Father's Day with Jacob -- 6/21/09

Sunday, June 21, 2009

SPENDING FATHER’S DAY WITH JACOB
Gen. 27:41-30:43

Read it in sections… Gen 27:41-28:22
Gen. 29
Gen. 30
** Perhaps first section at the beginning of the service. Then read the second and third during the scripture reading time.

[Ask one of the kids] What is today? That’s right; it’s Father’s Day. We observed Mother’s Day six weeks ago, and now we have Father’s Day. Now if you had a wish, a desire, for your father, what would it be? What would you want for your dad? If you could give him anything, what would you give him?

With those questions in mind, we are going to look at Jacob this morning. In our study of Genesis we have come to the end of chapter 27. The last time we looked at Genesis, we looked at how Jacob swindled his brother Esau out of the birthright and the blessing. Listen again to the words of a disappointed and angry Esau in Gen. 27:36, “Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing…’” (ESV).

Of course, we remember well that the parents of Jacob and Esau also played a role in the process. After the twins were born, we learn immediately that Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. When Isaac felt it was time to give the blessing, there is absolutely no mention of a blessing for Jacob. While it was proper for him to give the greater blessing to Esau, who was the oldest, it was also proper to give a blessing to the other sons. Later, when Jacob came to the end of his life, he would call all of his sons so that he could bless them (Gen. 49:1-2). Nevertheless, Isaac only thought of his favorite, Esau. But when Rebekah heard her husband tell Esau to go out and kill an animal and bring the meat in preparation for the blessing, she immediately went into action. She called Jacob and told him what to do in order to steal the blessing from his brother. You might say, “But God had told her that the older would serve the younger.” It may well be that this was her motive, but even if that was the case, God didn’t need her help. She was guilty of undermining her own husband. She was jealous for Jacob, because he was her favorite.

What a mess. Nevertheless, in the midst of it all, we see God working out His plan. In these incidents, we can point the sins of Esau, Jacob, Isaac, and Rebekah. But even in the midst of their sin, God was working out His own will. That did not excuse their sin, but it would bring glory to God.

But now let’s come to Jacob, who now has both the birthright and the blessing. Surely things will be better for him. He was not a father at this time, but he would become a father. So let’s look at him as a father. What would it take to make him happy, to make him the ideal father? Well, let’s look at what he achieved and see if that made him the ideal father. Let’s see if what he attained would bring joy and contentment?

I. Not Only the Birthright and the Blessing, but Also Wonderful Promises from God

We have already read the story this morning. Right now we want to focus on Gen. 27:41-28:22. It begins with the attitude of Esau, after he had been cheated by Jacob. Let’s read again 27:41, “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.” Esau was so angry that he vowed to kill his brother. In order not to grieve his father, he would wait until after Isaac died. (Little did he know that his dad would live another 35 years!)

So what would Jacob do? But wait, verse 41 tells us that Esau spoke these words in his heart. Well, it is obvious that at some point he began to share his thoughts more openly, because verse 42 tells us that Rebekah got wind of what he said. Notice again that it is Rebekah who took the initiative. Remember that Jacob is 75 years old, but Mama is still taking care of him. So again, she comes up with a scheme to get him out of harm’s way. Ultimately it is Isaac who sends Jacob away to Padanaram to find a wife, but it was Rebekah who hatched the scheme and manipulated her husband to carry it out.

We do have to give Isaac credit at this point. When he sends Jacob back to the homeland to choose a wife from the daughters of his Uncle Laban, Isaac also gives Jacob a word of encouragement, a restating of the blessing he had given him earlier. Let’s read it in Gen. 28:3-4, "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4. And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham."

So Jacob is off to find a wife, having been freshly blessed by his father. What could be better? Watch and see. The first night on the road Jacob bedded down at a place called Luz (imagine that). He wanted a good night’s sleep, but he got far more than that. Let’s read again 28:12-15…
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Wow! Jacob has heard some wonderful things from his father, but now he is hearing from the LORD God of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. This is the first time the Lord has ever spoken to Jacob. But in this dream, God Himself does indeed speak to him. What wonderful promises! God tells Jacob that He will give the land to him and his descendants. We’ve heard that before. That was the promise God gave to Abraham in Gen. 12:7 and 13:15. God tells Jacob that his descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, spreading in every direction. Does that sound familiar? Listen to what the Lord said to Abraham in Gen. 13:16, "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered." The Lord then tells Jacob, “And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” That is exactly what God told Abraham in Gen. 12:3. What God promised Abraham, He now promises to his grandson Jacob. Imagine that! God gives great and precious promises to this swindler named Jacob!

And then God gives Jacob a series of very personal promises: “I am with you and I will guard you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. Furthermore, I will never leave you until I have fulfilled these promises.” Notice that there are no conditions attached. The Lord says that He will do these things… period.

What a blessed man Jacob was. He possessed the birthright and blessing from his father. But that was not the half of it. He also had a direct message from God. He had wonderful personal promises from God.

II. A Wife from God

Now all of those promises are great, but what is a man, if he doesn’t have a wife? Of course, we know better than that. Ultimately, a person’s needs are to be met in Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus is able to make a person content even without a mate. On the other hand, “he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of the Lord” (Prov. 18:22). Well, as we have seen, Jacob is on his way back to the homeland to find a wife. How did he do?

When he arrived in the vicinity of Haran, he found a well with three flocks of sheep gathered around it. He asked the shepherds where they were from and if they knew Laban, the son of Nahor. They indeed knew him and reported that he was doing well. They also informed that his daughter Rachel was bringing his sheep to be watered at the well. All the details are not given, but we do know that as soon as she arrived, Jacob removed the large stone and watered her sheep for her. Understand that Jacob knew this was Laban’s daughter (his own first cousin). Then we read the words of 29:11, “And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.”

Exactly what is intended by verse 11 is debated. Some would say that it was love at first sight. However, we must remember that a kiss did not mean the same thing in that culture as in our culture. Such a kiss was a normal greeting. Someone might object that it was normal for a man to kiss a woman as a greeting. However, it was a natural thing for close relatives. And why did Jacob weep? Was he weeping with joy that God had brought him safely on his journey to the household of Laban and to the woman who might very well become his wife? Or was he struck by the physical beauty of Rachel and longed to have her as his wife? We read down in verse 17 that Leah, her older sister, was tender eyed, while Rachel was “beautiful and well favored.” This does not necessarily mean that Leah was ugly or couldn’t see well. Exactly what it means is debated, but there is no debate over the fact that Rachel was a beautiful young lady.

What strikes me is the contrast between Genesis 24 and Genesis 29. In both cases, a man has returned to Haran to find a wife. In chapter 24, it is the servant of Abraham who has come to find a wife for Isaac. Here, it is Jacob seeking a wife for himself. Abraham’s servant came with prayer, but there is no record that Jacob prayed. When the servant found Rebekah, he bowed his head and worshipped the Lord (24:27). Then we are told that he blessed the Lord (28). Surely it is no accident that such references to the Lord are absent from chapter 29. Notice also that the servant in chapter 24 identified Rebekah as Isaac’s future wife by her act of service in not only giving him a drink, but also giving water to his animals. But Jacob sees only the outward beauty of Rachel. We are not saying anything bad about Rachel, simply that all Jacob had seen at this point was her outward beauty. Some believe that when Jacob moved the heavy stone from the well, he was showing off for Rachel. I do believe there is reason to believe that this was indeed a case of love at first sight. In other words, Jacob was physically attracted to Rachel and that is what mattered most to him. Since she was a daughter of Laban and beautiful to look upon, he longed to have her as his wife. One commentator put it like this: “Rebekah’s beauty was an additional plus, an unexpected fringe benefit; Rachel’s beauty was the essence of her selection” (Bob Deffinbaugh, I Led Two Wives).

Things moved pretty fast from that point. Jacob told Rachel who he was and she ran and told her father. Laban ran to meet him, greeted him, and welcomed Jacob into his home. After Jacob had been there a month, Laban suggested they come to some official arrangement. By this time, Laban must have realized that Jacob was a good worker. As we will learn, Laban was a very shrewd man and he was always looking for ways to better himself. During that month Jacob found nothing to discourage him from pursuing beautiful young Rachel. We are told directly in verse 18 that Jacob loved Rachel. So in response to Laban’s question concerning wages, Jacob told him he would serve him seven years for the hand of Rachel in marriage. Notice Laban’s reply in verse 19, “It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man; abide with me.” Notice that Laban does not directly say that he will give her Rachel in marriage; he only implies it. Jacob, of course, reads into the statement what he wants to hear. Seven years is a long time, but because of his love for Rachel, it seemed only a few days to Jacob (vs. 20).

After he worked the seven years for Laban, the time for the wedding finally arrived. Laban made a big feast. As was customary, this feast of celebration would last a full week. On the first night, Laban gave Jacob his daughter and they came together as husband and wife. The next morning Jacob made an amazing discovery – it wasn’t Rachel, but Leah, her older sister. Of course, we say, “How was it possible that he didn’t know?” Rest assured there was some deception involved! When Jacob confronted Laban and accused him of trickery, his uncle simply said, “ It isn’t customary for a father to give his younger daughter in marriage before the older.” But never fear, Laban had a plan. He told Jacob to complete the week of celebration with Leah and then he would give him Rachel as well, provided he was willing to serve another seven years for her.

So everything was wonderful. Laban had figured out a way to get another seven years of free labor from Jacob, and now Jacob had two wives instead of one. But this was the beginning of some real problems for Jacob. Think about the rest of the week with Leah. While Laban is celebrating his own shrewd victory, Jacob is trying to come to grips with the fact that he loves Rachel, but he is married to Leah. It is hard not to wonder how he treated Leah the rest of the week, knowing that at the end of the week he will have his beloved Rachel as a wife.

So now the man who has the birthright, the blessing, and wonderful promises from God also has a wife (make that two wives).

III. Children from God

So what about children? In that culture, it was a shame for a man not to have children, especially sons. Like any man, Jacob longed for children. The birth of children was also critical for God’s plan, because He had told Jacob that his seed would be like the dust of the earth. Surely the birth of children wouldn’t be a problem, since Jacob now had two wives.

The end of chapter 29 and the first 24 verses of chapter 30 give us the record of the sons that were born to Abraham (also one daughter, Dinah, 30:21). What a blessing to have eleven sons. Aren’t we beginning to see that Jacob had it all? He had the promises of God, two wives, and eleven sons. Surely his life was overflowing with joy and contentment!

However, there is much more to the story than the simple fact that Jacob had eleven sons. Things have already been complicated by the fact that Jacob had two wives. That problem is only compounded by the birth of children. Let’s take up the story where we left off and read 29:30-31, “And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. 31. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.”

Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. That may be the sense of verse 31, where we are told that Leah was hated. It may mean that she was less loved that Rachel. Or, it may mean that she was hated by Rachel (remember the animosity between Sarah and Hagar). Either way, the Lord saw Leah’s condition and had mercy on her, giving her the ability to bare children. In short order, she bore four sons to Jacob – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. The names of these sons are very significant. For instance, look at the naming of Reuben in verse 32, “And Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.” The name “Reuben” actually means “Behold, a son.” Leah had high hopes that the birth of this son would win the heart of her husband and he would truly love her. When the second was born, she said, “Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also; and she called his name Simeon” (33). Do you see the turmoil?

By the way, the last of these eleven sons was Joseph. Did Jacob have any more sons? Yes, he did. What was his name? Benjamin. But Benjamin wouldn’t be born until later. These were all born while Jacob was working for Laban. The birth of Joseph is recorded in 30:24. The very next verse records Jacob’s request of Laban, “Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go…” (30:25b-26a). Now listen to what Jacob would later say in Gen. 31:41, "Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times." The placement of the birth of Joseph just before the arrangement for Jacob to serve longer suggests strongly that Joseph was born after Jacob had been in the country 14 years. That would mean that these eleven sons were born in the space of 14 years (minus 9 months, before the first was born). Because of the short time span, there are some who do not believe they were born in the order recorded here in these chapters. However, I have gone through the timing more than once and am still convinced that this is the proper birth order, just as recorded. (If you want to pursue that, we will sit down and work on it.)

So Leah bore four sons to Jacob. That’s great for Leah and it’s wonderful for Jacob, but what about Rachel? We have already read that Rachel was barren. How do you think she felt during this time, as she watches her husband hold that child that Leah has borne him? 30:1, “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.” If you want to feel the tension in this triangular family, just read verse 2, “And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?” Do you hear Jacob? “Don’t blame me; it’s God who has kept you from bearing children.” Of course, Jacob wasn’t hurting like Rachel was. After all, he had four sons. It’s interesting to contrast Jacob’s cutting words to the attitude of his father Isaac. Remember that Jacob’s mother Rebekah had not been able to bear children either. It was twenty years after she married Isaac that Esau and Jacob had been born. But we must also remember that Isaac prayed for his wife Rebekah, and she conceived. We find nothing of that attitude in Jacob.

Now the situation becomes even more complicated. Back in 29:24 we are told that Laban gave unto his daughter Leah a woman named Zilpah to be her handmaid. He did the same for Rachel, giving her Bilhah, as recorded in 29:29. Rachel took matters into her own hands and decided to make Bilhah’s use extend beyond that of a normal servant girl. Rachel suggested to Jacob that he take her servant Bilhah and have children by her. In other words, Bilhah would be substitute. She would be actually bear the children, but they would belong to Jacob and Rachel. Does this sound a bit familiar? Of course, it does. This is exactly what Sarah did when she wasn’t able to bear children to Abraham. It wasn’t a good idea then, and it wasn’t a good idea now, but Jacob went along with it. Bilhah did indeed have children by Jacob, bearing him Dan and Naphtali. Notice that it was Rachel who named them. 30:6,8… “And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan… 8. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali."

So now the score is 4 to 2, in favor of Leah. But there is a problem. It has been a while since Leah has been pregnant. She can’t seem to have any more children. Still seeking the love of her husband, she follows the example of her sister Rachel. Leah too has a servant girl, and she gave Zilpah to Jacob. It worked. Zilpah bore two sons – Gad and Ahser. Now it’s 6 to 2.

The next portion of the story reveals just how sick this family was. Let’s read it in Gen. 30:14-18…
And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. 15. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes. 16. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

I don’t think I need to expound much on that. This shows just how messed up these relationships were. The question I want to ask is this: What happened to the scheming Jacob? He was quick to take the initiative in swindling his brother out of the birthright, but how he looks like a ping pong ball being batted around between four women. As he bowed to the wishes of his mother at age 75, now in his mid 80’s he bows to the whims of his two warring wives.

Well, Leah then bore another son named Zebulun. And after that, she gave Jacob a daughter named Dinah. It certainly looks like Leah got the best of the Rachel in the kid race: 6 of her own and 2 by her servant girl, while all Rachel could manage was two by her servant girl Bilhah. But that isn’t the end of the story. Now let’s read 30:22-24, "And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 24. And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son." Other translations render that last statement, “May the Lord add to me another son.” She was either praying for another son or expressing confidence that she would have another son. Indeed, she would.

There you have it. Jacob is the father of eleven sons and one daughter, but I don’t get the idea that a family picture would have revealed a joyful and content Jacob.

IV. Plenty from God

I have a question for you. How was Jacob living all this time? After all, it takes a bit to feed four women and twelve children. The bargain was simple – years of hard work for the privilege of having Leah and Rachel as wives. But did that include food and other basic needs for the family? It obviously did. Remember that Jacob’s family consisted of the daughters and grandchildren of Laban. Laban would be sure that his kids and grandkids were well taken care of. On the other hand, you can rest assured that Jacob earned his keep.

But did Jacob have anything beyond his basic needs? What if he decided to leave Haran and go back to Canaan? Did he have any resources? How would his family live, if he left the security of Laban’s wealth? I imagine Jacob asked some of those questions. At any rate, we see in verses 25 and 26 that Jacob told Laban he was ready to leave. Notice that he asked only for his wives and children. That was the bargain, and Jacob would keep up his end. It might be hard for them to get started again, but he had to start somewhere. He had stayed long enough in Haran (14 years; see 41:31) and it was time to get on with life.

What about Laban? He has made out pretty well in all of this. Not only has he received 14 years of hard labor, but he now has 12 grandchildren. Nevertheless, Laban didn’t want Jacob to leave. His motives are not written here. Perhaps much of his reason had to do with the fact that when Jacob left, his two daughters and 12 grandchildren would be leaving as well. On the other hand, notice the words at the end of verse 27, “For I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.” I don’t know how sincere Laban was, but he certainly understood that he had prospered while Jacob had been with him, and he didn’t want to lose that. So he is ready to strike another bargain: “Jacob, stay here, and just name your wages.” At this point, Jacob confirms that Laban has indeed prospered greatly through his work. But he also reminds Laban that it’s time for him to provide for his own family. Laban quickly responds, “What do you want me to give you?” Jacob makes it clear that he doesn’t want Laban to give him anything. Rather, he has a little bargain of his own.

We aren’t going to take time to go through the deceptive battles that are detailed in 30:32-42. I will let you work through that for yourself, but here is the bottom line. Jacob and Laban matched wits, both trying to get the better of the other. Jacob met his match in Laban, as we saw from the “bait ‘n switch” bride give away. At the end of the livestock battle, it was Jacob who came out on top. The conclusion is stated in 30:43, “And the man (Jacob) increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and manservants, and camels, and donkeys.” Jacob would leave Haran as a wealthy man.

The big question is this: Who was responsible for giving Jacob all that wealth? No doubt, Jacob thought that it was due to his own scheming. Jacob thought that when the sheep and goats mated, the color offspring could be influenced by what they saw at the time. Jacob was wrong; that was nothing but superstition. But it seemed to get results. Why? Because God is God, and He can do whatever He wants to do. He produced the desired offspring, but it had nothing to do with what Jacob did.

So now on top of everything else, Jacob has great riches. He went to Haran with nothing, except a desire to escape Esau and to start a new life with a new wife. That was it. Now he has wives, children, riches, along with great promises from God.

Conlcusion

So what do we make of all this? There is a sense in which Jacob had it all. How many men in our world would love to have promises of great blessing, a wife as beautiful as Rachel, children, and great riches? Surely a man would be sitting pretty, if he had all that. What about Jacob? Do you think that by this time he was a man full of joy and contentment?

The answer to that question is, “No, Jacob was not a man of joy and contentment.” But how do we know that? First of all, we know it from what we have seen this morning. After receiving great promises from God, do we see him bowing and worshipping, blessing God, even as Abraham’s servant had done? No. After receiving the beautiful wife that he had longed for and fathering many children, do we find him a happy family man? No. Isn’t it amazing that we don’t find Jacob giving any leadership at all to his family. In the naming of all the kids, Jacob is entirely absent. When his wives offer him their servant girls, not only is there no protest, but there is not even a record of any verbal response from Jacob. After Rachel told him to have relations with Bilhah, we read that “Jacob went in unto her” (30:3-4). Then when it comes to Leah, the record doesn’t even say that much, only that Leah gave him Zilpah and Zilpah bore him a son. As a matter of fact, only one comment of Jacob is recorded over a 14-year period, and that is when he sharply rebuked his beloved Rachel with the words of 30:2, “Am I in god’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?” That’s it. Jacob’s home was a place of turmoil, conflict, envy, and strife.

But surely riches will cover a multitude of sorrows. We quit reading at the point where God blessed Jacob with great riches. Can we expect chapter 31 to begin to tell us how wonderful everything was for Jacob? Let’s go ahead and read Gen. 31:1-2, "And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. 2. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before." Now that Jacob has riches, he has an additional problem. The riches he received were at the expense of his Uncle Laban, and he is not happy with Jacob. As we will see, his riches did not alleviate any of his other problems, but they added another.

Do you remember the meaning of the name Jacob? It means “heel grabber,” “supplanter,” etc. Jacob was a swindling con artist, just as his name implied. Of course, that isn’t the end of the story. Jacob’s name would be changed. Changed to what? To Israel, which means “prince of God.” Had Jacob’s name been changed at this point? Though he had the promises of God, wife and family, and great riches, had his name been changed? No. Jacob was still Jacob. He was still the deceitful, scheming swindler he had always been. Praise God that this isn’t the end of the story, but understand that none of the things we have looked at this morning changed Jacob.

Dads, let’s not be deceived into thinking that any of these things will make us what we ought to be? Let’s not let anyone tell us that they will bring joy and contentment. But what about the promises of God? As great as those promises were, they didn’t change Jacob. Next time we will talk more about Jacob’s response to those promises. There are many who want to use God’s promises to make Him like a Santa Claus. God will not be used, not by Jacob or anyone else.

How could God possibly be glorified through all the history we went through this morning? After He appeared to Jacob at Bethel (Luz), He seems to be absent from the rest of the proceedings, except as a tool to be used by Leah and Rachel in their kid competition.

Don’t miss the big picture. God was at work in every circumstance. Was it right for Jacob to have two wives? No. That wasn’t God’s design from the beginning. Nevertheless, through that whole mess, God is working to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob descendants like the dust of the earth. Eleven sons is a pretty good start. We know that those sons will each be the head of a tribe and each tribe will multiply greatly. We have just come to the point where Laban is upset with Jacob. The tension will be one of the factors that leads Jacob to return to face Esau. That is God’s plan, because He has promised Jacob and his descendants the land of Canaan.

And what about Jacob himself? He is a mess, but God isn’t done with him yet. We are going to see that the Lord is preparing to change the swindler into the prince of God. Every event that we have looked at is a piece of the puzzle. We may not understand how it all fits together, but God will not waste anything.

So it is in our lives. God hasn’t made any mistakes. He created people who turned against Him and became God-hating rebels, and that includes everyone of us. The Lord sent His prophets to warn those rebels, but they mistreated His prophets, even killing some of them. Finally, He sent His only Son Jesus into this world. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10-11). That beloved Son was crucified, as the Romans carried out the desire of the Jewish leaders. But that is only the outward appearance. We read these words from the prayer of God’s persecuted people in Acts 4:27-28, "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28. For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."

Did the world kill Jesus? Yes, the world is responsible for killing Jesus, because Peter said in Acts 2:23, "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:" They/we crucified Jesus by wicked hands. Nevertheless, they only did what God had determined beforehand would be done, because Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He Himself had said, “No man takes my life from me; I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18). It pleased the Lord to bruise Him and to make His soul an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10). God had a plan for the greatest injustice that has ever occurred in all of history.

Dads, and everyone else, God is still working His plan, and that plan is centered in His Son Jesus Christ. You can have everything the world offers, even the most wholesome things, but nothing outside of Jesus Christ has lasting value. But when we are following Jesus, nothing else will ultimately matter. As we are beholding the magnificent Son of God, we are being changed into His likeness, from one degree of glory to another. God is working all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, that we might be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29).

So what should a father do on Father’s Day. Give glory to God! Praise His holy name. We are weak, so let’s depend upon Him who is strong. We have sinned, so let’s confess our sin to Him who is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And having done that, let’s not dwell on our sin, but let’s abide in Christ, who invites us to come to Him for rest. We have failed as fathers and are weak even now, so let’s throw ourselves upon the Father who is ever faithful to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Let’s close with Psalm 91:1. Can anyone quote it for us? “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” I love that language. A little boy loves to walk in his dad’s shadow. The shorter he is, the better he can stay in the shadow. When he is that close to his dad, he knows he is safe and all is well. As the sun rises higher in the sky, the day becomes hotter and there is greater need for the shadow. But as the heat increases, the length of the shadow shortens. In order to stay in his dad’s shadow, that little boy has to get really close to his dad, until finally he is right next to him. That is God’s invitation and promise to us. When we dwell in the secret place with Him, we will abide under His shadow. Nothing can touch us there. What a Father we have!