Deception and Virtue || Genesis 29:2-30 || Session 48 || Verse by Verse Bible Study

The theme of deception within Jacob's family takes center stage, in today's verse by verse Bible study, reminding us that God works through our flaws to bring about redemption.  Dive into the lessons Jacob learns from being deceived by Laban, mirroring his own earlier deception of his father Isaac. This humbling experience teaches him about honesty and the biblical principle of reaping what one sows. We’ll reflect on how enduring hardships can cultivate virtues like patience and self-sacrifice. Stay tuned as we continue our journey through Genesis, promising more compelling stories and divine truths in the episodes ahead. 

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:19

If you've been with us. We've been reasoning our way through the book of Genesis. Today we're in Genesis, chapter 29. We've been reasoning our way through the book of Genesis. Today we're in Genesis, chapter 29. Jacob has deceived his father and stolen his brother's blessing. God approached Jacob in the story of Jacob's Ladder, where God repeated the Abrahamic covenant. Jacob had a very profound experience there at a time when he needed God's reassurance, and he got it. Now we pick up the story with Jacob having gone to the land of where his uncle Laban is supposed to be and he's looking for them.

Speaker 1 0:55

And Genesis 29 tells the story of how Jacob is going and he's meeting these shepherds and he asks them do you know Laban? They say yes and they say, matter of fact, look over across the field. There's his daughter coming with some sheep to be watered here near this well. So what we find here in this passage? Jacob goes. He just happens to find the correct water well and he just happens to find these shepherds that know the daughter of Laban. She just happens to be walking up at just the right time. The shepherds allow Jacob to go in and uncover the well and start watering the sheep. All these things are just happening to fall into place, steve. It seems like a coincidence, and I would submit it's not really a coincidence. This is God's hand of providence, even though none of this passage talks about God causing these things. All these things are falling in place because God's hand is in this. God had already predicted that he would be with Jacob. That's what I see here, steve. What do you see out of this passage?

Speaker 2 2:06

Abraham had sent his servant to the same place where Laban is to find Isaac a wife. That, of course, is Rebekah. Rebekah's now sent Jacob back to her brother Laban, to that area. In that text related to the servant, the servant put out a test that said oh, whichever woman that comes along and I ask for a drink of water, and she not only gives me a drink but it's going to water my camels, then I'll know that that's the one that's the wife for my master's son, isaac. But in this situation we don't see Jacob doing any testing or anything. He's just there at the well. Here comes Rachel in all of these acts that are happening. So that's the main difference that I see here.

Speaker 1 2:55

That previous one that you were talking about, the servant was praying to God for guidance, and God did indeed guide him In this one. To God for guidance, and God did indeed guide him In this one. Do we see anywhere in here where people are asking God for guidance? Well, no, we don't, but nevertheless we do see God's hand of providence on these people, because God's purposes are being brought through In this story. There's one single well and several people are watering their sheep from this well. In verse 7, it says there he starts instructing these local shepherds on what to do, because they had said, no, it's not time to water the sheep. Jacob says in verse 7, oh, it's still high day, not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep and go pastor them. He's giving the local shepherds advice on how to keep their sheep. Was Jacob a shepherd? He had not been a shepherd, and it just seems like he's a little out of line here, don't you think I?

Speaker 2 3:59

actually think that this is an indication that Jacob was a shepherd. Yes, back when it gave the description of him and Esau, it says Esau went out and hunted. Jacob stayed behind there with his mother in the tent area. People have taken to that that he was a mama's boy and he liked to cook, which he obviously was cooking there for Esau. But I think there's also another part that that really meant that he stayed with what the family business was, so to speak. So I take it there that this is really an indication that Jacob was a person that worked around livestock and tended to the flocks of Isaac. I think that this possibly is an indication of that. He's kind of telling them this is what you should do, what you shouldn't do, given an indication that he does know what he's talking about.

Speaker 1 4:49

What I do agree that it shows is that Jacob is motivated and industrious. He's recognizing what would have to happen for the sheep to be treated well and that's going to play out here for the next several years when he has the job of keeping Laban's sheep and prospering. We're already seeing signs that Jacob is motivated, he's industrious, he wants to see success, and that's a good trait that we all should try to emulate. In verse 8, we have this local rule about watering the livestock. It says they waited until everyone was there and then watered them all at once. Then, down in the middle of verse 10, jacob he sees Rachel and he doesn't wait for everyone.

Speaker 1 5:39

In verse 10, he goes and uncovers the well watered the sheep that Rachel had. We see these parallels in contrast with the previous time when there was supposed to be a wife for Isaac, with watering the camels and watering the sheep. Only now some of the roles are reversed and I just find that a very interesting literary account. How does Jacob here seem to be acting? Is he respecting the local ways of doing things, or is he sort of accepting how things are, or is he trying to improve things? How do you think Jacob is coming across to these locals?

Speaker 2 6:18

I think he's coming across to these locals of like who died and left this guy in charge. I think that's how he's coming across. He's speaking with authority and he's giving them direction and he's coming in. They have a routine, certain way that they do things and here he is. He comes in, he's an outsider and he's all of a sudden he's kind of upsetting their regular routine, giving them orders and direction of things to do. So maybe some of them say, hey, this guy's got somebody. That's some authority. Finally, that has a different way of doing things. I think maybe possibly there might be some of them that are saying who is this guy to come in here from outside of our area and not one of us?

Family and Ministry in Genesis Story

Speaker 1 7:02

All of a sudden he's bossing us around In verse 10 and 11, we have here, where Jacob discovers the flock of Laban and the man who he's seeking and he waters that flock. In verse 11, he finds Rachel. He kisses her it's probably just a greeting, like a handshake, it's a show of common affection and then cries. My question that goes through my mind is what is his emotion here? I think he's finally got a place where, okay, I'm safe now Because, remember, anytime a man's just out there on his own, he's subject to highwaymen and robbers, he's a bit of danger, if nothing else, from wild beasts and things. Finally I'm safe. But I think he also sees I've achieved my goal here. I finally got to where I need to and it also he's run into a beautiful woman.

Speaker 1 7:54

I think there's a lot of mixed emotions going on here. Jacob must have been very afraid, very stressed, and then when he finally gets to Laban, he's just overwhelmed. I see these very human aspects. We get these in our lives. We get to places where we just get overwhelmed with things, but suddenly we realize okay, god's hand is in this, and sometimes the emotion just bubbles up in us.

Speaker 2 8:19

There's another thing that goes back to the previous time of the servant that was out looking for the wife for Isaac, and he finds Rebecca and brings Rebecca back. During that time, isaac doesn't know who Rebecca is. He doesn't know the wife that is being chosen for him and picked out for him. This is again another area where this story is a little bit different. Jacob sees Rachel right away and he I think that part of the verse 11 there is I think it was a kiss of greeting and he wept. I think it's because he is with his family where he was told to go, but I believe it's also an emotion of this girl this is going to be my wife and I think that there's kind of a release of tension of everything that you just talked about.

Speaker 1 9:12

So he meets Jacob, Jacob meets Rachel. He then goes and meets Laban the uncle. There's this reunion there. In verse 14, we have a statement from Laban to Jacob. What does Laban say to Jacob?

Speaker 2 9:27

He basically says you're one of my relatives. He says you're bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. He realizes that, hey, you're one of my relatives. Actually, I think he realizes you're my nephew.

Speaker 1 9:39

You're bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. With this we have a very ironic statement, simply because, remember, jacob had deceived his father and his brother. Well, what's Laban going to do later in the story? Laban's going to deceive Jacob here very profoundly. So it's literally true that you're bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, because they're both deceivers. Now there's no one in the family. That's righteous, because all of them have been sinning and not following God's ways.

Speaker 2 10:14

You're saying, Glenn, that this is something being a deceiver kind of might run in the family.

Speaker 1 10:19

It seems to You're bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. He probably meant it oh yeah, you're my blood relative. But he's saying more than he probably realizes, because Laban's kind of a scoundrel and he's a bit of a manipulator. He's going to do to Jacob what Jacob had done to his family, steve.

Speaker 1 10:41

I see here a couple of different things. The whole family was sinful, which to me brings about the Christian life. All people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There's not a righteous person in the whole story, but nevertheless God reaches out to us while we were yet sinners and provides a way to us. The other thing I see here is just from a practical level. As we look around us, some of us are blessed with good families that kind of all get along, and some of us have these families that are just full of issues and problems and the Bible deals with that. The Bible doesn't pretend that everything's is just sweetness and light and downhill on greased grooves. Life is just beautiful all the time. We have families with problems and we have families with profound problems in the scriptures, but nevertheless we can take reassurance that God works through that anyway.

Speaker 2 11:39

Don't you agree? I do agree, and it is good to have a family that can have some conflicts that they work through. That, to me, is a sign of a healthy family. Honestly, yes, there's conflicts, but they work through the conflicts and the reason why they work through them is because they recognize we're family members and we have much in common. We have a common love. While there might be a little bit of discord, we are still family and we need to work through the things.

Speaker 1 12:10

Next we can find out something else in the same verse 14. Again verse 14,. Laban said to him surely you are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. And he stayed with him a month. The he there is Jacob. So Jacob stays with Laban for a month and he doesn't seem to be doing very much, hanging around enjoying Rachel's company, but he's just waiting. Remember, he was told to go to Uncle Laban's house and it doesn't seem like he's accomplishing months during this month Seems he's just living there trying to date Rachel and not doing so much.

Speaker 1 12:51

I take that as another lesson that we can learn out of this. Christians are not to just sit around. We're not to just sit around, we are to be active. Christians are to accomplish things. Christians should be doing ministry work. We shouldn't just say I've got a month off, I'm going to do nothing, or I've got this period in my life, I'm going to do nothing. Don't you agree, steve, that all Christians should have a role in the church where we fulfill maybe a big role, maybe a small role, but we should all have a role to do some ministry work in our local?

Speaker 2 13:26

church. Doing that ministry work gives pleasure. Not pleasure from a sense that you're working and earning something, but just pleasure from the sense that you are ministering to other people, spreading the gospel, spreading God's word to them. Through that, I think, you also build up your relationship with God and with Jesus.

Speaker 1 13:51

Here's a question for you, steve what's been your experience in churches for people that don't get plugged in and have a ministry role somewhere? There are people they just come on Sundays and do the worship and then go home and they don't really get involved with the church as far as serving somewhere. What has been your experience of people that fall into that situation?

Speaker 2 14:19

They're missing out on so many things. They're missing out on relationships and fellowship with other Christians. They're missing out on what the church might be doing as far as ministering young adults, older adults, midlife adults involved and growing, like I said, in that relationship with Jesus, meaning that they come, they attend, they listen and then they leave. They're back to themselves and doing things that are outside of that community of believers and I think you find sometimes that you isolate yourself by doing that.

Speaker 1 15:00

I think that's right. The person that doesn't get plugged in, they're not benefiting from being involved in the church. Also, the church isn't benefiting from what they could contribute because all of us are part of the body of Christ. That's the analogy that God gives us over in the New Testament. We're all a body. How can the eyes say to the hand I don't need you? How could the foot just say you know, I don't think I'm going to go to work today, I'm just going to hang around this body and not participate. No, we all serve a role. As the old King James said, some of us are the unseemly parts, but we're important. All of us have a role in the body and the family of the church is just that. It's a family.

Speaker 1 15:46

When you're not really plugged into the family, I've found that there's a tendency for people to get dissatisfied and then fall away out of the church. That happens, but it happens less with people that are plugged in somewhere with a ministry on something to do, that are plugged in somewhere with a ministry on something to do. And I would just encourage our listeners if you're not plugged into one ministry and I say one, and one means one and not zero, and not three, four, five. Some people are doing four, five, six things that need to cut back and some people are doing zero things that need to find one. Find a ministry. If you don't know of one, go ask the pastor. I'm sure he'll have something around the church to have you do. But that's when you really get the fulfillment and the enjoyment, and not just sitting around waiting. Moving on.

Speaker 1 16:33

The next passage starts in verse 15. Then Laban said to Jacob because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be Now? Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel, and Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter, rachel. Laban said it is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man. Stay with me. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go into her.

Speaker 1 17:24

Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him and Jacob went into her. Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. So it came about in the morning that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban what is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why have you deceived me? But Laban said it is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve me for another seven years. Jacob did so and completed her week and he gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. So Jacob went into Rachel also and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

Speaker 1 18:27

Jacob is finding here that what goes around comes around. He finds out that what you sow, you also reap. Jacob deceived people and now he is getting deceived as well. God is teaching Jacob a very hard lesson, one that is earned in the school of hard knocks we have here Laban being very sly he's kind of a manipulator and he's got this guy, jacob, that's working for him. He's getting some free labor here. Why not keep this going for a while? What do we know about this situation here? Steve with Jacob and Laban.

Lessons and Deception in Jacob's Story

Speaker 2 19:03

There's a couple of things. Outright it says that Leah's eyes were weak, which means that probably she was poor-sighted. The other thing is that Rachel's name means oolam. Leah's name means young cow, so there might be an indication in regards to how Leah looked. As to how Rachel looked, jacob describes her as being very beautiful. Another thing is Jacob has worked for seven years. You don't think that he would know what the tradition of the people are that the older daughter gets married off first and wouldn't you think that when the seven years is up, that he would be thinking wait a minute, leah's not married yet. Is something going to happen here? Or is it an indication of what you've been describing?

Speaker 2 19:49

Laban is this trickster and deceiver and he just kind of comes up with this rule at the very end. There's so many things that are coming on here. It's a parallel to what Jacob did with Isaac. Jacob went in and deceived Isaac. He's the younger that deceived Isaac because Isaac's poor sight. The tradition here is that the women are covered up on this wedding night of when they're consummated. That is the same parallel to Isaac's poor eyesight. Jacob doesn't know who he really is. Instead of being the younger, it's the older sister versus the younger. There's the other deception that is going on there, that you have Laban that is concocting this, much like Rebecca concocted the original scheme. So, yes, this, I think, is a payback in sorts to Jacob. It really brings home a lesson to a person, a deceiver like Jacob, what the actual impact of deception is. I think that this is something that really hits home hard to him because it's a parallel in many ways to what he did to his own father.

Speaker 1 21:02

The New Testament tells us that do not be deceived. God is not mocked. What we sow, we will reap. That's what's going on here. We do not get away with sin when it says there that Leah's eyes were weak. It may have been that Leah's eyes were weak. It may have been that her literally eyes were weak. It also could have been a local colloquialism, a saying that just meant she was not very good to look at and might have benefited from a veil in front of her face. Now, I'm too nice to say that, but nevertheless that could have been the case. Is that one of them, rachel, was just more beautiful than the other? But in verse 18, which one did Jacob love? Just so we get it straight here, which one did Jacob?

Speaker 2 21:42

love. It says that he loved Rachel, and that's natural. That's the one that he first saw, that's the one that he made the arrangements to work the seven years for.

Speaker 1 21:50

Then on the wedding night, laban tricks him years for. Then on the wedding night, laban tricks him, and dark of night after an evening of mellowness again in those days it probably didn't hang around the ladies very much, he was the worker in the field. When it actually came down for the marriage, he sends in the older daughter and then comes up with this somewhat weak excuse that oh, in our custom the older one gets married first, but if you work another seven years we'll give you the younger one. Also Very wrong thing for Laban to do. Jacob is getting some of his own medicine and he knows what it feels like when he tricked Esau, and so he did not get away with his deception. After Laban gets figured out, he gets this next seven years of work out of Jacob. Would Jacob at this point be justified with being discouraged?

Speaker 2 22:42

He would be justified. I do want to mention here that Jacob didn't have to work another seven years in order to marry Rachel. What this week here is this is this wedding feast week. He marries Leah deceptively. This is this wedding feast week. He marries Leah deceptively, so has this wedding feast week and then he marries Rachel. Still has to work another seven years. But, yes, it could be very discouraging. Think about it. I have put aside seven years of my life to have a certain expectation and now that expectation has fallen through, while I still make arrangement to have my love of who I wanted to originally marry, I'm now on the hook for another seven years of labor to this man that has deceived me. I think that is another factor that comes into place.

Speaker 1 23:32

But even though he's in a bad spot, god's still working. That's one of the great lessons of this whole book is, even though these people get themselves in this bad position, in some cases through no fault of their own, god's hand of providence still works. Through all these things, jacob could be sitting there saying you know the world's against me, but what's really happening? God's working. God is shaping him, he's molding him. Jacob needed to learn a lesson. He needed to learn some humility. He needed to learn some honesty. God's chipping away some of those parts of his life, of his emotional state, that didn't need to be there. What does Jesus say over in the New Testament? Those who God loves. He prunes. Pruning means to cut some things away. That's the lesson here is God is working in this man's life and he takes these two seven-year periods with this hard, difficult lesson to do that. In the end, jacob is a better man for it, but it took a hard lesson and some difficult circumstances to learn this. God is teaching him to learn these things.

Speaker 1 24:43

You know, we had a question, steve, not long ago in our online podcast here where, oh why can't God just snap his fingers and this just happened? Why can't he just teach us these things. Why does he have to put us through painful circumstances in order to learn these things? Well, perfect example here. Would Jacob really learn the lesson if God just sort of implanted this in his mind? If Jacob was a computer programmer, he just loads some more software, would he really learn patience? Would he really learn humility if God just kind of rewrites it into his brain? I submit no. The only way you can learn patience is to go through circumstances that require patience. The only way you can learn self-sacrifice is to go through circumstances that require self-sacrifice. The only way you can learn bravery and courage is to overcome circumstances that are risky. So, steve, is God teaching Jacob a lesson?

Speaker 2 25:43

The term that's used in the King James Version Older English for patience is long-suffering, and I've always felt that that was an appropriate way to sum up what patience is. Sometimes patience is long suffering. During these additional seven years that Jacob is working, he is developing patience to wait on the Lord. It could be couched as long suffering. Through those seven years, During those patient periods, when you show that patience, you're building up that faith and that relation with Jesus Christ. And I say that from personal experience in that somebody who has made rash decisions and is always trying to make their way on their own devices and their own schemes, to finally say I'm going to turn it over to God and let you control my life. Well, what comes with that sometimes is some long suffering that builds the patience that builds that relationship with God. Here it is you mentioned it Jacob is being taught a lesson here, some good life lesson in these additional seven years that he's having to work for Rachel.

Speaker 1 27:07

The last part of what we just read a while ago verse 30, said that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, loved Rachel more than Leah.

Blessings and Truths in Genesis

Speaker 1 27:15

With that is going to come the seeds of discontent and some issues that are going to arise, because what ends up happening when there's multiple wives is that it never works out. Yes, there were people in the Bible that had multiple wives. There was polygamy going on in the Old Testament, but it always turned out bad Every time it turned out bad. It's going to turn out bad here, because there's going to be some bad circumstances that are caused by Jacob loving one of them more than the other. It's always the case that one of them gets loved more than the other, or there's some sort of jealousy, and polygamy or polyamory never really works out. None of those systems, god's way, is for one man and one woman for one lifetime. That's the way that we should structure our lives, because when Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, that's going to be the start of a whole other series of problems that are going to domino through the rest of the book of Genesis.

Speaker 2 28:24

But we're also going to see. God bless Leah in a special way through all of that.

Speaker 1 28:29

God will work through all of them. We're going to be here next time reasoning through this, and we trust that you'll be with us. There's going to be some very interesting stories. We're going to pick up speed a little bit in the second half of the book of Genesis, but we hope you'll be with us because there's some great, profound truths to be learned.

Speaker 2 28:46

Thank you so much for watching and listening, as always. May God bless you you.