Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20081019.htm
THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History Part VII: Explaining God's Plan To Bless Men Regardless Of Apostasy R. Trusting God's Retributive Discipling Of Believers Who Defraud (Genesis 29:1-30)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

At the local, national and international levels, many people today are frustrated upon feeling they have been harmfully defrauded, and that the guilty will escape any cost or pain for their wrong:

(1) Last Sunday, a Church member candidly confessed to a few of us that he had not taken communion because he was struggling with feelings of bitterness toward another party who had done him a great wrong! He did not know how to evaluate his own motives, so he had not taken communion out of reverence for God!

I appreciate this believer's honesty, realizing that perhaps all of us have struggled with his type of issue at some time in our walk!

(2) This kind of struggle is being repeated worldwide in the economic crisis: as we learned last Sunday, it all began with greed. All who drove up prices by excessive spending, coupled with all who took out mortgages they could not afford to pay along with lenders who virtually threw money at these folk under the permissive eye of federal agencies, regulators, congressmen and presidents -- all are to blame! Consequently, millions of taxpayers around the globe whose banks have been affected by this problem that began in our land struggle not only with the cost involved, but with bitterness in their hearts for those who thus defrauded them out of selfish greed!

Of special concern in all of this is the constant complaint heard on conservative talk radio programs that not one single government or business leader has even been arrested for wrongdoing in it all!

(3) Many residents of Connecticut feel their State Supreme Court has defrauded them when only four judges recently decided that the definition of marriage between a man and a woman that has stood the test of time since the dawn of human history was to be modified to include same gender couples. Though this ruling violates not only the definition of marriage set in God's Word, but natural law itself, no judge will apparently suffer recrimination for this decision.

The Genesis 29:1-30 account we are slated to study today instructs us on the path of blessing in facing this problem.



Thus, we seek to answer the question: "If I am upset over how a party has wronged me at no apparent cost to himself, what would God recommend?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I struggle with bitterness toward a party who has defrauded me seemingly without cost to himself! What would God suggest?!"

1. Though we learned in our last message that God GRACIOUSLY blessed Jacob to be HEIR of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 28:10-22), Jacob had DEFRAUDED his brother out of his blessing SEEMINGLY WITHOUT COST to HIMSELF, 27:30-36 et al.:
1. After Jacob deceived his father Isaac into giving him Esau's blessing, Esau expressed mental and emotional pain as he felt powerless to do anything about his having been badly cheated, Genesis 27:30, 31-36.
2. Jacob survived the event seemingly without cost to himself, for even his father then blessed him again as he set out for Haran, Gen. 28:1-4.
3. Besides, God Himself then gave Jacob a vision of His care for him as heir of the covenant, Genesis 28:10-15.
2. However, GOD LATER led JACOB into circumstances where Jacob HIMSELF would be DEFRAUDED that he might LEARN to FORSAKE selfishly DEFRAUDING other people, Genesis 29:1-30:
1. It was God Who arranged for Jacob to meet Rachel, Genesis 29:1-10; 24:10-16; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 75:
1. The first meeting of Abraham's servant and Rebekkah is remarkably similar to the first meeting of Jacob and Rachel:
1. In both cases, the man seeking for a bride stopped at a well near the city of Haran, Genesis 24:10-15; 29:1-6.
2. In both cases, the bride-to-be happened to arrive at the well soon after the man seeking the bride had reached it, 24:15; 29:6.
3. In both cases, the bride-to-be became involved in giving water to thirsty animals, Genesis 24:14, 18-20; 29:9-10.
4. In both cases, the bride-to-be was beautiful, Gen. 24:16; 29:17b.
2. Abraham's servant credited God with his meeting of Rebekkah (Gen. 24:12-14, 26-27), so God led Jacob to meet Rachel, Ibid.!
2. It was then God Who arranged for Jacob want to marry Rachel:
1. As Creator, God had made Rachel beautiful and her older sister plain, moving Jacob to want to wed the younger sister, 29:15-17.
2. Thus, Jacob agreed to work for Laban to marry Rachel, 29:18-19.
3. It was also God Who had thus created Laban along with his nephew Jacob, both of whom had sinful natures with the same bent to cheat!
4. Thus, for Jacob to stop selfishly cheating others, God led him to face retribution by letting Laban cheat him out marrying Rachal like he had cheated Esau out of his blessing, 29:11-30; 27:30-36:
1. At the end of seven years, Laban tricked Jacob into obtaining the plain, older sister Leah as a wife in place of Rachel, Gen. 29:20-25.
2. When Jacob complained about this, Laban explained that it was not customary for him to give away his younger daughter first, but, that if Jacob worked seven more years, he could wed Rachel, 29:26-27.
3. Laban's words left Jacob realizing God had allowed these events to occur as discipline for how he had painfully defrauded his brother:
1. Laban's explanation "must have pierced Jacob": as the younger son he had pretended to be the older son in violation of the social custom, Ibid., p. 75; cf. Genesis 27:19-23.
2. Jacob thus learned that "If social convention were to be set aside, it should be by God, not by deception," Ibid., p. 76.
3. Then, HOW Laban cheated Jacob acutely recalled his cheating of Esau: (1) Jacob (2) had posed as (3) his older brother (4) to blind Isaac (5) who was also lured by his love of Esau's venison, while Laban had (1') Leah (2') pose as (3') her younger sister (4') to Jacob who was blinded by the night (5') and who was also lured by his love for Rachel, Genesis 27:1-4, 19-23; 29:23-25!
4. Seeing God's permissive discipline was involved due to his own defrauding of Esau, Jacob accepted God's correction, submitt ing to Laban's terms to work seven more years for Rachel, 29:28-30.

Application: If we feel bitter toward a party who has defrauded us, (1) may we trust in Christ as Savior to be saved from sin ourselves, John 3:16: 1 Peter 2:25. (2) Then, may we leave with God the need for retributive discipline upon the wrongdoer. (3) However, if being defrauded RECALLS how WE ALSO have DEFRAUDED another party, may we rely upon the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16) to ACCEPT our pain as God's permissive discipline, and CEASE DEFRAUDING other people! (4) If we do NOT recall defrauding anyone, may we LEARN from our trial to TREAT others MORE GRACIOUSLY than we previously have done, that we might COUNTER the bent to defraud in the world with GRACIOUS LIVING! (Romans 12:21)

Lesson: Though God wanted Jacob and not Esau to be the heir of the Abrahamic Covenant, the WAY Jacob HURTFULLY DEFRAUDED his older brother Esau was SIN, so GOD arranged for Jacob HIMSELF to be PAINFULLY DEFRAUDED regarding his marriage to the daughters of Laban so that he might CEASE defrauding others!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

Several years ago, a woman representing a Christian magazine called at the Church office to try to get me to take out a subscription.

Due to a bad past experience with the magazine, I was tempted to cut her call short, to say, "No thank you!" and just hang up! After all, when the magazine was first launched, I had been excited about what it promised by way of insight for pastors. Yet, after having subscribed, I had been disheartened by the way its issues showed a preoccupation with human ideas instead of Biblically helpful insight.

Thus, I had let my subscription lapse, only to have a man from the magazine call trying to make me feel guilty for letting it lapse!

Thus, when this woman had called decades later, I was all set to be polite, but defensively to cut her call short!

However, over the decades since then, God had let trials arise to show me the need to be patient with believers I did not personally know, for they can be unaware of the wrongs of the groups where they function. So, I made myself say: "I became a charter subscriber to this magazine when it first came out, for its focus serves a real need for us pastors, but I let my subscription lapse when it ceased to edify!"

She replied, "That's very interesting -- could you explain?!"

Not knowing if I was being strung along in a classy sales pitch, but realizing from past trials the need to be careful not to "damage" an innocent person, I gave my reasons, half expecting her to take my words and twist them back at me to pressure me to buy a subscription!

She then asked how long I had been in the pastorate, and I told her it was nearly 30 years, and braced for her sales pressure!

Her response caught me completely off guard! She quietly said, "I am 30 years old, and it is wonderful to hear from a pastor who has been in the pulpit for nearly as long as I have lived express the same concerns I have had over this magazine! Thank you for this!"

After the call, I sat back in my office chair, stunned and grateful that God had used trials to teach me not to cut the call short, but to try to be patient and gracious toward a believer I did not personally know!



If we have been defrauded by another party, may we see the lesson God has in it for US, that WE in turn NOT MISTREAT OTHERS, but overcome evil with good, to be a BLESSING to other people in a spiritually needy world, cf. Romans 12:21!