[Sermon Series Blog 1 of 3]
The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses to a wandering Jewish nation so that they might persevere and have faith through difficulty in reaching the Promised Land. These stories served to warn and encourage them to trust in God in the midst of difficult circumstances.
This is critical for us to understand because, as Christians, we are just like Israel. We are the people of God, temporarily living in the wilderness of the world, waiting until he brings us home. Israel’s problem is our problem. We each need to ask, “How will I persevere?”
These stories exist to protect us from unbelief, from losing heart and from ejecting en route to heaven. As we study these amazing stories we need to heed the warning from Hebrews 4:1-2.
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
It is dangerous for us to become numb to the commands of God, his promises and his faithfulness. They are designed for our perseverance. We make it to heaven through God’s faithfulness to his promises. Every week is critical for our perseverance. These stories were written so that we would persevere.
The Problem
Genesis 31 provides the theological commentary on the last 20 years of Jacob’s life. It’s been a rough road, but we see a change in this chapter. This is the turning point in Jacob’s life.
Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has gained all this wealth." And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."
Over the past six years, Jacob had amassed great wealth and the favor that he had experienced with the family of Laban had run out. There was increasing hostility and the Lord tells Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, to Canaan.
The important thing to note is that this was always the plan. In Genesis 29:15 Jacob leaves to get a wife and God promised that he would bring him back to this land. The critical thing to understand is that God orchestrated this relational instability to bring him back to the land of promise.
Rising Tension
But there’s a problem when he thinks about this road. He can’t just leave. His family is there. His wives are the daughters of Laban. Why would they leave everything they knew and what was familiar? The promise to Abraham was that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and, obviously, this can’t happen without his wives.
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, "I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. (Genesis 31: 4-7)
How are his wives going to respond? This could get ugly!
Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do." (Genesis 31:14-16)
The intense difficulty of the past 20 years served as fuel in preparing Jacob’s wives to leave their native land.Every time he was cheated, every time he was tricked, every time he was taken advantage of – these circumstances were preparation for the day when his wives would say, “We have nothing here, our father can’t be trusted, but your God can.” Would Jacob have ever thought that the schemes of Laban were actually serving to bring him back to the land of promise?
When we encounter struggles and trials in this life, we don’t always know the details of why God is doing this to us. But from stories like these he whispers to us in our dark times and says, “Trust me. I’m right here. I’m never going to leave you. I’m doing this for your good. These sufferings are going to bear fruit in your life and in the lives of others – just trust in me.”
