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Jacob's Departure from Laban 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Well, let me ask you a question. Have you ever wrestled with God? Gonna look at what that means today as we look at Genesis chapters 31 through 33. Verse 240:21 of chapter 32, then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. So Jacob had reached the end of his time in Mesopotamia under his father in law's0:33 employment who, kept changing the rules of the game. Despite Laban's deception, the Lord continued to bless Jacob over those 20 years that he was there. Jacob could tell at the end0:45 that Laban was not happy, nor were his brother in laws. So the Lord told Jacob it was time to leave. So let's read the first part of chapter 31. Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's son saying, Jacob has0:57 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.1:09 Then the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you. You know, God sometimes uses difficult situations and circumstances to1:21 move us. Alright? I I I see this through the prism of, Romans 8 28. And we know that all things work together for good for those to those who love God and to those who are the1:32 called according to his purpose. Now that does not mean that God brings all the difficulty, but he allows it, and he uses what the enemy may mean for evil for the fulfillment of1:44 his purposes. Now think about this for a moment. If everything had been hunky dory in Mesopotamia on the Laban Ranch, Jacob probably would have been content to stay there. I1:56 mean, he seems he's a very passive guy, my take on him. I think he would have stayed there, but this difficulty, god used to move him. Now admittedly,2:08 even knowing that, God will work good from the intended evil doesn't solve the present challenge. I mean, it's it's a little it's hard to I know we can know that intellectually in the2:20 middle of a difficulty, but these challenges and we need to look at them like this. These challenges become faith building exercises to show us god's faithfulness. And you2:32 know what? That prepares us for, yes, some greater challenges, but with opportunities. So Jacob had to decide when and how to leave. He2:44 knew that Laban would not respond well to the news. He had tried before talking to Laban, and Laban talked him out of it. Then there is the issue of Esau waiting for him back home2:56 who may still want to kill him. So let's look at verse 4. So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock, and he said to them, I see your father's countenance that it is not favorable toward me as3:07 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 103:19 times, but god did not allow him to hurt me. And it happened at the time when the flocks conceived that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams3:31 which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray spotted. Then the angel of the Lord spoke to me in a dream saying, Jacob, and I said, here I am. And he said, lift your3:43 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. I3:54 am the God of Bethel where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.God's Faithfulness and Economy 4:06 So couple of observations here. First, notice that it was Jacob's diligence and his obedience to God that affected the provision and the blessing of God, not not the deception or the deceit of Laban. Laban tried as hard4:16 as he could. He could not Laban tried as hard as he could. He could not keep God's blessing from Jacob. Now as we talked about earlier, God's economy operates independently4:28 from man's economy. We need to keep our eyes on him. This is a very freeing truth. You may have a boss or employer who signs your paycheck, but if you choose to do your work as unto the lord4:40 and you work for him, guess what? God takes care of his employees. I came to this realization, myself many years ago. God god's ability to provide4:52 for you and bless you is not limited to the company or the organization that you work for. And the same is true as if you're retired or on a fixed income. God is not limited by that.5:04 God is not limited by that. Okay? He can bless, and he can provide in a host of ways. It's a it's a it's a different mentality, but god's economy is not the5:16 same as man's economy. We need to understand that. And we can choose to live in god's economy by serving him. Now you may serve in a way you don't have a job. It maybe is not a formal position,5:28 but you're serving the lord. The lord is your employer. He will take care of you. Alright. So god speaks to Jacob, the angel of the lord, which, is seen by many biblical scholars5:40 as a theophany or a Christophany, and he says this, I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. Right? So here here's something to take away. God sees. God knows, and guess what? God cares.5:52 Number 2, then he says, I am the God of Bethel. That takes Jacob back to the place of covenant that we read about in chapter 28, that place where he first had a a a true6:04 encounter with God. Let let me read that verse, 20 of chapter 28. Then Jacob made a vow and said, if God will be with me and keep me this way that I am going and give me bread to eat6:16 and clothing to put on so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. God was reminding Jacob that he is, in fact, a promise keeper.6:28 Sometimes we need to go back to the beginning, that place where we had that first connection with God and reflect on God's promises6:43 challenge, facing both Laban and Esau. So he leaves. Laban catches up with him and God warns Laban. Again, look, God's intervening on his behalf. God will intervene on your behalf. He he tells Laban to watch6:55 what he says and does to Jacob. So the end result is they make a oath of peace. Then in chapter 32, the reality of Esau, that pending encounter hitsWrestling with God and Transformation 7:07 Jacob. Verse 7. So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that were with him. That was all of his his servants, his flock, his families, and his herds and his7:19 camels into 2 companies. So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. And he arose that night and took his 2 wives, his 2 female7:31 servants, and his 11 sons and crossed over the ford of Jabach. He took them and sent them over the brook and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone, and a7:43 man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now notice that Jacob has these, intense life altering encounters with god when he's7:55 alone. Alright? I think it's important that that we spend time alone with God. He sent everyone else ahead, and he was left alone. And I think it was by design. He was seeking God, and the word of God tells us if we seek8:06 him, we will find him. Again, some scholars say that this is a theophany that God himself appeared and wrestled with, Jacob. Others, a Christophany, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ.8:18 Verse 25. Now when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint, and he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go for the8:30 day breaks, but he said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. I mean, that's pretty bold of Jacob. And I this is the side of Jacob we really haven't seen. Jacob, fearful of what Esau might do to him8:42 and still lacking the understanding of the fullness of God's promise, he cries out to God in prayer. In fact, he wrestles with God and will not let him go until he gains a blessing from the Lord.8:54 You know, I I think this was a case of both desperation and determination, but this is where we meet God. What if we prayed with such persistence, not9:06 giving up until we had an answer from the lord. That encounter led to the lord changing Jacob's name to Israel, meaning he fights or persists with god. Now this type of crying out and desperation and9:18 dependence upon god, it changes us, and it changes the world around us. Look at verse 27. So he said, what is your name? He said, Jacob. And he said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have9:29 struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked him to saying, tell me your name, I pray. And he said, why is it that you ask about my name? And he blessed him9:41 there. Chapter 33 reveals that all of the anxiety and the fear were for not. Esau had forgiven his brother and welcomed him home, andSettlement and Eternal Promises 9:52 then Jacob settled down in Shechem. Verse 18. Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Pad Adarim and10:04 pitched his tent before the city. Verse 19. And he brought he bought the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for 100 pieces of money. Then10:16 he erected an altar there. Now recall I mentioned that there are 4 land transactions that are recorded in scripture. There's 5 if you, include king Omri's purchase of the land to establish the10:28 northern kingdom of Samaria, their their capital. Significantly, all 5 of these are located in what is today called Judea and Samaria, often referred to as the West10:40 Bank. Abraham's purchase of the Kaibach, Mechpila that we looked at, Jacob's purchase here in the lands of Shechem, David's purchase of the threshing floor in Jerusalem, which we're gonna look at a little bit later,10:52 Jeremiah's purchase of the field of Anathoth. We're gonna look at that 1. And then Omri's purchase of the hill hill of Samaria to establish that northern kingdom's capital. And I raise this point11:04 for for this reason is that we just read, that God explicitly promised this land to to Jacob and his descendants, to Abraham, to Isaac.11:15 Scripturally scripture then carefully records specific purchases, alright, in this land as as legal affirmations of that promise. Yet today, we see much of the11:27 international community insisting that Israel must relinquish its rightful claim to the land of Judea and Samaria, which is their historic homeland. It it's just11:39 something we need to be prayerful about and praying about to make sure that we're on the right side of what god says is and will happen. Father, we thank you for11:51 your word. Lord, it is guidance for us, not, just for those, you know, 3000 years ago. It's for guidance for us today. And we thank you for the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, who will lead us into all understanding of12:02 the truth, and we look for that. And I pray we would come with open hearts to hear from the Holy Spirit, from your word as you speak through your word. And may you teach us how to12:14 rightfully apply it to our lives in this world in which we live. And I pray father that, as we're on this journey, that as Jacob took time to be alone with you, to wrestle with you,12:26 lord, may we wrestle through some of these issues. We there's things that we need to just hold on to and not let go. Lord, until we have your blessing, till we have your direction and your clarity. We thank you for the12:38 promises of your word, for we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time. Keep standing on the word.12:51 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:02 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Jacob's Departure from Laban4:05 God's Faithfulness and Economy7:02 Wrestling with God and Transformation9:44 Settlement and Eternal Promises
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