we turn in the first book of the bible this morning to genesis chapter 29 genesis chapter 29 we'll read the entirety of the chapter this morning jacob is now heading to haran and last time remember the ladder had been dropped to him and now we pick up in verse 1 of chapter 29. This is the word of the Lord. Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. And he looked and he saw a well in a field and behold three flocks of sheep lying beside it. For out of that well, the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large. And when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, my brothers, where do you come from? They said, we are from Haran. He said to them, do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? They said, we know him. He said to them, is it well with him? They said, it is well. And see, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep. He said, behold, it is still high day. It is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them. But they said, we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep. While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. Now, as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman and that he was Rebecca's son. And she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, surely you are bone, my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him a month. Then Laban said to Jacob, because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be? Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter, Rachel. Laban said, it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man. Stay with me. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife that I may go into her, for my time is completed. So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went into her. Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant. And in the morning, behold, it was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban, What is this you've done to me? did I not serve you for Rachel why then have you deceived me Laban said it is not so done in our country to give the younger before the firstborn complete the week of this one and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years Jacob did so and completed her week then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to Rachel, to his daughter Rachel, to be her servant. So Jacob went into Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served Laban for another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben. For she said, because the Lord has looked upon my affliction, for now my husband will love me. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also and she called his name simeon again she conceived and bore a son and said now this time my husband will be attracted to me because i have bore him three sons therefore his name was called levi and she conceived again and bore a son and said this time i will praise the lord therefore she called his name judah then she ceased bearing may the lord bless the hearing of his word. In Ken Sandy's excellent book on peacemaking, he has a whole chart in there on how people are to respond and how people do respond to the conflict. And you have three different categories of response when there's conflict in somebody's life. You have peacemaking responses where you're helping people and pursuing avenues of making peace. You have another major category of attack responses, but then you have one of the more common categories of responses when there is conflict with people, and it is escape responses. Under that category, you have three different ways that people generally escape from conflict. The first and the worst, well, one of the worst forms of that, and that is suicide. Another kind of response to conflict is simply to live in denial of it, and you stay away from it and never deal with it. But then there is one that I believe is the most common. The single great response to all conflict, what is it? Flight. Flight. People run at times of conflict. I mean, it's, in many respects, it's just easy, isn't it? It's easy. They never have to deal with the consequences maybe of sin that has happened in life. How many of you know people or have loved ones who've run during major periods of conflict? Maybe you've tried this. Running is especially prominent in those who are the offenders. It's just easy to escape when you don't have to deal with the consequences of your actions. And then wherever you're going, it always looks more promising over there. It always looks easier over there. It's a better path, it seems, over there, especially when you don't have to face the faces of those maybe whom you've hurt. All of us have tried this at some point in life. maybe some of you are contemplating it. One of the things that people, though, rarely stop and think about when they're running, when there's flight in their lives, is about the fact that the one to whom their lives really matter, the one to whom they have to give an account, the one who tells us that he never leaves us nor forsakes us, the one who in all of our running we can never escape from is there the whole way, seeing it all, knowing it all, so that ultimately no one is ever really running. And that's really an important point this morning because studying the life of Jacob, we're at a point that which in Genesis here, that this is exactly Jacob's response. This is exactly mom's and Jacob's response to the great scheme, the great plot, the great deception that had taken place at their house under the tent. And in the scene before us, what you have is Jacob fleeing the terrible consequences of his sin. He had, remember boys and girls, tricked his older brother Esau, and he had done it deceiving dad in the night when his dad had dim eyes. And it was tragic. If any of that had happened in our families, can you imagine the chaos that would have caused you're dealing with family inheritances i mean it would cause rage and anger and sure enough it did in jacob's family esau had consoled himself that he would kill jacob now last time i made the case i don't even think jacob felt sorry about this whole thing yet. He's out in the wilderness alone. And what did God do? Well, he didn't come and slap Jacob around. He didn't come and beat him back to go deal with it right away, which is interesting, isn't it? There's a strange phrase there. I will be with you wherever you go. And you think, well, why are you letting him go outside the land? I'm not going to leave you, Jacob. I will bring you back, but first I'm going to let you run. But in the midst of all of this, the Lord drops a ladder down to him and tells him, gives him all of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant and showers down upon him grace and love. And there was no rebuke in that passage, was there, from the Lord? he didn't come after him that way i'm giving it all to you jacob it's all yours wherever you go i'm with you i will do this for you if you're reading this and you're you're listening to this and you're thinking about grace it can be a little angry can it in other words he steals the birthright he deceives for the blessings he trashes blind dad and runs from him. And that's what God does. God drops down a ladder and says, I'm with you. I love you. Well, the natural kind of response to that is talk about creating license. Talk about creating license to go do whatever you want to do. Is that really the message that we want to convey that, you know, you could get some people who want to run and say, well, that's not a bad option if that's how God's going to treat me. If God is that good and that gracious well, then it doesn't really matter what I do. I might as well live it up. I'm thankful for this morning's message and this morning's passage because it really does overturn all of that kind of thinking. While it's absolutely true that God's grace is unconditional to us and that we're never earning it, we're never meriting it, it is also true that God works out, and we're going to see this this morning, God works out His purposes in our lives. And one of the ways that He works out his purpose, when he has really gripped somebody in grace, one of the ways that he works out his purposes is to let their sin rebound on them, to train us in repentance and faith. In other words, you want to see how God deals with sin in the life of the believer? You want to see how he's sanctifying? Do you want to see what he does? I don't know if there's a better passage that demonstrates that today because Jacob just gets handled. And this should challenge us to see that when he promises to be with us and he promises to save us and he promises that he'll never leave us nor forsake us, that he's also promising to train us in righteousness and that he's also promising to deal with past sins. We never escape it. Don't ever think if you're running you'll get past it god will will force us to deal with it and that's what i believe this passage is now showing us that ultimately the lord dropped the ladder to him said i'm with you wherever you go and now ultimately what you're seeing happen in genesis is the lord beginning to work in this man's life in a surprising way in a surprising twist i want to look at this this week and here see what the Lord, how he is training him and see how common providence the Lord is working to do what he said he would do. Last week, Jacob had met the Lord for the first time. The Lord introduced himself and now we see the Lord immediately beginning to work. So Jacob now heads to Haran. He rises from Bethel and he goes on his journey. And if you look at verse one, we read that he came to the land of the people of the east and he looked and he saw a well in the field and behold, there were three flocks of sheep by it for out of that well, they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth. Three flocks of shepherds are by this well and there was this large stone. And when the flocks would be gathered, they would then have to take off this giant stone and they would water the flocks and then they would put the stone back. Jacob approaches all of these lazy shepherds. They're sitting around doing nothing. And he asked them if they know Laban. Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? And the shepherds say, yes, yes, we know him. He's well. And hey, look, Jacob, his daughter's coming right now. Again, you should all be seeing behind this, the Lord's working. So as the conversation is happening, here comes Rachel. She was a shepherdess. But the text is emphasizing here, over and over and over, appearance. Look down at verse 17. She was beautiful. It doesn't just say appearance. She was beautiful in form. He's studying curves. Her form was lovely. Now, she wasn't one of these anorexic models today. back then, it might make the women feel better. Heavier was okay. She was something. Beautiful in form. He gazes upon her. He's studying. Verse 10. Now, as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, notice this, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother. Jacob's come near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban, his brother's mother then Jacob kissed Rachel now I have never seen so much energy from Jacob I mean what in the world just happened he's out rolling stones now a man the only energy I saw from him was the energy in stealing something and now here comes Rachel and he's watering herds and we are immediately being set up here because we see that Jacob now has a desire Jacob has something driving him for the first time in life, doesn't he? Something is actually got the attention of Jacob. Driven by something, I'm getting her. The text is important because this scene should remind us of something that happened back in chapter 24. There's a direct comparison going on here. It's prompting us to make this comparison. Remember what happened when Abraham's servant went to look for a bride for Isaac. He comes to the city of Nahor. This is what we read. He made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the evening, the time when the women go out to draw water. And what did Abraham's servant do? Let's compare Jacob and compare this. Oh Lord, God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day and show kindness to my master abraham behold i stand by the well of water and the daughters of men of the city are coming out to draw water and what did he ask of the lord make clear to me a woman of godly character the one that you choose oh lord and before he had even finished speaking there's rebecca this is the same scene coming with a pitcher and on her shoulder and he didn't make a hasty decision even then. He watches her, and he studies, and he's not studying curves. He's studying what's important. And remember, he wouldn't make that decision. He bowed his head, and he worships the Lord. You see the contrast? This man prayed. This man looked. Jacob? Oh, he's a self-made man. Given to sensuality, his life is totally accustomed to getting what he wants his way. He's like a young person who doesn't care at all about the right thing and securing a spouse that pleases the Lord, but purely given to how they feel, how the person looks. No regard to the spiritual state of whether this person is godly, whether this person is of the Lord, whether this person is the one the Lord wants them to marry. Jacob is full of sensual, essential. Being sensual means you're, boys and girls, you're governed by your senses, whatever you feel. Jacob is the kind of mindset, you know, if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Well, all of a sudden, we have a new figure introduced into the scene. Jacob meets Uncle Laban. This isn't the first introduction to Uncle Laban. Back in chapter 24, when Abraham's servant met Laban, remember what he said about Laban? Abraham's servant had put all sorts of gold nose rings on Rebekah and necklaces, all sorts of gold from Father Abraham. And as soon as Laban looks upon that, this is what happened back in chapter 24. So it came to pass when he saw, there's a connection, when he saw the nose rings and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah, he said, come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house. Uncle Laban. He was as sensual with the best of them. Laban was governed by the senses. This was a greedy, money-hungry man, a schemer himself. And the text wants you to see when he heard about Jacob, what happens? As soon as Rachel tells her father about Jacob, what do you read in verse 13. Laban hears the news about Jacob, his sister's son. He ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him into the house. Does that sound familiar? Here is a young prodigal running and this father is running out to meet him running embracing and kissing where else do you find that story jesus had a whole parable about two brothers a younger brother and an older brother and remember what jesus said the father did the good father of that parable while he was still a long way off. This is when the younger prodigal came to himself. His father saw him and felt compassion and he ran and embraced him and kissed him. Same thing. When Jesus started that parable, you know what he said about the young prodigal? That the young prodigal ran to another country. And what did the young prodigal do in the other country? He went and he hired himself out to a citizen of that country. He became a hireling. He became under bondage. And what then happened? Can you imagine the reception of the citizen of another country? He ran, he embraced, and he kissed, but with no compassion. And I believe Jesus had this whole story of Jacob and Esau in his mind when he gave the parable of the prodigal sons to challenge Israel. You don't realize your great spiritual father was the young prodigal and you're behaving like this older brother but you come from this that's another sermon jacob comes this father embraces and this father kisses and he runs and what is the very thing that laban says when jesus says he joins himself to a citizen of that other country what is the very thing that laban says when he sees him You are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. That's a curious thing. Because that's the very thing that Adam said of his wife Eve. And it was right after Jacob told him everything. Oh, Jacob, don't feel bad about your past. We're cut from the same cloth, you and me. You are bone of my flesh. Some of you guys are really into sports. And you'll make the front row for that. But I tell you what, you've got the best showdown ever right here. These are two master schemers right up next to each other. And we have a match made from heaven. What's on Laban's mind? He doesn't care about him. He sees a strong servant who can move boulders. He sees dollar signs. And the very thing that Jesus said is that this is what happened. Jacob now goes into hard labor. In fact, I'm going to show you in the weeks to come that this is the whole story of Israel in bondage. This whole story would be repeated for Israel to be remembered because the Lord's going to bring him out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and plunder Laban. But he goes into serious bondage, which is really a whole retelling of Israel's story in bondage in egypt but notice what happens here we could apply some of this initially when somebody is running from the consequences of sin and they don't see it what are they running to well they're escaping and they're running because something else seems more promising or something else seems safe and it promises happiness and and freedom and maybe somebody there who really cares but it's not true there may be somebody to greet you but when we run from our consequences you never really find relief that's the lie we buy into that when we choose to run in this life we never find relief and part of the lord being with jacob part of the lord saying in back in this previous section, I will be with you wherever you go. The Lord saying that is now to teach Jacob this lesson. Jacob is now under bondage to a citizen of another country, and he is a cruel man. Verse 15 describes it. Laban says to Jacob, well, he's been noticed it said previously that he had been there a month in verse 14. And so then in 15, Laban comes and Laban's thinking, I'm not just going to host this guy. This guy's going to make me some profit. Why should you serve me for nothing? Tell me your wages. Laban is not gaining from Jacob being there, and so he's saying, I'm not entertaining you indefinitely. You're going to work. You are going to work. In fact, this is not fair work because Jacob is going to complain against Laban that Laban changes the wages 10 times and deceives him. Jacob says, okay, I will work for you seven years for your daughter Rachel. Laban agrees. And it's kind of a romantic twist here. They only seem like a few days because of his love for her. He really, really loved Rachel. So verse 21, at the expiration of those years, Jacob comes to Laban and he asks for wages. He wants, in other words, he wants to take Rachel as his wife. He wants payment. He wants his wife. Give me my wife. I want my wife. In those days, there would be a long feast and there would be a big drinking banquet that would happen. So a normal wedding, you would have processions from the bridal house and then you would have a big marriage contract and there would be the reading of the marriage contract and there would be a large meal and a great celebration and after the celebration the groom would take his cloak and he would wrap he would wrap his bride who was veiled throughout the whole ceremony he would wrap his bride in his cloak she would then be at the end of the ceremony unveiled notice what happens the feast must have been happening all day verse 23 it came to pass an evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob he baited and switched this is quite a moment I was reading the other day about the St. Valentine's Day massacre did you ever any of you ever read about that Bugs, Moran, and the Northside gang of Chicago was a threat to Capone. And so they made a plan. They had a bootlegger who came in and lured in seven of Bugs' men into this warehouse. I mean, this is classic mob stuff in Chicago. Lured seven of Bugs' men into the warehouse and two of Capone's men put on police officer uniforms and numerous other men put on trench coats and they came in and basically faked it as a police raid. And so they lined up all of them on the wall and shot them up. It was the greatest massacre, mob massacre in history of the U.S. Sheer deception, putting on a uniform and taking out. We say, those are thugs. This is Jacob and Laban we're studying. Sheer deception going on here. Think about this. It's wedding night. Wine has been flowing. He looks at Rachel in her wedding garment all day. He's gazing. And all of a sudden, at night, when it can't be seen, Laban takes Rachel's wedding garment and puts it on Leah. And in the darkness of the night, in the tent, the marriage is consummated. Jacob's blinded to the whole thing in the tent, by the way. First night of the honeymoon. So, verse 25, it came to pass in the morning. Behold, it was Leah. You notice the play in verse 17? She has weak eyes. Weak eyes. all night holding weak eyes, all night loving weak eyes. And in the morning, the sun, they walk out of the tent and the sun comes down. This is your Bible. One pastor said he probably called her by name a hundred times. I love you, Rachel. Jacob's furious. Can you feel the anger? He comes out. He goes to Laban, what have you done? Here's the big moment. You deceived me. What does Jacob's name mean? Deceiver. I can't imagine what struck him at the moment. He not only has met his match, isn't this a little bit of deja vu? How so? Put it together. Providence has become really painful here. Jacob was the younger, and he deceived his father, who had weak eyes, by faking garments to become the older. and he deceives blind dad, steals the blessing. What just happened in this scene? The father Laban deceives Jacob by taking the blessing of the marriage of his younger daughter and putting the garments on the older daughter, who the text says has dim eyes, and deceives Jacob into marrying her and taking her. It was said to Jacob, the older will serve the younger. Your brother Esau will serve you. And now Jacob, the younger, has just served for the older. What a lesson. What a lesson. Even more mind-boggling is that if you go throughout his history, His own sons will deceive him about his favorite son Joseph and they'll strip him of his garment and hand it back to him bloody stained where he lives for years thinking that his son was torn to death by a wild beast. As much irony and as much play as in this text, do you see the principle at work? You reap what you sow. Galatians 6, do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. So, here's the conclusion, let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. This is a powerful lesson this morning. It's a very powerful lesson this morning. It must have struck him like a ton of bricks. We read no complaint on the matter after this. And he works and works a deal with Laban to work another seven years for Rachel, and that time was not like a few days. He now has an unloved wife. Uncle Laban worked him a good one, and this is a soap opera unlike I've ever come across. You know, I was thinking about this this week. We often cry out in our lives for injustices of things happening to us. And we may say in our lives, why is this happening? Or why is this person giving me so many problems? Or why are people acting like this? Or why are they pursuing this against me? Or why are they treating us this way? Why are they treating my children this way? have we ever thought to pause in the midst of conflict and ask if God is teaching us something about ourselves? You ever thought that the very personalities and people whom you don't get along with and can't stand most represent you? What a twist. They're showing the same characteristics in you, and that's why you can't stand it. The conflicts we face with people who may be leveling some injustice on us may be the Lord using these very things to teach you a lot about your own life. But here's what I love this morning. In this kind of chastening, it demonstrates the Lord's love. Why do I say that? What did the Lord say He was going to do for Jacob? The Lord said that he was going to bring him back and that he would never leave him nor forsake him. That means that this whole trial, this whole refinement, the Psalms talk about this being, the Christian life being refined as silver is refined and tested as gold is tested. This is what the Lord's doing to bring him out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm to teach generations of people what deliverance looks like. Israel would be able to study this. For the moment, no discipline, you know, all discipline seems painful and pleasant. But afterwards, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who've been trained by it. And God is committed to the project to sanctify you. God is committed to begin this work, and He doesn't leave sanctification completely up to you because this is what you would go do. and he takes it and works it for a wonderful master plan that he has after this scene guess what you get a new jacob when he comes back and meets esau and he comes back through bethel you see a man being greatly refined you see a man who's well being sanctified and treated by the lord in a way that is chiseling him into the man that god has determined him to be but god did something well beyond this do you know what the lord did through this mess leah is the unloved wife isn't she kind of grieve over that whole scenario verse 31 when the lord saw that leah was unloved look at all this is compassion here he opens her womb the lord loves leah so much and what a message to those wives who feel unloved. The Lord loves you. He loved her so much that He looks on compassion and she bears Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah right then. Now, Levi would come from Moses and Aaron, right? when Moses and Aaron would come. Judah, the youngest of her four sons. What would he prophesy at the end of Genesis about Judah? A scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet. The royal line of David and Solomon, The lion of the tribe of Judah came from this. Now, Lot's daughters in the cave was bad enough. Look at how the Lord works. The lion of the tribe of Judah, who is Jesus Christ, came from this. And from these two women, Leah and Rachel, came the 12 tribes of Israel. And God uses this whole deceptive scene, training Jacob on one end and building the house of Israel on the other. And notice what happens to fulfill all of it, to fulfill his gospel promise to Abraham. And that their descendants would be as the dust of the earth. It's happening right in front of us this morning. And you stand back from this and you say, well, we are all schemers. We're all schemers. But look at what the Lord's committed to do through it. Let me close with one two-minute reversal that you need to see. Last one. One day, a son of Jacob came to a well. Remember when Jesus came to the well? This woman was not attractive. She was a disgusting adulteress. She had been married all these times. She had five husbands. And here is a son of Jacob in whom really there was no deceit. Sent on a mission to get a bride for himself, to purify a bride for himself spotless and radiant without any sin. That's glory. Give me a drink. What was the first thing that came out of her mouth? Are you greater than Jacob? Jacob rolled away boulders. Jacob watered three flocks. Are you greater? Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. This woman was a deceiver. And when Jesus tried to expose it, she still wanted to deceive. And you see, through our deception, it was our deception that pinned him to the cross. It was our lies against him that we crucified the Lord of glory. And yet God worked through all of our deception to send his son into this mess so that today you might be a bride purified, spotless, Beautiful, radiant, glorious in His sight. That's an amazing gospel. Instead of running from Him then, why not, boys and girls, you run to Him? Why don't all of us come to Him? The author and finisher of our faith. Instead of a deceitful life, why not enjoy a life that is honest? Coming home to a father who loves you, who has compassion, who runs and embraces and kisses and puts a robe on you of righteousness. He cares for you. And the Lord has said he only intends for you his best. That's the gospel of grace. And shall we praise him today in prayer? Heavenly Father, we are deeply moved by this passage. We see how sensual we are. We see that we're governed by our senses and that everyone runs and does what they want to do. And if you had not pursued and worked in your sovereign power and grace to seek and to save that which is lost, we would have all become like Sodom. We would have all been made like Gomorrah. But you are faithful. And this morning we stand in awe of your great workings and power. We're not alone. We're never alone in this life. And we thank you for showing us how committed you are in your sovereign grace and love to bring us home, refining us and testing us and ultimately giving us the greatest gift through it all, your beloved Son. May we always hear Him. We respond to you, O Lord, in prayer and in praise. Thankful for the grace you've shown for us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.