Genesis 28–31 — The Revelation of God

This sermon is from Genesis chapters 28 through 31 and is entitled,

Genesis 28 · chapter mention

The Revelation of God.

It was delivered to Ekklesia Churches on Sunday,

October 11th,

2026.

We believe that God's Word, the Bible,

is the revelation of God to us.

And in it,

God reveals to us everything that we need to know about who God is and who we

are called to be and really importantly,

what we must do to be saved.

Why do we believe that?

Well,

that's what God has said again in his word.

Second Timothy 3.16 says that all of scripture is breathed out by God so that we might be

taught and corrected and trained and equipped for the good work that God has for us.

2 Peter 1.3 says that God's word gives us everything we need to know for a life of godliness.

And you might say, well,

of course it does.

But the fact that we go to God's word as the authority actually distinguishes us more than

you might think.

This is the point of difference between true Christianity and many cults who claim to be

Christian.

So Mormons will attempt to add the writings of Joseph Smith to God's word and end up creating

a different God and a different version of humanity in the process.

Instead of adding to scripture,

the Jehovah's Witnesses attempt to twist scripture into their own version that changes the identity

of Jesus and even the nature of salvation.

The Roman Catholics will try to put scripture under

the authority of their human leadership instead of the other way around. And yes,

I realize

I just included Roman Catholicism in a group separate from Christianity,

and I stand by that

based on their own teaching of another gospel than the one found in God's word.

So actually,

this one decision to stand under the authority of God's word is maybe the most significant decision

that you can make.

Because God's word is the truth,

and it teaches us that Jesus is the truth,

the life,

and the way to salvation.

So as one who stands under the authority of what God's word

says, I invite you to come with me to the word of God today for the truth and the life that we need.

We're looking at four chapters today, and when we zoom out that far, we start to see some of the

broader themes coming out of the text.

Roughly, we're looking at this period in Jacob's life

in which he begins his own relationship with God to start figuring out the relationships in his

family,

and he eventually recognizes that he needs salvation.

The main theme going through

all of Genesis is this process of God revealing three things,

who he is and how good he is,

who we are and how broken we are,

and finally his plan for our salvation and restoration.

So today we're going to look at three events in the life of Jacob that I think will help us to

see those things. And by the time we get to chapter 32,

which Taylor is actually going to

preach to us next week,

my hope is that we are ready to take God at his word,

that we are ready

to trust the revelation of God in scripture,

to see how good he is and how broken we are

and how great is his salvation.

To set up this passage with a little bit of context,

after the fiasco with his stolen blessing,

Jacob is sent away by his parents to find Laban.

And on his way through the desert,

something happens to him. This is Genesis chapter 28,

Genesis 28 · chapter mention

starting with verse 10.

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.

And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night

because the sun had set.

Taking one of the stones of the place,

he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed.

And behold,

there was a ladder set up on the earth

and the top of it reached to the heavens.

And behold,

the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

And behold,

the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord,

the God of Abraham,

your father,

and the God of Isaac.

The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring.

Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth,

and you shall spread abroad to the

west and to the east and to the north and to the south.

And in you and your offspring,

all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

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.

God is revealing himself here to Jacob.

And this kind of heavenly reality that is completely different from every man-made religion.

Man-made religions are always an attempt to elevate ourselves and reach greater heights

by our own efforts.

And it's all based on our own merit or worthiness.

If you think back not so long ago to Genesis chapter 11,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

in which these people tried to

build a tower that would reach into the heavens.

They wanted to prove their greatness and thought of themselves with a kind of God-like status.

The reality that God reveals here is very different.

First of all, God comes to Jacob when Jacob was far from God and everyone else in his life.

That's a hopeful reminder to me all on its own.

Second,

instead of a ziggurat or a temple that would have been a man-made attempt like Babel

to reach the heavens,

God reveals a ladder coming down from heaven.

And at the top of the ladder,

the most significant detail,

the Lord stood above it.

Here,

God reveals himself as not only the God

of the promise made to his forefathers, but God makes this same promise to Jacob.

This final time,

God makes this promise of a land and a people and a blessing coming through a single offspring

of Jacob.

But God also reveals that he's going to be with Jacob wherever he goes,

and that he is a God who keeps his promises.

This is a God who has come to us and has revealed his

faithfulness, his power over all,

and his love for Jacob and intent to bless him.

It's incredible.

So let's read a little further to see how Jacob responds to this God who is reaching down to him.

This is verses 16 through 22.

morning,

Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil

on top of it.

He called the name of that place Bethel,

and the name of the city was Luz at the

first.

Then Jacob made a vow,

saying,

If God will be with me,

and will keep me in this way that I go,

and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

so that I come again to my father's house in peace,

then the Lord shall be my God.

And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar,

shall be God's house.

And of all that you give me,

I will give a full tenth to you.

Jacob's response is kind of a mixed bag,

isn't it?

His first response to be afraid of his lack

of awareness of the presence of God was a right response.

The standard response when God reveals

himself to people in scripture is typically some form of falling on their face before him.

When we recognize that God is wholly set apart and greater than anything we have imagined,

and we recognize that we are sinners,

the right response is what scripture calls

the fear of the Lord.

Only someone taking the punishment in our place could cast out

that kind of fear.

But from here,

his response kind of starts to fall apart a little bit,

And he gets hung up on the place instead of the glory of God.

He says,

this place is awesome.

It must be God's house.

I better put a pillar here to mark it and name it and bless it.

Even after God has revealed that he is not in any way limited to this place,

Jacob defaults to the way the nations around him understood their gods to be bound to a place.

Then it gets worse.

In verse 20,

Jacob makes a vow to God that begins with one little two-letter word, if.

If you keep your word, if you feed and clothe me, if you bring me home,

then you shall be my God.

Then I'll give you a tenth or a tithe.

God's promise to Jacob was not limited or conditional.

It was, I will be with you and I will bless you.

But Jacob's response is both limited and conditional.

A redefinition of who God is apart from his revealed word and an if-then statement that's

bound God to his demands instead of the other way around.

How very human of him.

A very sinful and imperfect a response to this holy, perfect God.

It is so important that we allow God's word to reveal the truth of who he is,

because who we believe God is impacts how we respond to him.

When Jacob recognized God's holiness,

he responded rightly.

But when Jacob started to define God based on the culture around him

and his own desire for God to be a kind of genie who obeyed his will,

he started to go very wrong.

And don't think for a second that we don't fall for the same kinds of things.

There was a group of people in California not so long ago who,

like Jacob,

believed that

God was particularly present in their area of the country.

They built a church and they chose

pastors who claimed to be prophets,

who heard from and spoke for God outside of Scripture.

And before long, they started teaching things that were actually opposed to Scripture,

which

has led to all manner of heretical teaching and sinful behavior.

Unironically,

they also called

themselves Bethel.

That's a rather dramatic example of trying to redefine God and his revelation to

us, but I think just as dangerous is the more subtle way that we have all been tempted to treat

God.

When we act as though we're making a deal with God,

to get him to give us what we want.

God promised unbelievable blessing to Jacob,

who had nothing.

And Jacob had the audacity to say,

if you bless me,

then I'll claim you and I'll even give you a tenth of what I have. That's like me

saying to Taylor, hey,

if you give me a hundred bucks,

I'll give you $10 back.

It's such a

transactional understanding of the grace and mercy of God that it's appalling, but we do the exact

same thing.

When we think we're the ones being generous to God through our obedience,

this is

the God who has given everything to we who deserve nothing,

and he is worthy of our everything.

You see how our understanding of God impacts how we rightly respond.

I want my understanding of God to be based on who he says he is so that my response can

be rightfully,

Lord,

with all that you have given me,

all I ask is for more opportunities

to bless your name.

Let's read a little further into Jacob's story.

He arrives eventually at a well.

He's confused about why this group of men is standing around with their sheep because it's

midday and the sheep should have been watered hours ago.

They say, well, they have to wait until some more men come to remove the heavy cover from

this well.

Then Rachel comes along, the daughter of Laban,

his uncle.

He is overjoyed when he finds this out, that this is the family that he's been looking

for.

In fact, he's so overjoyed that he kind of like hulks out and removes the well cover

single-handedly.

Apparently he takes after his mom's strength when it comes to watering the animals.

And when he arrives at Laban's home, Laban sees an opportunity for cheap labor from this strong

man who has eyes for his daughter, Rachel.

And Jacob agrees to serve Laban for seven years in

exchange for her hand in marriage,

which is two times the standard bride price.

But Jacob is in

for quite a surprise.

Let's pick up with chapter 29 verses 21 through 30.

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 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.

Jacob has been tricked in an eerily similar way

to the way that he tricked his blind father.

So for clarity on how this happened,

Jacob asks for preparations to be made for the marriage.

After living with his in-laws for seven years,

he's ready to start a family of his own.

The standard for an ancient Eastern wedding

would have been that the bride wore a veil

that covered her completely

during the wedding ceremony and celebration

until late in the evening in the dark

when the bride was brought to the groom's tent

and they became one flesh.

So Jacob would have been completely

and literally in the dark here.

But Laban knew and Leah knew and Jacob was deceived.

And while he's furious in the morning and confused,

Laban responds with this stinging remark that in context reads something like, listen,

where you come from, the younger might be blessed before the older,

but not in this house.

His solution though is not any better because he offers his second daughter for seven more years

of labor. And the result is a loveless marriage for Leah and a childless marriage for Rachel,

who finds out that she is barren.

I want to clarify here that God's word never condones

or encourages polygamy.

So scripture is sometimes prescriptive and sometimes descriptive.

What's

prescribed or commanded by scripture is found in Genesis 2.24.

It says,

the two shall become one flesh,

one man,

one woman for life.

That was God's intent.

This account of Jacob's second marriage and the direction this goes very shortly are not

telling us to do this.

They are telling us what not to do by describing the actions of sinful people and showing us

the trouble that their actions bring on them.

Let's read just a little more to get a feel for what this family relationship is like.

This is Genesis 29,

starting with verse 31.

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,

and then she ceased bearing.

My heart breaks for Leah as I read this account of the beginning

years of her married life.

The use of the word hated here is a Hebrew expression that means

unloved by comparison.

Compared to Rachel,

she is unloved.

But I also see this change that is

happening in the heart of Leah.

This progression in the naming of her children points to some heart

change that's starting to take place.

With Reuben, she says, maybe now my husband will love me.

Then with Simeon, she recognizes that God hears her.

And then with Levi,

she hopes that in the absence of love, at least her husband will

never leave her now.

And then finally,

she has a fourth son.

She names him Judah,

but this time is different.

She says, this time, I will praise the Lord.

In this moment,

at last, she finds her satisfaction not in her circumstances,

but in the Lord.

And interestingly,

Judah will be the family that the Messiah comes through.

Now,

the story gets really messy here, fair warning,

when the sisters decide to do what

Sarah did with Hagar and give their servants to Jacob to have children on their behalf.

By the time all is said and done in this passage,

Jacob has seven children with Leah,

two children

with each of the female servants and one child with Rachel for a total of 11 sons and one daughter.

But the main thing we walk away from this part of the story with

is a recognition of what a mess we make of our lives.

Our failure to love well and willingness

to give in to selfishness and jealousy results in brokenness and a lack of unity.

It points to our

need for a savior from ourselves,

and certainly a need for a better example of how to love

than the likes of Jacob.

It is Jesus who reveals to us what love is supposed to look like.

Jesus shows us a kind of love that is selfless and freely given.

John 15,

13,

Jesus says,

greater love has no one than this,

that someone lay down his life for his friends.

And this laying

down of the life that the husband is commanded to do for his bride in the same way that Jesus

laid down his life for the church.

Jesus also shows us a kind of love that is for the unlovable.

And it is those who were the outcasts of society that Jesus refused to cast out of his presence.

He understood people like Leah.

And the love of Jesus is actually what heals the brokenness in the life of broken people

and even broken families.

In fact, the first time that this family really experiences unity is when Jacob calls his

wives together to talk about leaving Laban.

After years of being mistreated by Laban, he shares with Rachel and Leah what God has revealed

to him about how they will be saved from this situation.

and Rachel and Leah are united at long last in saying,

do whatever God has told you to do.

As we reach the end of this passage, let me catch us up again on what has taken place over the years

that Jacob has worked for Laban.

Jacob makes a deal with Laban to continue caring for his flocks

and to take only the spotted sheep and goats as his payment.

Laban thinks this is a great deal

because those are the minority of his flock.

White sheep are certainly the dominant gene

and the same thing with goats.

And so Laban thinks this is a great deal

because these are the minority of his flock.

He further tricks Jacob also

by taking all of the existing spotted animals

out of the flock

and sending them away with his sons.

What Laban doesn't know, though, is that God has revealed to Jacob

that he will make Laban's herds produce a majority of spotted animals,

going against the norm.

Jacob does this thing where he lays sticks without bark in front of the animals,

and we're not sure if that was something God told him to do

or it was an existing belief.

Either way,

God is the one who brings this about,

And Jacob becomes very wealthy.

He ends up with enormous herds of very healthy spotted sheep and goats that belong to him

as Laban's herds dwindle.

Laban and his sons become angry with Jacob,

and God tells Jacob it's time to go back to

Canaan.

His wives are on board because they realize by mistreating Jacob,

Laban is actually mistreating

them.

Rachel even steals her father's carved idols and sits on them in her saddlebags,

which is the ultimate act of disrespect towards these false gods.

So there's no love lost here, but Laban isn't happy.

Let's read one more section.

This is Genesis 31,

starting with verse 17.

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

He drove away all his livestock,

all his property that he had gained,

the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan Aram,

to go to the land of

Canaan to his father Isaac.

Laban had gone to shear his sheep,

and Rachel stole her father's

household gods,

and Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he intended to flee.

He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates,

and set his face toward

the hill country of Gilead.

When it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,

he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the

hill country of Gilead.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him,

Be careful not to say anything to Jacob,

either good or bad.

God is leading Jacob and his family out of this land where they have been living as indentured

servants,

more or less.

One thing I've always missed here is the connection that would have

jumped off the page to the Israelites hearing this story for the first time.

This group of people who

has only just left slavery in Egypt,

escaped into the desert,

crossed a body of water,

been pursued,

and been saved by God's intervention.

And here,

Jacob has just left a kind of slavery to Laban.

He's escaped into the desert,

crossed a river,

been pursued by his enemy,

and been saved by God's

intervention.

Do you think that God was revealing something to his people and to us about how

salvation works?

God works his salvation in his time and through his provision.

He is our salvation,

just like he was the one saving Jacob from Laban.

And even more than a salvation from a physical enemy,

God has worked out this plan that shows us who he is

and shows us how to love and reveals his salvation to us.

Jesus is the provision of all those things.

And I want us to go back to where this story started for a moment as we close.

In the beginning of this story today,

when God revealed himself to Jacob,

He stood at the top of the ladder these angels are going up and down on.

He stood at this entrance that Jacob called the gate of heaven,

the entrance to the presence

of a holy God.

And if we go to John chapter 10,

John 10:9

verse 9, Jesus says something about himself as the

good shepherd.

That probably would have made a lot of sense to a shepherd like Jacob.

He says, I am the door.

If anyone enters by me,

he will be saved.

The good shepherd,

Jesus,

is the one standing at the top of this ladder.

Jacob didn't fully understand who God was, but in Jesus we do.

Jesus is the one who not only reached down, but came down and walked among us.

Colossians 1.15 says,

He is the image of the invisible God.

He's showing us who God is, what he looks like.

Jacob certainly expressed passion for Rachel,

but he didn't seem to know what love was really

supposed to look like.

But Jesus shows us what sacrificial love is supposed to look like.

1 John 3.16,

by this we know love,

that he laid down his life for us.

Jacob was only beginning to understand the salvation of God.

He could look back and see

what God had done, but Jesus is the living proof in his death and resurrection from the dead

that it is finished.

And if we have found our freedom in Christ Jesus,

then we are a people who are free indeed.

Ekklesia is a church of house churches gathering weekly in Council Bluffs, Iowa,

and in homes throughout the week.

We are a Bible-centered church focused on preaching from Scripture

and making disciples of Jesus.

You can learn more about what we believe

and contact a pastor at ecclesiachurches.org.