Jacob's Sin, God's Promise

My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

You may notice on Sunday mornings when Andy's leading worship, I sit over there on the front row,

and I do something a little bit odd, which is I read the song lyrics often off the back projector rather than the front projector.

And the reason I do that is because it allows me to look out on the whole congregation and see you all.

And I have many thoughts on a Sunday morning.

And this morning I was just thinking as I looked out on you all singing about just God's faithfulness and his grace to this church over the last nine years that I've been here.

And, of course, many, many your years, 21 years before that.

Our church turns 30 this year.

I don't know if you knew that.

We're at three decades now, and I'm just grateful for the ways God has grown us and is growing us and the people that he's brought.

And Ruth coming to be with our music and all the deacons and elders that God has raised up over the last number of years.

And, you know, it takes a whole team for a church to move forward.

So I'm grateful, grateful for you all.

We're continuing our series in the book of Genesis.

The book of Genesis is the origin story of God's people, Israel.

This summer we are looking at the story of Isaac and Jacob, mostly Jacob, in chapters 25 through 36.

And I want to remind you where we are in that story.

If you don't know where we're at in the story, this next part is actually not going to make sense.

So chapter 27, Jacob steals Esau's birthright.

Esau is so upset that he threatens to kill Jacob.

And so Rebekah, Jacob and Esau's mom, has Jacob flee to Laban.

Laban is Rebekah's brother, Jacob's uncle.

You also may remember he's not just fleeing from Esau.

He's not just trying to protect his life.

He's also seeking a wife.

The beginning of chapter 28, Isaac tells Jacob, hey, go.

Not just flee to Laban.

Actually, Isaac doesn't know why he's fleeing to escape being killed.

But go, and I want you to marry one of Laban's daughters.

So that's the part we've been on ever since then.

Jacob is doing two things.

He's on his way to find Laban.

He's on his way to marry one of Laban's daughters.

That takes us to this week.

Jacob's going to end his journey.

Verse 1, he's going to arrive at Laban's place.

We're going to see Jacob's sin and God's promise.

I had a brain malfunction in your worship guide.

It says our title is Isaac's sin and God's promise, and I don't know why I did that.

So Jacob's sin, God's promise.

As I sometimes say when we come up against passages like this, this is a really rich passage,

and I'm probably not going to say even more than what I'm going to say,

just because we could probably do two or three sermons on this.

So I'm going to say something, something about what's happening in this passage, not everything.

With that, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 21, starting at 29, starting at verse 1,

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

which you'll find on page 7 of your worship guide.

As you turn there, remember Isaiah chapter 40 tells us that the grass withers and the flower fades,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

but the word of our God will stand forever.

And so that's why we read now Genesis chapter 29, starting at verse 1.

Genesis 29 · chapter mention

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it,

for out of that well the flocks were watered.

The stone on the well's mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there,

the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep,

and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

Verse 4.

Jacob said to them,

My brothers, where do you come from?

They said, We are from Haran.

He said to them,

Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?

They said,

We know him.

He said to them,

Is it well with him?

They said,

It is well, and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep.

He said,

Behold, it is still high day.

It is not time for the livestock to be gathered together.

Watch the sheep and go pasture them.

But they said,

We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together,

and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well.

Then we water the sheep.

Verse 9.

While he was still speaking with them,

Rachel came with her father's sheep,

for she was a shepherdess.

Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel,

the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother,

and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother,

Jacob came 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 wept aloud.

And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman,

and that he was Rebecca's son.

And she ran and told her father.

As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son,

he ran to meet him,

and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house.

Jacob told Laban all these things.

And Laban said to him,

Surely you are my bone and my flesh.

And he stayed with him a month.

Verse 15.

Then Laban said to Jacob,

Because you are my kinsman,

should you therefore serve me for nothing?

Tell me, what shall your wages be?

Now Laban had two daughters.

The name of the older was Leah,

and the name of the younger was Rachel.

Leah's eyes were weak,

but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.

Jacob loved Rachel.

And he said,

I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter, Rachel.

Laban said,

It is better that I give her to you

than that I should give her to any other man.

Stay with me.

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel,

and they seemed to him but a few days

because of the love he had for her.

Then Jacob said to Laban,

Give me my wife,

that I may go into her,

for my time is completed.

So Laban gathered together

all the people of the place

and made a feast.

But in the evening,

he took his daughter Leah

and brought her to Jacob,

and he went into her.

Laban gave his female servant Zilpah

to his daughter Leah

to be her servant.

And in the morning,

behold,

it was Leah.

And Jacob said to Laban,

What is this you have done to me?

Did I not serve with you for Jacob?

Why then have you deceived me?

Laban said,

It is not so done in our country

to give the younger before the firstborn.

Complete the week of this one,

and we will give you the other also in return

for serving me another seven years.

Jacob did so and completed her week.

Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel

to be his wife.

Laban gave his female servant Bilhah

to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.

So Jacob went into Rachel also,

and he loved Rachel more than Leah

and served Laban for another seven years.

I invite you to pray with me

as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do once again thank you

that you have not left us

to wander in the dark as orphans,

but instead you come to us as our Father.

You speak to us clearly in your word.

We ask that you would do that this morning,

that you would open our eyes,

you'd unstop our ears,

you would clear our minds,

and you'd soften our hearts,

that we would be able to see and hear

and believe and understand

everything that's written about you

in your word.

Most of all,

we ask that you'd show us Jesus.

You'd show us his mercy,

his compassion,

his tenderness

with foolish sinners

like Jacob,

foolish sinners like us.

We ask all of these things

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

This morning,

I'm going to teach you an insult.

I don't recommend insulting people,

so you need to use this responsibly.

This one, I believe,

comes from the kids,

and it's become popular in recent years.

This insult is when you call someone

or something great value brand.

Okay, and great value brand,

one of Walmart's store brands,

right?

Hopefully you're familiar with this.

And so when you say someone

is great value brand,

you're saying,

they're not the name brand.

They're similar.

You know, it's the same product,

but it's not quite as good.

So here's how it works.

Let's say you see a man.

He's fit.

He's in good shape.

He's got a full head of hair,

and he's on the short side.

Okay?

You might say,

great value brand,

Tom Cruise.

He's like Tom Cruise, right?

He's short.

He's fit.

He's got a full head of hair,

but he's not a movie star.

He's not a model.

Great value brand.

It's a knockoff, right?

It's a similar product,

lower quality.

You could have bought the Oreos,

but you didn't.

You bought chocolate sandwich cookies.

That's on you, okay?

Jacob, in this story,

is a knockoff of Abraham's servant

in Genesis chapter 24.

Genesis 24 · chapter mention

Remember in 24,

Abraham's servant goes to find

a wife for Isaac,

and he meets Rebecca.

Now, in chapter 29,

Jacob goes to find his own wife

and meets Rachel,

and there's a very intentional way

in which the author of Genesis

is making chapter 29

an echo of chapter 24,

and I'll explain this to you.

We're going to jump right into the story.

So track with me.

Verse 1,

Jacob went on his journey.

That is,

Jacob is going on the journey

that began a couple chapters earlier

to Uncle Laban.

Remember,

to escape Esau,

who wants to kill him

and to find a wife.

Verse 1 again,

came to the land

of the people of the east.

That is the land

of his Uncle Laban,

and what does he find there?

Verse 2,

he finds a well.

Who else ran into a well

on his journey for a wife?

Abraham's servant

in chapter 24.

Jacob stops at the well.

Abraham's servant

stopped at the well.

Jacob finds a wife.

He finds Rachel at the well.

Abraham's servant

finds a wife.

He finds Rebecca

at the well.

In fact,

some commentators think

it might be,

this passage doesn't tell us,

but it might be

the exact same well.

So this is deja vu.

We are repeating

this same kind of type

and trope here,

but then it gets interesting

because instead of similarities,

we have differences.

Chapter 24,

who was it

who drew the water?

It was Rebecca.

It was the woman.

Abraham's servant

waits for Rebecca

to water his camels

because he wants to test

Rebecca's character.

Okay?

Instead, here,

Jacob draws the water

and this is one place

where the story gets fun.

Go with me to verse 10.

We're told Jacob

single-handedly

rolls away the stone

from the well,

which is a big deal

because we were told,

verse 2,

the stone on the well's mouth

was large.

Then,

in case we missed it,

verse 3,

all these shepherds,

they're waiting around.

They say,

we don't roll away the stone

until everyone is here.

Why?

It's a compound lift.

Okay?

Everyone helps move the stone

because it is so big.

It requires multiple men

to uncover this well.

So Jacob is flexing

on all the other shepherds.

He is clearly a strong man.

He is showing off to Rachel.

He is doing what is impressive

and even worse

or maybe even better.

Watch what he also does.

So he's flexing in front

of all these shepherds.

By the way,

he insulted them

when he said,

shouldn't you be out,

you know,

letting your sheep graze?

He's saying,

you're really lazy.

You're really lazy

and I'm also going to show you

that I can single-handedly do

what it takes a bunch of you to do.

Then,

notice this again,

verse 10,

he rolls the stone

from the well's mouth

and watered the flock

of Laban,

his mother's brother.

Remember when he shows up,

this is,

I think,

in verse 1,

verse 2,

there's three flocks

of sheep waiting.

There's a bunch of shepherds

who are ahead

of Rachel in line.

And Jacob says,

you know what?

I don't really care.

She's going to skip all of you.

You showed up early

because you wanted to be

first to the water.

Guess what?

This girl that I like,

she's going to jump

all of you.

Okay?

Abraham's servant

was interested

in Rebecca's character.

Abraham's servant

wanted a godly wife

for Isaac.

Jacob

is not interested

in that.

Jacob is interested

in how attracted

he is

to Rachel.

He's not focused

on a godly wife.

He's focused

on a beautiful wife.

There's a stark contrast

between the first

well episode

and the second

episode.

Notice what it says

in verse 10 again.

When does he roll

away the stone?

He rolls the stone

away when he saw

Rachel,

the daughter of Laban.

But it is not just

because he sees Rachel

and the sheep

of Laban,

his mother's brother.

So there's two things

going on.

He sees Rachel.

Okay?

Rachel's beautiful.

I need to impress her

by rolling away

the stone.

But there's something

else going on.

Rachel's dad

is rich.

He's got those sheep.

Okay?

So there's a

multiple things

that are attractive here.

He's like,

oh, I see the woman

and I see the wealth

of her family.

It's go time.

I'm going to roll

that stone

away.

The differences

continue.

The next ones

matter even more.

You may remember

Abraham's servant

stops and prays

to God

before he does

anything.

Jacob,

no prayer.

Abraham's servant

then stops

and gives thanks

to God

after he connects

with Rebecca.

Jacob,

no prayer.

As clearly

as he can,

the writer of Genesis

is trying to show us

this.

Abraham's servant

trusted God

and relied

on God.

Jacob,

Jacob

trusts

himself

and relies

on himself.

Which gives us

to a bigger point.

Jacob

is rough

around the edges.

Yes,

God made this

great promise

to him

that Andy

explained last week.

God reminded him

of his promises

to the patriarchs

that are his promises

as well.

God adds to that

that his presence

is going to be

with Jacob.

Jacob,

and Jacob

keeps living out

the story

of the Abraham family.

We've talked about

this before.

The story is this.

It's all up to me

and my skill

and my cleverness,

my strategies

and my schemes.

Jesus is highlighting

then for us

how much

Jacob

needs

to grow.

Thankfully,

God is still

at work.

He's going to use

the sandpaper

of life

to smooth out

Jacob's rough

edges.

Jacob

is going to

suffer

and he's going

to suffer

greatly

to become

the man

that God

is calling

him

to be.

Andy read

this for us

earlier this morning

from Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

For the Lord

disciplines

the one he loves

and chastises

every son

whom

he

receives.

That takes us

to the next

half,

the second part

of this story.

Verse 12,

Rachel runs

to Laban

and tells him

about this

impressive man,

this strong man

who also happens

to be a relative.

So then verses

13 and 14,

Laban welcomes

him,

brings him

into his house.

Verse 14,

I don't want you guys

to miss this.

I can't tell you

everything but I want

to tell you this.

He says,

surely you are

my bone

and flesh.

Now on the surface

he's saying,

yeah,

we're definitely

related.

But he says

that after

Jacob told him

everything,

all these things.

Commentators think

there's a double

entendre here.

Laban is saying,

yeah,

you're my relative.

Also,

you're a trickster

like I'm a trickster.

Game recognizes

game.

I see what's

going on here.

Oh,

you tricked

your brother

out of his birthright?

Yeah,

I do things

like that.

I do things

like that.

Yeah,

you and me,

same,

same.

We're the same

here.

We do some

things.

So Jacob's

a strong man.

He's a great

worker.

Laban wants

him on staff.

So that leads

to the negotiations.

This is verses

15 through

20.

Verse 18,

he offers

seven years

for Rachel.

I won't go

into the details

but seven years

is exorbitant

for a bride price.

Okay,

so Jacob

is offering

above market

rate.

He doesn't,

he's not playing

the art of the deal

here.

Okay,

he's not coming

in under

so he can

negotiate over.

No,

he offers

a ridiculously

good price.

Of course,

Laban immediately

accepts it.

Oh man,

this,

you know,

there's a sucker

made every day.

Seven years,

yeah,

let's go.

Isaac's

failure

continues,

by the way.

Remember,

we've talked

about the fact

Isaac,

Jacob's father,

is ruled

by his

appetites.

Abraham's

servant

came with

money

to pay

the bride

price.

So Abraham's

servant,

you'll remember,

chapter 24,

he shows up

at the well,

he pays

the bride

price,

immediately

takes Rebecca

and goes

back home.

That's what

should have

happened here.

Jacob doesn't

have any money

for the bride

price because

Isaac didn't

give him

any.

Isaac's

negligence

and his

selfishness

continue

to damage

his son.

So we have

this bad

deal.

Okay,

Jacob offers

more than

he should.

He shouldn't

even have

to offer.

His father

should have

given him

what he

needed to

pay a

bride price.

And then it

gets worse.

There's the

bait and switch.

Verse 21,

he goes to

Laban,

he says,

give me my

wife.

Verse 23,

there's the

switcheroo.

Rachel and

Laban are

switched out.

He gives

him his

other daughter,

the unattractive

daughter,

the one we're

told is weak

in the eyes.

And verse 25

says it all

in just a few

words.

And in the

morning,

behold,

it was

Leah.

Genesis is a

brilliant piece

of literature.

Okay,

notice what

happens here.

Jacob,

remember Jacob

tricked his

father to

give him the

oldest's

birthright.

And how

was he able

to do that?

He tricked

his father

because of

his father's

blindness.

What does

Laban do?

He tricks

Jacob because

of his

blindness.

He can't

see what's

happening in

the dark.

There's this

poetic justice

that's happening

here.

The trickster

is tricked.

And it's

not just that

the trickster

is tricked,

he's tricked

with his

very own

scheme.

He really

has met

his match.

Jacob's used

his own plan

against him.

Oh yeah,

you ran that

play with your

dad where he

couldn't see?

That's actually

a good one.

I'm going to

take that.

I'm going to

use that too.

I'm going to run

a play where

you can't

see.

I can borrow

some tricks.

Then he makes

it even worse.

He really digs

the knife in

in verse 26.

Laban said,

it is not so

done in our

country to

give the

younger before

the firstborn.

And this is a

mic drop.

Laban is saying,

you know that

trick you pulled

with your dad?

We don't do

that here.

Oh, you thought

that was real

smart?

Yeah, that

actually doesn't

fly over here.

You thought you

could switch the

younger and the

older?

Yeah, Laban

doesn't do that.

Laban actually

respects the

birth order.

Typically,

commentators tell

us the words

first or second

would be used.

It's strange

here that he

says youngest

and oldest,

and he's doing

this to really

give it to

Jacob.

Jacob.

The Apostle

Paul,

Galatians

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

says this,

Do not be

deceived.

God is not

mocked.

For whatever

one sows,

that will

he also

reap.

The point

is this.

God is

disciplining

Jacob.

God is

bringing

Jacob to

the end

of himself.

God is

bringing Jacob

to a place

where his

schemes and

his tricks

no longer

work.

He's putting

him in a

position he

cannot lie

his way

out of.

He's saying,

look,

Jacob,

you're actually

going to be

forced to

rely on me.

And that's

actually what's

going to

happen over

the next few

chapters.

Jacob is

going to

learn that

his hope

and his

only hope

is in

God.

For the

Lord disciplines

the one

he loves

and chastises

every son

whom he

receives.

as the

story goes

on,

we're

going to

see

Jacob

trust

God

more

and

more

and

trust

himself

less

and

less.

Jacob

is going

to have

to learn

the hard

way,

but

Jacob

is

going

to

learn.

Christian,

in the

failures,

in the

hardships

of your

life,

when your

foolishness

finally catches

up with you,

and it will,

that's how

foolishness

works,

when your

lies finally

come out,

when your

tricks

stop working,

when your

children come

to you as

adults and

say,

this is how

you failed

me,

when your

wife comes

to you

and finally

shows you

her pain,

God

is still

at work.

He

hasn't given

up on you.

It will

be painful,

just like it

was for

Jacob.

God is

using that

pain to

purify you,

to refine

you,

to shape

you,

to look

more like

Jesus.

God is

not done

with you.

Malachi

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

says this,

speaking of

God,

he will

sit as a

refiner and

purifier of

silver,

and he will

purify the

sons of

Levi and

refine them

like gold

and silver.

God is

refining

Jacob like

gold and

silver.

He has

put him

in the

heat,

and he

will burn

his impurities

away.

for 20

years,

20 years,

think about

that.

Jacob is

going to

learn little

by little

to trust

and follow

God more

than he

trusts

himself.

even more

than that,

as we've

talked about

many times,

God remains

faithful to

his promises.

Andy talked

about this

last week,

last week's

passage.

God promised

his presence

to Jacob.

God repeated

his promises

to Jacob's

forefathers,

and notice

God's hand

in this

passage behind

the scenes,

still at

work.

Is God

with Jacob?

Is his

presence there

as he

promised?

Absolutely.

Jacob

appears

at the

right well

at the

right time,

and it's

clear from

his questions

to the

shepherds

that he

has no

idea.

He has

no idea

that God

has just

put him

exactly

where he

needs to

be.

Last

week,

God

repeated

his

promise

that he

was going

to make

Abraham's

line,

his

offspring,

like the

dust of

the earth.

What does

Jacob need

for his

offspring to

be like the

dust of

the earth?

He needs

some wives.

He leaves

this passage

with two

wives.

In the

midst of

Jacob's

failure

and sin

and foolishness

and pride,

God is

still at

work

refining

and purifying

and shaping

him.

God is

still at

work

keeping

his

promises.

promises.

Christian,

God is

shaping

you.

He's

keeping

his

promises

to you.

And when

you hit up

against the

consequences

of your

own

foolishness

and stupidity,

it is not

the end

of your

story.

Because God

is going

to weave

it into

his bigger

story.

And he's

going to

use it

to do

for you

everything

he said

he would

do.

It's

going to

be painful.

The next

20 years

for Jacob

are not

easy.

Your

sin

and your

unbelief

and your

failures,

as I've

said before,

cannot

stop

the

freight

train

of God's

kingdom.

They

cannot

get in

the way

of God

keeping

his

promises.

They

cannot

prevent

God's

work

in your

life.

Because

God is

faithful

to his

promise.

If you're

in Christ,

he's

faithful

to you.

For the

Lord

disciplines

the one

he loves

and chastises

every

son

whom he

receives.

And why

are we

sons?

We're

sons because

of Christ.

Remember

what John

tells us

in John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

but to

all who

did receive

him,

who believed

in his

name,

he gave

the right

to become

children of

God,

who were

born,

not of

blood,

nor of

the will

of the

flesh,

nor of

the will

of man,

but of

God.

Is that

you?

If it

is,

God's

promise

is true.

Philippians

Philippians 1:6

chapter 1,

verse 6,

and I'm

sure of

this,

that he

who began

a good

work in

you will

bring it

to completion

at the

day of

Jesus

Christ.

Christ.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and we

thank you

that you

seek us

out,

even when

we're

caught up

in our

own sin

and foolishness

and pride,

and that

you're

merciful enough

not to

leave us

there,

that you

bring

hardship

and pain

to purify

us and

refine

us.

We ask

that you

would give

us that

hope in

the midst

of our

lives,

that we

would turn

to you

and trust

you no

matter what,

knowing that

you are

at work

bringing

your

purposes

to bear,

to end,

keeping all

your promises

to us.

We ask

these things

in the mighty

name of

Jesus Christ.

Amen.