Thru the Bible

Host: Even before he was born, Jacob's parents were told by God that the younger would rule over the older. But instead of trusting God to keep his promise, Jacob decided to help God out and do things his own way. Well, you can probably guess how that turns out. Welcome to Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I'm Steve Schwetz, your host, inviting you along on this five-year journey through God's amazing word.

We're continuing a classic family drama in the book of Genesis, and in this study, we're going to see Jacob on the receiving end of deception, this time from his Uncle Laban. What Jacob dishes out earlier in life, he now gets served back full measure. In fact, these next 20 plus years are only the beginning of Jacob's education. God is patiently at work shaping a man who wants to do life his own way into the man he intends him to be.

And while Jacob's story starts with struggle, it doesn't end there. God transforms him into a man that we later know as Israel. And here's the good news. God is still doing that kind of work today. Taking men and women who yield their hearts to him and shaping us into something new in Christ Jesus. Aren't you glad? I know I am.

As you grab your Bible and find your spot here on the Bible bus, let's pause for a moment and hear from a couple of fellow travelers. First, Betty, who listens by app, she sent us this note. It's a short one, but she's got a powerful message. She says, "Dr. McGee's teaching on grace transformed my relationship with God. Less performance, more trust, freedom at last." Well, that's certainly stating it clearly, isn't it? And Betty, thanks for sharing.

Guest (Male): And then here's a voicemail from a listener who's been with us a while. I got saved in 1989 with just me and my truck. My dad had passed at an early age and I was asking God why it happened and the next thing I know I'm listening to McGee over the next week or two. And I I said, "Boy, I don't like that guy's voice," but I kept looking for him the next day and the next day and the next day. Anyway, I listen when I shave every morning on the app and uh it's wonderful. I learn so much through McGee and his down to earth, sensible teaching. And uh it's really good stuff. I mean, he doesn't, you know, blow things out of proportion, he just tells it like it is. That's what I love about him more than anything. And he's still got a great sense of humor. Okay, Steve and Greg and everybody at TTB. God bless you. Thank you. I love you. Bye-bye.

Host: So great to have you aboard. I love Dr. McGee's teaching too. And yes, his humor never gets old. I'll be saving you a seat as the Bible bus rolls along. You know, we'd love to hear from you as well. So, if you've been on the Bible bus for a while, what's standing out to you in a fresh way today? And what advice would you share with someone who's just climbing aboard for the first time? And if you're new, what brought you here? And what's surprised or excited you so far? Just send us a note through our app or email us at biblebus@tbb.org or write to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1.

And you can leave us a voicemail anytime at 1-800-65 Bible. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the hope that you're not finished with us, that you're patiently teaching us and shaping us to be more like your son. Please use your word in the lives of those who hear it and respond to your spirit's leading in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, let's turn to Genesis 29 as we make our way through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And now, friends, today we come to the 29th chapter of Genesis, and if you have your Bible, you'll want to turn there. And we left off in the 28th chapter. You remember this man Jacob had to leave home post haste. In fact, he took French leave. He had to go because his brother was going to kill him. And his mother sent him together with the father, Isaac, back to Uncle Laban that he might get a wife back there. That's where Isaac had gotten his wife, Rebecca, and so they are sending Jacob back there, and he's on his own. And he's a clever boy, and he's demonstrated that cleverness.

And even that night he was so homesick. God appeared to him to comfort him and made these wonderful promises to him, transferred them, the ones he'd given to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob. Now they are to be given to Jacob. And then, lo and behold, the next day if he doesn't make a vow with God and trades with him and he says, "If you'll take care of me and do this for me and bring me back here, then I'll do this for you." Well, believe me, friends, God had already told him that. And if it depended on Jacob's faithfulness, I'm afraid he'd never received very much from the Lord. After all, isn't it all by grace? And that's the way you and I got saved. We never deserved it. If we did, none of us would ever be saved.

Now, over chapter 29, I'd like to write Galatians 6, 7 and 8. "Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." And probably the popular title that we ought to put over this chapter is, "Chickens Come Home to Roost." Now you'll see, beginning in this chapter, Jacob begins to reap the harvest of his evil doing. And you will also find that this is a universal law of God, that whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

Now if the Bible teaches anything, it teaches that this is true, and it's true in any area of life. You sow corn, you get corn. You sow cotton, you get cotton. You sow wheat, you'll reap wheat. You sow tares, you'll reap tares. And you'll find out that that runs all the way through Scripture in every field. For instance, Pharaoh slew the male children of the Hebrews. And what happened? Well, his own son was slain by the death angel. Ahab slew Naboth in cold blood, and the dogs licked the blood of Naboth. And Elijah came to Ahab and said, "Look, the very same place the dogs lick the blood of Naboth, the dogs are going to lick your blood."

And Ahab, I think, rather smiled at that and said, "Well, I'll keep away from that place." But it just happened to be literally fulfilled. You remember David found that this was an inexorable law that was applicable to his own life in reference to his sin. He committed a sin, a terrible sin. God forgave him, yes, but may I say to you, "Chickens come home to roost." What you sow you reap. And his own daughter was raped, and his son slain. Even Paul the Apostle, he felt the weight of this law. He gave his consent to the stoning of Stephen. And what happened? Well, Paul was taken outside the city of Lystra and stoned and left for dead.

But this man Jacob is really the classic example, and we're going to see that. I mention all of this at the beginning of this chapter. Now will you notice, this man Jacob is rather cocky. He has practiced deceit. He would stoop to use methods that were just a little shady to accomplish his purpose. He was proud of his cleverness. And now will you note, verse 1, chapter 29 of Genesis. "Then Jacob went on his journey and came into the land of the people of the East." Now he leaves Bethel, goes on his journey, and after a period of time, I do not know how long, why he arrived in the land of Haran.

"And he looked, and behold, a well in the field. And lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered, and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place." You see, water is a very important item in that country, and still is. There's not too much of it in many places. And it has to be husbanded. And it has to be protected.

And so here was the well that they watered the sheep and the people in that area. Now a certain time during the day, the stone that was on top of the well was removed. And everybody watered the sheep. Everybody got the water. And the top was put back down. Now Jacob arrives there before they take the stone away from the well. And here comes Jacob now, and believe me, he's as cocky as ever. Listen to him. Verse 4. "And Jacob said unto them, 'My brethren, whence be ye?' And they said, 'Of Haran are we.' And he said unto them, 'Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor?' And they said, 'We know him.'"

And they did, I guess. Jacob didn't, but he's going to get acquainted with him. Verse 6. "And he said unto them, 'Is he well?' And they said, 'He is well.' And behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, 'Lo, it's yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together. Water ye the sheep and go and feed them.'" Here Jacob has just arrived in the land. He's telling them already how to water their sheep. How they should do. This is typical of him, by the way. "And they said, 'We cannot until all the flocks be gathered together. And till they roll the stone from the well's mouth, then we water the sheep.'"

"And while he yet spoke with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them." Now this is a woman's work, by the way, in that day. She was the shepherdess that took care of the sheep. "And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother." And frankly, I don't know who told him to do it, but he did it. Whether this was time, I don't know. I doubt whether it was.

But after all, Jacob is not really following anyone's law except his own. He made the rules for the game as he went through life, that is the first part of his life. But he's got a tremendous lesson that he's going to have to learn, and Uncle Laban is really the one to teach him. And then we find in verse 11, and this has always been a strange verse to me. "And Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept." And frankly, kissing that girl, and why should weep? It's difficult for me to understand other than I'm of the opinion that this boy had had a lonely trip all the way from the moment he left home.

He spent that lonely night at Bethel, but he's still trading the next day, and he'd had a lonely trip. You must remember that from Bethel, he had to go up by the Sea of Galilee. He had to go up into Syria, and he had to cross that desert there. I suppose he had many experiences along the way. And now to find out that he's arrived at the place he's going, because he knew nothing about it before, and when he got there he becomes very cocky, of course. He greets these men in a matter-of-fact way as if he'd known them all their life.

Asks some questions, and then he rolls the stone away, and whether it was time, I doubt it, but he did. And I imagine that he so welled up with emotion that when he greeted this girl Rachel, and he kissed her, and he wept. I suppose that that would be the only way that you could explain it. But I'm sure the next time that he did, he didn't weep. Now, verse 12. "And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother."

And you notice father's brother actually means nephew. The Hebrew does not make a lot of the distinctions that we make today. We've got it reduced down to whether a person is a kissing cousin or not. Well, in that day, they didn't have it. If you're related, you're related, and that means you're a brother. And that's the way that it's translated here and quite properly so. But he is actually his nephew, that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebecca's son. And Rebecca was the sister of Laban. And she ran and told her father.

And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house, and he told Laban all these things. I imagine that he had quite a bit to talk about, the trip that he'd made, how he'd left home, and I'm not sure about what he entertained him at dinner with the story of how he tricked his brother. How he got the birthright and how he got the blessing, how he used trickery to do it, and how clever he was. And probably about that night at Bethel. Well, he told Laban all these things.

"And Laban said to him, 'Surely thou art my bone and my flesh.'" Laban was convinced now this was his nephew, and he says, "You're my relative. Now, come in. Make yourself at home." "And he abode with him the space of a month." Now, he's there for a month. And what happens? Well, he's not working. He's, after all, the nephew that's come from a far country, and he's come over to visit his uncle. And I suppose that he felt like he ought to have free board there, and during that time, why he's been courting this girl, Rachel. At least he's certainly been casting his eyes in that direction. And I think she was casting her eyes in his direction.

And now, one morning at breakfast, and I think that's when this took place, notice verse 15. "And Laban said unto Jacob, 'Because thou art my brother, shouldst thou therefore serve me for naught? Tell me what shall I wages be?'" This Uncle Laban is pretty clever. Now, who has said anything about going to work? Jacob hasn't. And Uncle Laban in a very tactful way at breakfast, he says, "Now, Jacob, my nephew, I don't want you to work for me for nothing. I'm going to pay you." Well, who said anything about going to work? Jacob hadn't, but Laban had.

And frankly, you don't live with Laban a month without making some sort of an arrangement to pay your board. Uncle Laban was clever also, and he now is going to deal with his nephew. "And Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel." Now, we're introduced to another daughter here, Leah. And actually, Uncle Laban has been watching this boy, and he's noted that this boy, his nephew, has become very much interested in his daughter, that is, in Rachel, the younger daughter.

You can understand why the next verse tells us, verse 17. "Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored." And that means again, here's another very beautiful girl. And that's Rachel. But Leah was tender-eyed. And that's a way of saying she was not so beautiful at all. I remember years ago in college reading in Greek, and especially in some of the plays. For instance, Euripides. You find out that when the fellow wanted to say something very nice about his girl, while the thing he said to her that she was cow-eyed, that she had the eyes of a cow.

Well, I always laughed at that. I to me, I would turn that over before I would decide that was a compliment. But if you ever looked in the eye of a cow recently? Well, the next time you meet a cow, take a look at the eye. They're generally very beautiful. Now, I've never seen a cow that I thought had ugly eyes since I'd read that. And so the way that you would describe in that day a person, that is, a woman, she would be cow-eyed. That means beautiful, or tender-eyed, mean that she was sort of an ugly duckling. So, Laban had these two daughters. And it's obvious now that Jacob is in love with Rachel. In fact, verse 18 reads, "And Jacob loved Rachel and said, 'I'll serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy younger daughter.'"

And he was quite moon-eyed himself. And so that morning at breakfast when Uncle Laban suggested he go to work, he had something in mind himself, and he knew the boy was in love with the girl. And so he said, "Now, what shall your wages be?" And Jacob said, "Well, if you don't mind, I'd be willing to serve you seven years for Rachel." And this man Laban is for driving a pretty hard bargain. And that's what he does. "And Laban said, 'It's better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man. Abide with me.'" That'll be all right with me, if you'll serve me. And this is about one of the loveliest things that's said about Jacob.

Frankly, the only part of this man's life in the early part of it that has anything in it that's beautiful or fine or noble is his love for Rachel. And that is outstanding. Listen to this. Verse 20. "And Jacob served seven years for Rachel. And they seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had to her." You can see this man working. I tell you, Uncle Laban had him working, and he did many things, worked out in the cold, out in the rain, out in all sorts of weather. But he always thought of that girl Rachel, and there she was to meet him and to greet him, and he's in love with her.

"And Jacob said unto Laban, 'Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.'" "And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening," Now notice what Uncle Laban's doing. This is a dirty trick. "That he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him and he went in unto her." Now, at the marriage ceremony in that day, the way that it was done, the woman was veiled, entirely veiled. You couldn't see her at all. And so poor Jacob didn't see the girl he's getting until he got in the tent. And he lifted the veil.

And lo and behold, it wasn't Rachel. It was Leah. And I wonder if that very moment when he saw he'd been tricked, I wonder if he didn't recall something that he was the younger and he pretended to be the elder to deceive his own father, and he deceived his father, and that's the reason he had to leave home. And he got the blessing, and it was a good trick he'd pulled. But you see, God doesn't go in for that type of conduct. God doesn't approve of it. God had promised him the blessing, but he's got to get it God's way. And so what happened?

Well, the thing that happens just simply this, that chickens are now coming home to roost. He pretended to be the elder, and he was the younger. Now he thinks he's getting the younger, and he gets the elder. Chickens are indeed coming home to roost. And what happened? "It came to pass in the evening that he took Leah his daughter, brought her to him, he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for a handmaid. It came to pass that in the morning, behold it was Leah. And he said to Laban, 'What is this that thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?'"

And I tell you, when the tables are turned, this becomes an awful thing. In fact, it's a criminal thing that he's done. But notice how Uncle Laban passes it off. Uncle Laban is an expert, friends, at this type of thing. "And Laban said, 'It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.'" Uncle Laban said, "Well, there was a little matter, a little clause in the contract. In fact, it was that which was in fine print, Jacob, and I forgot to call your attention to it. There is a rule in the country that the elder daughter must marry first. And the younger daughter can't marry until the elder daughter's married. And I forgot to tell you that, and that's the reason that it worked out as it did."

Well, I tell you, a man serves seven years here. And now notice Uncle Laban is prepared to be very generous in his dealings. He says, "Fulfill her week." And that week, you see, seven years. "And we will give thee this also for the service which thou shall serve with me yet seven other years." Now, don't come along, friends, anyone and say, "Well, look, here, this man's going to have two wives." And it looks like God approved of it. Well, why do you think God approved of it? The record here is inspired because this is what happened, but that doesn't mean God approved of it. In fact, as in the case of Abraham taking Hagar, the entire story, the whole incident reveals that God disapproved of it, and it's recorded because it is a fact.

"Now, Jacob did so. Verse 28. Fulfilled her week. And he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, Bilhah, his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." Believe me, Uncle Laban is getting his money's worth, is he not? And poor Jacob is really going to school, but he has two wives, and he shouldn't have them. He'll be in trouble before it's over. We'll have to leave off right there today, my beloved.

Host: Well, the tables have turned. The master deceiver is now learning what it feels like to be deceived himself. And Uncle Laban isn't finished with Jacob yet. There's more schooling ahead, and we'll hear about it in our next study. For a sneak peek, why don't you read ahead in Genesis 30 and 31. In fact, reading ahead before each study is one of the best ways to prepare your heart for what's coming next. You can get our broadcast schedule as a bookmark, you can download it at ttb.org or call 1-800-65 Bible to get on our mailing list. Again, that's 1-800-65 Bible or ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, for all of us at Through the Bible, grateful to be traveling through God's Word with you. Through the Bible exists to take God's whole word to the whole world, and we invite you to stand with us with your faithful prayer and financial support. Where will God's word go today?