Genesis (Written)

Genesis 32:13-21
Preparing for an Encounter

Introduction: Today we have another interesting portion of the life of Jacob. The nine verses are all a part of the whole story, and yet they are set off and distinct from both the prayer of the previous verses and the encounter with the angel in the following ones. These offsets are important to analyze as offsets.

When they are, we can more easily determine why the details were included and we can get great insights into how God is working in history and through this marvelous unfolding plan.

Text Verse: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1

Through the whole Bible, from its earliest verses, we see hints of One who is coming, One who is anticipated, and One who fulfills all of the pictures which are given. Malachi specifically said that He was on His way, but at other times, we need to look carefully behind the lines to see it. This is what we will experience yet again today and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised

I. A Gift for Esau

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

After Jacob’s great prayer of faith, he stayed in the same place as where he was. Without moving on, he prepares a gift for Esau. Both actions might seem like the great prayer of faith wasn’t very great after all. Is Jacob lacking faith?

Instead of moving forward, he lags behind. And in giving a gift, on the surface it does seem as if he’s lacking faith that God will protect him. However, and as I’ve said in the past, if you want something from God, it doesn’t in any way stop you from acting.

The old saying, “Help yourself and God will help you” was as true for Jacob as it is for us. There is no lack of faith in his actions. Instead he’s being prudent. As Matthew Henry says, “God answers our prayers by teaching us to order our affairs with discretion. Jacob prayed, and now he’s acting with discretion.”

Even the book of Proverbs shows this is true –

A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men. Proverbs 18:16

Jacob isn’t at all distrusting God’s help or protection. Instead he is using the means God had already blessed him with to bring about His help and protection. LIFE APPLICATION – insurance, door locks, security systems, etc.

¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

This is a total of 580 animals described here. The camels alone would have been immensely valuable both for their milk and for the other uses employed in the region.

The ancient writer Pliny says that, “The she-camel gives milk continually, not ceasing till great with young; the milk of which, when mixed with three parts of water, affords the most pleasant and wholesome beverage.”

Jacob divides up the animals in proportion to their ability to mate – 1 male for every 10 females of the goats and sheep, 1 bull for every 4 cows, etc. Jacob would know the right proportions as he had been tending flocks all his life.

He puts together a magnificent gift for Esau and will arrange them in a way that when they are presented the intent will be to completely pacify him before they meet. He’s not being at all stingy and he knows from the blessings of the last twenty years of work that God will continue to bless him in the future.

¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

There are five groups of animals and so there are five droves being made ready to meet Esau prior to him meeting Jacob. These droves are being placed in the hands of his servants and they are being directed to go prior to the meeting with Jacob and to keep a specific span of distance between the droves.

In other words, they’re not to follow too closely to each other but there should be some distance between each. Jacob is setting, in advance, the distances in order to allow Esau to adjust to each and think on each before meeting another drove.

Each is given in a specific order by Jacob to prepare him for the next drove and to let Esau know that Jacob is still ahead. By doing it this way, there would be a prolonging of the time before the meeting. Esau would be expected to stop, observe the gift, and think on its greatness before the next came.

As with all of these stories, the details are given for a specific reason, and as they always do, they point to something which is which centers on the Person of Jesus. Why five droves? What a distance between them? Why these particular animals?

II. The Servants’ Message

¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’

Jacob gives very explicit instructions concerning what the servants are to say. At the specific interval given by Jacob, Esau will meet the servant and Jacob already knows that he will ask who he is, who his master is, and where he is heading.

He also knows that he will be curious about the flocks as well. There is a distinct message we’re to learn and it’s not at all unsurprising when we understand who Esau pictures, who Jacob pictures, and who the servants are, and what the flocks represent.

¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’”

The servants are instructed very specifically, they are to say that they are “your servant Jacob’s.” Said differently, Jacob is placing himself as a servant of Esau and the droves which are being conducted are a present to Esau. They are also instructed to tell Esau that Jacob is behind them.

Esau is eventually going to meet up with him. There is a date of destiny where the two boys, separated so long ago, will again come face to face. Before they do, Jacob is preparing Esau for the meeting; it is a preparation where two past rivals will hopefully attain reconciliation. Are you seeing the pattern yet?

III. Jacob is Behind Us

¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

When reading this verse, it’s not to be thought that there were only three droves of animals. Rather, just as the first, the second, and the third were instructed, so were all five of the droves. Jacob is being specific with each and every herdsman.

They are given words to speak and it is those words only that they are to convey to Esau. The manner of the words is fixed and unchanging even if the herdsman comes at a different time, they have a unified message to pass on. Again, think about who is being pictured and why God is including such minute detail.

We’ll see the reason why in a few minutes. God is giving these seemingly unnecessary details because they are, in fact, necessary, and they’re telling us what is coming later in history.

²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’”

Once again, the word of instruction is given, “Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. He is there. He is waiting. You will meet him soon enough. Esau, your brother is there and we are here to tell you about him and give you these gifts along the way.”

The repetition here is to make sure that they will be extremely careful to speak exactly as they are told. Jacob is ahead – it is a point of immense importance. The gifts would have no significance without the guarantee of a meeting. It would be like giving a wedding ring with no intention getting married.

I hope you’re thinking about what’s being pictured here. Esau would have been slighted to have all the gifts without an appearance to back them up. How unworthy he would feel without the face to face meeting.

^{20 (con’t)} For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

And we’re told the reason for the instruction that he’s giving. There is going to be a meeting and Jacob is preparing Esau for it so when they actually meet, as he says, ulai yissa phanai “perhaps he will accept me.” (3:58)

It’s a term that some literally translate as “I will expiate his face.” In other words, “Any wrath or disagreement will be removed and there will be happiness between us once again.” The estranged brother will perhaps accept him. Is this sounding familiar yet?

²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

After sending off the gifts of the droves, Jacob stayed behind and, as it says “lodged that night in the camp.” The question is, which camp? It’s important to know which because there were the two camps mentioned before. God’s camp and his camp.

In the coming verses it says that he sent his family across the river and he stayed on the other side. Therefore, he is staying in the area of Mahanaim – God’s camp. This will be apparent from the meeting with the Angel of the Lord that he has in the next sermon.

The distinction is important because the five droves are being met while Jacob is in God’s camp. The details today have been given to us to show us about the coming of Jesus and the different stages which precede His coming.

IV. The Five Gifts Explained

Let me share with you the wonderful details. The first thing to remember is that each of these stories, although all connected, are individual stories. They are select instances of people’s lives which are taken to show different things… coming things. That’s why the divisions are so logical as you read the Bible.

Each division, although a portion of a continuous, true account, is still a select piece of the life of a person which is meant to show a particular truth. Sometimes in one portion the person, be it Abraham, or Jacob, or whoever is a picture of God the Father. In the next story the same person may picture the people of Israel.

In today’s story, we are seeing a pattern we’ve seen before. Esau represents Adam and his seed, and Jacob is picturing Christ. The nine verses we’ve looked at have logically been broken down into three thoughts I gave you: A Gift for Esau; The Servants’ Message; and Jacob is Behind Us.

What we are seeing here is the coming meeting between the Lord Jesus (the incarnation) and man. Jacob is going to the land of Canaan after a long time away. Jesus, likewise, is returning after a long period. It was He who walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam, but that ended when Adam disobeyed.

From that time, He dwelt apart from man. Esau, who pictures Adam has been living in the land of Seir. I’ve explained it in several sermons, but Seir means “hairy.” Hair in the Bible indicates an awareness. Man is an aware being, he is sentient, and he is conscious of his fallen state.

The first section today dealt with gifts for Esau. This comprised verses 13 through 16.

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

The Lord has given certain gifts to man to help him along the path toward the our anticipated meeting with Jesus. They are called dispensations. He has worked with man in a progressive way, slowly unfolding his promised plan of redemption.

The five groups of animals look to the five dispensations of God’s dealings with us before the coming Christ. These dispensations have come at specifically spaced intervals, just as Jacob sent out the gifts in specifically timed intervals.

The first dispensation was Innocence. Man lived in the Garden of Eden, even if it was for a short time. While there, he disobeyed God and was cast out as judgment. But before this, the first promise came – it was the first gift of grace; a promise that One would come to right the relationship. It is found in Genesis 3:15 –

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Esau meets his first flock; Adam met his first gift of grace – a promise of victory over the serpent. This dispensation is reflected in Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…”

The second dispensation is that of Conscience. Man lived in the world and his law was through his instilled conscience. If we could live according to this God-instilled premise, then all would be well, but man once again fell short of this standard.

Before the destruction of the flood which came as the second judgment, the second gift of grace was seen. It is found in Genesis 7:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Esau meets his second flock; Adam meets his second gift of grace. The continuation of humanity through the Flood.

This dispensation, Conscience, is reflected in Romans 1:18, 19 –

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”

The third dispensation is that of Government. Man was given ruling authority over all the earth and was given a covenant in connection with this. If man could properly govern his affairs under God’s overarching authority, then he would be granted this right as a united group of people.

However, man cast off God’s rule and intended to rule in his own right without God’s overarching authority. Because of this, judgment was again pronounced on man. Their language was confused and man was scattered across the world.

Before the judgment of the confusion of languages, came the third gift of grace. It is found in Genesis 9 –

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Esau meets his third flock; Adam meets his third gift of grace. God promises humanity’s continuance. This dispensation, Government, is reflected in Romans 13:1 – “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

The fourth dispensation is that of Promise. From one particular man and his chosen descendants would come a blessing upon the world. This dispensation is found as given to Abraham in Genesis 12 and 13, to Isaac in Genesis 26, and to Jacob in Genesis 28.

During this dispensation, the chosen line was expected to be faithful to God and trust in His word and His assurances. Those who interacted with them were to treat them in a manner which realized their unique role leading to the coming Redeemer.

When those who interacted with them failed to acknowledge this, it would lead to judgment on them. This is seen time and time again as people failed to treat God’s chosen line in a manner conducive to the promise.

The ultimate act of this judgment is found in the plagues upon Egypt who had mistreated His people. Despite their mistreatment and their bondage, the fourth gift of the promise was given. It can be found in Genesis 15:13, 14 –

“Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”

Esau meets his forth flock; Adam meets his fourth gift of grace. God promises protection of the covenant people leading to the Messiah. This dispensation, Promise, is reflected many times in the Bible. In the New Testament, it is seen in Romans 11:29 –

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

The fifth dispensation is that of Law. During this period, man was given God’s law, by which, as it states, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:5

In this law there were promised blessings for obedience and promised curses for disobedience. The curses included exile from the land of promise, but as God’s people, even in punishment, He promised to keep them as a sign to the people of the world to demonstrate His holiness and covenant care.

Despite their failure to obey, and fail they did, God once again provided the grace necessary for the people. He did it in several ways. One was by providing a Day of Atonement for His people. But even that wasn’t enough and judgment came in the form of exile from their homeland.

Even though this judgment came, so came another form of grace. God’s fifth gift of grace came prior to the judgment, just as each has. It was the promise of return from exile –

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, ² and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, ³ that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. ⁴ If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. ⁵ Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.” Deuteronomy 30

Esau meets his fifth flock; Adam meets his fifth gift of grace. This dispensation, Law, is reflected in Romans 3:19-20 – “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

In the second portion of our verses today came the servants’ message. This comprised verses 17 and 18.

¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’

Jacob gave the words to the servants and so they didn’t speak on their own, but only what they were told. In the same way, during each dispensation, the Lord spoke directly through His servants the prophets. They are those who have testified to His word.

A prophet’s words are given by God in order to carry His message to Adam’s line, just as these servants were given a message by Jacob to Esau. The call of the prophet is something that occurs in order to ensure His message is as He intends. Let me give you an example of the prophets’ call. In Jeremiah 1 we read this –

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” ⁶ Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. ⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

These prophets have been directed to speak to Adam’s line about the gifts and how to handle them. But they have also been directed to speak something more, something wonderful. The One who is coming will be a Servant, just as Jacob says he is Esau’s servant.

In the third portion of our verses today came the thought “Jacob is Behind Us.” This comprised verse 19-21.

¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

God’s prophets not only spoke of righteousness and judgment, but they also told of the coming Savior; they told of Jesus. “Yes, here are your gifts, but Jacob is behind us.” “Yes, here is how you are to live, but Jesus is coming.”

In the Garden of Eden, right at the beginning, the Lord Himself promised, “He is coming.” In the second dispensation, Enoch said, “He is coming.” In the third, Noah – a preacher of righteousness would have continued the proclamation, “He is coming.”

Just as Jacob assured Esau through each gift, Jesus assures Adam’s line through each dispensation. He is behind us and He is coming. Jesus Himself, after the resurrection showed that all the prophets, from the very beginning, spoke of His coming and His glory –

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27

This is the marvel of these nine short verses today. They are a promise of a future meeting between Jacob and Esau, between Jesus and Adam. They are verses of hope and of restoration. In these verses were five sets of gifts. They were gifts of grace and reconciliation, and each points to a particular dispensation as well.

The order in which the gifts were presented wasn’t given, but I believe the order is as follows. The dispensation of Innocence is seen in the lambs. The lamb is an animal of innocence. At the Passover, the innocent lamb died in place of the firstborn, picturing Christ’s innocent death –

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7

The dispensation of Conscience is seen in the goats. The goat is a hairy animal and, as I noted, hair in the Bible denotes awareness. The dispensation of Conscience was the time of awareness which followed the time of innocence.

The third dispensation, Government, is seen in the donkey. The donkey is a picture of ruling status. The judges and leaders are noted as riding on donkeys numerous times in the Old Testament. And the same is spoken about Jesus, in both testaments, as riding on a donkey in His kingly, ruling role.

The fourth dispensation is Promise and is reflected by the camels. The term for milk-camel is meniqot, a word derived from yanaq, meaning “to suckle.” The term is used by Sarah at the time of Isaac’s birth, the son of promise.

The very notion of suckling is one of promise and anticipation. Isaiah in particular uses this term numerous times in anticipation of the Lord’s promises to His people.

The last dispensation before Jesus’ coming was Law. This is seen in the cows and bulls. Many animals were a part of the sacrificial system of the law, but the bull in particular was used as the substitute for the sins of the high priest on the Day of Atonement.

The high priest is the administrator of the law and he prefigures Jesus as our Mediator. He is prefigured by this particular gift to Esau. As you can see, all of this has been pictured in these nine verses today. Five droves and five dispensations. The gifts were presented to pacify and bring about eventual reconciliation.

The fulfillment of that reconciliation is, of course, found in Jesus – the One whom all of these things are pointing forward to. If you’ve never come to the understanding of how He and His work is important to you, please give me a moment to explain it to you…

Closing Verse: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19
Next Week: Genesis 32:22-32 (He Struggles With God and Man) (81st Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Five Gifts of Grace

So he lodged there that same night
And took what came to his hand
As a present for Esau his brother alright
And the present was quite grand

Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats also
Two hundred ewes and twenty rams he chose
Thirty milk camels with their colts were selected to go
And forty cows and ten bulls he counted nose by nose

Also twenty female donkeys he selected
And ten foals for them he detected

Then he delivered them to the servants’ hand
Every drove by itself one at a time he sent
And he said to his servants so they would understand
“Pass ahead putting distance between the droves, and so they went

And he commanded, saying to the first one
“When Esau my brother meets you and asks concerning who
To whom do you belong, and where are you going my son?
Whose are these in front of you?

Then here is what you shall say
“To your servant Jacob they belong
It is a present sent to my lord Esau this day
And he also is behind us, soon he will come along

So he commanded the second and the third
And all who followed the droves saying
In this manner you shall speak to Esau, with this word
That your servant Jacob is behind us, at the camp he is staying

For he said, “I will appease him with this grace
With the present that goes before me
And afterward I will see his face
Perhaps he will accept me favorably

So the present went on before like a lamp
But he himself lodged that night in the camp

Jesus too lodged in God’s camp as the gifts were given
But eventually He appeared so we could move from death to livin’

Each of the dispensations was meant to teach us a lesson
Of how we needed God’s direct hand of grace
Without His word and Jesus, we’d all be a guessin’
As to how to live rightly and to again see His face

But Jesus did come during the fifth dispensation
And we behold His glory through the word He has decreed
Now we can impart to all the wonderful declaration
That through His cross we are reconciled indeed

Thank You O our glorious and splendid Creator
Receive praises and honor from each of us
For You have become our Vindicator
Through the work of Your Son, our Lord Jesus

Marvelous and beautiful are all of Your ways
And so we shall exalt and praise You all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

Genesis 32:9-12
Jacob’s Prayer

Introduction: We all have different gifts and different abilities within the Lord’s church. Paul tells us some of the different gifts that we’re given. We all will excel at one or more of them in varying degrees.

In Romans 12, he tells us this –

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸ he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Elsewhere, he gives other lists of the gifts we may have and he gives explanations of their use and the conduct we should exercise along with them. One aspect of the Christian life, which is surely a gift and yet not specifically described as one, is the gift of prayer.

Prayer is something everyone can do and something everyone is instructed to do. And there are as many theories on how to pray successfully as there are pastors who preach on what a successful prayer is. There are many model prayers in the Bible, but even model prayers need to be looked at carefully.

The Lord’s prayer is the most well known model prayer. “Lord teach us how to pray” His disciples asked, just “as John also taught his disciples.” After asking this, we read –

² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
³ Give us day by day our daily bread.
⁴ And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. Luke 11

Luke quotes Jesus as saying, “When you pray, say…” Some people take this as a command and faithfully repeat the prayer word for word – day after day. But in Matthew Jesus says to pray “in this manner” before giving the Lord’s prayer. In other words, use this structure but not necessarily the exact prayer.

Is that it then? Pray a prayer like the Lord’s pray and that’s all you need? The answer is that the Lord’s Prayer was given to the disciples under the Old Covenant. Our sins have been forgiven, past tense, so that part doesn’t really apply. “Forgive us our sins” would be redundancy; He already forgave us at the cross.

We can acknowledge our sins, we can ask to be kept from committing more sins, but concerning forgiveness, we should thank Him for having received it once for all time. In all, using the structure of the Lord’s prayer makes much more sense than a rote repeating of it.

It glorifies God, it looks for His coming kingdom, it looks for His will and guidance in our lives, it asks for His provision, it reminds us to be merciful as we have received mercy, and it asks for Him to be with us and keep us from temptation, and to deliver us.

An important point about the Lord’s prayer is that it is lacking something. For us the Lord’s prayer is lacking. Did you know that? It lacks any mention of Jesus. We are told time and time again in the New Testament that we are to have our contact with God through Jesus. Here’s an example from Colossians 3:17 –

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

As always, understanding the context of a passage, who the addressees are, and under what dispensation it’s presented helps us to understand how it applies and how we should apply it. The Lord’s prayer is no different.

Paul tells us in Romans 1 that “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

It doesn’t sound like he was using the format of the Lord’s prayer at all. He is praying for the needs of others and himself. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Paul’s idea of prayer is continuous, filled with thanks, and it is overflowing in joy. Praying without ceasing then is a state of life. It goes beyond getting on your knees one or several times a day. Rather it is something that can and should happen at any time and in any situation.

Soldiers pray in the middle of battle. Athletes seem to love to pray before competing. People pray when someone gets sick, when they need money, or when they’re in trouble, but for the most part people don’t pray without a specific reason.

The key is to know that there is always a reason. Paul thought about the Romans, or the Ephesians, or the Thessalonians continuously. And anytime they came to mind, he was in prayer for them. In the same way, we can look up and see a beautiful white cloud and pray a quick prayer of thanks to God.

When we get a green light on a day that we’re running late, we can thank the Lord when we zip through it. If an old friend comes to mind out of the blue – say a prayer right then for them. No matter what enters your thoughts, pray about it. If it’s a good thought, let it be a prayer of thanks.

If it’s an evil thought, let it be a prayer that it will be taken away and not return. If it’s something which causes anxiety, then pray that the Lord will relieve it. In any or all of these prayers, ask that the Lord be glorified through the granting of it.

Praying without ceasing is actually having God on your mind at all times. If He is there on your mind, then every thought that goes through your head will include Him; it will be a prayer.

This is the life of the Spirit filled believer – being constantly in tune with the Lord. As I say from time to time, “If you’re saved, you have all the Spirit you will ever receive at the moment you accept Jesus. But the Spirit can get more of you.” One of the ways this can happen is through that state of constant prayer.

I’d like to give you an example of a good prayer and an example of a bad prayer. The good prayer honors God, is directed through His Son Jesus, and is in line with the prayer we’ll see Jacob give in our verses today. The bad prayer on the other hand dishonors God, is directed to a created being, not God, and is completely out of line with anything ever found acceptable in the Bible.

One of the prayers was given by our first President, George Washington. The other was given by a previous pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Listen to them and see if you can tell which is the good one and which is the bad one –

Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of thy son, Jesus Christ. George Washington; his prayer book.

Most holy Virgin, who pleased our Lord and became his mother, Virgin Immaculate in your body and soul, in your body and soul, in your faith and love, at this solemn jubilee of the promulgation of the dogma which proclaimed you to the entire world as conceived without sin, look kindly on us unfortunate ones who implore your powerful protection. The infernal serpent, upon whom the primeval curse was laid, continues, alas, to attack and tempt the hapless children of Eve. Ah! Do you, our blessed Mother, our Queen and Advocate, who at the first moment of your conception did crush the enemy’s head, do you gather together our prayers and we beseech you (our hearts one with yours) present them before God’s throne, that we may never allow ourselves to be caught in the snares laid for us, but that we may reach the portal of salvation, and that the Church and Christian society may once more chant the hymn of deliverance, of victory and of peace. Amen. Pope Pius X, 8 Sept 1903 Mediator, Perfect being, Redeemer, Savior, Avenue to God.

I’m guessing you know which prayer was proper and honoring of God, and which prayer was blasphemous and out of line with any precept found in the Bible. If not, you have a serious defect in both your theology and your prayer life. Let’s get that corrected today.

The Bible is filled with model prayers. These are occasions where specific attention to a particular situation is needed. The occasions vary and so the prayers vary, but from each model prayer, we can learn how to form our own special prayers for our own special times of need.

Text Verse: Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1

Today we’ll look at just four verses which form the first model prayer given in the Bible. Jacob is about to encounter his brother who previously intended to kill him and he doesn’t have either the manpower or resources to defend himself. He is, like Israel has always been, completely at the mercy of the Lord’s protection.

He acknowledges this today and shows us how we too can pray in a similar situation. Let’s take a look at his words and see why God included them in His own word and what He can therefore teach us, and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Obeying God’s Directive

Jacob’s prayer is given in four verses and contains several key points. The first is who the prayer is directed to. The second is a reminder of the Lord’s direction which is what actually brought him to the need for the prayer.

The third is a deep sense of his unworthiness. The fourth is an acknowledgement of God’s favor upon him and what God has done for him. The fifth is his petition for protection. And the sixth is that his plea is based on what has already been promised by God, restating those promises as a reminder that they were made.

⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,

The Lord told Jacob to return to Canaan and Jacob obeyed. He packed up his belongings and headed off. Laban chased after him and finally caught up with him, but the meeting turned out peaceful because, as Laban said,

“…the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’” 31:29

So the move was at the Lord’s direction. Protection after he headed out came from God as well. Jacob is relying on God to continue to accomplish His word and so he begins his prayer as “O God of my father Abraham and God my father Isaac.” Jacob prays to God. Not anything or anyone else.

He is bringing to remembrance the covenant which has been passed down two generations already and of which he is the most recent recipient. This God, who transcends time and exists throughout the generations is the same God who was there with his fathers – Abraham and Isaac.

Because the promise given to Abraham is based on the promise given to Adam, it implies that He was there at the very beginning and He is therefore the Creator. The One true God. Because He is, He is sovereign over time and over all that happens within time.

Introducing Abraham and Isaac is for the purpose of bringing to remembrance the covenant established and passed down through them. Notice that Jacob isn’t praying to the idols that Rachel brought along, and he’s also not praying to the angels that he saw in the camp of God.

Never once in the Bible is prayer allowed to or through anyone but God. Prayers to Mary, to the saints, to angels, or anyone or anything else is not only frowned upon, it is forbidden. Jacob knew this and we should too. A prayer to other than God is a failure to give Him the credit and glory that He alone is due.

LIFE APPLICATION – horoscopes, zodiacs, knocking on wood, etc.

^9 (con’t) the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:

After calling Him “the God of Abraham and the God of my father Isaac” he addresses Him by name – Lord or Jehovah, and he reminds him of what He told him – “Return to your country and to your family and I will deal well with you.” This serves two purposes.

The first is that he has been obedient in leaving and heading home, and secondly, that it was by the Lord’s direction. This doesn’t mean Jacob thinks the Lord forgot, but that he is calling it to remembrance. “You have spoken, now fulfill your word.”

This is exactly what David does in 2 Samuel 7. He calls to remembrance the word of the Lord as a reminder of both His faithfulness and as an assurance that He will fulfill it –

“Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. (2 Samuel 7:25)

LIFE APPLICATION – know what promises apply to you in the Bible and repeat them back to God.

II. Our Unworthiness

The fact that we are here at all testifies to the Lord’s mercy. It is we who neglect Him, who sin against Him, and who turn our backs to Him. We are unworthy of the least of His favors and what we deserve He is slow to give in hopes that there will be reconciliation first. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us this is so –

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

The promise Peter is speaking about is the Lord’s coming. One might wonder why the Lord’s coming is being connected by Peter to people perishing. Well, the reason is that when He comes, people will perish. There will only be two categories of people then, just as there are now – the saved and the unsaved.

His coming is delayed because He is merciful. Were He to have come in the year 2000, I would have perished. Were he to have come a bit earlier, others of us would have perished. But His timing is planned and designed so that those who will repent will have the chance.

As tough as this sounds, it’s reality. If nothing else clues us in to our own unworthiness, the cross certainly must. If the death of Jesus was necessary for us to live, then how unworthy we truly are.

Jacob was on the other side of the cross and even he could figure this out. It’s amazing that so many of us still can’t. Without the cross, you too will perish. Choose wisely in how you deal with it.

¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant;

Some people simply know. They can look around the world at all of God’s splendid creation and the wisdom it displays and they can tell that God is a great God; a majestic and wise Creator. Jacob, like his fathers, knew this. It’s not by chance that the more religious people in the world are those that live closer to nature.

When your hands are in the soil, your mind considers the creation. It’s a seemingly self-evident fact because the seasons are so perfectly timed that year after year the animals know when to mate, the crops know when to start coming out of the earth, the sun knows when to head north or south.

The balance and precision of nature invariably leads people to ponder the wisdom of the Creator and the intricacy of His creation. As people move away from the country and congregate in urban areas, they quickly lose these thoughts and God becomes an after thought in the busy life of the city. Eventually, He’s no longer even an afterthought; He is first denied and then despised.

If you’ve ever looked at a political map of the United States, it’s abundantly evident that the liberal, anti-God crowd is generally centered in the urban areas and the more religious and down to earth people are in the more rural areas.

Those who experience God’s handiwork appreciate the mercies of the Lord more directly. Every meal is a gift and every breath is a blessing. To the others who ignore Him, they look to what they think they deserve – “I have done this.” “I have a right to this” “It is all about me.”

Jacob has been a man of the land and has been wholly dependent on God for everything he has. He acknowledges it and reminds the Lord of it. It is all about Him and it was undeserved. Adam Clarke gives us his thoughts on this verse –

“A man who sees himself in the light of God will ever feel that he has no good but what he has received, and that he deserves nothing of all that he has.”

And Matthew Henry adds in his thoughts as well when he says, “Those are best prepared for the greatest mercies that see themselves unworthy of the least.”

^10 con’t for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.

When we pray, do we remind God of the comparisons in our life?

“Lord, I started out with a little loan and through your blessing I now have a great company.”

“Lord, I was a geeky girl in school and now I have a husband and a child.”

“Lord, I could have died in that car accident when I was young and yet here I am all these years later.”

It’s good to remind the Lord where we were and where we are now. It shows Him that we know where everything we have came from and that He gave it to us. Jacob crossed the Jordan with his staff, meaning he had very little of his own. And now, before crossing the Jordan again and returning to Canaan, he has become two entire companies of people.”

I tell the Lord may times as I speak to Him that if I were to acknowledge every blessing He’s given me, I wouldn’t have time for anything else. My life has been filled with abundance and it has all been His grace. I can take credit for none of it. How about you?

Tell Him the comparisons, not because He needs to know them. He already does. Tell Him because you are acknowledging to Him that YOU know them.

III. Our Complete Dependence on God

¹¹ Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau;

Time and time again in the Psalms the writers use these same words to the Lord, “Deliver me.” David says in Psalm 25 –

Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. Psalm 25:20

David says “let me not be ashamed” not because he feared people would say bad things about him because he was somehow above reproach. If you follow David’s life, he couldn’t have cared when other people spoke ill of him. Often when they did, others went to defend him and he turned around and stopped them.

He would tell them that if someone was cursing him, well… maybe the Lord told them to do it. That wasn’t his concern at all. When David says, “Let me not be ashamed” he gives the reason – “for I put my trust in You.” In other words, “My shame would be if someone thought they prevailed over You because of my defeat.”

David had the Lord’s honor in mind when he looked for his deliverance. It wasn’t for the sake of his own skin at all. Jacob isn’t worried about himself either. Like David, he is concerned about the Lord’s honor. He’s told Him as much already by bringing the covenant to mind.

If he and his family is destroyed, then the covenant promises will be made void and it is the Lord’s honor that would suffer. This is Jacob’s concern; this is Jacob’s reminder.

^{11 (con’t)} for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

Jacob feared, David feared, and any person concerned about the integrity of God’s promises will fear as well. Not for themselves, but for the honor of the Lord. If Esau attacks Jacob, the women, and the children and he prevails, then what will Esau think?

“I – yes I have prevailed. I have nullified the prophecy given to my mother before I was born, and the blessing given to my brother. I have prevailed over God and man.” This is Jacob’s concern.

In 2 Chronicles 14, a million man army came against little Judah. An immense and overwhelming force was set to annihilate God’s people. King Asa knew that if this were to happen, the promises of the Lord would have been nullified. And so to remind Him of His honor and that He alone had the power to save, we read this account –

⁹ Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” ¹² So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army.

In 1948, five major forces came against Israel – Egypt, Jordan, Syrian, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. There were 43.3 million citizens in these countries and 2.2 millions Jews. The total comprised forces were 710,000 soldiers against Israel’s 140,000.

The number of actual fighting forces was less, but the numbers were heavily in favor of Israel’s enemies. Despite the overwhelming odds, Israel prevailed.

In 1967, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, along with Iraqi expeditionary forces came into conflict with Israel. They were supported by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Kuwait, Tunisia, Sudan, and the PLO.

The total combined forces coming against Israel were 547,000 with 247,000 deployed along with 957 combat aircraft and 2,504 tanks. Israel had only 50,000 active troops and 210,000 reserves. They possessed 300 combat aircraft and 800 tanks – hugely outmatched.

In just 6 days, Israel had decisively defeated the overwhelming force. They had about 5500 casualties with less than 1000 dead and a loss of 46 aircraft. The Arab forces lost over 49000 killed, wounded, or captured, hundreds of tanks lost, as well as 452 aircraft.

Only six years later, in 1973, came the Yom Kippur war. Even greater numbers engaged in battle and again, Israel prevailed. The overwhelming numbers of her enemy’s personnel and equipment which were destroyed was seen for the third time.

There are those Israelis who credit all three victories to the hand of God, and there are those who claim it was Jewish supremacy and/or the incompetence of the enemies for the victories.

The truth of the matter is that God’s name and His honor is tied up in this nation and just as at the time of Jacob and King Asa, it is right to remind Him of this during such times of crisis.

IV. Reminding God of His Promises

¹² For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

Jacob calls to remembrance God’s promises and thus is strengthened in the assurances. If God makes these promises and He is in fact God, then He will keep His promises. But a point we shouldn’t miss is that the Bible never records this promise being spoken to Jacob.

The only time descendants are likened to the sand of the sea is when Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah as a sacrifice. After his trial, the promise was made in Genesis 22 –

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, ¹⁶ and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— ¹⁷ blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Because the promise was to Abraham, and because Isaac was the chosen son, and because Jacob is now the son of promise, the promise spoken to Abraham is also as if directly spoken to Jacob. Like bookends on Jacob’s short prayer, the line of covenant promises is invoked.

What belongs to Abraham belongs to him as well. God’s faithfulness to Abraham ensures God’s faithfulness to Jacob. Jacob’s prayer is that of a loving father, a caring husband, an assured heir, and a steadfast and devout believer in God’s faithfulness.

LIFE APPLICATION – our right to remind God of His promises; Jesus is His Son and we are His sons through adoption.

Our prayer lives are a reflection of our walk with God. But it can’t be a general walk with an unknown God, nor can our prayers be honoring of God if they’re offered to Buddha, Allah, Mary, or Krishna. There is one God and one Creator and He has revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. In John 5:23 we read –

“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

The Bible makes it clear that He is the one and only Mediator between God and man and so our prayers are to be directed to God through Jesus Christ. They should be honoring of Him, thankful to Him, and show our dependence upon Him. Yes, we are unworthy of the least of His favors, but because of Jesus, we are called His children.

If you’ve never made a commitment to this wonderful God who sent His Son to die for your sins, please let me take a moment and tell you how you can have a close and personal relationship with Him. It is the only prayer He desires to hear from you until you become His child. After that, He will hear every prayer…

Closing Verse: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
⁹ The Lord has heard my supplication;
The Lord will receive my prayer.
¹⁰ Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;
Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. Psalm 6:8-10

Next Week: Genesis 32:13-21 – (Preparing for an Encounter) (80th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Deliver Me, I Pray

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham
And God of my father Isaac, yes him too
The Lord who said to me, “Return to your country
And to your family, and I will deal well with you

I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies
And of all the truth which You have to me shown
For I crossed over this Jordan with my staff
And now I have into two companies grown

Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother
From the hand of Esau, for I fear him – yes I do
Lest he come and attack me, yes me and not another
And the mother and the children I pray for them too

For You said, I will treat you well surely
And make your descendants as the sand of the sea
Which cannot be numbered for multitude, truly
This is the promise which has been handed down to me

I know you are attentive to my prayer
And that You are with me through every test and trial
And in my struggles you are right with me there
Through every difficult day and each wearisome mile

I know of your love and tender care for me
Because you sent Your Son Jesus to die in my place
And because of His work and the cross of Calvary
I shall walk in Your presence and my eyes shall see Your face

Thank You, O God for the love you have lavished upon us
Thank You, O God for the gift of your Son – our Savior Jesus

Praises belong to You and to You alone O Glorious God
For the splendid promises in our life as with You we trod

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 32:1-8
This is God’s Camp

Introduction: In today’s story, we’re going to see a brief overview of the nation of Israel and how it was divided into two separate entities, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The wisdom of this occurrence was directed by God for the sake of protecting His people as they led to the Messiah.

Text Verse: Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. Psalm 14:7

We’ll review the verses today where Jacob’s time of exile is ending and he is heading back to the land of promise. On his way there, his time and the events which occurred will be used as a picture of the future of his people and the world which is a threat to them.

We’ll also see the divine protection of him and his group which continues to be realized throughout their time as a people. For almost 4000 years since Jacob, they have endured and been kept. God is amazingly faithful to His promises and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Two Camps

¹ So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

Laban departed from Jacob and headed back to Padan Aram. Now that he is gone, Jacob continues his journey toward Canaan. While on his way “the angels of God met him.” The English word for angels comes from the Greek word aggelos.

It signifies a messenger. In Hebrew the word is malach which comes from the root word laakh. This carries the same concept as the Greek – to send, minister, or employ. And so throughout the Bible we find it used to identify both heavenly beings and humans.

Prophets, priests, and spirits have all been described by this word which we translate as “angels.” Therefore, it is more suited to the name of the office, rather than the nature of the being. When Jacob left Canaan 20 years earlier, the last thing recorded was his vision of the ladder and the angels ascending and descending on it.

Now as he’s reentering the land, he again has a vision of angels. The understanding that we can derive from this sighting is that they have been there all along, but he simply didn’t know it. And this is completely in line with a host of other passages in the Bible. One is found in Psalm 34 –

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them. Psalm 34:7

The angels have been with him and kept him and we know it’s so because the Lord promised His protection at the time of the vision of the ladder way back in Genesis 28 –

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 spoken to you. Genesis 28:15

True to His promise, he has been with Jacob, kept him, and is now returning him to the land of promise. In this, we see the words of Psalm 91:11 perfectly fulfilled –

For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11

The Lord gave His angels charge over Jacob and they have certainly kept him in all his ways. Matthew Henry says “When God designs his people for extraordinary trials, he prepares them by extraordinary comforts.”

There is a life lesson for us in this idea of angelic protection and it is one we can hold on to. It comes from the New Testament book of Hebrews which says, when speaking of angels –

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

If you’ve ever heard of some miraculous deliverance from an accident or a trial, there is no reason at all to think that it didn’t come about as the result of the divine intervention of angels.

God will call us all home in His good timing, but in the interim, His angels are carefully tending to those who will, in fact, inherit salvation.

² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Jacob sees the angels, knows he is protected, and declares mahaneh elohim zeh – “this is God’s camp.” What’s rather amazing is that before he left Canaan 20 years earlier, when he woke from his sleep after his vision of the ladder he said, “Surely this is God’s house.” So here are bookends – the house and the camp.

The difference between a house and a camp is that a house is permanent and fixed, but a camp is moveable and changing. The house of God is heaven, His permanent dwelling, but the camp of God is where His presence is displayed and revealed among men. It is where His angels congregate to serve His purposes.

Joel 2:11 shows us the display of God’s presence from His camp –

The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
Who can endure it?

Now on Jacob’s return, he sees the camp of God and says, “This is God’s camp.” His pronouncements concerning the House of God and the Camp of God are these bookends on his 20 years of exile. There is Bethel at the beginning and Mahanaim at the end.

Like so many other names of places and people which come from a spoken word, Jacob names this place based on what he just said – mahaneh elohim zeh. This is God’s camp. “Our camps (plural) are Mahanaim” – and so it becomes the name of the location.

Mahanaim is mentioned 13 times in the Bible. And for the ever-so short time of two years, it became the capital of Israel at the same time that David was ruling in Hebron. We see this in 2 Samuel 2 –

But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; ⁹ and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. (8, 9)

To help you remember this place, I want you to understand where the name is derived from. It comes from a verb, hana, which means to bend down or settle. The word is used when speaking of evening time in Judges 19:9. A camps settles as the day settles – so you can see the comparison between the two.

A derivative of the word hana which will give you a mental picture of this is the word hanit which means “spear.”  When a spear is thrown, it leaves the hand, arcs upward, and then back down, like the shape of a tent or the setting of the sun.

Jacob sees the camp of God and the tents next to his and he calls the place “two camps” or Mahanaim. There is his camp and there is God’s camp. Two camps. Again, as we’ve seen in the past, two signifies that which contrasts and yet that which confirms.

The two testaments contrast and yet they confirm. The second Person of the Trinity has two natures – God and Man. They contrast and yet confirm. The two witnesses of Revelation contrast – one a gentile and one a Hebrew – and yet they confirm.

In this case, there is a contrast between the two camps. One is physical, one is spiritual. One is earthly, one is divine. One is mortal, one is eternal. They contrast and yet they confirm – they are the two camps of God’s dealings. They are God’s tools in His plan of redemption – here you see the importance of Israel.

This will not be the only time these camps will be seen. Both in the Bible and in recorded history, they are noted. In the Bible, God’s angelic protection is seen, for example, in 2 Kings 6 –

¹³ So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. ¹⁵ And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶ So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

Extra-biblically, in AD70 at the destruction of the temple and the exile of the people of Israel, the camp of God’s angels departed. The almost surreal account is recorded by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus –

…a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, “Let us remove hence.” The Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 5:3

Israel rejected the Lord and for their disobedience, the curses of Deuteronomy 28 were, for a second time in their history, executed upon them. The camp of God was removed and the angels departed hence.

However, numerous accounts of Israel’s renewed protection have been given in the past 50 years. Here is one of them –

During the Yom Kippur War, a lone Israeli soldier in the Sinai led a captured Egyptian column back to Israeli lines. When the Egyptian officer was asked why he surrendered an entire tank column to a single Israeli soldier, the Egyptian officer replied, “One soldier? There were thousands of them. The officer said the rest of the ‘soldiers’ had melted away as they approached the Israeli lines. The Israeli soldier reported that he was alone when the Egyptian commander surrendered to him. He didn’t see the army of angelic warriors. The Egyptians did. (Angels on the Battlefield)

This account reflects the words found Psalm 68:17 –

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.

Once again, God’s camp is surrounding His people as they are being prepared for the return of Christ and the establishment of His millennial reign. This is great stuff and it echoes the words of today’s verses. Before we go on, let me give you a little instruction on angels.

I want to do this because people all around the world, and Christians especially it seems, far too often misuse the intent and purpose of angels. As Hebrews noted, angels are ministering spirits of God, not self-determining agents.

In the Bible, they do what they are appointed to do, not what they want to do. Therefore, praying to them or relying on them to help us make decisions is completely misguided. God gives us all manners of help.

He gives us His word to guide us, brains to think with, muscles to work with, food to keep us going, the sun to shine on the day, and angels to minister as He directs.

Our devotion, our attention, and our prayers are to be directed to God alone and never, never toward angels. And to help us understand this, we’ll see this very premise in next week’s sermon where Jacob makes his great prayer to God. Pay attention to how Jacob acts in those verses and you’ll see this.

What he does is right in line with the account I read from 2 Kings 6. The prophet Elisha was protected by a whole host of angels, but he prayed to the Lord, not to the angels. It is the Lord who directs the angels, not Elisha, and not the angels… and not us.

II. The Messenger’s Message

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

The word used for Jacob’s messengers is malakhim – angels. In other words, his servants are being sent by his direction just as angels are sent by God’s direction. He had sent these guys earlier to go to his brother and notify him that he was coming.

Here in this verse, we return to a concept we saw many sermons ago when Esau was picturing fallen man. Esau’s name is linked to the word asah – “made.’ It is the word used to describe the making of man in Genesis 1. Edom is linked to the word Adam. Adam the man was made from the red soil of the earth.

And then God includes the other name of the land, Seir – which means “hairy.” If you missed the sermons on Esau, it would be good to go back and watch them. Esau was born hairy, like a garment, as if he were fully developed at birth. He pictures Adam made as an whole man.

The name of the land, Seir, meaning “hairy.” Hair in the Bible denotes awareness. It is tied directly to his Esau’s hairy body. It is the Lord who forms us in the womb and as cognizant, sentient beings.

This is all explained in detail in those sermons and we should try to remember these things as we continue on. God is including all of these names and places to show us pictures of what is going on in His plan of redemption.

The messengers, the malakhim, that Jacob is sending out picture the prophets of the people of Israel whose words were sent out to the people of the world, pictured by Esau. The people of the world now have a spiritual awareness and are being given the word of the Lord. I hope you’re seeing the comparison that’s being made.

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.

The messengers of Jacob are commanded to speak to Esau using the term adoni, my lord. Jacob, despite having both the birthright and the blessing is deferring the honor to Esau. He additionally calls himself “your servant.” It’s the same term Isaac used to explain to Esau that he was made Jacob’s servant in chapter 27 –

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; (37)

Jacob is subordinating himself in order to gain Esau’s favor, and hopefully temper anger he may still feel, and to restore a right relationship between them. Jacob probably already has an idea about how Esau feels because he knows where Esau is living, even though it’s not the same place as when he left twenty years earlier.

In other words, they probably have from time to time been in communication with each other, but any letters or messages may not tell Jacob the true condition of Esau’s heart and so he’s being prudent in his dealings with his estranged brother.

What this verse is picturing is as clear as it could be. If Esau is picturing fallen humanity and Jacob is picturing Jesus, then the messengers Jacob sends before his arrival picture the prophets who have proclaimed the message of Jesus’ coming.

“Your servant is coming.” Time and time again that thought is seen in the Old Testament prophets. One who would be King of Israel, the Messiah of the world, and yet a Servant to the world’s people. Isaiah 49 shows us this as clearly as crystal –

“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),
⁶ Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (5, 6)

Finally in this verse, Jacob reminds Esau that he has been gone and has lived with Laban twenty years building a flock which represents the church, but now he is coming home.

The number 20 is 1 short of 21. Twenty one is the three-fold 7. Three is divine completion. Seven is spiritual perfection. So 21 is the number of divine completion of spiritual perfection. As 20 is one less than 21 then it signifies, “divine expectancy.”

Some sermons ago it was noted that this 20-year period represents the full time of Israel’s waiting to go from their establishment as a people, through the time of the law to the kingdom age. The time of divine spiritual perfection.

Jacob has been established as a people, he has a family who will become the tribes of Israel, he has a flock which is the church, and he is heading back to the land of Canaan to continue this journey of expectancy there. And so he continues…

⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

This verse shows that he obtained great wealth in his time away. He won’t be any burden on Esau. But it’s also to keep Esau from feeling any threat. Esau would know of the large camp heading back and might think Jacob is coming to wipe him out.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, he again calls him “lord.” He’s showing that despite all he has, he is subjecting himself to Esau. He will be no threat to him. Instead he is looking to find favor in his sight. We can see this thought reflected in Ecclesiastes –

If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
Do not leave your post;
For conciliation pacifies great offenses. Ecclesiastes 10:4

Matthew Henry notes it this way, “It is no disparagement to those that have the better cause to become petitioners for reconciliation, and to sue for peace as well as right.”

III. Esau’s Response

⁶ Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

It’s been 20 years since Jacob left. In that time, Esau has become a prominent chieftain of the people he is with. He had married daughters of the Hittites and also of Ishmael and he had consolidated power among them. This is evident by the large force he’s bringing along.

It’s debated why he’s bringing all the people with him. Some scholars look at him coming to avenge himself on Jacob, others feel he was going to defend himself from Jacob if necessary, and some are sure that he intended to honor Jacob.

Considering that he is bringing 400 people along, it’s probably the that he wanted to give Jacob a negative impression, but ultimately to honor him. Otherwise, he would have either told him he was coming on friendly terms, or he would have carried through with unfriendly ones.

No matter what Esau was thinking, Jacob will take it in a negative context as we’ll see in the next verse. Regardless of this, the number 400 is given and it is precise. God could have simply stated that Esau came with a large army of his people, but instead the number 400 is given.

Therefore, He wants us to explore why the number is used. The number 400 is the product of two other numbers – 8 and 50. Eight is the Hebrew word sh’moneh, which comes from the root shah’meyn which means to “make fat” or “cover with fat.” This gives the impression of superabundance.

When shah’meyn is used as a participle it means “one who abounds in strength.” As a noun it is “superabundant fertility” or “oil.” So that as a numeral it is the superabundant number.

Fifty is the number of jubilee or deliverance. It points to deliverance and rest following on as the result of the perfect consummation of time. And so 400 is the product of 8 and 50. It is a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

It is the timeframe used by God to indicate the bondage of the people from Abraham until the Exodus which is recorded in both Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6. All of this might seem like over- analyzing a bunch of Edomites riding across the land on camels, but it’s not.

The number 400 here is pointing to the entire time of man’s history as a people, from their time in Eden, all the way through the kingdom age, the millennial reign which is still future to us now. As noted, it is a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

This is how numbers work in the Bible, lesser numbers are used in a consistent manner to come to a greater result. And this is the reason for God’s inclusion of this number. Jacob is interacting with Esau just as Jesus interacts with humanity through His plan of redmption in order to bring about this divinely perfect period which will result in rest.

In the next verse we will see one way in which God accomplished that –

⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

Jacob has no idea what Esau’s intentions truly are. And with the coming of him with 400 people, he becomes afraid and distressed. If there were nothing to fear, he wouldn’t have done this. But it was Jacob who left 20 years earlier at the threats of Esau.

Adam Clarke explains Jacobs feelings this way, “He that has a good conscience has a brazen wall for his defense; for a guilty conscience needs no accuser; sooner or later it will tell the truth, and not only make the man turn pale who has it, but also cause him to tremble even while his guilt is known only to himself and God.”

Jacob’s conscience tells the truth of his past actions and now they lay open before the future and the meeting with Esau. And his fear and distress is now starting to show a lack of trust in the very promises of God which he had been given. His worry is the weakness of his soul as he struggles with what lies ahead.

The Geneva Bible says about this verse – “Though he was comforted by the angels, yet the infirmity of the flesh appears.”

And so, in order to protect at least a portion of his people Jacob divides them into two separate camps. If one camp is attacked, maybe the other will be safe. This division of Jacob into two camps pictures, or is realized in the division of the people of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms.

This was an action directed by God in the book of 1 Kings. God, knowing the future, knew that this was the right and appropriate action to preserve His people. However, in the chapters ahead, the camps will reunite under Jacob.

And the same promise was given to Israel. The Bible foretold that there would no longer be a division between the two kingdoms. Guess what, that time is now. There is one united Israel coming to the end of its divinely perfect period.

⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

In the camp’s division, comes the wisdom of many battlefields. While the enemy is engaged with a portion of the force, the others can either rally to them, flank them, or escape alive. Jacob is so unsure of the outcome that he takes this course of action. (Mention MacArthur’s use of this tactic in Korea).

This battle technique is noted several times in the Bible. One great example comes from the time of King David in 2 Samuel 10 –

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. ¹⁰ And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. ¹¹ Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ¹² Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

In Jacob dividing his camp, he may actually consider that this is a part of God’s promise to keep him alive. All he can do is trust that God is in control of the situation and his actions are the correct course of what to do.

Jacob’s dividing of his camp was to avoid the possibility of annihilation. God’s division of Israel served this same purpose. When the northern kingdom was destroyed and carried away captive, the southern kingdom remained.

A remnant of all of the tribes of Israel remained in Judah after the exile of the northern kingdom, and Israel as a people has been protected by God since then, despite two exiles. There are no lost tribes of Israel as lots of people claim.

Both testaments of the Bible confirm this. God’s camp has faithfully watched over Israel throughout the ages. In just 8 verses, we’ve seen the wisdom of God reflected in Jacob’s decision to divide his camp. One action picturing another as God unfolds His word before us.

Now that Jacob has made the division, He will take the wisest course of action of all and it is where we will turn next week for four verses of instruction that can guide all of us all the days of our own troubled lives.

Before we read our closing verse, please give me a couple minutes to explain the cross of Jesus and its importance to you. All of these stories, all of these pictures in God’s word are leading to one ultimate goal – the revealing of Jesus and His work on our behalf. Let me explain that most important point to you…

Closing Verse: As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. Ezekiel 37:16, 17

Next Week: Genesis 32:9-12 (Jacob’s Prayer)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Two Camps

So Jacob went on his way
And the angels of God met him as he went along
When Jacob saw them, he did say
“This is God’s camp, look at the angelic throng

And he called the name of that place Mahanaim
Because there were two camps as it would seem

Then Jacob sent messengers before him
To Esau his brother in the land of Seir
The country of Edom, a land somewhat grim
His older brother had left Canaan and moved to there

And he commanded them saying
Speak thus to my lord Esau these words I allow
Thus your servant says, as he was praying
I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now

I have oxen, donkeys, and flocks too
And male and female servants as well
And I have sent to tell my lord, yes to you
That I may find favor in your sight and my worries dispel

Then the messengers returned to Jacob saying
We came to your brother Esau alright
And he is also coming to meet where you are staying
And four hundred men are with him so sit tight

So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed
And he divided the people that were with him
And the flocks and the herds and camels at his behest
Into two companies because things looked quite grim

And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company
And attacks it, then the other company which is left
Will escape destruction and flee to safety
And of all that I have I won’t be bereft

Just as Jacob separated his company into two
God divided Israel in a similar way
And though the northern tribes were exiled in BC722
Some of all 12 tribes have endured to this day

They are a people set apart by Him for His glory
Both to usher in the Messiah and receive Him again someday
This is the marvel of Israel as told in God’s story
And so for this group of people, let us remember to pray

But we in the church are God’s people too
United to Him in a glorious way
We are sealed with His Spirit and born anew
Promised eternal life because Jesus our debt did pay

What a glorious God You are to look upon us so
What a wonderful plan You have revealed to us
In Your awesome presence we shall walk forever we know
All because of the giving of Your Son, our Lord Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 31:43-55
The Witness and the Watchtower

Introduction: In the 13th century, the Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas wrote the Summa Theologica, one of the greatest works ever on doctrines related to the many facets and workings of God, creation, man, divine government, and other things.

Each of these categories is subdivided into an astonishing array of wisdom and logic. One might think that the first premise he would have argued would be God – His existence, His nature, His attributes, etc. The Bible starts with creation, but from the premise that it is God who created – you’d think he’d do the same.

But he looked elsewhere to establish his arguments. Believe it or not, he started with The Nature and Domain of Sacred Doctrine. In other words, the Bible. Why would he do this? The answer is that until the nature and validity of the Bible can be determined, all the philosophy, logic, and reason in the world about God is irrelevant.

Without God’s word, there can be no true understanding of our relationship to Him. He said that “because man is directed to God, as to an end that surpasses the grasp of his reason… that the end must first be known by men who are to direct their thoughts and actions to the end. Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation.”

Aquinas went on through ten articles addressing the nature of Sacred Scripture before continuing with the rest of the Summa. God’s word is the single most important physical object on planet earth. Without it we cannot know Jesus and without Jesus we cannot be saved – and yet we ignore this book… to watch TV.

Today, we will review a passage which actually reveals God’s intent to give the world a Bible and which even gives us clues about the nature and structure of the Bible that He will give. And it will show that God is watching over His word very carefully.

Text Verse: The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. ¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” Jeremiah 1:11, 12 (NIV)

God spoke His word to us through His prophets and apostles. In this word are promises, blessings, curses, and assurances. If one, yes if even one aspect of this word fails, then God has failed. The sacredness and reliability of this word is tied directly to His holiness and truthfulness and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Laban’s Loss

In the previous few sermons, we saw Jacob, by God’s direction, determine to return to the land of Canaan. He left secretly and when his uncle found out, he in turn chased after Jacob and finally caught up with him.

On the night before they met, God appeared to him and told him that he was to do nothing harmful to Jacob. That next day, Laban met with Jacob, searched his tents for household idols that were stolen from him and then Jacob defended of his actions, including his innocence concerning the idols. This is where we start today…

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine.

Jacob has fully defended himself against Laban and now Laban, without admitting any guilt or any wrongdoing toward Jacob, makes a great and boastful claim that everything in Jacob’s possession was derived from him.

He is acting in a way that will allow him to seem generous in not insisting on keeping it all. Instead, he will allow Jacob to have it.

^43(con’t) But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

Laban has claimed that everything Jacob has now came from his wealth and that he is generous in allowing Jacob to keep it. His reason is that he simply couldn’t find it in his heart to deprive his departing family of their well being.

His own daughters told Jacob before they left that Laban had treated them as strangers, but suddenly he claims they are so near and dear to him.

It needs to be remembered that Laban is in the presence of his own family members who he is going to return home with and so he is trying to make himself look good in their eyes and diminish Jacob’s standing at the same time.

⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

The separation is final and Laban realizes that. Jacob isn’t coming back and everything is going with him. But just like six years earlier, Laban realized that God was with Jacob. In the past, he asked Jacob to stay and work for him and it has become completely evident that Jacob is blessed.

God has made him fruitful, powerful, and is his protector. If this is so, and because Laban has actually mistreated Jacob time and time again, it is a fear of Laban’s that Jacob may determine to come back and take revenge on him for his bad treatment.

Because of this he asks for a covenant between the two. The covenant will be, as he says, a witness between them. If Jacob agrees, it is implied that all past quarrels will be forgotten and anything which is misplaced between them will be overlooked.

Instead, there will be an agreement of peace and good intention which will stand as a testimony between them, especially because it will be in the presence of God and all the witnesses. This covenant is so important that God determined to record it by Moses’ hand several hundred years later as a witness forever.

II. God is Witness

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

In the verses which preceded Jacob’s departure from the land of Canaan, Jacob set up a stone as a pillar. This was on the night after he had his dream concerning the ladder and which involved a promise of Jacob’s protection.

Now in the verses which precede his return to Canaan, he sets up another pillar. This is coming after the night in which Laban had a dream from God concerning Jacob’s protection. The symbolism shouldn’t be missed – God promised protection to Jacob and it came, even in the form of a dream to rebuke Laban.

In the same way, God has promised that He will always preserve the people Israel who have descended from Jacob. This preservation of them, whether they deserved it or not, is based on His faithfulness and His ability to keep His word.

People that don’t understand this can never realize the immense wonder which has occurred in this group of people throughout the ages. He has taken care of them despite all of the people who have continued to come against them, speak ill of them, and attempt to wipe them out.

God’s hand is on them, just as His hand is upon the people of the church during this time of grace and blessing which we call the church age. Jacob’s pillar is a testament to God’s faithfulness. It also symbolizes Jacob’s willingness to agree to Laban’s proposed covenant.

⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.

In addition to the pillar, Jacob tells the gathered people to make a heap. The Hebrew word is gal and it would have been a circular heap which will serve two purposes. The first is a round table that they can use for dining and the second would be to remain there as an altar and a testimony to the covenant.

A meal is where the details are sorted out in life’s problems. It is where foes become friends and where agreements are made. A meal is where we have to stop from our own labors and reflect on whatever situation is at hand.

By taking the time to sit and eat a meal, they will be able to sort out the problems which have arisen from the past and resolve them for the future. A meal is still where we meet with the Lord and proclaim His death until He comes again. It is where we leave aside our past and renew our determination for the future.

⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

This is the very first time that a language other than Hebrew is used in the Bible. Laban’s name of this round heap is Jegar Sahadutha which is an Aramaic, not a Hebrew word. In all, there will be about 250 verses which contain Aramaic out of about 31000 verses in the Bible.

Most of the Aramaic will be found in Nehemiah and Daniel, but there will be scattered words and sentences elsewhere. For example, one sentence in the book of Jeremiah suddenly appears in Aramaic, but everything else in the book is Hebrew.

There will even be a few times in the New Testament where the Greek is citing Aramaic, not Hebrew words. What this verse does for us is to show that the language of the land, the same land where Abraham came from, was Aramaic.

It is the language that Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, would have spoken. Hebrew then is the language of Canaan which Abraham would have learned and adapted after moving there. Both languages are similar, but they evolved differently over the years.

Jacob calls the mound Galeed which means the same thing in Hebrew as Jegar Sahadutha in Aramaic. They both mean “Heap of Witness.” By naming the mound in their own languages, it was a way of confirming that this covenant applied not only to them, but to their posterity after them.

⁴⁸ And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed,

The great Bible scholar Adam Clarke notes the irregular division of this verse and the next one and he disagrees with it. And so for a little diversion, I’ll give you my thoughts on the Bible’s verse divisions. From time to time things will be divided in odd places.

One chapter in Acts ends on a semi-colon, and there are other irregularities in how things appear to be arranged or divided in the Bible. The first words compiled in the Bible happened about 3500 years ago when Moses walked up Mount Sinai and received the Torah, the first five books of the Bible – aka Pentateuch.

After that, about 40 people were used of God to write portions of His word. Three languages are used as well. The final book to be received came about 1600 years after the time of Moses when John penned Revelation on the island of Patmos. Other than a few books, all of them were written by Hebrew people.

The Hebrew Bible is arranged differently than the Christian arrangement of the Old Testament. And it wasn’t until around AD350 that the books of the New Testament were finally agreed on and arranged.

Two people in the 13th century took the time to divide the Bible into chapters. One was Archbishop Stephen Langton, the other was Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro. The divisions Langton made were the ones that continued to be used.

Then in 1551 Robert Stephanus divided the New Testament into individual verses and the divisions as we know them today were first published in the Geneva Bible of 1560.

Although this might seem like an unnecessary history lesson, the structure of the Bible, the arrangement of the books, the chapter divisions, and yes – even the verse divisions as we know them now, show a wisdom which transcends the 3000 years, forty human authors, other people of God, and three languages used in the compiling, structure, and publication of the modern Bible.

When we read these seemingly odd points of division, such as in the verse we’re looking at right now, and which Adam Clarke didn’t like, we should be careful to not find fault without searching for the patterns which are so beautifully revealed in what is given.

I tell you this because I believe that the divisions, even to the verse divisions, are divinely inspired by God. Patterns which are revealed through studying them shows this to be true. God’s hand and His fingerprints are very clearly evident in His word.

Remember this and use care when you search its wonders and mysteries. Anyway, Laban acknowledges that the heap they ate at is a witness between the two parties. The Bible then goes on to say, “Therefore its name is called Galeed.”

The meaning isn’t evident in English, but the heap is the word gal and “witness” is the word ed. It comes from the verb ‘ud, meaning to return or repeat. Basically, the idea is “to second a motion.” Therefore the two are combined to provide the name Galeed.

⁴⁹ also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

Mizpah means “watchtower” and if the name “heap of witness” is implying a covenant between the two, the name Mizpah is implying that the Lord is the One watching over the covenant.

He would be the one to stand as the judge over any transgressions of the agreement, just as we saw with the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech which occurred in their distant past.

Despite the age of these covenants, boundaries have been formed around the land and between the peoples of the surrounding lands. God continues to monitor what man has long ago forgotten. He stands at the watchtower ensuring the ancient covenants are kept. This book, the Bible, is a testament to His care about such things.

⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

Laban has determined to set parameters for the protection of his daughters as a part of the covenant. He is not allowing any additions to the family of Jacob in the form of wives. If you remember what Leah and Rachel picture from a previous sermon, then maybe you’re starting to see the pattern here.

If not, I’ll explain it in a few minutes. Jacob is bound to the two wives and God is a witness concerning this. In this verse he says that “no man is with us.” This doesn’t mean that they are off alone making this agreement.

Instead it’s speaking of the future when there is no one to observe what either is doing. In that time, God will still be watching. I assure you, what this is alluding to is as important as any precept contained in the Bible. God is watching it and will hold offending parties to account.

III. A Sacrifice on the Mountain

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.

Curiously Laban notes the heap and the pillar as if he had set them up. Earlier, it said that it was Jacob who set up the pillar and it was Jacob who directed the heap to be made and yet Laban claims that they were by him. Why would this be in the Bible?

Remember who Laban pictures, remember who his daughters picture, and then maybe you’ll start to see why he is claiming the right to having placed the heap there. As always, these pictures are being given not as a one for one comparison, but they’re designed to show how things will come about in the future.

This account between Jacob and Laban really happened and so God has shown it to us for His reasons. Keep searching what you already know and it will become clear. The heaps and the pillar were erected by Laban’s consent although they were directed originally by Jacob.

⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

The heap and pillar witness to the peace between the two parties. There will be harmony between them as long as they don’t pass beyond the boundaries which have been set in order to cause harm. If they are breeched, then the account is to be judiciously and righteously settled as the violation of a covenant.

⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary notes about this verse, that “it is observable that there was a marked difference in the religious sentiments of the two. Laban spake of the God of Abraham and Nahor, their common ancestors; but Jacob, knowing that idolatry had crept in among that branch of the family, swore by the ‘fear of his father Isaac.’ They who have one God should have one heart: they who are agreed in religion should endeavor to agree in everything else.”

In other words, Laban is still worshipping the God of their fathers. Abraham is Nahor’s brother and their father is Terah. The problem with Laban’s words is that in all of their lives, idolatry had crept in.

Joshua 24:2 says this: “And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the Riverin old times; and they served other gods.”

Laban is confused about who God is and how to serve Him. Remember, he had household idols and yet he has also referred to the Lord, Jehovah during the covenant.

And so to stave off any hint of idolatry, Jacob swears by the same God, but uses the term “the Fear of his Father Isaac.” Isaac is still alive and he walks in fear of his God. The God that he serves isn’t the God of the dead, but of the living.

This is the same sentiment that is given by Jesus in Matthew 22. When questioned about a matter concerning the resurrection, Jesus corrected His listeners by saying, “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Jacob is doing the same thing to Laban now. God is alive and is to be feared, not placed as a God of the dead along with a household full of idols. His word is everlasting and His eyes watch over it and the covenants it contains for all time. If all of this seems trivial, I can assure you it’s not.

⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.

The confirmation of the agreement is made by a sacrifice on the mountain and the eating of bread. Is this anything you’ve read elsewhere in the Bible? Are you reading your Bible? Are you trying to take what you know and weave it together right now? If so, I know the Lord is smiling on your efforts.

If not, then why not? Has God put these stories in here so that we can read and forget them? Or are they here to tell us about things that are irrelevant to anything except the life of Jacob and Laban?

Never stop asking the word to speak back to you. It is alive and active – sharper than any two-edged sword and it will awaken your soul if you will let it.

⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

It can be inferred from what God said to Laban on the night before he met up with Jacob that he intended to do harm to him and his family. At a minimum, he came with the intent to call down curses on Jacob which would in turn be considered a curse upon the family, but now he kisses his family and blesses them.

Just as God vowed to Abraham and to Isaac and which is passed on to Jacob, we read these words from Genesis 12 –

“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (v 3)

God turned the curse into a blessing and so we can assume that when Laban departed and went to his place that He was blessed for the blessing he gave.

Now that we’ve looked at the surface of the story, the historical and cultural aspects of what happened, we need to ask ourselves, “Why is this story here? What is it that God wants us to see? The answer is, as always – Jesus.” Here is the Light –

Laban pictures the man of the world, Jacob pictures the Lord. Laban came to Jacob and claimed that the daughters, family, and flock were his. Remember, Leah pictures the law and Rachel pictures grace. We’ve seen this time and again. The flock is the church, the children are the people Israel.

Laban is making a claim to them based on the fact that they all came from him. And this is true, they did. In the same way, the Law was penned by a man, Moses, even though it was given under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And what Jeremiah wrote came from Jeremiah and it bears his unique style and wording.

The same is true with the New Testament. When we read Paul, we can tell his style and yet it bears the same unique mark of God. The things Laban said came from him really did, even though they are also Jacob’s. The word of God, the church, and the people of Israel all came through man and yet they are God’s. EXPLAIN INSPIRATION AS INSTRUMENTS

Laban offers to make a covenant and it will stand as a witness. Jacob then sets up a pillar, but later Laban claims he set up the pillar. What is the pillar? It is the same symbolism as the pillar back in chapter 28. The pillar is Christ.

How could both of them have set it up as Laban claims? Christ came from God, but He also came from man. The pillar, Christ, was set up by both. He is the God/Man.

Jacob’s brethren “gathered stones” into a heap. The heap is the Bible. Jacob’s brethren picture those 40 or so men who received and wrote the Bible. The heap was formed into a circle. The structure of the Bible makes a clear pattern which forms concentric circles and it is based on the Hebrew aleph-bet.

It has a symmetry which is astonishingly beautiful and amazingly precise. It shows intention, precision, and beauty – all represented by the gal, heap, and the ed, witness – the Galeed. The use of two languages – Hebrew and Aramaic, to name the heap indicates that this witness is meant for all people, Hebrew and gentile alike.

This is the reason why, for the first time in the Bible, a non-Hebrew word is used. This witness will stand as a testament to all people for all time. It is a witness between God and man of the pact of peace made between the once antagonistic parties.

It is Galeed – the heap of witness, but also Mizpah, the watchtower. It is the place where God watches for transgressions of the covenant and it is the place where man can watch for them as well. It proves man’s obedience to God and God’s faithfulness to man.

And what may have seemed difficult to understand was the prohibition against taking any other wives besides Laban’s daughters. What is that speaking of? Again, we need to return to what they symbolize – Leah is the OT law and Rachel is NT grace.

They are the two testaments to God’s dealings with man. God has given one word which includes these two testaments. Nothing else can be added to them, such as the book of mormon, the koran, the writings of Ellen G. White, who founded Seventh Day Adventists, or any other writing.

But the prohibition isn’t just to add wives, it is also to not harm the two wives Jacob has. This is the standard. Any violation of this will be witnessed by God and acted on. And this is noted again and again in the Bible itself – never add to or take from the words of this book. As it says, “God is witness between you and me.”

When a violation of the agreement is made, God does witness. He tells us in His own word. We read this is John 5, when Jesus speaks of the Father –

“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. (v.31, 32)

This is why Laban was able to claim that he placed the heap and the pillar between them. Jesus came through man as did the Bible. They are both the work of God, but human agents were involved in the process of both. The Bible is a physical, tangible word. Not a spiritual concept without form.

Jesus is a physical, tangible man. It says in John, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The word of God, the Bible, and the Word of God, Jesus, are how man sees, understands, and knows God. Laban said “I will not pass beyond this heap to you.” The symbolism is that the Bible is the point which we will not exceed to come to God. In other words, it is our point of knowing Him and nothing else. The Bible tells us of Jesus and Jesus reveals God.

Then he said, “and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.” Jesus and the Bible are the standard by which we will be judged. Nothing is added to them by God and they are all-sufficient for His dealings with us.

The peace is found in these two. They are where restoration and harmony between God and man are realized. Next Laban invokes the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father to be the judge. When Jacob swears though, he does it by “the Fear of Isaac.”

He did this to confirm that the God Laban was speaking of is the same God, the only God, and the Living God who is to be feared. Even if man misunderstands God, God is God. When we misunderstand Him, it doesn’t change who He is.

We discovered in this chapter that all of this has occurred in Gilead. Gilead means the Perpetual Fountain. The fountain is noted in the psalms, Jeremiah, and elsewhere as God. He is the Source and the giver of life. In Psalm 36 it says –

For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light. (9)

God’s throne is the Perpetual Fountain symbolized by where the men are meeting, Gilead. And there on the mountain it says that “Jacob offered a sacrifice and called his brethren to eat bread.” This is the first time this type of sacrifice is noted in the Bible. It is called zebakh. What occurs here is reflected in the 50th Psalm –

“Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” (V.5)

The sacrifice symbolizes Christ’s cross which restores us to God. The bread is His body, it is the Lord’s supper which we take to commune together with God. Finally, after the meal it says that in the morning Laban arose, kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them and departed, returning home.

Laban, instead of cursing as he intended to when he came to Jacob, blessed the family. As the promise says, those who bless you, I will bless. Laban, a fallen man, a troubled man, a confused man, blessed and did not curse, and he returned to his place.

Man’s dwelling is in the earth and while we walk on this round ball, we too have a choice. Will we accept the terms of the covenant, accept the sacrifice, and eat of the meal? Will we live in harmony with the Lord in the presence of His witnessed heap, His word, and His pillar which is His son?

The choice is ours to make. It seems that Laban chose wisely and I hope you will as well. This is the last time that Laban is referred to directly in the Bible. He will be mentioned only two more times, both in Genesis 46 and only in reference to the children of Israel born to Bilhah and Zilpah, not as an individual.

To me, he is one of the most curious people we’ve come across so far. I couldn’t get my thoughts about him straight until this last chapter where he is mentioned. In the end, he is a picture of all of us – a fallen son of Adam who needs to get his thoughts about God straight and to get his conduct towards the Lord corrected.

He and his role in these past many sermons have been an enigma to me and he has cost me more sleepless time and more searching than anyone I have yet encountered. And I finally know the reason. He is the person searching the world for that which won’t satisfy and who so desperately needs an encounter with the true God.

There on the hill known as the Perpetual Fountain, it appears that Laban made peace with God and accepted both the witness and the watchtower – the word and the Son. If you’ve never had a personal encounter with the Son, let me explain the importance of it to you.

Closing Verse: The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. ⁷ You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever. Psalm 12:6, 7

Next Week: Genesis 32:1-8 (This is God’s Camp) (78th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Witness and the Watchtower

And Laban answered and to Jacob he said,
These daughters are my daughters
These children are my children, this he pled
And this flock is my flock you tended by the waters

All that you see is mine
But what can I do this day to these
My daughters or to their children so fine
Whom they have borne, tell me please

Now therefore come let us make a covenant, you and I
And let it be a witness between us, yes let us try

So Jacob took a stone and as a pillar he set it up
Then Jacob said “Gather stones” to each brother
And they took stones and made a heap where they could sup
And they ate there on the heap with one another

Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed
Laban said “This heap is a witness between you and me indeed.”

Therefore its name was called Galeed
Also Mizpah because he said to Jacob his brother
May the Lord watch between us, take heed
When we are absent from one another

If you afflict my daughters I decree
Or if you take other wives besides my daughters too
Although no man is with us, see
God is witness between me and you

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, you see
And here is this pillar with it also
Which I have placed between you and me
This heap is a witness and this pillar is a witness, you know

That I will not pass beyond this heap to you, not even with my arm
And you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar for harm

The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor too
And the God of their father judge between me and you

And Jacob swore by the Fear of Isaac His father
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain
And called his brethren to eat bread with one another
And they ate bread and stayed all night at the Perpetual Fountain

And early in the morning Laban arose to go
And kissed his sons and daughters goodbye
And blessed them, then Laban departed, you know
And returned to his place maybe with a tear in his eye

The symbolism we see in this short story
Tells us of God, His word, His Son, His glory

And that we are to hold fast to the word
Not adding to it nor harming it in any way
Because it is our witness from the Lord
And so we should search it’s mysteries each and every day

Christ is the pillar and the center of our faith
He is the One whom the Bible does proclaim
And God in His word about Jesus it does saith
And so let us forever and ever exalt His glorious name

Oh beautiful and majestic awesome Lord
Thank You for Your wondrous, precious word

Let us cherish it and never depart from what it does say
Until the time when You return for us some glorious day

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genesis 31:31-42
What is My Trespass and What is My Sin?

 Introduction: Surprisingly, the order in which the children of Israel were born and the mothers to whom they were born provide patterns which give us clues about the future of these people. In the same way, today’s account reaffirms the same pattern.

Unbeknownst to Jacob, Rachel stole the household idols of her father and carried them along with her. A search is made for these idols and the order of the search, along with a few other hidden details, shows us once again – and quite clearly, that Israel would have two exiles during their history.

At some point after the ending of the second exile, which occurred in some of our lifetimes, they will go from the law to grace. They will give up their idols and will turn to the Lord and His perpetual fountain of grace. All of this is symbolized in this beautiful story today which occurs on Mount Gilead.

We have full assurance that Israel will call on the Lord as a people and Christ will return to them, just as the ancient prophets saw, and just as Jesus Himself spoke. And to help us see this clearly, he has included details of this in a search for household idols.

Text Verse: “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? ¹⁰ I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9, 10

Laban went after Jacob as he fled to his home in Canaan. The night before he met up with Jacob, the Lord searched him out and in his dream he told him to speak to Jacob nothing from good to bad.

This wasn’t an isolated instance in human history, but it is the way God deals with all men. He searches our hearts, tests our minds, and rewards us according to our actions. In order to be pleasing to God, we need to know what pleases Him. The way we do this is through understanding His word. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Laban’s Search

Last week we saw Jacob get his family together and head for the land of Canaan. After he left, Laban heard that he was gone and pursued after him. This is where we start up today, with verse 31…

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’

His answer attends to the matter of his wives first, rather than any theft Laban suffered. What Jacob notes here isn’t at all far-fetched. The world of islam today would still do this. If someone were to marry a muslim, the family would certainly do one of three things.

One would be to insist that the non-muslim convert. The second would be to steal back the family member by force. And the third would be to execute them for marrying out of the faith. Any or all of these are normal among them, and this stems from the mindset of the people of this very area.

Jacob had worked for and paid off his debt to Laban. Also he took nothing from him when he left. Rachel took his household gods which he knew nothing about. He had every right to leave and his flight was actually the prudent thing to do considering the circumstances of the past 20 years.

³² With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

After addressing what he felt was the main concern, he brings up the second matter in a way which would absolutely confirm his innocence. If the idols are found in his camp, Laban would have the right to execute whoever stole them.

He makes this agreement openly, as it says, “in the presence of our brethren.” This would be in the presence of everyone – those with him and those with Laban. They would be impartial witnesses. If the idols weren’t found, Laban would have absolutely no recourse because Jacob’s innocence would be seen.

At this time, Jacob has no idea that it was Rachel who took them and his words “do not let him live” will probably be regretted later when Rachel dies giving birth. He may actually feel this was God’s divine judgment on his words which he speaks here. As Matthew Henry says about this –

“How just soever we think ourselves to be, it is best to forbear imprecations, lest they fall heavier than we imagine.”

Along with the gods, Jacob adds in an all-encompassing note, “…identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” This allows Laban, right in the front of everyone, to make a claim to anything in the camp that belongs to him.

By doing this, Jacob is proving that everything which goes along with him has been attested to as his. There will be no later ability to make a claim on anything he has. Believe it or not, a few years back, someone in Egypt tried to sue Israel for the goods they plundered at the time of the Exodus.

The Bible records in Exodus 12 that Israel plundered the Egyptians as they left. And so in 2003 Nabil Hilmy, dean of the faculty of law at Egypt’s Zagazig University, announced his plan in the Egyptian government weekly, Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, to sue Israel.

The suit quickly disappeared though. Suing Israel based on an account in the Bible would therefore verify the Bible. Once they did this, then they would have to admit Israel’s right to the land and everything else about Israel, including being God’s chosen people.

That is the last thing in the world that the muslims want. Kind of funny, but this is the thought process of those who have hated and continue to hate Israel. God, however, has and continues to look after them, even against those in the church who attempt to diminish Israel’s role in the world.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

It’s a bit hard to follow this verse unless you look at it as not necessarily being in sequence. And this is important. It seems to say Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, then the tent of the two maids, then back into Leah’s tent and then into Rachel’s.

It doesn’t seem to make any sense at all and people have proposed various reasons for why the order is so hard to understand. In reality it could be that he simply went into each tent, finishing with Leah’s and then went into Rachel’s, or something like that.

However it actually happened, the order the Bible gives is important because of who the people picture. The Lord is telling us this for a reason. Jacob is the leader of Israel, Leah pictures the law, and Rachel pictures the grace of God.

The search reflects the status of the people of Israel since their inception. The first search in Jacob’s tent reflects Israel before the coming of the law. The second is noted as Leah, living under the law. Then it mentions, surprisingly, the tent of the two maids, but the word is singular – one tent, two maidservants.

This then would reflect the two times of servitude of the Jewish people after the law – the first was in Babylon for 70 years and the second is the Roman dispersion of the people in AD70. Then it says that Laban left the tent of Leah (which was actually noted before the maids) and went into Rachel’s tent.

In other words, the two dispersions of Israel were under the law. Only after those dispersions will they, as a people, come into the covenant, or tent, of grace. To understand this completely, one has to understand the re-gathering of Israel in modern times as is laid out in Ezekiel 36 and 37 and also in other books like Zechariah.

This same order is seen in the birth of Jacob’s 12 sons. Sons were born to Jacob by Leah, then the two maid servants, then by Leah again, and only after that by Rachel. As surely as sugar is sweet, we’re given these patterns to show us Israel’s history – the law, two dispersions, and then coming into grace’s everlasting covenant.

³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

Rachel obviously heard Jacob’s words about putting to death whoever had the idols and so she packed them away in a camel’s saddle and sat down on them. Using a bit of cunning, she’s devised a plan to keep him from finding them.

As he pokes around in her tent, she gives him news to help him decide where to look and where not to look…

³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

A lot of commentators will insert a passage from Leviticus 15 here. Let me read you what that says –

“¹⁹ ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²² And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²³ If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.”

It’s not uncommon for people to cite these verses and then equate them with what Rachel has done – “Because the law says she’s unclean, Laban wouldn’t touch her or anything she is touching.” This isn’t correct. The law is the law and this predates the law.

Laban may not want to touch her because she’s on her period, but it’s not because the law demanded it. What’s being pictured here is Israel’s final rejection of idolatry. If you go to Israel today, or into many Jewish homes around the world, you’ll see all kinds of idols.

You might see a buddha or feng shui or some hindu god made of brass or wood. Whatever… they will have it, but Rachel has rejected the idols by sitting on them. Laban would never have imagined they would be under her and receive such treatment.

But Israel of the future, like her, will defile their images someday. Isaiah 30:22 tells us it is so –

You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!” Isaiah 30:22

The word Isaiah uses for “unclean thing” is da’ah, a menstrual cloth. As surely as Rachel sat on Laban’s idols, Israel will someday defile and cast away their idols too. In the same chapter in verse 26, Isaiah tells us what it will be like for Israel on that day.

Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound.

The time is coming, and may it be soon.

II. Jacob’s Innocence

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?

If the gods were found, Laban would have had the upper hand, completely and entirely. He could have then claimed that some of the flock was stolen or made any other charge he wanted, whether valid or not, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But now Jacob assumes the upper hand and exercises it to rebuke Laban. Jacob is now found without guilt. The accuser can no longer accuse and he is vindicated before his brothers. Jacob’s words to Laban are so perfectly reflected by a prophesy of the future in Zechariah that it really is astonishing –

“In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. ² “It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. (13:1, 2)

Here they are, right here in this story, on Mount Gilead, translated as the Perpetual Fountain, and Israel is cleared of the guilt of the idols it has been accused of, just as Israel of the future will be too.

³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!

Jacob’s statement implies that there is nothing of Laban’s in his camp. When he says, “Set it here before my brethren and your brethren that they made judge between us” he is stating it in a way which means that Laban has found diddly.

His actions in pursuing him and accusing him are baseless. From this springboard of innocence, he will now explain, in front of everyone, the mistreatment he has received. This will double Laban’s guilt before them all and will thus doubly vindicate him.

³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

Twenty years. This makes Jacob 97. During this time, he worked 7 years for Leah, 7 for Rachel, and then 6 for whatever possessions he now has. During all of that time, he shows his attentiveness to the flocks because it says the sheep and the goats have born young.

This means that they were well tended to. He also says that he didn’t eat the rams of the flock. The female are rarely eaten because they are the ones to bear more and thus increase wealth, but the rams are taken from time to time for meals.

However, Jacob never did this. He never dipped into what belonged to Laban, although he wouldn’t have been wrong from time to time if he asked Laban for an animal. But instead, he ate lesser foods, maybe lintels, or something which was more difficult to obtain through hunting, like a deer.

He’s been faithful to Laban, worked hard for him, and increased him for twenty long years. But this brings us to an important concept in the Bible – the significance of the number 20. It is a meaning which is consistently found in the Bible –

Twenty is 1 short of 21. Twenty-one is the three-fold 7. Three is divine completion. Seven is spiritual perfection. So 21 would be divine completion of spiritual perfection. Because 20 is one less than 21 then it signifies, “divine expectancy.”

And there are many illustrations to support it:

*Isaac waited 20 years to have a son while Rebekah was barren

*These 20 years, Jacob worked and waited to return to Canaan

*Israel waited 20 years for a deliverer from Jabin’s oppression

*Israel waited 20 years for deliverance by Samson

*The Ark of the Covenant waited 20 years at Kirjath-jearim while the people lamented after the Lord

*Solomon waited 20 years for the building of the two houses

*There was 20 years between Jerusalem’s capture and destruction; and for those 20 years Jeremiah prophesied concerning it.

This 20 year period is a period of waiting and it represents the full time of Israel’s waiting to go from their establishment as a people, through the time of the law to the kingdom age. The time of divine spiritual perfection; the kingdom age which is coming soon.

³⁹ That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

Again, Jacob makes his plea before the assembly. There were predators in the open fields and from time to time one would kill one of the flock. Although it wasn’t any fault of Jacob’s, he bore the loss. Later, under the law, and speaking of exactly such an occurrence it will say this in Exodus 22 –

“If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.” (13)

The fact that this is in the law as a protection for the people indicates that this is what is right and honest. Jacob and Laban were before the time of the law, but the general principle of honesty would dictate that Jacob shouldn’t have to pay for such a loss, but he did.

And more, any animal that was stolen – by day or by night, Laban required from Jacob. Based on Laban’s dishonesty as presented by Jacob, it is an indication that Laban could have stolen from the flock and then demanded a replacement as well, thus stealing from Jacob twice.

Jacob airs all of this in the presence of the people to show that he has been both mistreated and unfairly acted against even until the present moment.

III. Jacob’s Protector

⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

In this particular area of the world, the days can be extremely hot and the nights very cold. As the day heats up over the open expanses, the area aches from the lack of moisture. If it weren’t for wells, it would be intolerable for both man and animal.

At night it gets so cold that any humidity in the air settles to ground level and turns into frost. This is the normal weather and it would be multiplied in one direction or another as the seasons changed, but it would never be comfortable.

It also seems to imply that Laban didn’t provide any suitable camping material for Jacob. Instead, he fended for himself. Finally, because of the cold, because of the frost, because of the wild animals, and because of thieves – all of these things kept him awake. Sleep literally evaded him most of the time for 20 years.

⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

In this unappealing state of employment, he continued on for 20 full years under three promises – twice for wives and then for set wages. However, seven of those years were for a wife he didn’t want. Only during the last six was it for wages. And even then, Laban constantly cheated him by changing the agreed terms.

He has shown, in front of everyone witnessing their discussion, that the wives and the flocks are his and he was deserving of far more based on the work provided. None of this can be contested because it is spoken in the presence of the witnesses.

And the fact that Laban wronged him is now in the open for all to see as well. Laban has dealt deceitfully with Jacob and Jacob’s words testify to it.

⁴² Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed.

What may seem perplexing is how Jacob describes God. He says, “the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac.” He is speaking of the same God, but using three terms. It’s not actually confusing though when you think it through.

By saying he is “the God of my father”, he is being humble and saying that he is watched over by the same God, but deferring the title to his father. Secondly, Abraham was already dead but Isaac is alive. Therefore, God is the God of Abraham in his eternal state.

However, because Isaac is still alive, God to him is the God he fears. He walks before Him with dread. He knows that he can lay waste a valley such as Sodom and Gomorrah. He can destroy the earth by flood and He can bring the stars from the sky and crash them on the earth. He is the One who controls the womb of the woman and the breath of all living things.

Isaac knows these things and he fears His God. This is why Jacob describes Him this way. And we should note that nothing has changed with the coming of the law, nor with the coming of Jesus. Under the law, Solomon said these words to sum up his life of learning at the end of Ecclesiastes –

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. ¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” 12:13, 14

And Paul tells us the same basic thing in Ephesians 2, even after the coming of Christ –

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (12, 13)

Despite being our kind and gentle Savior, Jesus is our Lord. He is to be respected and feared. It is He who will bless our rights and judge our wrongs. And when we speak of Him, it should be with reverence mixed with awe, fear, and trembling.

^{42 (con’t)} God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

Jacob now brings in more facts about the glory of God. He is the God who sees all things, including the affliction of His people and He is the God who is sovereign over all things, including the dreams they have in their sleep.

Jacob is implying that God even knows where we sleep and what we think in our minds. He is aware of, and watching over, all these things. And so we should bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

God came to Laban and rebuked him. He searched him out and determined that he needed correction of both his intents and his attitudes. How would God correct you if He came to you in your sleep tonight? As we finish up today, the question for you may still be unsettled.

Have you made a commitment to this wonderful God who sees into our hearts, our minds, and our dreams? This same God who watches over His people and defends them against injustice and oppression – Have you met Him? Have you made peace with Him? Give me a couple more minutes to tell you how you can have a personal relationship with Him.

Closing Verse: ³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:31-33

Next Week: Genesis 31:43-55 (The Witness and the Watchtower) (77th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

What is My Trespass and What is My Sin

Then Jacob said to Laban, in his discourse
“Because I was afraid, for I said
Perhaps you would take your daughters by force
And if so, in a fight I might end up dead

If you find your gods with whomever, men or women
Do not let them live, so you shall do
In the presence of our brethren
Identify what I have of yours and take it with you

For Jacob did not know
That Rachel had stolen them, yes it’s so

And Laban went into Jacob’s tent
And into Leah’s tent he went too
And into the maid’s tent he went
But he did not find them and so he withdrew

Then he went out of Leah’s tent
And entering into Rachel’s tent he went

Now Rachel, the household idols she had taken
And put them in the camel’s saddle to hide
Her contempt for them cannot be mistaken
She sat on them; their power she denied

And Laban searched all about the tent
But did not find them, And to her father she said
“Let it not displease my lord by this event
I cannot rise before you from this bed

For the manner of women is with me, so pay no mind
And he searched but his household idols he did not find

Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban
And Jacob answered and said to him plainly
What is my trespass? What is my sin?
That you have so hotly pursued me

Although you have searched all my stuff
What part of your household things have you found?
Set it here before our brethren, don’t be gruff
So they may judge between us, let them gather around

These twenty years I have been with you
Your ewes and your female goats have not
Miscarried their young, And it’s true
I haven’t eaten your rams, but I could’ve eaten a lot

That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you
I bore the loss of it; it’s something I had to do

You required it from my hand
Whether stolen by day or stolen by night
I was in the day consumed by drought in the land
And by night the frost was a terrible plight

And my sleep departed from my eyes
And none of this to you was a great surprise

Thus I have been in your house twenty years
I served for your two daughters fourteen
And six years for your flock through trials and jeers
And you changed my wages ten times between

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham
And the Fear of Isaac, had been with me
Surely now you would have sent me away with an empty-hand
God has seen my affliction and had pity

He has seen the labor of my hands alright
And so he came to you and rebuked you last night.”

God carefully looks after those He has called
And He defends them in their time of need
When those around afflict us, He is appalled
And returns upon them justice with speed

He is the covenant keeping holy and awesome Lord
Who watched over Jacob so long ago
And we too can know Him through His great word
And upon us His great riches He will bestow

Through Jesus we are brought near to our God
And through His shed blood reconciliation is made
By His hand someday on golden streets we will trod
And from Him will come still waters and blissful shade

Thank You O God for our Lord Jesus
Who has so tenderly reached out to us

Hallelujah and Amen…