Last week, we continued the “Grace Foundation” series. In
this 5th part we looked at Jacob’s handling of Laban’s flocks and
how God blessed him despite Laban’s cheating. We also looked at Jacob’s
decision to return home to his family in Canaan .
In Genesis 30, Jacob makes a deal with Laban to take, as
his wages, all of the spotted, streaked and black sheep from the flock. Laban
agrees, but then steals away all such sheep and has them hidden three days’
journey away. In this story we can see
some “types” and images. Jacob represents Jesus and grace. Laban represents
law. Jacob had worked, fulfilling all of the requirements of Laban. Jesus did
all of the work required by the law for us.
Jacob’s wages had been cut ten times by Laban. If Laban
represents law, we can make an association: There are TEN commandments. We also
know that the wages of sin (that were defined by the law) is death. Jesus is
the one who does all of the law’s work for us, enduring the wages for us.
What is Jacob interested in? He wants all of the
blemished sheep that were under the authority of Laban. Jesus wants all of the
blemished sheep under the law. The reality is that all are blemished, but the
law thought it produced some clean, pure sheep. Those that believe they are
already clean by their works will not receive grace through Christ. Grace is
not looking for those who think they are pure. It looks for those who know they
are not, who acknowledge the need for the redeemer. Where did Laban hide the blemished sheep?
They were “three days’ journey away.” Jesus had to go on a three day journey to
rescue those trapped by the law. What a great illustration!
We read about the methods Jacob used to get Laban’s sheep
to produce more spotted or streaked sheep. He strips bark from certain types of
wood and places them in the watering troughs that the sheep drink from and mate
in front of. Apparently, what the sheep see when mating was supposed to affect
the appearance of their offspring. In
chapter 31, he says the Lord gave him a vision in a dream, though we do not
know at what point in the story he had that dream and all of the details of the
vision. There is a lot of debate about this story. I came to a few
possible conclusions – but all of them lead us back to the same lesson to
learn:
1.
Jacob had been working in these fields as a shepherd for 20 years and
could have adopted some of the superstitious beliefs of other shepherds in the
area – thinking they were working. However, the dream may have come later where
God reveals it was Him who was causing the sheep to produce as desired. God may
have worked despite Jacob’s actions. This would be a sign of God’s grace and
faithfulness to the promise to bless Jacob, not because of what he did or who
he was but because He made the promise to Abraham.
2. Jacob may
have had that dream at the beginning of the process and might have been using
the sticks as a diversion to anyone observing him.
3. God may
have revealed to Jacob in the dream to use the sticks to get this desired
result. I read a paper written by a geneticist that said the amino acids
present in the types of wood Jacob used, if mixed in their drinking water,
could cause the desired “defects” in the sheep. But wouldn’t it require a lot
more than a few sticks in the water to produce those results? You would think
so, but God is a miracle-working God. He usually works through the obedient
hands of man to produce His results. He may have multiplied the effectiveness
of the sticks because Jacob obeyed His instructions.
There may be even other theories, but all of them seem to
lead to the same point – that God found a way to bless Jacob simply because He
made a promise and He is faithful to His promises. That same promise is yours! Paul tells us
that when we become children of God through the blood of Jesus, we are now
children of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. The blessing is ours
simply because we are in the right family – not because of our works.
Blessing alone does not ensure abundant life. As we have
been finding out through these stories, we must follow God’s ways in order to
experience the blessing we have been given. We must know that, by grace, the
blessing IS OURS. Then we must allow that same grace to lead us to right living
so that we do not forfeit the benefits of the blessing we’ve been given. Even though Jacob was always living in
blessing, his decisions and actions often caused much more pain and trouble
than he should have had to deal with.
The second part of the story we want to look at in light
of this typology is the stealing of Laban’s household idols. When Jacob packs
up the family to head back to Canaan and his
family, Rachel steals her father’s household idols. Jacob is unaware of this,
so when Laban catches up to them and demands the return of his idols, Jacob
swears no one in his camp has them and is willing to punish anyone who could
have taken them. Laban goes through the
entire camp, finally getting to Rachel’s tent. She is concealing them in a bag
that she is sitting on. She explains that she cannot stand up because she is
having her monthly cleansing. Laban leaves empty-handed. Eventually Jacob
learns that Rachel had taken them and has them destroyed.
This part of the story seemed odd to me. It has none of
the normal “Old Testament” results that come from dealing with idols and false
gods. No one died or was rebuked. First of all, this was before there was law. A clearer picture was formed when I
researched the meaning of these idols. In the region where Laban lived, the
head of the household had such idols or gods. They were frequently passed on to
the eldest son as a sign of birthright blessing. If a man had no sons, it was
acceptable for him to present them to his eldest son-in-law – passing the
birthright blessing to him.
Remember that Jacob has a reputation for “stealing
birthright.” Laban might have thought he’d had the birthright that belonged to
his sons stolen by Jacob. Also, remember the typology here. Laban represented
law. What is the birthright inheritance
of law? It is death. Jacob has the birthright inheritance that comes by grace.
Jesus, like Jacob, took the inheritance associated with the law and destroyed
it! What great pictures we see in these
Old Testament stories when we can look at them through New Testament, grace
glasses.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/media.php. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee,
visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
