Blessing in the Rat Race

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.

Jacob said to them, My brothers, where did 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.

Water the sheep and go, pasture them.

But they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together,

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

Then we water the sheep.

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 Rebekah'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.

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 I should give her away 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 Rachel?

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 him 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.

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated,

he opened her womb,

but Rachel was barren.

And Leah conceived and bore a son,

and she called his name Reuben,

for she said,

Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction,

for now my husband will love me.

She conceived again and bore a son,

and said,

Because the Lord has heard that I am hated,

he has given me this son also,

and she called his name Simeon.

Again she conceived and bore a son,

and said,

Now this time my husband will be attached to me,

because I have borne him three sons.

Therefore his name was called Levi.

And she conceived again and bore a son,

and said,

This time I will praise the Lord.

Therefore she called his name Judah.

Then she ceased bearing.

Thanks, Jane.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Nice to see you again.

Today's the topic of the sermon is

Blessing in the Red Rays.

Initially I was preparing for three sermons

for my trip back to Malaysia.

This is an extra one.

The third one is for next week.

And this sermon covers three chapters,

which is quite long.

So I'm not going to be able to cover,

or maybe I only cover about 10%

of what those three chapters has in it.

But as I prepared for the sermon,

I learned many things,

and I hope that I can help you

to see something in it,

and also enjoy reading that part of the Bible,

and get a lot more out of it

as you read through the three chapters.

Why is it called the Red Rays?

That's because it's just like us.

Jacob just suddenly got himself

into this situation,

which he never dreamt or hoped

or thought of when he came to the uncle's place.

And he started needing to learn how to work,

how to compete with others at work,

deal with the uncle's treachery,

deal with other work makes,

and then having a family,

and having so many wives and children.

All this will occupy his time,

and hopefully through this sermon,

we'll see how the Lord was blessing him.

Even through that,

he may not knew that at that time,

but as the year went on,

he gradually learned

and appreciated what the Lord has done for him.

And that will show us

we come next week

to chapter 32 and 33.

Let us pray first before we start.

Father,

we thank you for your goodness

in helping us

through all that happened to us

in our daily lives,

to see the truth,

and to see the truth about us

and about you.

And thank you for your word

that we can learn from,

and the word that will transform us as well.

Lord,

we ask that you might do so

as we dwell into your word at this time.

Thank you, Lord.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So,

last time,

when we

talked about God promising

to be with Jacob,

that is,

while he had the dream

at night,

and that God promised

that he would be with him

and brought him back

to this land.

And when we

heard that God

was blessing someone

or to be,

will be with someone,

we would

straight away

usually think that,

oh,

Jacob would become successful

in whatever way he do.

We will see that Jacob

did become a rich man

20 years

after God promised

to be with him.

First 14 years,

he worked for the two wives.

He didn't actually get

anything.

But the last six years,

he became very rich.

However,

we will also see that

his wealth

that he accumulated,

eventually,

it was for him

to pay back a debt.

And that we'll see again

next week.

So,

even when he became rich,

it wasn't ready for him.

And we know that

being wealthy and healthy

is not often the outcome

of having God

in our lives.

Majority of

faithful servants of God

live in poverty

under persecution.

Psalm 25,

Psalms 25:8

verse 8,

says that,

good and upright

is the Lord,

therefore,

he instructs sinners

in the way.

Because God is good

and upright,

so if God promised

to be with us,

he would not just sit there

and let us

do whatever we like.

He will

automatically,

and this part is the nature,

to make us

like him,

good and upright.

and to do that,

he will,

through his work,

I mean,

we read

and we learn,

and through

our interaction

with people

and our living

in this world,

it perpetuates

through difficulty,

difficult times.

And in today's story,

we will see

how God did that

in Jacob's life.

we will see

that

his interaction

with

Laban,

Rachel,

and

Leah and Rachel

in particular.

There are a lot more,

but I could only

cover these three.

So,

last time we came

to the part

when Jacob was sent

to his uncle's place

to find a wife,

though the real reason

was to find refuge

from his brother,

Esau,

who was planning

to kill him.

And then God

appeared to him

and promised him

that he would go

with Jacob.

And then,

so Jacob kept walking

for many weeks.

I'm sure on the way

he'd been asking people,

are you from Haran?

Do you know Laban?

It would take many weeks.

I suspect it would take

about two months

before I arrived

in this well

when there are shepherds

who actually knew

who Laban was.

And it happened

that Rachel

was coming

to the well,

too.

And you can imagine

how relieved

Jacob was

to finally arrive

after being

on the lonely journey

for so long.

He was so excited

that his son

managed to roll

the stone

from the well's mouth

to water

his uncle's ship.

I suppose

they were all waiting

for people to come

so that they could

all do it together.

But somehow,

the long journey

seemed to have

made Jacob

strong enough

to do that

by himself.

And maybe he was

also one thing

to show off a bit

to Rachel.

So he did that.

He kissed Rachel

and cried aloud

and then Laban

heard about him

coming.

He ran to meet him

and took him in.

And we read that

Laban was quite excited

to know that

Jacob was there.

And when we first

read it,

you may think,

oh,

Laban must be

quite a good uncle.

he wants to look

after Jacob.

But as we read

through,

read on,

we find that

it's not the case.

Laban was just

trying to

make use of

Jacob

for his own gain.

But why was he

so excited?

If we know

about

Jacob's mom,

Rebecca,

who is

Laban's sister,

so when

Abraham's servant

came

to

get a wife

for Isaac,

that is

Jacob's father,

brother,

Abraham's

servant

brought a lot

of gifts,

a lot of gold

and precious

things.

I think

Laban was

expecting the

same thing,

oh,

now the

second generation

has come,

what is he

bringing to me?

But unfortunately,

Jacob didn't

bring anything.

Jacob was by

himself and

he didn't

have anything

with him.

But Jacob

was attracted

to Rachel.

I think it

was not

only because

Rachel was

pretty,

but most

sadly also

because Rachel

was the first

person,

Jacob could

be a hero

too.

Jacob showed

himself to be

a man.

If you know

Jacob's background,

he wasn't loved

by his father

and now he's

running away

from his

brother.

He's an

insecure man.

He finds

himself insignificant

and now he

could show

that he

was a man

to Rachel.

That's why

it's part of

it in terms

of not only

Rachel was

attractive to

him,

but Rachel

was sort

of dependent

on him

in Jacob's

mind.

However,

as time

goes on,

after a month,

it became

clear that

Laban was not

going to let

Jacob marry

his daughter

without payment

and so they

make a deal

and verse 20

says,

so Jacob

served seven

years for

Rachel and

they seemed

to him

but a few

days because

of the love

he had for

her.

In Rachel,

Jacob had

the first

taste of

sacrificial

love.

He never

had this

sort of love

before.

He suddenly

was so

occupied,

his mind

was so

occupied by

Rachel.

He seemed

to have

gone crazy.

He could

only think

about Rachel.

He was

never one

who would

be taken

advantage

of,

but then

for Rachel

he was

willing to

work without

wages.

So he

worked for

seven years

and it

seemed to

be a short

time to

him.

So you

can imagine

how he

was expecting

to get

Rachel.

So his

love for

Rachel helped

him to

enjoy the

hardship and

abuses

experience at

work.

He would

otherwise

not have

learned how

to be a

good shepherd

through this.

He learned

how to

spend his

night in

the wilderness,

look after

the sheep

and be a

strong man

I suppose

over this

time.

If you

remember,

Jacob's

mother,

Rebecca,

did love

Jacob

sacrificially,

love for

the

parents.

Jacob

did not

appreciate it

then as

most children

would not

appreciate how

their parents

loved them.

Jacob was

happy to let

his mother

take the

curse for

him if

his deception

was found

out by

Isaac and

that showed

that he

didn't actually

appreciate that

love.

But now

that he

is actually

loving

someone

in a

similar way,

he had

the chance

to understand

how his

mother had

loved him.

And for

us,

if we

have such

a love,

we could

understand how

God has

loved us

as well.

The end

of seven

years came.

Nabhan

did nothing

until Jacob

reminded him

that he

had fulfilled

his side

of the deal.

Then Nabhan

held a wedding

feast for

Jacob and

Rachel,

but cheated

Jacob by

replacing

Rachel with

Leah under

the darkness

of the night.

Nabhan

profited a

lot from

Jacob's

service.

And he

could not

get anyone

to pay a

good price

for Leah,

so he

deceived

Jacob.

He let

Jacob have

Rachel as

well,

with the

condition that

he served

for another

seven years.

So in

Nabhan,

Jacob had a

taste of

what it

meant to be

deceived.

We cannot

appreciate the

harm we

do to

others until

we are

the victims.

Jacob would

not have

understood how

his father

Isaac and

his brother

Esau felt

until he

himself was

a victim of

deception.

Being on the

receiving end

of deception

also helps us

to empathize

with those

who have been

deceived.

love.

And we

know that

because of

Jacob's

dependence on

Nabhan and

his love for

Rachel, he

had little

choice but to

submit to

Nabhan's

scheme at

this stage.

So he

had Leah

and

Rachel.

With Rachel,

he got no

problem, he

loved Rachel.

But in

Leah, Jacob

needed to

learn how to

love someone

who was not

lovely, at

least someone

not lovely

in his

eye.

Jacob had no

interest in

Leah.

But divorcing

Leah was

not out of

the question

in his

time.

And God

gave Leah

some help.

Leah had

four sons

in a row

while Rachel

could not

conceive.

At that

time, having

children, in

particular

sons, is

very important

to develop

into a

strong family

to do

farming, all

those things.

So having

four children

would definitely

help Leah's

position in

the family.

And at

least because

of the

children,

Jacob started

to care about

Leah and

learn how to

love her.

However, Leah

was not

contented with

having children.

She wanted

more.

She wanted

like what

Jacob gave

to Rachel.

So Leah

and Rachel

started using

children to

strengthen their

position in

the family.

In that

time, a

woman's

security and

significance

were dependent

on their

father before

their marriage.

After their

marriage, it

depended on

the husband.

And so having

the husband's

love was

very important.

children.

And so they

both tried to

have more

children and

they gave

Jacob their

mates to

have more

children as

well.

So both

Leah and

Rachel wanted

to be the

most secure

and significant

person in the

family.

Neither of

them feared

God or

trusted God.

They became

stuck in

constant

scheming for

prominence in

the family.

In a way,

they condemned

themselves to

live unhappily

ever after if

they don't

change in

the way.

As you

know, my

father had

two wives

living under

the same

roof.

My mother

was a

younger wife.

When I was

young, I used

to sleep in

my mother's

room because

there was no

other place

for me to

sleep.

So my

younger

brother and

myself were

the two

younger,

and so we

sleep with

our mother.

And my

father was

always in

my mother's

room overnight.

I didn't

think much

of it until

I was

older.

Then I

started to

think,

why is it

that he

never spent

time with

my senior

mother?

I mean,

I was young,

I didn't

think that

it was

something

unusual,

but as

I get

older,

I thought,

why is

my father

always in

my mom's

room?

And then

as I look

back now,

I could

understand

why my

senior

mother was

so demanding

in nature.

So she

was the

mistress

of the

household

to assign

jobs to

each of

us.

I would

always try

to hide

from her

because every

time she

saw me

doing nothing,

she would

get me a

job to

do.

So there's

no freedom

in a sense.

After school,

going,

getting home,

there's always

job,

regardless,

even if you

have homework

or whatever,

there's also

job to do.

I was

talking to

my

eldest

sister

who

actually

looked after

me when

I was

young

because my

mom was

too busy

working and

doing all

the jobs.

So my

eldest sister

said he

hated coming

home just

because every

time she

came home,

she got

no time

for herself.

You can't

plan anything.

Basically,

we couldn't

plan anything.

If you

plan to

do something,

forget it.

If you

don't do

it,

you get

a scolding.

So the

home was

like a

factory.

My senior

mother was

very well

known in

our hometown

to produce

the best

Chinese

delicacies.

And all

those things

take a lot

of manpower

to produce.

And my

senior mother

was well

known for

it.

And that

is her

significance.

And that's

why she

needs that.

And that's

why she

traded her

relationship

with her

children for

her significance.

Even her

own children

seemed like

her eventually.

It was

not close

to her.

My mom

worked from

early morning

until late

at night.

But my mom

never complained.

I think

he had my

father's

attention and

that was

enough for

her.

And she

just

suffered.

But

because she

suffered

together with

us,

so she

is very

close to

all the

children,

including

my

senior mom's

children,

even now.

So

I fell

for Leah

in this

sense.

Because Leah

didn't have

the significance

and security

he needed

to fight

for it.

He didn't

know where

to get it.

If he

had his

security

and significance

in God,

then in

the first

place,

he would

not have

collaborated

with

Laban

in deceiving

Jacob.

Jacob.

And

secondly,

if he

did marry

Jacob,

he would

not need

to make

herself so

miserable

in

scheming and

fighting

over

Jacob with

Rachel.

So

Leah

was hoping

that by

marrying

Jacob,

her life

would be

happier.

but in

fact,

she was

disappointed.

Things that

we get

by deception

don't usually

bring

happiness.

So

as Jacob

tried to

relate to

Leah,

he was

reminded

about how

his father

Isaac

related to

him.

Leah

in Jacob's

eyes

was like

Jacob

in Isaac's

eyes.

As Jacob

wished Isaac

would love

him more,

Leah was

wishing

Jacob

would love

her more.

At this

point,

we may

ask,

why didn't

God stop

Laban

from deceiving

Jacob?

The same

question can

be asked,

why didn't

God stop

Jacob from

deceiving

Isaac?

Or why

didn't God

stop the

serpent from

deceiving

Eve?

Throughout

the Bible,

we see that

God intervenes

in some

matters and

not in many

other matters.

If you are

a parent,

you may know

that you should

not intervene

in everything

in your

child's or

children's

life.

some

parents

want to

protect

their

children

and

would

not

allow

them

to

make

mistakes

or

get

hurt.

My

mom,

who is

95 years

old now,

she still

scolds my

70-year-old

brother when

he did

something that

she is not

pleased with.

My oldest

brother,

her oldest

son,

and my

oldest sister,

oldest daughter,

both of

them are not

married because

they were

just too

busy.

to socialize

when they

were young.

Now my

oldest brother

and my

mom live

together and

they care

for each

other,

but they

don't talk.

Whenever I

go back

home,

the interaction

is argument

over something

or blaming

or something.

That's because

my mom

had never

treated my

oldest brother

as an adult

and still

exerting

control over

her.

In a way,

it's a bit

sad that

they lose

that enjoyment

of talking

as friends

and as

adults,

not only as

mother to

son.

Even all

these years,

if the

parents just

want to

control the

children and

prevent them

from getting

hurt,

they will

lose a lot

of enjoyment

together in

the relationship.

So this is

about God's

heart.

God has

got a

father's

heart in

terms of

how he

deals with

us.

We should

also consider

what is in

our hearts

when we

do foolish

things.

Why was

Eve

deceived?

Because she

wanted to

be like

God, who

can determine

what is

good and

what is

evil.

She

wanted to

be more

significant

than being

Adam's

wife and

God's

daughter.

She

could not

deny her

desire to

be more

significant.

Why was

Isaac

deceived by

Jacob?

Because Isaac

was blinded

by his

own love

of Esau.

He was

determined to

bless Esau.

He heard

Jacob's

voice.

It should

have been

sufficient for

Isaac to

realize that

it was

Jacob.

But when

our minds

are occupied

with the

desire to

accomplish

something,

we usually

ignore

warning signs.

Why was

Jacob

deceived by

Laban?

Because he

was blinded

by his

love of

Rachel.

Before

Jacob

left home,

he was

full of

himself.

During his

trip to

Haran,

he encountered

God.

In

Haran,

then he

encountered

Rachel.

Jacob

was beginning

to change

from worshipping

himself to

worshipping

God.

Now it

seems that

Rachel became

his idol.

I believe

that there

would be

many telltale

signs.

Laban was

manipulating him

over the

seven years.

He could

see how

Laban

treated

other

people.

And there

would be

signs that

something was

not right

in the

wedding night.

But Jacob

was too

focused on

Rachel that

he lost

his objectivity.

While it was

not wrong

for Jacob

to love

Rachel,

but when

such a love

does not

submit to

God's

guidance,

it does

not usually

end well.

if his

focus was

on God

who promised

to be

with him,

Laban

would not

be able

to use

Rachel

to manipulate

Jacob.

The amazing

thing is that

God will

always achieve

his purpose

regardless

of our

foolish choices.

And we

see that

as the

story develops.

In these

three sermons,

I have

mentioned

many times

about security

and significance

as a

motivation

for our

behaviors.

to be

secure

is to

have

protection

and provision.

And to be

significant

is to have

respect

and recognition.

And that's

what we

want in

our whole

life.

But in

Jacob,

so that's

why Jacob

deceased his

father to

get the

blessing.

That's

why he

wanted.

But in

Rachel,

we found

a third

motivation

force for

Jacob's

behavior.

It was

not for

security

or

significance

that

Jacob

worked

14

years

for

Rachel

because

he

did not

receive

any

wages

or

position

for

his

work.

And getting

Rachel

would not

make him

wealthier

or more

powerful.

What was

motivating

Jacob

then?

That was

love that

we talk

about.

Love can

mean

different

things.

In here,

I'm talking

about the

feeling that

your life

is incomplete

without the

presence of

that object

or the

person

of your

love.

When Adam

first saw

Eve,

he said,

this at

last is

born of

my bones

and flesh

of my

flesh.

Adam

meant that

if you

take Eve

away from

him,

it was

like taking

away his

bone and

flesh.

When

Laban

first met

Jacob,

he also

said the

same thing,

surely you

are my

bone and

my flesh.

love.

But then

Laban

has

changed

the

definition

of love.

He was

deceiving

himself and

Jacob when

he said

that,

as if he

said that

he loved

Jacob.

He was

in fact

telling

Jacob that

you are

mine,

therefore

serve me.

But Adam

was telling

Eve that

you are

mine,

therefore I

will serve

you.

This is

a love

that I'm

talking

about that

Jacob was

starting to

experience

that he

could love

someone just

purely because

the person,

not because

the person

can give

him anything

in the sense

of security

and significance.

However,

there is

still a bit

of self-centeredness

in this

style of love

as we love

people.

There's always

the pleasure

or something

that we get

from the

person,

which Jacob

couldn't get

from Leah.

But that is

at least the

start of that

love.

So in

Rachel,

Jacob first

experienced

self-denying

love.

Love made

him do

everything

just to be

with Rachel.

In Leah,

Jacob had a

challenge of

loving someone

who was not

lovely.

And in

Laban,

Jacob saw

the degradation

of love.

So when

a man

loved God,

he would

love other

people and

things appropriately.

When a man

does not

love God,

he will

not be

able to

love other

people and

things appropriately.

What was

Laban's object

of love?

It was

quite obvious,

it's money.

Why did

Laban love

money?

Because money

can be exchanged

for security,

significance,

and pleasure.

Laban could

only see life

in terms of

profit and

loss.

Laban could

only relate to

people in

terms of

benefit or

burden.

He would

only do

what he

thought would

profit him.

He would

befriend people

who would

benefit him.

Once Jacob

saw Laban's

real face,

he did not

want to

become another

Laban.

Jacob started

to realize

that while he

suffered under

Laban,

he was also

becoming a

person who

was different

from Laban.

did Jacob

learn his

lessons?

We shall

see that

he did

as we

read the

subsequent

chapters of

Genesis,

which will

be the

topic of

next week's

sermon.

When God

promised that

he would

be with

Jacob,

he would

ensure that

Jacob would

be changed.

This change

did not come

about as if

God just

put a spell

on Jacob.

This change

came about

as God

led Jacob

to see

Jacob's own

heart in

the light

of the

holy God.

and also

in the

midst of

the red

race as

Jacob

makes

decisions

and choices

in his

relationship,

in his

work,

in his

family.

All this

are still

happening in

our life

right now.

In

Matthew

Matthew 16:24–26

chapter 16

verses

24 to

26,

Jesus

told his

disciples,

if anyone

would come

after me,

let him

deny

himself

and take

up his

cross

and follow

me.

For

whoever

would save

his life

will lose

it,

but whoever

loses

his life

for my

sake

will find

it.

For

what

will

profit

a man

if he

gains

the whole

world

and forfeit

his soul?

or what

shall a

man

give

in

return

for

his

soul?

First

of all,

we

consider

why

would

anyone

want

to

come

after

Jesus?

I

can

give

you

four

reasons.

Number

one,

Jesus

said he

came

as a

good

shepherd

who

gave

his

life

for

his

sheep.

Jesus

denied

himself

of

comfort

and

status.

He

died

for

our

sins

on

the

cross.

Adam

told

Eve,

you

are

my

bone

and

my

flesh.

I

will

love

you.

Laban

told

Jacob,

you

are

my

bone

and

my

flesh.

You

should

serve

me.

Jesus

told

his

sheep,

here

is

my

body

and

blood

broken

and

spilled

out

for

you.

Jesus

did

not

give

a few

years

of

his

life

to

redeem

Jesus

said