys an outline or whatever. But really, really useful documentary. Very well produced and really, really good stuff. Just about the Ark and how they house the animals. how many kinds of animals they needed based on their taxonomy at the family level and that kind of stuff. So I also was doing, just for kicks, I was doing a little research on how, I have read about this before, but I was wondering lately, what does evolution say? How does that worldview account for human languages? We were talking about that at family devotions. So I did a little search on the internet, and I found out, did you know, in the recent past, that question was banned from colleges. You're not allowed to ask that question, why human languages are so diverse. Because they have no explanation for it. It does not make any sense to them. And trying to say that, well, animal grunts and squeals eventually turned into nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and adverbs is absurd. But I was pretty surprised to read that, that that was actually banned. You were not allowed to ask that question. It's like a little Sunday school child. I know why. I know why languages are so messed up and so hard to, are so different from one another. It's because God confused our languages. That's why people spread out all over the earth. So, but anyway, let's dig into the passage here. Genesis 29. So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east, and he looked and saw a well in the field. And behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth. Now all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth. And Jacob said to them, my brethren, where are you from? And they said, we are from Haran. Then he said to them, do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, we know him. So he said to them, is he well? And they said, he is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep. Then he said, look, it is still high day. It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go and feed them. Verse eight, but they said, we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together. and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth. Then we water the sheep. Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father." Okay, so here it's kind of love at first sight, really. I mean, he sees Rachel, he knows this is family. And remember, Jacob's brother Esau had married who? Yeah, married pagans, and that really bothered who? The parents, Isaac and Rebecca were, you know, basically she says, if Jacob marries one of these daughters of the land, my life's gonna be worthless to me. So she sends him away, and of course, what's another reason he's sent away? He wouldn't get killed by Esau. Esau wants to kill him, okay? And so, and also, what else had Jacob recently done? There's a lot of stress piling on this guy. He's got his brother who wants to kill him. He's in a strange place. He doesn't really know the land very well. But what else had he just done with his father? He lied to him. He deceived his dying blind father. So you know, he's traveling. He's probably worn out and tired. He's got stressors. Remember, the commentator's emphasizing this. I remember thinking, why does he, he gives Rachel a kiss and then he lifts up his voice and weeps. Like, what's the deal? And they said, think about all the stress this guy has just been through. You know, he probably, it probably really cut against his I mean, it would cut against the character of anyone to do what his mother asked him to do. I mean, he's dressed up in goat skins on his neck, on his forearms. He's, you know, lied about God sending an animal that his mother prepared real quick. And the Lord, the Lord, you know, let me trap the animal really quickly and everything. So he's got all this guilt and all the stress and he knows his brother wants to kill him. And so, It's like a favorable providence happens, he sees this girl, and we know from the rest of the story, Rachel is really the only wife that he ever really wanted to marry. He really wasn't interested in being a polygamist. He wanted to just marry Rachel. And isn't it incredible, in the providence of God, what's the one wife that dies? Rachel. That's a hard thing. The providences in Jacob's life, it was a tough thing that he went through, This moment here is kind of like a favorable providence. He sees a woman he knows, Isaac and Rebekah would be happy with this. And so he's just so happy, he just breaks down and cries, just weeps, and then tells them who he is. And I think he's hopeful, maybe things can be better here. But what do you remember about Laban the first time we met him? Who's the first person that talks to Laban, you remember? Way back, Abraham sends his servant, to go find a wife, Rebecca, for Isaac. And you meet Laban. What's Laban really drawn to about this servant of Abraham? Yeah, all this gold and all his stuff. And it's like, you can almost see the guy's eyes light up. And I was going back over some of my notes and some of my sermon material. Laban really is one of the darkest characters in the book of Genesis. And John Calvin even said of him, had the man had 20 daughters, he would have sold all 20 of them to get seven years of work each from each of them. He does not care about any of them. And the fact that he was willing to trick Jacob into marrying Leah and also marrying another, I mean, it's one thing to be a polygamist. It's another thing to be a polygamist with sisters. I mean, that's just one of the most horrifying things you can imagine. I mean, polygamy is bad enough, but to be married to two girls that are sisters, that are rivals, that would have just created no end of trouble for him, and it did. I really think it ruined his life. And yet we know that eventually Jacob does, I think, really does come to know God. He really does, and I think ends his life with a solid faith in the Lord, but it was a hard road getting there. But here it is kind of a warm moment. He sees the girl that he knows he wants to love and marry. And I think to Jacob's credit, that's all he really wanted to do was just marry one. Okay, so look at verse 13 now. Then it came to pass when Laban heard the report about Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him for a month. Okay, so, and they all lived happily ever after, right? Okay, so this is a good time for Jacob. He's with family. This is Rebekah's, his mother's brother, so this is his uncle that he's with, and he stays with them. He hangs out there for a whole month. It must've been a good time, just kind of relax and know that my brother's not gonna come kill me for the time being, and everything should be good for a little while. So then verse 15. Then Laban said to Jacob, because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your way just be? Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. And Laban said, it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go into her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah, his daughter, and brought her to Jacob. And he went into her, and Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. So it came to pass in the morning that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, what is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me? And Laban said, it must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years. I mean, that's pretty bad, isn't it? I mean, that's really rotten that he did that. So yeah, what a tough situation. Verse 26, and Laban said, or excuse me, verse 28. Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter, Rachel, his wife also. And Laban gave his maid, Bilhah, to his daughter, Rachel, as a maid. Of course, what ends up happening with Zilpah and Bilhah? They both become his wives too. They both end up married to Jacob too, because what starts happening with Leah and Rachel? Rachel can't have kids, and Leah has six. I mean, half the tribes of Israel came from Leah, and two came from Belhah, two from Zilpah, and two from Rachel. But Leah was very fertile, but Rachel was barren, so they start, giving their maids or maids to Jacob. I mean, what a catastrophe. I mean, can you imagine this? But I remember thinking, but did they really count as his wives? They did. If you look at the early part of, I think it's in Genesis 37, it speaks of his four wives. So it's an accursed thing. It's a terrible, polygamy has always been an accursed thing. Okay, verse 31. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, which is Hebrew for see a son, isn't it? Yeah, see a son. For she said, the Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now, therefore, my husband will love me. Isn't that sad? Isn't that sad? I mean, phew. Okay, verse 33. Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, he has therefore given me this son also. And she called his name Simeon. And Simeon means heard in Hebrew. Verse 34, she conceived again and bore a son. and said, now this time my husband will become attached to me because I have born him three sons. Therefore, his name was called Levi, which means attached. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, now I will praise the Lord. Therefore, she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing. Okay, so here you have the situation. Leah is the wife that's unloved. and her sister, her younger sister, Rachel, is loved by the man they're both married to, but she can't have children yet. She's barren, she's not having kids. And here you have, Leah's got four, has had four sons. So it's a tough situation, and yet God, as dysfunctional as this is, he had pity on Leah, and opened her womb to kind of compensate for her pain. And doesn't that show God's mercy and grace That situation, even a really messed up situation like that, God still shows mercy and grace. Okay, chapter 30. Now, when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob, give me children or else I die. And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel. And he said, am I in the place of God? who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb. So she said, here is my maid Bilhah, go into her. She will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her. Isn't that crazy? I mean, his grandfather did that. Remember Abraham and Sarah tried this? As much as Isaac seems to have not been the godliest of the patriarchs, at least he was only married to one woman, right? So that's a good thing for him. Verse four, then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went into her, and Bilhah conceived and bore a son. Verse six, then Rachel said, God has judged my case, and he has also heard my voice and given me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan. And what is Dan Hebrew for? Judge. Judge. And the name Daniel means God is my judge. Yes. Verse seven, Rachel's made Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son Then Rachel said with great rustlings. I have rustled with my sister and indeed I have prevailed So she called his name Naphtali Naphtali Which is Hebrew for wrestling? my rustling that's actually explicitly my rustling wrestled with her sister and And I've wrestled with my sister and I have prevailed because this other woman I gave to my husband as a... Isn't this pretty twisted stuff? I mean, this is terrible. Verse 9, when Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. See that there? Wife. And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, a troop comes. So she called his name Gad. which is Hebrew for troop. Verse 12, and Leah's made Zilpah aboard Jacob a second son. And Leah said, I am happy for the daughters will call me blessed. So she called his name Asher. Asher is actually a beautiful word. Did you know the word Asher is the very first word in the Psalms, in the book of Psalms. Asher, Asher, blessed is the man, happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. But that's what Asher means, blessed or happy. Verse 14, now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, please give me some of your son's mandrakes. Now, mandrakes were considered to be kind of an aphrodisiac and a bit of a fertility enhancer. Okay, and then look at verse 15. I mean, here you have the two sisters that are rivals, married to the same guy, gaming with one another, verse 15, but she said to her, is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? And that's how Leah looked at this. Leah looked at Rachel. You took away his heart from me. Would you take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, therefore, he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes. Verse 16, when Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, you must come into me for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. To me, it's interesting Jacob doesn't say anything. At this point, he's probably just like, I should have stayed in the fields. Okay, verse 17, and God listened to Leah and she conceived and bore Jacob, a fifth son. Leah said, God has given me my wages because I have given my maid to my husband. That's crazy. She thinks, yes, God has opened my womb again because I gave Zilpah to Jacob. It's pretty twisted. So she called his name Issachar. Issachar, what does Issachar mean? Issachar means wages. Verse 19, then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, God has endowed me with a good endowment Now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons. So she called his name Zebulun, which means dwelling. Okay, so always remember, one of the ways that helped me remember this stuff when I was studying for my ordination exams, Leah had six, everyone else had two. Leah had six kids, all of his other wives had two, so for a total of 12. So Leah had six, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah each had two. So Leah was the most fertile. Okay, verse 21, afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. Now she's gonna come up later in the narrative because she starts hanging out with some of the bad people in the land and she goes out to hang out with the daughters of the land and ends up becoming kind of corrupted by someone member's name. Shechem and Shechem almost forces her and lies with her. And then Simeon and Levi come back and say, they talk to Shechem. Yeah, you can be with our sister. You can take her as a wife, but you and all the guys in your whole city have gotta be circumcised first. So they wait till three days later and they go in there and kill everyone in the city. So Jacob, they come back and their swords are blood red and everything and Jacob's, This is why Jacob died a lot younger than his dad and his grandfather. I really am convinced. His life was so stressful. I can't imagine that. I mean, it's one thing to have a crisis with your family, but the idea of two of your sons killing every male in an entire city because of something that happened like that, it's pretty hardcore stuff that went on with these patriarchs here. Okay, so now let's come to verse 25. Now, so that's kind of the story of how you get all these kids. So now you've got Jacob, four wives and 12 sons and a daughter, okay? So it's a big, huge family and it's pretty messy. So now we come to Jacob's conflict with Laban, verse 25. And it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know my service which I have done for you. So isn't it interesting? He wants to leave. He wants to get out of Dodge here. He's tired of being with Laban and being where he is. And he wants to go back home. Verse 27, and Laban said to him, please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, For I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake. Then he said, name me your wages and I will give it. So Jacob said to him, you know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little and it has increased to a great amount. The Lord has blessed you since my coming and now when shall I also provide for my own house? So Jacob, Jacob, Jacob kind of experiences every kind of stress that a man can face. That's one thing I remember reading all the commentaries on this. They were saying Jacob's life has every kind of stress that men go through in their lives. There's family stress, there's stress with kids, there's obviously huge marriage issues, there's in-law issues, and now we have financial issues. He's like, yeah, I've been working for you all this time, but I've not really provided for my own family. I don't have my own flocks yet. Of course, that's how they measured wealth back then was your livestock is, you know, how many head of cattle, how many sheep do you have? That's how wealthy you were. And all Jacob's been doing so far is enriching Laban. And as Laban recognizes, yeah, I just had a few, but now I've got big, huge amounts of flocks. And so I want you to stay here. And Jacob's saying, I don't, basically, he kind of knows he's going to get the short end of the deal here by staying with this guy. He knows what kind of man he is. And so he's thinking, I've got to provide for my family now. Yeah, I've got four wives and 13 kids, and I need to figure out a way to handle this. So verse 31, what shall I give you? And Jacob said, you shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks. Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and these shall be my wages." Now, I remember doing some studying on this. Spotted and speckled cattle are more rare than the solid colored ones. I mean, when you see cows, what do most of them look like, even today? They're mostly all brown, right? Now, we have, like, there's cattle in the backyard over my fence, The majority of them look exactly alike, but occasionally you do get a speckled one, you get one that's kind of like black and white and has like spots occasionally, but most of them are brown. So he's basically saying, I'll take the rare ones. Verse 33, so my righteousness will answer for me in time to come when the subject of my wages comes before you, everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and brown among the lambs will be considered stolen if it is with me. And Laban said, O that it were according to your word. So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar, of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods, and the rods which he had peeled he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban, and he put his own flocks by themselves, and did not put them with Laban's flock. And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in, so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys." So here you see Jacob, he's kind of scheming and slanting things in his favor here a little bit. But let's just keep going here and see. So basically, Jacob's getting more and more because of the deal he made. He's getting more and more of the bigger, stronger, speckled, spotted ones, and Laban's flocks are getting smaller and feebler. Okay, chapter 31. Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's, he has acquired all his wealth. And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you. So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock, and said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before. But the God of my father has been with me, and you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages 10 times. But God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus, the speckled shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus, the streets shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore streaked." Notice what he's saying? Laban kept changing the deal. As more were born that would be Jacob's, he would change it to be something else. But God is protecting Jacob. God is the one who's causing the right color to be born, the right design of spots to be born so that he's getting more animals here. Okay, so verse nine. So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. Verse 10, and it happened at the time when the flocks conceived that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob, and I said, here I am. Verse 12, and he said, lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel. Now, remember that? Remember Bethel, when he first is fleeing from Esau, and he has that dream, he lays his head on a rock and goes to sleep, and he has a dream, and there's a ladder, and there's angels going up and down, and he sees the Lord in heavenly glory, which is the pre-incarnate Christ we know from John chapter one, that's what he saw. And so he's telling him, I'm the same God that revealed himself to you at Bethel long ago. Like, that would have been, more than 14 years before this, that that happened. So he's saying, this is the same God that revealed himself to you way back then. Verse 13, I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now rise, get out of this land and return to the land of your family. Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it. Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels, and he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained and paid in Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Verse 19, now Laban had gone to shear his sheep and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's. And we're not really given an explanation for this, why she did this. Maybe they were made of some precious metal or something like that, but that was not a good move on her part. Verse 20, and Jacob stole away. unknown to Laban the Syrian, and that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. Verse 22, and Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. So he has a three-day head start. Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad. So Laban overtook Jacob. And Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with a sword? Why did you flee away secretly and steal away from me and not tell me? For I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp. What do you think of that? He's full of it. That's not what he would have done. Okay, verse 28. And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly and so doing. Verse 29. It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad. And now you have surely gone, because you greatly long for your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?' And Jacob answered and said to Laban, because I was afraid, for I said, perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force. With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you. For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the two maids' tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent, but did not find them. And she said to her father, let it not displease my Lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me. And he searched, but did not find the household idols. You know, it's interesting, that's kind of the end of the whole affair. She never does give him back, and he never knows that she's got him. So, verse 36. Now here, just before we read this block here, Jacob, this has been pent up for a long time, many, many years. He's about to just completely go off on Laban. And I like what he says to him here. Verse 36. Then Jacob was angry, and rebuked Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, what is my trespass? What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me? Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both. These 20 years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you, I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was in the day, and the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house 20 years. I served you 14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages 10 times. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac have been with me. Surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night." So he kind of laid him. 20 years, I've been doing this, playing this game with you for 20 years. And if God had not been with me, I would have walked away from you with nothing. I wouldn't have had anything. Now, commentators, I remember reading this section, verse 43 is basically a temper tantrum on Laban's part. Listen to what he says. Laban answered and said to Jacob, these daughters are my daughters and these children are my children. This flock is my flock. All that you see is mine. Time out. Is it? No, it's all Jacob's stuff. So what's he talking about? People are saying, the commentators kind of point out, he's kind of throwing a fit here. All this stuff's mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine. These are my kids, my daughters, my everything. And then he says, but what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have born? Now therefore come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me. So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his brethren, gather stones. And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jagarsahaduthah, but Jacob called it Galid. And Laban said, this heap is a witness between you and me this day. Therefore, its name was called Galid, also Mizpah, because he said, may the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent from one another. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, Although no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me. Then Laban said to Jacob, here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. This heap is a witness and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me for harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judged between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place." So I think Jacob was as happy as could be that he's leaving. He's going away now. Yes, sir. I've got one of these probably impossible questions. I get a little confused when, as you go through all this, people referring to God as God did in the Old Testament. Even Laban refers to God as God. It's almost like they had their, I don't know, they had their regional gods or something. And they didn't deny your regional god, but they didn't mind referring to, like Leah was referring to God, and Rachel was referring to God, but Rachel was carried in household idols. Jehovah Yahweh, that's right Yeah I think they were syncretists to some degree. and they were probably heavily influenced by the people all around them who all had idols and were all idol worshipers, and so I think that thinking did influence them. But that reminds me, though, of when, it's almost like deep in the recesses of the heart of every image of God throughout all of history, we all know there's this one true God. And to me, one of the most stirring passages in the Old Testament is in the early chapters of Exodus. When the third plague happens, the plague of dust turning to lice, remember what Pharaoh's magicians say to Pharaoh? They say, this is the finger of God. It's almost like, yeah, we have our statues and we have our paintings on the wall, but this guy's God is like the real God that none of us really know. But we know there is one, we just don't know how to get to him. So I think that they were syncretists. I think that Rachel and them were probably syncretistic. They just combined elements of the culture around them, but they knew that there was this one true God, though, they did. But notice, Abraham never had any idols, and to our knowledge, Isaac didn't have household gods or idols, and Jacob didn't have household gods or idols. But I think Jacob, at one point later in the narrative, When Jacob, after he wrestles with the Lord and has his hip dislocated, remember what he does then? He goes to his family and what does he tell them? Put away all the idols. Put away all the household stuff. Get rid of all that stuff. We're gonna serve the Lord now. I'm getting the chills thinking about it. And he finally steps up and really takes charge of his family then. So I think, I was really struggling when I was going through this years ago. I was like, is Jacob really a believer yet? I kept really wrestling, like, does he really know the Lord yet? Because when he first leaves his family, because Esau's coming after him, he has that encounter with God at Bethel. Bethel means the house of God in Hebrew, where he has the dream about the ladder and the angels and the Lord is up there. If you will prosper me and do this and that and everything else, then you'll be my God, too. So is he really a believer yet? I don't think he really is truly a believer until he's limping away from his wrestling match with God, because he's different after that. I think there's a real difference, because that's when he really comes at his family and says, get rid of all this stuff. I think that's the point maybe where he led his family to God over the years. So they talk like it. You know, Leah talks about how the Lord opened her. But, you know, after reading the whole text, you're thinking, which God is she? I know. I know. And even, I've forgotten, Leah names one of the children Russells in Hebrew. I think it's Zebulun in Hebrew. because I've wrestled with my sister by giving my maidservant to Jacob and cheating her son. So they named him this, because the Lord has helped me. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no. The Lord did not want you to do that. Like, yeah. So there, yeah. It doesn't. They are. And I think it's also, you see God's grace. He graciously, I mean, you see, why does God love Jacob? Because he chooses to love Jacob. I mean, this is not some upstanding, wonderful guy that deserved it. It's just like us. I mean, why does God choose to have vessels of mercy? Because he wants to glorify his grace. That's the end of it. It's not because you and me or anyone here is any better than anybody. But yeah, you're making me, I can't recall exactly where he does that, where he lays into his family and tells them to, get rid of all the household gods, I'll have to find that. I'm pretty sure it's coming up here after he does his wrestling match with God, as I recall. Which is why, that's like, to me, that really pinpoints the change. That's when Jacob really changes. And it's also the change of his name, too. Because what's he called for the rest of the book of Genesis? Israel. What does Israel mean? wrestles with God wrestles with God so Okay, where's that passage where he says that where he comes out his family and tells him to get rid of all the idols and Is it is it okay. Yeah look look look there. Oh There it is, you're right. Look at chapter three. So he runs into Esau. Right before he meets Esau, he has this wrestling match. Meets Esau, he ends up not getting killed. He's thankful. Look at chapter 35. Thank you for that, Holly. Then God said to Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. and make an altar there to God who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau, your brother. And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise, go up to Bethel and I will make an altar there to God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone. That's like, I remember going through Genesis in detail when I was preaching through it going, that's where he finally is a true believer now. Because he's saying, my house, we're not having household idols anymore. Get rid of everything. And Jim, don't you think that's a good sign? The guy's finally, he's been broken now. He really does belong to God now. But yeah, there's a lot of enigmatic things like that in these patriarchal narratives that you want to know. Hey, no problem, man. That's a hard question. That's a real hard question. But yeah, I remembered it was after the wrestling match, and I think, isn't that kind of iconic? I love that. God almost has to hurt you to get a hold of you. And he hurt him. He shrunk his hip socket, and so he's limping for the rest of his life after he finally has a showdown with the Lord, and God finally breaks him. OK, that's probably a good place to stop. You guys have any other thoughts?