Genesis 31:1–21

Make sure that text message is sent out and going live even one minute. Just gotta wait for the computer to catch up. Perfect. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotion Saturday edition. I know you're thinking what in the world, it's not a weekday, it's okay. It's okay. I just don't want to get behind our schedule. We actually were supposed to cover almost all of chapter 29 And I thought that's too much so I broke it up but I don't want to get behind like I did last year. And so we're going to do a Saturday edition. I hope I don't interrupt your morning, Saturday morning cartoons. Let's have some coffee. We'll pray we'll get the Lord's word. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this day. We thank You for Your Word. And we pray now that as we read your word that you would care for us. Please, Lord, we need you to be the instructors of our minds and of our souls that we would follow after you that we would know your ways and love you in Jesus name, Amen. All right, so we're at Genesis Genesis chapter 31. Genesis chapter 31. Sorry, it was chapter 30 was wanting me to do basically a whole chapter and I thought that was too much. Genesis chapter 31. And we'll do verses one through 21 together. Now Jacob heard the words of Laban sons saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our fathers. 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. Then 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 and you know, that with all my might I have served your father. Your father has deceived me and changed my wages 10 times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus a SPECO to shall be your wages, and all the flocks bore speckled, and if he said thus the strict one shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore streaked, so God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. And it happened at that 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. And he said, lift your eyes now. And see all the rams which leap on the flocks are speckled, streaked and grey spotted, for I've seen all that Laban is doing to you. I 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 if 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. Now 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 Pradhan ihraam to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear sheep and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's and Jacob stole away in, unknown to Laban the Syrian in that he did not tell him that he intended to fleeing, so he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river and headed toward the mountains. of Gilead. Well, we need to ask ourselves a What's this about be what's the best versus summarizes and see what are we called to do in response to this? Well, Jacobs realized the gig is up. Alright. Laban is not happy with him anymore. Laban is has was overjoyed to have this bachelor come. He gave him his daughters. But now as the wealth has transferred hands as Jacobs rouse has happened. Well layman's are happy with him anymore. His herds and flocks aren't producing how he thought and yet Jacobs are and so he realizes he's got to get out of dodge. This isn't going to be well. Here's the rumors. The culture has changed. It's not gonna be good for him. So he decides he's got to leave. And so he you Heather's his wife's and he, you know, they're, they're there. And he says, we're out of here. Leave we're gonna leave. Because your father has continued to treat me unfairly. And it seems like we didn't really pick up on this last time, but we get more information here. levens no dummy. He sees that. Jacob's herds are increasing and his aren't. And so he's getting suspicious. He keeps flip flopping. Well, instead of it being the speckled ones, I get the speckled ones and you get the normal ones. And when that didn't work, you'd flip it back. Why won't the speckled ones and then go back and forth non speckled, speckled, back and forth back and forth, he says he's done this to me 10 times. Now a layman doesn't realize is that it's Jacob who's doing this. But the gig is up. It seems as if the Lord is also working through this. And it's God himself who tells him in verse three, return to the land of your fathers to your family, and I will be with you. And then also in verse 13, while 12 and 13 Four I have seen all that Laban is doing to you and I 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, the Lord Himself sees this isn't going to go well for you. You need to leave. He identifies Himself as the God that he had seen at Bethel. He needs to go go back to the to the land, go back to the family inheritance that God had brought him from. And so he tells his wives and the wives say yep, yep, our boss, our father's a diggin our inheritance. And he has sold it off. He hasn't been a good businessman. There's nothing left for us here. Let's let's go. Alright, so they're gonna go and in the meantime, Rachel, well, what does she do? She goes in verse 19, and Rachel had stolen the household idols. That were her father's right, she she goes and she raised her dad's house. Now we might think household idols. Why would she still household idols, these aren't these people, followers of the Lord. We're gonna find out regularly. There's all sorts of people who are supposed to be followers of the Lord and yet still have a place in their heart for idols. But also idols are valuable wood and precious stones. And so she's also raiding her father's house valuables. That she could then use later, for profit. This is this is again, I don't want to whitewash the story. And we're gonna find out more about these household hide idols, and even Rachel's willingness to lie to her father on Monday when we come back to this passage or to the next passage, but Rachel steals from her father's house. And so what's this about? Oh, Jacob, flees from Laban. God tells Jacob to flee from Laban. And in the midst of it, there's messed up stuff that's happening. Seems like a common reoccurring pattern here, doesn't it? I hate to I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're gonna find this even more when we keep going through Jacob's life. And then we're gonna find it even more. When we get to the Israelites in Exodus. We're going to find it even more. When we go to Leviticus, we're going to find out that we ought not to put our trust waiting for perfect people. Because it's not going to happen. Every single human being is a sinner. There is none good. No, not one. This is what the Bible teaches us. It hasn't given us the story. So let's go. Oh, man. Jacob is the most righteous person this is wonderful. No, no, go read. Romans chapters, two and three and four. It's not because they were righteous, but it was because he listened to the God of Bethel. It's because he listened to the Lord. And he believed in the covenants. And what's the best verse to summarize this one, my Bible. I have verse three, part of verse 12, verse 13, underlined. I have three words in verse 20, underlined as well. Jacobs stole away, maybe you underline something else, what would you underline in your Bible? Well, last see calling what are we called to do from this passage? Well, do you believe? Do you listen to the God of Jacob? When he tells you to go do you go when he tells you to arise to your eyes? Do you trust in Him? Do you trust that he sees your plight? God knows that you are not a perfect person. Yet he still cares for you. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but I praise God that He cares for me. Despite me thank God He cares for you. Despite you, He provides for you He feeds you, He clothes you He loves you, even though you still struggle with sin, even though you still struggle with being a fallen person. The Lord is generous. The Lord is gracious the Lord is good. And we can thank him for that. Let's go to Lord number. Lord, we thank you so much that we can trust you for you are a God full of grace and mercy. Lord, we pray that you would please care for us this day. We pray that we would walk not according to the darkness, but in the light that we would do the good work that you have called us beforehand to do that you would continue to teach us to put off sin and to put on righteousness. But Lord that will never stop we will always have to do that. But Lord, we thank you that you are a generous and gracious God and that you did not wait for us to become perfect but you sent your son and you loved us while we were yet sinners in Jesus's name, Amen. Or may the God of all grace, show His Grace to You. May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you? And may the Holy Spirit endear you to Lord more and more and I'll see you on Monday. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai