The Blessing: Chosen Through The Mess (Tim Nye)

Andrew Meher: Good morning. Great to be with you. So I'm Tim Nye. I I know many of you. hey, thanks. Thank you. if I haven't met you though, I am Tim Nye. my wife has a listed. We have our four kids back there who have decided to stay and listen this morning. Right? so if you have your Bible, we're gonna be in Genesis twenty-nine verses fifteen to twenty-eight. You can turn there and and th so this summer we've been, or it's gonna be up on the screen in in just a minute. This summer we've been exploring the idea of blessing and and how God uses many different people, many different people who Have messed up a lot. Many different people who have who have made poor choices. But God has chosen them to bless them, to bless his people through them. And that he can use anybody, right, to fulfill his promises and his purposes for his people. So we're going to stick with that this morning and explore that through the book of Genesis in chapter 29 and see how God blesses Leah. Verses fifteen to twenty-eight. Laban said to him, You shouldn't work for me without pay, just because we're relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be. Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was no sparkle in Leah's eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, I'll work for you for seven years if you'll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife. Agreed, Laban said. I'd rather give her to you than anyone else. Stay and work with me. So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel, but his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Finally the time came for him to marry her. I have fulfilled my agreement, Jacob said to Laban. Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her. So Laban invited every one in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid. But when Jacob woke up in the morning, it was Leah! What have you done to me? Jacob raged at Laban. I worked seven years for Rachel. Why have you tricked me? It is not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn, Laban replied. But wait until the bridal week is over, then we'll give you Rachel too. Provided you promise to work another seven years for me. So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel too. Let's pray. Yeah. We invite you into this morning to speak to us and through me. Open our ears and open our hearts to notice the ways you bless your people, even in ways that seem backwards to us and to the people from these stories, even using people we would not expect and in ways we would not expect. Your ways are higher than ours, and you can use even the most difficult of experiences to bless us and to use these experiences for good. So speak to us this morning, and it's in your name we pray. Amen. So I'm gonna be honest. I read this passage and I thought, what in the world? How how does this story, and I'm familiar with the story, how does this story show how God is blessing through through a mess? I'd say I see the mess clearly. but what is the what is the whole blessing in it? as I reflected on it more, poured over it more. I began to see and read before and after. Because there is more to the story that I'll get into a little bit, but there is more to this story that that's important for us to understand and to realize, yeah, God's using Leah here. Leah's Leah, there's a lot of messed up people ha th and things happening in this story. but Leah's our main character and she's the one that we want to focus on. It's it's through Leah that God is going to carry out his blessings. And so As we look into this story, we're gonna look into three things. first, how how people often value what God does not value, how God's promises aren't limited by people's preferences, and how God makes those who are overlooked part of his greatest story. So there's a story from World War II about Corey Tenboom during the Nazi occupation. And maybe you've heard of her, she was a Christian woman who was imprisoned with her sister at a concentration camp in Ravensbruck for helping Jews escape the Nazis. And as we know, the living conditions in concentration camps were downright horrific. Doesn't even explain it. but for Corey and her sister Betsy, that's it was that. and the barracks they stayed in. Were infested with fleas. No. Together the sisters would read First Thessalonians 5 18, where Paul talks about giving thanks in all circumstances. And how could they give thanks in these circumstances? Betsy, her sister, began thanking God for the things they had around them. And she had Corey repeat the Thanksgivings after her. Because sometimes you have to go through the motions. You have to fake it till you make it. And when Betsy got to thanking God for the fleas, Corey could not do it. She couldn't bring herself to thank God for these fleas that were all around them. But Betsy told Corey: the fleas were a part of the place where God had put them. And what they had started noticing was that. The guards were staying away from their barracks because of the fleas. And so that allowed them to have hours of uninterrupted time after their work day to lead worship services with a Bible that they had smuggled into the concentration camp. So when it seemed like God had stripped away all of the blessing from their lives and put them in this place infested with fleas, they were noticing what they could be thankful for. That the fleas were actually giving them a way to share the gospel and to worship God in the midst of the the place that they were in. so as we look into Leah's story, I want us to notice that God can use ways to bless his people that may look very different from what we expect. I'm sure Corey and Betsy did not expect the fleas to be this helpful nuisance. I'm sure it was extraordinarily uncomfortable, but it allowed them to share the gospel with the people in prison there. As this story with with Lee and Rachel, Laban and Jacob begins. We find Jacob and Laban discussing how Jacob had moved been working for him and how he shouldn't be working for free. Naturally. And Jacob is asked how he wants to be compensated for all this hard work. And Jacob immediately answers, he knows his answer, that he wants Laban's daughter Rachel. And we're told right off the bat that Rachel's the younger sister to Leah, which alludes to the fact that Leah should be the first one married off. It wasn't their custom to marry the younger sibling first. And then we're told that there was no sparkle in Leah's eyes, and that Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. This is creating a dilemma for Laban because Jacob's asking for Rachel's hand in marriage because he's more attracted to her. And we really know what no sparkle in Leah's eyes truly means, but we can tell that it's not he doesn't find her attractive as as Rachel. So the first point that people often value what God doesn't. Yes, God created us, He doesn't make mistakes. But for people's attraction to one another, we often place a high value on it, as Jacob was doing. Many people know what it feels to be overlooked, either by appearance or for other reasons. when I was looking for a job in teaching, I had a good resume, I I was continually building my experience, but job interview after job interview wasn't ticking. I was overlooked. And sometimes I'd get down to the final two or three, but I'd miss out because I didn't have a connection to the school. I was second choice. So we've all felt it in one way or another, however it might pan out, that that we're not good enough or or we're we don't have what it takes. and it sure doesn't feel good. And so with Rachel and Leah Jacob was so head over heels that he agreed to work seven years. That's a long time. I have a seven-year-old, that's a long time, right? He was in it and seemingly would do anything in order to be with her. He knew what he wanted. And looking at Leah, however, knowing that Jacob was willing to work for seven years in order to marry her younger sister, that adds insult to injury, right? Since Jacob had already overlooked her because of her appearance. And now he wants to work for seven years just to marry her. And after all was said and done, and he actually married Leah, when he wanted to marry Rachel, he agreed to work seven more years just for Rachel. So 14 years he's agreeing to have her. In verse 20, so Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel, but her love for her was so strong that it seemed but a few days. And this isn't just about Jacob being tricked because he loves Rachel, but it's given Leah instead. Laban knows what he's doing here. He knows that Leah is supposed to be married off first. And he knows that because of her appearance, he's gonna have a hard time finding a man to marry her. And he also remembers that when he saw Abraham's servant come with camels and the gold bracelets on Rebecca's wrists, the gold ring on her finger back in Genesis twenty-four. Their son wants to be involved in his family now. So he's seeing dollar signs. He knows if if I can have a connection with this family, I'm gonna do whatever I can to just draw them in. Because I want something out of this deal. so that's why they they set up this seven-year agreement and tried to keep him on even longer, right? And so here's Leah thinking. Guess I'm not beautiful. Jacob's choosing Rachel over me, and and also I guess I'm not worthy enough. Because her father feels like no one will marry her, so he has to trick Jacob into marrying her. But when God sees her, you know what he thinks? A a book that we would read in in our house, the Jesus Storybook Bible, puts it like this: It says, When God looked at Leah, he saw a princess. And sure enough, That's exactly what she became. One of Leah's children's children's children would be a prince. The prince of heaven, God's son. God looked at Leah and saw a princess, even if Jacob didn't, even if Laban didn't, even if Rachel didn't. God saw a princess and was going to continue blessing his blessing through her, no matter what else happened around her. And you know what? The good thing is that God's purposes aren't limited by people's preferences. They aren't limited by Jacob's preferences. They aren't limited by Laban's preferences to have his oldest daughter married off first. Picking up in verse twenty-two. So Laban invited every one in the neighborhood, and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. But when Jacob woke up in the morning, it was Leah. What have you done to me? Jacob raged at Laban. I worked seven years for Rachel. Why have you tricked me? It is not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn. Laban replied, The deceiver has become the deceived. If you remember back a few chapters ago in Genesis, when Jacob was younger, He took his brother's Esau's birthright in exchange for a bowl of soup. This was Esau's ultimate inheritance, and he gave it up to satisfy his momentary physical pain. Jacob takes it further. He didn't stop there. When his father Isaac was nearly on his deathbed, he he dressed in Esau's clothes. he put goat skin on his arms to make them hairier, because his brother was very hairy. And it sees his father into giving him his brother's blessing. So not only does he take his birthright and his and inheritance, but he takes his blessing. The blessing in those days was it was an irrevocable prophetic declaration of land, prosperity, and being the ancestral line of the Messiah, which is where we're going with Leah. So even through all of this mess, even through all of the deceiving, through all of the lying, through all of the tricking, God is still at work. He is still orchestrating this, that he's gonna bring his line through this chosen people. And so Jacob has played this game before, but now he's the one who's being deceived. And what a plot twist. part of me wonders what Leah's feeling through all of this, knowing she's not Jacob's first choice, but being thrown in there by her father to satisfy the culture's customs. So God had a plan for Leah's life, and his plan was not going to be thwar thwarted. By someone's preference for someone else. God's plan for Leah's life was ultimately to bring the Messiah, the line of the Messiah through her. And that couldn't happen if she didn't have a husband. And although Laban deceived Jacob, God was still working through this whole situation to bless Leah and to bring the Prince of Heaven through her. Another story we can look at where God does this is when David, further down the line here, is chosen to be king. David had seven older brothers, many of which looked like they'd be well suited to be the king, based on how they looked, based on how who they were, how they looked, all that. In 1 Samuel 16, 7, it says, The Lord said to Samuel, Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Jesse passed over all seven older brothers. And David wasn't even in the lineup. Jesse had to send out to the fields because he was watching the sheep and the goats. He wasn't even there. And it would have been easy for Samuel to have chosen one of David's older brothers, his king, who was there. Maybe they would have fit the bill a little better than David did at that time. But God had a plan, and he wasn't gonna let the fact that he was out watching sheep and goats and not in this lineup throw off his plan. He w was choosing the man after his own heart to lead his people. And nothing could come in the way of that, even if he was eighth choice. The blessing of David didn't look like to anyone like it was the right choice. But again, God's purposes aren't limited by people's preferences. And so finally, I want to end with the point that God makes those who are overlooked part of his greatest story. And when I think of this. I think of of Lucy Pevency in The Lion the Wish and the Wardrobe. Lucy was the the youngest of the four siblings. she had made it into through the wardrobe into Narnia first and had come back to tell her siblings about it in this awesome place. And they're like, Y you're lying. That you you can't possibly have done that. This wardrobe, there's a back to it. We can feel it. Edmund gets in her next older brother. He gets into Narnia and she's like, Great, now they're gonna believe me. And then she continues to tell the siblings that no, this place isn't real, she's still lying. When they all finally get into Narnia, she's the first one, Lucy's the first one to trust Aslan when the others are still not sure about him. and they hesitate. So so Lucy, this this little girl. Because she's little and because she's not as as maybe mature as or as smart as the others, they didn't believe her. But she was the one who could see what the others couldn't. And although Jacob loved Rachel more, God saw Leah. God looked through all the pieces that made her feel overlooked, second choice, not enough. And eventually Leah would become the mother of Judah. Generations later, from Judah's family line would come King David. And from King David's line would come the true Prince of Heaven. Leah felt unwanted, unwanted, unwanted in so many ways. But God saw something else that no one else did. When God looked at Leah, he saw a princess. And sure enough, that's exactly what she would become. What she became. Her descendants would include the Prince of Heaven, Jesus Himself. And unlike Jacob, God doesn't love people because they're beautiful. He loves sinners who are broken, overlooked, and undeserving. And through his love, he makes them beautiful. We're not loved because we're lovely. We are lovely because we're loved by God. And Leah's story, it's a lot of our stories too. Many of us wonder: Am I enough? Or do I really have what it takes to be used by God and to be blessed by Him and through Him? And to take it further. Maybe there's something in your life that that has felt uncomfortable or you assumed was bad, but really God was in turn blessing you and working through you. I didn't have this part written down, but thinking about this and like thinking about life in in in general and one of my stories so I'm I'm a teacher by trade. But it wasn't always that way. I had come, I went to undergrad for youth ministry, and I was a youth pastor for a number of years before I went into teaching. and those couple years that I was a youth pastor with the students was great. with the church, not so great. a lot of things happened that tore me down i in in in ways that I really enjoyed what I was doing. I really took away from that and long story short, bad situations. And discouraged me a lot. I went into teaching, I love what I'm doing right now. but I have always thought y like there is a part of this still with me. and so I actu so last summer I I was preach I preached once, but this that wasn't the first time Andrew asked me. He'd asked me before and I said no. because I wasn't I I didn't feel like this could be a part of me again. but then I thought about it and I was like, Well it I mean I This was a part of what I have done in the past. And I said no because of what I had been through and I didn't want I like it just I didn't want to be a part of that. but I know that I have what it takes to do this. I know that God can speak through me, can use me, and can even use the ways that did not go well for me so that now in the place that I'm in, I can be a blessing. And I can use the things that I've learned back in college and even in the years of youth ministry to share with you and to still be used by God in this way and in other ways. So So long story short of reflecting on that. as I was driving here, I was I was thinking about that. And so I want to encourage you. we're just gonna take a few minutes in the quiet as as the quiet can be here, to reflect on that. are there some areas in your life where maybe it was really difficult and Maybe you're through it and maybe maybe you're not even, because there are some things like that too. But how is God continuing to show that he's faithful, continuing to show that he is blessing you, maybe blessing others through you? and to reflect on that and to to pray into that. And then and we'll we'll we'll close in prayer in just a minute, but take a few minutes to to reflect on that.