Fleeing Laban

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Genesis.

Book of Genesis.

If you're just joining us for the first time or first time in a while, we have been working

our way through the book of Genesis.

It's our normal practice to walk through books of the Bible, just one passage at a time.

And we've made our way to chapter 30, and we will pick up where we left off last week

in verse 25 of chapter 30, and Lord willing, make our way through the end of chapter 31.

So if you would, when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.

It's a little bit of a longer passage this morning, and so I understand if you need to

sit down, that's okay, but we believe that the reading of God's Word is just as profitable,

if not more profitable, than all the preaching that comes afterwards.

So we're going to stand and read the Word of the Lord.

Please hear God's Word, Genesis 30, 25.

As soon as Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban,

And 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?

And 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.

Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats,

and black among the sheep, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.

Laban said,

Good, let it be as you've said.

But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted,

and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted,

every one 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 pastured the rest of Laban's flock.

Then Laban 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.

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.

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,

and yet your father has cheated me,

and changed my wages ten times.

But God did not permit him to harm me.

If he said the spotted shall be your wages,

then all the flock bore spotted.

And if he said the striped shall be your wages,

then all the flock bore striped.

Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father,

and given them to me.

In the breeding season of the flock,

I lifted up my eyes,

and saw in a dream

that the goats that mated with the flock

were striped, spotted, and mottled.

Then the angel of the Lord said to me in the dream,

Jacob,

and I said,

Here I am.

And he said,

Lift up your eyes and see.

All the goats that mate with the flock

are striped, spotted, and mottled.

For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

I am the God of Bethel,

where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me.

Now arise,

go out from this land,

and return to the land of your kindred.

Then Rachel and Leah answered him 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.

So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels.

He drove away all his livestock,

all his property that he had gained,

the livestock in his possession

that he had acquired in Paddan Aram,

to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

Laban had gone to shear his sheep,

and Rachel stole her father's household gods.

And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean

by not telling him that he intended to flee.

He fled with all that he had,

and arose and crossed the Euphrates,

and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

When it was told Laban on the third day

that Jacob had fled,

he took his kinsmen with him

and pursued him for seven days,

and followed close after him

into the hill country of Gilead.

But God came to Laban the Aramean

in a dream by night.

And said to him,

Be careful not to say anything to Jacob,

either good or bad.

And Laban overtook Jacob.

Now Jacob had pitched his tent

in the hill country,

and Laban with his kinsmen

pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead.

And Laban said to Jacob,

What have you done

that you have tricked me

and driven away my daughters

like captives of the sword?

Why did you flee secretly

and trick me and not tell me

so that I might send you away

with mirth and songs,

tambourine and lyre?

And why did you not permit me

to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell?

Now you have done foolishly.

It is in my power to do you harm.

But the God of your father

spoke to me last night,

saying,

Be careful not to say anything to Jacob,

either good or bad.

And now you have gone away

because you longed greatly

for your father's house,

but why did you steal my gods?

Jacob answered and said to Laban,

Because I was afraid,

for I thought that you would

take your daughters from me by force.

Anyone with whom you find your gods

shall not live.

In the presence of our kinsmen,

point out what I have

that is yours and take it.

Now Jacob did not know

that Rachel had stolen them.

So Laban went into Jacob's tent

and into Leah's tent

and into the tent

of the two female servants,

but he did not find them.

And he went out of Leah's tent

and entered Rachel's.

Now Rachel had taken

the household gods

and put them in the camel's saddle

and sat on them.

Laban felt all about the tent,

but he did not find them.

And she said to her father,

Let not my Lord be angry

that I cannot rise before you,

for the way of women is upon me.

So he searched,

but did not find the household gods.

Then Jacob became angry

and berated Laban.

And Jacob said to Laban,

What is my offense?

What is my sin

that you have hotly pursued me?

For you have felt

through all my goods,

and what have you found

of all your household goods.

Set it here before my kinsmen

and your kinsmen,

that you may decide

between us two.

These twenty years

I have been with you.

Your ewes and your female goats

have not miscarried.

I have not eaten

the rams of your flocks.

What was torn by wild beasts

I did not bring to you.

I bore the loss of it myself.

From my hand you required of it,

whether it's stolen by day

or stolen by night.

There I was,

by day the heat consumed me,

and the cold by night,

and my sleep fled from my eyes.

These twenty years

I have been in your house.

I served you fourteen years

for your two daughters,

and six years for your flock,

and you have changed

my wages ten times.

If the God of my father,

the God of Abraham,

and the fear of Isaac

had not been on my side,

surely now you would have

sent me away empty-handed.

God saw my affliction

and the labor of my hands,

and he rebuked you last night.

Then Laban answered

and said to Jacob,

The daughters are my daughters,

the children are my children,

the flocks are my flocks,

and all that you see is mine.

But what can I do this day

for these my daughters,

or for their children

whom they have borne?

Come now,

let us make a covenant,

you and I,

and it will be a witness

between you and me.

So Jacob took a stone

and set it up as a pillar.

And Jacob said to his kinsmen,

Gather stones.

And they took stones

and made a heap,

and there they ate by the heap.

Laban called it

Jagar Sahadutha,

but Jacob called it Gilead.

And Jacob said,

This heap is a witness

between you and me today.

Therefore he named it

Gilead and Mizpah.

For he said,

The Lord watched

between you and me,

and when we are out

of one another's sight,

if you oppress my daughters,

or if you take wives

besides my daughters,

although no one is with us,

see, God is witness

between you and me.

Then Laban said to Jacob,

See this heap and the pillar

which I have set

between you and me.

This heap is a witness,

and the pillar is a witness,

that I will not pass over

this heap to you,

and you will not pass over

this heap and this pillar

to me to do harm.

The God of Abraham

and the God of Nahor,

the God of their father,

judge between us.

So Jacob swore

by the fear of his father Isaac,

and Jacob offered a sacrifice

in the hill country

and called his kinsmen

to eat bread.

They ate bread

and spent the night

in the hill country.

Early in the morning,

Laban arose

and kissed his grandchildren

and his daughters

and blessed them.

Then Laban departed

and returned home.

Grass withers

and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord

endures forever.

Father,

we pray now

as we

open up this passage

and look into

your great faithfulness

to your promises.

God,

would you remind us again

of your commitment

to provide

and to protect

for your people,

especially so in Christ.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

All God's people said amen.

Amen.

I wonder if you paid attention

to what we just sang together.

No power of hell,

no scheme of man

can ever pluck me

from his hand

till he returns

or calls me home.

Here in the power of Christ

we stand.

That is a song of confidence,

isn't it?

And before that,

we sang,

when I fear

my faith will fail,

Christ will hold me fast.

When the tempter

would prevail,

he will hold me fast.

I wonder if you caught

the message

of the songs

that we sang together

this morning.

And maybe a better question

would be,

I wonder if you

believe it.

There is a

deep confidence

in the heart

of a believer,

in the heart of a Christian

that allows us

to sing

songs like that,

sing words like that,

and actually

mean them

and believe them

with all of our heart

that truly

no power of hell

can overcome you

if you're in Christ.

No scheme of man

can overcome you

if you are in Christ.

And even our own

fumbling and bumbling

along the way

cannot disqualify

you if you are in Christ.

He will hold you fast.

Here's the main message

from our passage

this morning.

I know it's lengthy

and so we'll get right to it.

And it's the root

of all Christian confidence.

Here it is.

God is so

powerfully

for you

in Christ

that no one

and nothing

can derail

his plans

to bless you

and to protect you

both in this life

and in the life to come.

I'll say that again.

God is so

powerfully

for you

in Christ

that nothing

and no one

can overcome

his plans

to bless you

and to protect you

both in this life

and in the life

to come.

Or we can say it

in the words of Paul

if God is for us

who can be against us?

If God has given us

his own son

how will he not also

with him

give us all things?

This is Christian confidence.

And I realize

we're a far way off

a long way off

from the coming of Christ

here in our passage

in the Old Testament

and Genesis

but even so

this morning

what we see

is that Jacob

gets a taste

of this deep commitment

of God

towards his people.

And what we've seen

over the past

several weeks

is that God

has given Jacob

his promises.

God has committed

to be for Jacob

and although Jacob

is fumbling

and bumbling

his way through

even so

what we see

is that God

remains faithful

to his promises

and at every step

the Lord

holds him fast.

At every step

the Lord

continues to provide

for Jacob

and bless Jacob.

At every step

the Lord

continues to secure

and to protect Jacob

every step

of the way.

So let's take a look

and what we see

this morning

are two ways

that God

blesses his people.

This will be our outline

if you're taking notes.

Two ways

that God

blesses

his people.

Number one

first God

blesses his people

by providing

for his people.

God blesses

his people

by providing

and we see

this provision

in two directions

don't we?

God provides

to his people

we'll see that

in just a moment

but we also see

that God provides

to others

through his people

and we see

that provision

through Jacob

don't we?

Here at the start

of the passage

look there

starting in verse

25

as we come

to this section

of Genesis

Jacob has served

Laban for about

20 years now

and understandably

he is ready

to leave

right?

You ever spend

enough time

with your in-laws

and your family

and all of a sudden

the time comes

it's time to go

right?

And so he says

to Laban

send me away

that I may go

to my own home

and my own country

give me my wives

give me

give me my children

for whom I've served you

that I may go

for you know

the service

that I have given you

it is time to go

but look at what

Laban says

Laban responds

and he says

not so fast

in fact I have learned

by divination

that the Lord

has blessed me

because of you

so name your wages

and I will give it

now if I'm Jacob

right?

I've heard that line

before hasn't he?

When did he hear

that line before?

If you remember

from last time

the first time

that Laban said

give me

name your wages

and I'll give it

what was it?

It was when Jacob

said I will work

for seven years

for your daughter

Rachel

and did Laban

keep his end

of the agreement?

By no means

he agreed to the agreement

and he gave him

instead Leah

right?

So Jacob works

for 20 years

for Laban

and now at the end

of it Laban

is still unwilling

to let Jacob go

and we see clearly

why don't we?

The Lord

is blessing

Laban

because

of Jacob

Jacob's presence

there with Laban

is a blessing

to him

20 years

of blessing

20 years

of prosperity

20 years

of abundance

and Laban

is now

20 years

better off

than he was

before Jacob

came around

and church

we shouldn't

be surprised

at this

because God

is committed

to do this

through his people

isn't he?

God

is often

committed

to provide

for others

and bless

others

through his people

I mean you think

about the promise

that he made

to Abraham

what does he say?

He says

I will bless you

and in you

all the nations

of the world

will be blessed

and of course

that's a promise

that's fulfilled

ultimately

in Christ Jesus

Christ is the blessing

to the nations

but it's also

a promise

it's a pattern

that's extended

through the body

of Christ

God often

blesses others

through

his people

so for example

Christian employees

you ought to be

a blessing

to your employers

you ought not

join in

with the grumbling

and complaining

that often takes

place at the water

cooler

you ought not

be thinking

about ways

to cut corners

off of your work

and do the

minimum required

effort

no

Christians ought

to be the hardest

working employees

in the workplace

and your bosses

whether they're

excellent bosses

or lousy bosses

like Laban

your bosses

ought to

prosper

and be blessed

because of

your presence

there in the workplace

Christian athletes

ought to be

the hardest

working athletes

on the team

they might not

be the best

players on the team

that's not the point

but by their attitude

by the respect

that they show

by the effort

that they give

they work hard

they bless

their coaches

they bless

their teammates

Christian neighbors

your presence

there amongst

your neighborhood

that ought to be

a blessing

to them

as you

have them over

for dinner

as you care

for their needs

as you care

for your own

God often

blesses others

by way

of blessing

his people

but we need

to back up

and understand

why

why is God

committed to do

this through

his people

why does God

intend to bless

others through

us

and it's not

just so that

we can do

some good

right

in fact

I'm sure

you realize

that anybody

can do

anything

that we've

just mentioned

there are

plenty of

excellent employees

that are not

believers

right

excellent athletes

excellent neighbors

people who are

kind and generous

who do not

believe in Christ

but what's the

difference

the Christian

does all

of these things

for one

overarching

reason

it's because

in doing so

in blessing

others in this

way

we seek

to bring

glory

to God

we pray

that as God

blesses others

through us

we pray

that God

might provide

a platform

for us

to open

our mouths

and share

what God

has done

for us

God blesses

others

through us

in many ways

so that he

might bless

others

through us

in the most

important way

which is that

they might hear

the good news

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and believe

and so

when you're asked

well why do you

work the way

you do

it's because

I'm working

for the glory

of God

and why do you

why do you put

in the extra effort

when others slack off

well it's because

I want to honor him

with my effort

I want to give him

my best

why do you care

for me

the way that you

care for me

why do you

why do you put

my needs

even above your own

well it's because

God has so

cared for me

in Christ

that his love

for me

overflows in

my love

for you

and we're called

to let our light

shine before others

so that they may

see your good

deeds

but don't stop

there

and give glory

to your father

who is in heaven

so we see

God is

committed to

use his people

to bless others

around them

in order that

opportunity

may be given

to share

the good news

of the gospel

so Jacob says

Laban you know

how I've served you

and you know

how your livestock

has fared with me

you had little

before I came

and look what

you have now

it's increased

abundantly

and the Lord

has blessed you

wherever I turned

but now when

shall I provide

for my own

household

also

it's time

for me

to go

but again

Laban

pushes back

so here in

verse 31

Jacob offers up

this idea

he says

you know

don't give me

anything

here's what

we'll do

let me pass

through all your

flock

and I will

remove from it

every speckled

and spotted

sheep

and every black

lamb

and same with

the goats

speckled

and spotted

and mottled

amongst the goats

that's going to

be my wages

that way

when you come

back and you

check

you'll be able

to see

and make sure

that I haven't

stolen anything

it's all

all the speckled

and spotted

and black

and mottled

and all of

that's going

to be mine

what do you

think

and it's

interesting

how this

goes

because it's

kind of

a mirror

image

to what

we saw

last week

in chapter

29

so once

again

just like

in chapter

29

once again

this sounds

like an

incredible deal

to Laban

and so just

like he did

when Jacob

offered up

seven years

of labor

for Laban

for Rachel

Laban

agreed

immediately

right

and once

again

just like

Laban

did

initially

he right

away

gets to

work

hatching

a plan

to trick

Jacob

he goes

and he

removes

all the

male goats

that are

striped

and spotted

and he

removes

all the

female goats

that are

speckled

and spotted

and everybody

that had

white on it

every lamb

that was

black

he put

them in

charge

of his

sons

he puts

a three

day distance

in between

himself

and Jacob

and he

leaves

Jacob

there to

pasture

the rest

of the

flock

he is

again

setting up

Jacob

for failure

isn't he

but once

again

just as the

Lord turned

all of

Laban's

deceit

into this

incredible

blessing

for Jacob

eleven sons

one daughter

and so now

we see once

again God's

commitment

to bless

Jacob

even in

unexplainable

and incredible

ways

doesn't he

look there

verse 37

and here

we see

God's

provision

to

God's

people

verse 37

says that

Jacob

he takes

these

sticks

of poplar

and almond

and plain

trees

and he

peels

these white

streaks

in them

and he

sets up

these sticks

he puts

them in

the ground

in front

of the

flocks

where they

go to

get their

water

and they

breed

in front

of these

sticks

and what

happens

they produce

offspring

that are

striped

and speckled

and spotted

and then

I guess

he sees

well this

is working

so now

he strategically

he starts

to breed

the stronger

of the

flock

in this

way

he'd do

this little

trick

with the

sticks

he'd peel

them

and he'd

set them

out

and at

the end

of all

of this

it says

Jacob

has this

abundance

of strong

and healthy

flocks

in verse 43

it says

thus the man

increased greatly

and had large

flocks

female servants

and male servants

and camels

and donkeys

he is

overwhelmingly

blessed

by the

Lord

isn't he

how do

you explain

this

I would

love for

somebody to

raise their

hand and

explain this

to me

naturally

I don't

know if you

realize this

or not

this is

not how

this happens

just peeling

some sticks

and sticking

them in the

ground

that doesn't

determine

genetically

how the baby

is going to

come out

does it

there is

no

natural

scientific

explanation

for any

of this

is there

and so

naturalists

skeptics

will look

at passages

like this

look at this

phenomenon

and they'll

say

well see

the bible

can't be

trusted

this is

ridiculous

right

this isn't

how this

works

don't you

know

that sticking

some sticks

in the

ground

doesn't have

anything to do

without the

babies are

bred

and they're

right

this is

not how

this works

this cannot

be naturally

explained

but that's

exactly where

they go wrong

isn't it

where they go

wrong from

the start

is by assuming

that everything

that happens

must be

naturally

explained

and if

everything

must be

explained

by natural

and observable

scientific process

well then

from the very

beginning

you have

ruled out

an

extraordinary

supernatural

sovereign

all powerful

God

that can do

as he

pleases

within his

creation

haven't you

this is why

the bible

starts

where it

starts

it doesn't

start

in the

natural

does it

how does

it start

Genesis 1

1

in the

beginning

God

created

the heavens

and the

earth

God

is

sovereign

ruler

of all

of heaven

and earth

and if

you're

thrown off

by this

just give me

a couple

weeks

till we

get to

Easter

I'll

tell you

about a

guy

that got

up from

the dead

this is

not natural

provision

that's exactly

the point

this is

supernatural

divine

intervention

a work

of God

on behalf

of his

servant

to provide

for him

in fact

we see

Jacob's

explanation

later in

chapter 31

he says

the Lord

told him

in a dream

to do

all of this

and clearly

this is

the provision

of the

Lord

the Bible

is not

trying to

explain this

and present

this as a

natural

and normal

phenomenon

the Bible

is telling

us

God

is at

work

blessing

and providing

for his

servant

sometimes

God

will just

show up

and do

this sort

of thing

even in

our own

lives

won't he

not all

the time

and not

not if

you just

have enough

faith

I mean

this is

not some

prosperity

guarantee

some prosperity

promise

but

but sometimes

friend

God

is pleased

to bless

and provide

for his

people

in direct

and even

unexplainable

ways

isn't he

you have

any stories

like that

I remember

one time

when I was

in seminary

and we

were we

were broke

as a joke

y'all

like we

had no

no money

our little

baby boy

had just

come

I was

working

a few

jobs

on top

of a

full

class

load

and an

unpaid

internship

at our

church

and Amanda

and I

were driving

and talking

about how

much exactly

do we need

to bridge

the gap

each month

like to

the dollar

and we

were tight

what do

we need

and so I

threw out

a number

and I

kid you

not

Amanda

gets a

phone call

from a

girl at

our church

asking her

if she

would consider

nannying

her little

girl

and for

how much

and exactly

exactly the

amount that

we needed

is unbelievable

I know the

Kennys have

shared recently

right they

had car

trouble

they they

needed a

vehicle

and what

does the

Lord do

he puts

them on

the heart

of somebody

they hadn't

talked to

in in

months if

not years

and that

person just

happens to

have a

vehicle that

they are

willing to

give and

provide for

their need

I mean

come on

how do

you explain

that

naturally

you don't

God

is pleased

to glorify

himself by

providing for

his people

often and

unexplainable

and surprising

ways and

sometimes

sometimes it

happens in

these surprising

ways but we

should also

know even

in the more

ordinary ways

right

your job

your work

your labor

even in

the ordinary

explainable

ways God

is always

the one

who provides

for us

Christians know

that everything

that we have

in this life

comes from

him and more

importantly than

that we know

that God

has provided

everything that

we need for

this life and

the life to

come in

Christ

his divine

power has

granted to

us all

things that

pertain to

life and

godliness

this life

and in

Christ he

has blessed

us with

every spiritual

blessing in

the heavenly

places what

more could

you need

he is

committed to

provide for

his people

both for

this life and

the life to

come not

only this

second we

see God

also blesses

his people

by protecting

his people

by protecting

his people

look there

to chapter

31

we see

here that

Jacob has

caught wind

that Laban's

sons are

not too

happy about

all of this

and they

say Jacob

has taken

all that

was our

father's

and from

our father's

stuff he's

gained all

that wealth

that he

has

they are

falsely

accusing

Jacob

they are

falsely

accusing him

of weaseling

his way

and stealing

all of their

father's wealth

and of course

the truth

is their

father he's

the one who's

been trying to

steal from

Jacob

but here

they are

wrongfully

accusing

falsely

accusing

Jacob

and we

should realize

that is one

danger that

we face

as God's

people

God protects

his people

from the

accusations

of the

enemy

Revelation

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

says that we

have an

enemy

Christian

an enemy

who accuses

our brothers

and sisters

who accuses

us day

and night

the only

difference

here is

that when

Satan

accuses

us

before

God

and when

Satan

tells the

Lord

how sinful

we are

and when

Satan

tells the

Lord how

we have

not

honored

God

with our

words

and we've

not honored

him with

our deeds

and we've

not honored

him with

our thoughts

and we've

not honored

him with

our lives

you know

what the

difference

is

he is

absolutely

right

we are

not wrongfully

accused

we are

rightly

accused

and we

as sinners

have no

case to

make in

that argument

except for

this one

little fact

that God

himself has

stepped in

to cover

sinners like

us with

the perfect

righteousness

of his

own

son

Jesus

Christ

what is

our argument

when we

stand before

the living

God

and the

verdict

comes

down

we don't

look at

our own

record

of

righteousness

we have

no record

of

righteousness

our only

hope

and our

only plea

is the

blood of

Jesus

that washes

away

every sin

God

himself

has

justified

his

people

he

himself

has

declared

his

people

righteous

not on

our own

merit

but because

of the

perfect

righteousness

of

Christ

credit

to us

by

faith

so we

say

again

with

Paul

if

God

has

justified

us

who

is

there

to

condemn

us

Charles

Spurgeon

says

that

dragon

voice

revelation

12

is

silenced

by the

blood

of the

lamb

nothing

else

can

ever

silence

the

accuser's

cruel

voice

but the

voice

of

the

blood

keep

reading

we see

another

danger

here

and it's

the

attacks

of the

enemy

the

attacks

of the

enemy

we see

God

protects

his

people

from

the

attacks

of the

enemy

it says

that

Jacob

could

tell

that

Laban

didn't

treat

him

with

favor

like

he

did

before

you know

how you

could

just tell

right

the vibe

has

shifted

you don't

even have

to say

anything

you just

know

there's

something

something

has

happened

here

so

verse

!

listen

to what

he says

he says

but the

God

of my

father

has

been

with

me

you

know

that

I've

served

him

with

all

my

strength

and

yet

your

father

has

cheated

me

and

changed

my

wages

ten

times

but

look

at

this

but

God

did

not