Providence That Guides And Disciplines - Genesis 29:1-30

We are going to read the entirety of the chapter.

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the

land of the sons of the east. He looked and saw

a well in the field. And behold, three flocks

of sheep were lying there beside it. For from

that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone

on the mouth of the well was large. When all

the flocks were gathered there, they would then

roll the stone from the mouth of the well and

water the sheep and put the stone back in its

place on the mouth of the well. Jacob said to

them, My brothers, where are you from? And they

said, We are from Haran. He said to them, Do

you know Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said,

We know him. And he said to them, Is it well

with them? And they said, It is well. And here

is Rachel, his daughter, coming with the sheep.

He said, Behold, it is still high day. It is

not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water

the sheep and go, pasture them. But they said,

We cannot until all the flocks are gathered and

they roll the stone 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. When Jacob saw Rachel,

the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother,

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

Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth

of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his

mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and

lifted his voice and wept. Jacob told Rachel

that he was a relative of her father and that

he was Rebecca's son. And she ran and told her

father. So when Laban heard the news of Jacob,

his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced

him and kissed him and brought him to his house.

Then he related to Laban all these things. 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 relative, 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. And Leah's eyes were

weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form. and face.

Now Jacob loved Rachel, so 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 to give her to another man. Stay with me.

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they

seemed to him but a few days because of his love

for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my

wife, for my time is completed, that I may go

into her. Laban gathered all the men of the place

and made a feast. Now in the evening he took

his daughter Leah and brought her to him, and

Jacob went into her. Laban also gave his maid

Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. So it

came about in the morning that, behold, it was

Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this you

have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I

served with you? Why then have you deceived me?

But Laban said, It is not the practice in our

place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.

Complete the week of this one, and we will give

you the other also. for the service which you

shall serve with me for another seven years.

Jacob did so and completed her week and gave

him to his daughter Rachel as his wife. Laban

also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel

as her maid. So Jacob went into Rachel also,

and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah. and

he served with Laban for another seven years.

Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and he

opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah

conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben,

for she said, Because the Lord has seen my affliction,

surely now my husband will love me. Then she

conceived again and bore a son and said, Because

the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has

therefore given me this son also. So she named

him Simeon. She conceived again and bore a son

and said, Now this time my husband will become

attached to me because I have borne him three

sons. Therefore he was named Levi. And she conceived

again and bore a son and said, This time I will

praise the Lord. Therefore she named him Judah.

Then she stopped bearing. Let's go to the Lord

in prayer. Father, we come to you this Lord's

Day. And Father, we come to your word. Father,

we ask that you would bless the ministry of your

word to the hearts and minds of your people today.

Lord, I ask that by your spirit, you would comfort

the afflicted. You would lift up the downcast.

Lord, you would humble the prideful and haughty.

Lord, that you would encourage the discouraged.

Lord, that you would strengthen the weak. Father,

that you would be in our midst and you would

bless the ministry of your word abundantly. Lord,

use your word to pierce the hearts and minds

of unbelieving men and women and young people.

They would be drawn unto Christ. in faith. We

ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. You

may be seated. Do you believe in coincidence?

Do you believe in accidents in your life? Do

you believe in happenstance in your life? What

about luck? Do we just get lucky sometimes by

this odd existential power and force that kind

of floats around the universe? It favors some

people, but it doesn't favor other people. Do

you believe in those realities, Christian? I

do not, and I do not believe that the Bible presents

those to be real. The Bible teaches that God

is sovereign, that God governs all things, the

big, important things over the entirety of the

world and creation and the universe, down to

the smallest details. in the life of the most

unknown, unseen person. I don't believe in luck,

accidents, happenstance, or any of those things.

I believe in a sovereign God who providentially

governs his world. And the hope of that is...

that there is purpose in all things for the believer.

There is purpose in every situation, in every

hardship, heartache, pain, hurt, loss, tension,

whatever it might be. There is purpose in all

of those things because God is sovereign and

God providentially governs all things. That means,

That nothing in your life, last year, last week,

this morning or today, was by luck, brothers

and sisters. It was not by accident. It didn't

just randomly happen. It is ordered and designed

and overseen and superintended by a sovereign,

and a faithful God. That means that today, at

this very moment, as you sit under the preaching

of God's word, you are not here by random chance,

brothers and sisters. Right now, in this moment,

you are here under the superintendence of divine

and sovereign power. You are here at this moment

right now because there is a purpose for you

to be here in this moment. There is a purpose

for you to sit under the preaching of God's word.

There is a purpose for you to hear the word of

God proclaimed this morning, at this time, in

this exact moment. Do you believe that? Because

there is. There is meaning, brothers and sisters,

in what you are doing right now. God has an intended

design and end for you to be here in this present

moment to sit under the preaching of the word

and to worship his holy name. Receive that today

by faith, brothers and sisters. Sit under the

preaching of God's Word with open ears and open

hearts, and be encouraged and strengthened and

edified by the Word of the living God. He has

a purpose for it in your life. Today we're going

to consider Genesis 29, and we're actually going

to be in verses 1 through... We're going to leave

verses 31 through 35 for next week. This week

we're going to consider the providential guidance

of God in Jacob's life. We'll see this primarily

in the first 14 verses. Then the second half

of the text, in verses 15 through 30, we start

seeing his situation change to some extent, don't

we? What was harmonious and pleasant and this

wonderful reception by Laban and his household

turns volatile fairly quickly in Jacob's life.

And so the second half of this text, we'll see

the providential discipline of God in Jacob's

life. I'm sure that many of you, as you've read

your Bibles, you come to this. period in Jacob's

life, and you think, you know, that seems strangely

fitting that this would occur to Jacob. It almost

seems ironic that this is happening. Well, it

is the disciplining hand, the chastising hand

of God in Jacob's life, teaching him and training

him. in righteousness, holiness, and godliness,

brothers and sisters. So we'll see the providential

discipline of God in Jacob's life. At the very

end, we'll make a few application points with

regards to walking faithfully through providence

as believers in Jesus Christ. Beginning with

the providential guidance of God in Jacob's life

in verses 1 through 14. Now, we have to remember

what took place last week. Jacob is sent away.

He is blessed. If you remember, God comes to

Jacob and appears to him in this vision. God

speaks a great deal. Jacob hears and Jacob receives

it. Jacob is eager. He's excited. And we read

this in verses 28 -15 in particular. Behold,

this is the Lord speaking to Jacob. Behold, I

am with you and will keep you wherever you go

and will bring you back to this land. For I will

not leave you until I have done what I have promised

you. So in this text, we essentially find God

promising preservation. and providential protection

for the patriarch Jacob. Now, one interesting

thing, or one important thing that we need to

make note of, there is an aspect, anytime we're

reading the Old Testament, there is an aspect

in which we as New Covenant believers are nothing

like Jacob. There is an aspect with regards to

King David. And Moses and the prophets, where

we as New Covenant believers are nothing like

them at all. Why? Because Jacob was a patriarch

that's providing the physical lineage for the

coming Messiah. That will never ever be the case

for you or for me. We could say that a patriarch

was in a sense an office, kind of like prophet

or king. It's not... termed that way, but it's

kind of like that. They're a figurehead that

God worked in and through. The same is true of

King David. As king of Israel, he had a special

anointing from God, the Holy Spirit, to perform

that office. Brothers and sisters, we will never

be like that. We aren't the king of Israel, and

we never will be the king of Israel. specifically

and uniquely anointed by God to perform that

task at that time. The same is true of the Old

Testament prophets. The same is true of the apostles

and so forth. However, there is a sense in which

we as believers today, as New Covenant believers,

are very much like Jacob. We are very much like

David. We are very much like the prophets. Do

you know what that is? They were men of faith.

They were men that believed in the promises of

God. They were men that were indwelt by the Spirit

of God, that were being sanctified through their

faith by the Holy Spirit. They were men that

needed to be changed. They were men that needed

to grow. They were men that were reliant upon

the Lord. So there's a sense in which we are

very... very similar to these men. The same is

true of us and Jacob. God promises his providential

preservation and protection to the patriarch.

And God promises new covenant believers his providence

and his purposes, all his sovereignty to bring

about his purposes in their life and for his

Though those have distinct elements in them that

make us different from old covenant saints and

so forth. But we're very, very alike with Jacob

in this sense today. We have a great deal to

learn from providence and walking in the midst

of providence. He's given this promise in chapter

28, verse 15. And then we see at the very beginning

of chapter 29, starting in verse 1, that Jacob

went on his journey. The text literally says

he lifted up his feet, meaning it's implying

that there is some pep in his step. There's an

eagerness in Jacob. to follow the Lord and go

where the Lord has him. Why? Because of the promise

that God has made to him. So we see God's clear

providence in this text. How do we see God's

clear providence in chapter 29, verses 1 through

14? Well, the first way that we see his providence

clearly in this text is that God brings Jacob

to the exact right region. Notice that he went

on his journey and came to the land of the sons

of the east. He knew in a general sense where

he was headed and how to get there. But what

we'll find is that there are too many exact details

and timing issues for this to be incidental in

his life. God brings him to the right area, the

right region, safely. But we also see that Jacob

comes to the exactly right well. In that day

and age, there were many wells that shepherds

used. And we see that in 2 -4, verses 2 -4, Jacob,

after his long journey of weeks and weeks, hundreds

of miles, he ends up at the exact right well.

the perfect place where he needed to be. But

we also see that he immediately meets men who

knew exactly who he was looking for at that exact

well that he ended up at. They knew Laban. They

knew who he was. They knew that he was doing

well. The man that Jacob was looking for, these

men knew. And they knew that he was doing well.

But we also find that Rachel, the daughter of

Laban, arrives at just the right moment. What

was Jacob's purpose for traveling to this region?

To find his family and ultimately to find a wife.

What is the luck? What is the probability, brothers

and sisters, that Jacob, after traveling for

weeks on end, comes to the right place at the

right time, and one of his future wives ends

up right there just then, literally coming to

him, pursuing him, walking up to him? The chances

fall apart, brothers and sisters. This is divine

providence at work. She comes and she's introduced

and he meets her. And then we see that Jacob

realizes God's provision. In verse 11, then Jacob

kissed Rachel and lifted his voice and wept.

He realizes, God has brought me where I need

to be. God has placed me. where I need to be.

He has been faithful to me. And then Laban receives

him into his household. We see this in verses

12 through 14. The place he was sent to find,

he ends up there. How is all of this possible?

Well, it's clear. providence and divine superintendence,

brothers and sisters. I want to read to you from

the 1689, which is our church's confession of

faith. I want to read of divine providence, chapter

5 and paragraph 1. Listen to how it defines providence.

God, the good creator of all things. and his

infinite power and wisdom upholds, directs, arranges,

and governs all creatures and things from the

greatest to the least by his perfectly wise and

holy providence to the purpose for which they

were created. He governs according to his infallible

foreknowledge. and the free and unchangeable

counsel of his own will. His providence leads

to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power,

justice, infinite goodness, and mercy. This is

the providence of God at work, brothers and sisters.

This is not luck. This is not happen chance.

This is not random or possibility. This is God.

Sovereignly directing and ordering and preserving

this man so that he could accomplish his redemptive

purposes in and through him in the future. Notice

in this chapter, whereas God spoke a great deal

in the last chapter, he manifested and revealed

himself to Jacob, in this chapter, God doesn't

speak a word. He doesn't communicate with Jacob,

does he? He's not manifesting himself to Jacob

in a vision, but that does not mean that God

is not actively involved in guiding and directing

Jacob's life and his steps and his path. He obviously

is. The same is very true of the book of Ruth

and Esther. In the book of Ruth and Esther, I

don't believe it's the case in Ruth. In Ruth,

the name of Yahweh is not mentioned hardly at

all. In Esther, I don't believe that it's mentioned

at all. However, in those books, you know what

is abundantly clear? God is actively accomplishing

his purposes. at a distance and uninvolved like

the deists claim that God is. Deists claim that

God kind of got the world going. He got it wound

up and he let go and he stepped back and he became

uninvolved and he just kind of lets men see what

their fate is. That's not a Christian view of

God. Christians believe that God is intimately

involved. in the world, in the church, in the

life of his people, accomplishing any number

of things according to his good purpose at any

moment in time. Oftentimes in our own lives,

brothers and sisters, as we look out into the

unbelieving world and we see the culture and

we see the difficulty and the pains and the hardships

of the world, do you know what we need to do?

We need to close our natural eyes for a moment.

And we need to lift up our eyes of faith and

see that God is good and God is faithful and

that God in his providence is working and accomplishing

all his good redemptive purposes, not just in

me, but everywhere, brothers and sisters. By

faith, recognize the providence of God in your

life. and in this world for the good of the church,

brothers and sisters. Sometimes faith, with reference

to providence, is just a matter of recognizing

providence at work, brothers and sisters. Don't

just accept and be okay with this taking place

and this happening. But brothers and sisters,

actively believe by faith that God governs all

things. Not just the good things. Not just the

pleasant and enjoyable things. But brothers and

sisters, God governs the hard, the terrible,

the painful things in our lives. That's the hope

of providence for the believer. And we'll see

that more as we continue considering this. So

we've seen the providential guidance of God in

Jacob's life. He brought him right where he needs

to be, didn't he, brothers and sisters? But we

also see the providential discipline of God in

Jacob's life. This begins to come into focus

with Jacob's love and labor for Rachel. Now,

I want to make a brief side note regarding this

text. I made the same side note when we were

in Genesis chapter 24 and Abraham sent his servant

Genesis 24 · chapter mention

to find a wife for Isaac. He sent her looking

for Rebecca, sent the servant looking for Rebecca.

This text, This text is not written for the purpose

of understanding how you normatively find a wife.

This text is written to show us how God preserves

and brings about His redemptive purposes so that

Christ could come and be the Savior of the world.

Are there elements in here that are encouraging

and uplifting with regards to relationships?

Yes, there are, brothers and sisters. But you

also have to remember that there wasn't just

one wife involved in this situation. By the end

of it, there would be multiple. What is the purpose

of this text? We can't just take it and rip it

out and use it for some moralistic purpose for

practical ends in our lives. Brothers and sisters,

this text is written. It is inspired so that

we know how God brought about his redemptive

purposes in Christ. And if we hone in on that,

we will benefit spiritually the most from it.

If we seek to moralize it and just use it for

relationships, we are not going to benefit from

the word of God as we ought to. But if we apply

it based on what it was intended to accomplish

and its meaning, It will edify our souls as it's

meant to, brothers and sisters. So we see this

providential discipline of God in Jacob's life.

And we really do see it start coming into focus

with his love and labor for Rachel. We see this

in verses 15 through 20. Jacob's been there a

bit, and Laban starts to initiate a working relationship

of some sort with Jacob. Surely Laban has to

understand and know that Jacob is interested

in one of his daughters. It says that Jacob shared

all of these things, likely telling him why he's

there, The purpose he's come, he's come to find

a wife. His father sent him there for that purpose.

Likely he's been working, but we don't know what

his wages have been or what he's been doing.

But now it seems as though it's time for some

sort of formal arrangement. We read this in verse

15. Then Laban said to Jacob, because you're

my relative, should you therefore serve me for

nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be? Then

we read in verse 16, Now Laban had two daughters.

The name of the older was Leah, and the name

of the younger was Rachel. One important thing

we have to recognize in verse 16 is the introduction

of this language of younger and older. If you

remember throughout the book of Genesis, especially

in the last several chapters, we've seen this

language of younger and older, firstborn and

so on, all throughout it. That's an important

element in Jacob's life in general, isn't it,

brothers and sisters? He is the younger, and

he stole the blessing from the older Esau through

deception. So those are relevant terms for Jacob

in his own life. Now we see the heart of this

discipline from God with most clearly with Laban's

deceit of Jacob. And we see this in verses 21

through 30. It comes to its head in a sense in

verse 25. So it came about in the morning after

the consummation of the wedding ceremony. A long

process, a long celebration. It culminates with

the consummation of the bride and the husband.

And it's dark out. It ends at night. She's likely

wearing a wedding veil that covers her face.

Jacob has not seen an inch. Of either one of

these individuals, whether it be Leah or Rachel,

beyond their face down likely, brothers and sisters,

there's no defining characteristic that he knows

where he can determine. So it's night. They consummate

the wedding. Jacob wakes up in the morning. And

what does he discover? The woman that he wanted

to marry was not the woman he woke up next to.

He wanted to marry Rachel, the youngest daughter.

But he ends up with Leah, the oldest daughter.

It's quite a surprise. So it came about in the

morning that behold, it was Leah. And he said

to Laban, what is this you have done to me? Was

it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then

have you deceived me? Now think about the individual

that is saying that. Why then have you, Laban,

deceived me, Jacob the trickster? The deceiver

has been deceived, brothers and sisters. The

trickster has been tricked. The schemer has now

been schemed. He's been brought face to face

with the same reality that he brought upon his

aging father and his elder brother. He's blown

away. And you know what? It's already cost him

seven years of his life. He worked and labored

seven years for Rachel. And now he can't get

what he wants. And what will it cost him to get

what he wants? Another seven years of his life.

The author is obviously making a comparison between

Jacob's behavior, his deception, and Laban's

deception of Jacob. One account is in Genesis

27, and this account here in Genesis 29. What

is he showing us? What is similar? What is he

comparing between the two? Well, we think about

Genesis 27, Jacob deceived Isaac, his father.

Here we find that Laban deceives Jacob. We see

that Jacob disguised himself, brothers and sisters.

And what do we find here? Leah is concealed so

that he doesn't know who she is. Isaac, his eyesight

was failing. He could not see. What was in front

of him was not visible. He was blind in a sense,

brothers and sisters. Yet what do we find here?

Jacob could not see who was in front of him.

We find that Jacob used clothing in his deceit.

Here likely the wedding veil. contributes to

the deception. Previously, Jacob gets what he

wants through the deception. Here, he does not

get what he wants through Laban's deception.

Think about what God might be doing in Jacob's

life in this trial, in this hardship. What is

the significance of the older and younger language

exactly? Think about the majority of Jacob's

life. What has he been doing? He's been seeking

the preeminence of the younger himself. He's

been seeking to supplant the older. to get that

which the older had, the blessing. Yet here,

he wants the younger, but he can't get the younger.

Here, the younger is supplanted by the older

brothers and sisters. It's almost like we see

a providential and divine reversal that is intended

and meant to instruct and teach Jacob about the

realities of his own heart, brothers and sisters.

God is teaching him through this trial about

the nature and condition of his own sinful, deceitful

heart. He's showing him the folly of sin. and

his need for holiness and godliness in his own

life. Isn't that what God is doing? There is

divine chastisement. There is divine discipline

and correction taking place in and through these

providential circumstances. What is a person

forced to do? When that which they want so dearly,

they cannot have. Meaning Rachel. What is Jacob

forced to do? In his own heart, in his own life.

When he can't have what he wants. What his heart

desires. He's forced to reckon with himself,

brothers and sisters. He's forced to reckon with

his God. He's forced to reckon with the reality,

will I be content with what God has given me,

with where God has placed me? Will I be content?

Will I be content with God himself? He's forced

to reckon with his own heart. his own situation,

his own life, and he is forced to reckon with

his God, brothers and sisters, because God is

withholding that which he so longs to obtain.

The same thing happens in our lives. Are there

things that you want and you long for in your

life and your situation? Are there things you

want to come about? Are there things you desire

and you long for, brothers and sisters, yet they're

always outside of your grasp? You can't change

them. You can't fix them. You can't bring them

back. You can't make it right. You can't get

it. You can't obtain it. What are you to do?

Reckon with your own heart. Reckon with your

own situation. Reckon with the providence of

God. Trust him, brothers and sisters. We see

this taking place in Jacob's life. And brothers

and sisters, the exact same thing happens in

our lives regularly. You see, Jacob needed providential

correction. Jacob needed. providential chastisement

in his life for the sake of holiness, godliness,

and training in righteousness. We all need providential

discipline in our lives. We all have a remnant

of sin within us. We are all more wayward than

we really think we are. We all have much further

to go than we think we do. We all miss the mark

far below that which we think we do. Brothers

and sisters, we all need the correcting hand

of God in our lives to grow us in holiness. We

need his grace and his mercy to change us effectively

and to partner with providence. to transform

us more and more into the image and likeness

of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not some of us, but

all of us in Christ as the children of God need

loving, fatherly discipline from his hand. That

brings about greater holiness, greater godliness.

and further righteousness in our lives. The right

orientation of our affections in our life, where

we love the Lord supremely and preeminently over

and above everything else in our lives. Jacob

needed it. How do we know that he needed this

correction? Well, first, because this narrative

is being likened to, and it's mirroring Genesis

24, which we've already spoken of briefly. In

Genesis 24, Abraham sends his faithful servant

to seek out and pursue a wife for his son, Isaac,

who is Rebekah. You can go back and read that

account and you will see all kinds of similarities

and differences. likenesses between it and this.

One of the significant differences is that the

servant, which Jacob is likened to in this story,

I believe, the servant was a pious and a prayerful

man. He prayed to God to show him his will, to

bring about his providence, to manifest his purposes,

and God answered, his prayer. He prayed several

times throughout that account. Yet, when Jacob

arrives on the scene, we have no record of him

being a man with deep spiritual depth and piety.

We find a man, honestly, that's still kind of

a show -off. and a man that's eager to tell others

what they ought to be doing with their sheep

and their herd. If we think about what he does

here, early on in the text, he says this, starting

in verse 7. This is Jacob speaking to these shepherds

he just met. He obviously knows a little bit

about the business. He said, behold, it is still

high day. It is not time for the livestock to

be gathered. Water the sheep and go pasture them.

Jacob, you just got here. Who is this guy? And

all of a sudden he's bossing all these men around.

Maybe he's in the right. Maybe they're just lounging

around, killing their time when they ought to

be doing something else. But still. Who is this

man? And then what does he do when Rachel arrives?

Previously, it says, it implies that multiple

men would have rolled the stone away from the

mouth of the well. There's a big rock on top

of the well that keeps out the dirt and all the

junk from the water. But what does it say that...

Jacob did. In verse 10, when Jacob saw Rachel,

the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother,

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

Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth

of the well. What's he doing? He's showing off

for Rachel. He's puffing himself up. Look at

me. I can move that rock all by myself. I didn't

need a shepherd over here. I didn't need a shepherd

over there. There you go. Now let me water your

camels. Obviously, brothers and sisters, Jacob

needs a little bit of maturity to be worked into

him. He needs a little bit of growth. in godliness

and holiness in his life. Now, how else do we

know that Jacob needs providential correction?

Well, we have the entire episode of him deceiving

his older brother and his father. He wasn't innocent.

Jacob needs correction in his life, brothers

and sisters. More than he needed a wife. More

than he needed prosperity. More than he needed

wealth. More than he needed influence and blessing,

brothers and sisters. Do you know what he needed?

Do you know what Jacob needed in his life? He

needed to be personally changed by the power

of the living God. He needed to be transformed

more and more. He needed to be sanctified, brothers

and sisters. He needed to grow in the grace and

knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He needed

to love his covenant. making covenant, keeping

covenant, promising God more than he did. He

needed to learn how to rely and trust upon the

Lord who has just made these glorious promises

to him more and more. He needed to be changed

himself. And he would be changed. We see a big

change take place in him. Just a few chapters

later, now many years later, But a few chapters

later, we read this in chapter 32, starting in

verse 9. As he's approaching Esau to meet, Jacob

said, notice he is praying now to God. Jacob

said, O God of my father, Abraham, and God of

my father, Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, Return

to your country and to your relatives and I will

prosper you. He's understanding and he knows

who this God is. He knows his covenant faithfulness

now. What does he say at the start of verse 10?

I am unworthy of all the loving kindness and

all the faithfulness which you have shown to

your servants. What a marked change. has taken

place in the patriarch Jacob. He sees the fact

that he is unworthy of the loving kindness of

God. Humility has been worked deep down into

his soul over the years. How has God worked that

humility into his life? Through providential

correction, and discipline, in particular through

this Rachel and Leah and Laban episode, brothers

and sisters. God's discipline was fitting for

him. It was revealing in his heart. And brothers

and sisters, it was effective to work and change

in him. The doctrine of divine discipline for

us today is very similar. Let me read another

paragraph from the 1689. The same chapter, paragraph

5. And here it speaks of the particular use or

purpose of providence in the believer's life.

in the life of the church. The perfectly wise,

righteous, and gracious God often allows his

own children for a time to experience a variety

of temptations and the sinfulness of their own

hearts. Do you hear what it's saying? God allows

his children to experience the effects of their

own sinful hearts for a time. He does this to

chastise them for their former sins or to make

them aware of the hidden strength of corruption

and the deceitfulness of their hearts so that

they may be humbled. He also does this to lead

them to a closer and more constant dependence

on him, to sustain them, to make them more cautious,

about all future circumstances that may lead

to sin, and for other just and holy purposes.

So whatever happens to any of his elect happens

by his appointment, for his glory and for their

good. Brothers and sisters, what an edifying

and encouraging portion of the confession. God

has a purpose in the pains and the hurts and

the losses and the suffering and the brokenness,

whatever it might be. God has good, holy purposes

in all of it. When we think about providence

as believers, it's vitally important that we

don't think about it as divine judgment. Now,

when we say judgment, I mean this. as coming

from God as a judge or from wrath. There is therefore

now no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus. God in his providence does not treat his

people like he does those who are not his people.

in his providence. All correction from a sovereign

God is from a hand that is loving. It is remedial

in a sense, brothers and sisters, meaning it's

a remedy for certain cure, for certain maladies

and sicknesses and diseases in them. It is corrective,

it's formative, it shapes, it brings them on

the right path. And brothers and sisters, it

is restorative. Meaning God is seeking to restore

the believer. He's seeking to grow them and mature

them in holiness and godliness. The end is always

redemptive in nature, brothers and sisters. God's

discipline in the life of his people always.

always, always has a redemptive purpose. How

so? Well, it is what evidences sonship, according

to Hebrews chapter 12. It's not as though God

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

abandons his people when hardship comes upon

them. No, brothers and sisters, it's a loving

God. teaching and training his beloved children.

Because it would be a wicked, an unholy father

who refuses to discipline and to correct his

children whom he professes to love. God in his

love corrects his children because he knows ultimately,

though it's painful in the moment, It is good

for them in the end. It is glorifying for his

name. According to Romans 8, verse 28, correction

Romans 8:28

is good for us. And that good is defined as conformity

to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. Meaning

anything that makes us more like Christ is good

for us, brothers and sisters. Anything that teaches

us to love in a biblical capacity more. Anything

that teaches us to forgive. Anything that teaches

us to love God, to be more patient, to be more

holy. to walk and to live and to think in accordance

with God's holy law more and more, just like

the Lord Jesus Christ did perfectly. Anything

that produces that in our life, brothers and

sisters, that is the good. And it's preparatory.

How is it preparatory? Well, when God disciplines

his children that he loves so dearly, he is preparing

them for glory. He is preparing them for heaven,

brothers and sisters. He is preparing them for

the appearing of Christ. Discipline and correction.

God working all things for the good of his people.

Brothers and sisters, it always leans toward

and works toward glory every single time because

it prepares us for that reality. We have the

absolute promise that if we are in Christ Jesus,

all things work together for our good. Every

hardship in your life has a purpose. Every painful

situation, every frustrating occasion, Every

time your heart spikes or anger flows or whatever

it might be, whenever downcast moods come upon

you, whenever you're cast down by the devil and

you're driven to near despair, do you know what?

Those are occasions, brothers and sisters, for

God to work good in your life, to sanctify you

and to prepare you for the weight of eternal

glory. How do we walk faithfully through these

providential realities? Let me just briefly walk

through these. First, don't despise God's providence

in your life, whether it be good or bad, meaning

hard or difficult, easy or painful. Don't despise

it, brothers and sisters. Submit to it by faith.

Don't let difficult providences drive you deeper

into the flesh. Let them compel you closer to

the Lord Jesus. Don't let them drive you deeper

into despair or bitterness or away from the Lord.

Let them draw you unto God by faith. Receive

them by faith. Don't despair. Vehemently seek

out holiness, godliness. and maturity. Mortify

that which God works out of you through discipline.

Kill it. Rid that which God is disciplining you

for in your life. Zealously seek out likeness

to Jesus Christ as those who are in Christ. And

out of that godly life, make wise decisions in

your life and in this world. We think about the

world that God has made. He has created a world

of means, brothers and sisters. We use those

terms in church with regards to the Lord's Supper

and the preaching of the word and baptism, the

means of grace, but we have to remember. that

God has made the entire world to be a world of

means. So out of your godliness, out of your

pursuit of Christ, make good and wise decisions

in this life to bring about God's providence

in your life. Use the means that God has given

to this world to accomplish the ends that you...

So desire. Make good and godly decisions. Bad

decisions have real consequences. But decisions

made prayerfully with a good and godly motive

that are not prohibited by the scriptures, brothers

and sisters. Things that are unclear. Things

that do not bring you under the power of sin.

Things that are not unhelpful for you or unedifying

for your neighbor. Brothers and sisters, make

good and godly decisions. Make the decision and

move forward. Trust the Lord. Pray. And live

a bold life. Knowing that you are immortal. until

your personal task is complete. Nothing can kill

you until your appointed time. Be bold in this

life, brothers and sisters. Don't be timid. God

has appointed an end for your life. Zealously

pursue your purposes in Christ. Be bold and confident

in those realities. Use the means. And live according

to what is revealed. There is a temptation with

providence. It is good and right to meditate

and contemplate on God's providence in your life.

We see this all throughout the scriptures. We

ought to do this. But it can... Take on another

form in that you seek out the secret things of

God. Meaning, God, I don't understand this. Why?

We start complaining and doubting and accusing

God himself. That's never good and that's never

right. So live according to what is revealed

in the word of God and leave the secret things,

God's decretive purposes to him. Obey that which

God has made known. Live by faith, brothers and

sisters. I want to close by reading one paragraph

from the confession. For those here who don't

know Christ, how do you relate to the providence

of God? How does God in his providence relate

to you? Because he is not working all things

for your good. Listen to what paragraph five

says. God, as the righteous judge, sometimes

blinds and hardens wicked and ungodly people

because of their sins. He withholds his grace

from them. by which they could have been enlightened

in their understanding and had their hearts renewed.

Not only that, but sometimes he also takes away

the gifts they already have and exposes them

to situations that their corrupt natures turn

into opportunities for sin. Moreover, he gives

them over to their own lust, the temptations

of the world, and the power of Satan. so that

they harden themselves in response to the same

influences that God uses to soften others. Turn

to Christ and live. Turn to Christ, trust in

him, and be the benefactor of God's good purposes

in his providence in your life.