God Works in Mysterious Ways

 Joseph Is Protected in Egypt

Book of Genesis Chapters 39 and 40

As Christians we will be further tested in 2021. Persecution is on the rise and it will increase. The amazing thing about Christian persecution is that the Church always grows when persecution increases. God does not cause Christian persecution to allow this to happen!

The world will treat Christians shamefully just as the world did to Joseph. Much of the persecution of the Church will come by many so-called Christians already in the Church such as our own president who stands against all the Word of God though he claims salvation though his own pastors will not pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

If you do not claim Jesus, you cannot be Christian, and your salvation has no merit!

Today we will see that the Lord is true to His Word as He will never abandon us nor will He forsake us as the world turns against us.

Joseph was treated shamefully by his own brothers.

We will see that these 10 brothers held the truth of Joseph from their father for near 22 years when Jehovah stepped back into the picture to show Jacob (Israel) the truth of his son Joseph.

Joseph never forgot his roots and he knew his roots were in the Almighty God.

We know there were no Christians in the Old Testament because to be a Christian is to come by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who began a New Covenant based upon better sacrifices.

A new and living way.

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

In typology Joseph was a great example of what a Christian should be like given to us from the pages of the Old Testament.

Joseph was God's child, but he was not Christian!

*****Gen 39:1  And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 

Gen 39:2  And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 

Let us not miss the fact that slavery was alive and well in these days of Joseph, and we need not think that Joseph was the only human that was robbed of his dignity and his freedoms as we can be sure that there was a great market for the sale of humans in that day as there is today.

Why do we continue to allow this to go on today?

Egypt was the greatest of powerful nations at this time in history.

All powerful people believe they should be able to have slaves!

We need to understand things are going to happen to us that we just will not like. We live in a wicked world no matter how our politicians dress it up!

We live in a world that denies its Creator and blames everything upon humans when all these things could be stopped if not for wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We must never overlook this Scriptural truth!

It is the truth today just as it was in the days of Joseph if not more so!

Joseph was now a slave with no rights and no freedoms.

Joseph came from a rich family, but he was now just a poor slave who would become a servant to Potiphar.

This sounds familiar as we know our Savior gave up the riches of Heaven to put on the clothes of a servant in order that we could be saved from this wicked dying world.

Joseph had someone on his side throughout all his days in Egypt!

The LORD was with Joseph!

When the title Lord is spelled with all capital letters, it means Yahweh, the self-existing God, Jehovah as the Hebrews would say.

It is the Lord who made Joseph to be prosperous even as a slave in a foreign land.

The one thing Joseph had to do was to not forsake his Savior!

Tit 2:9  Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 

Tit 2:10  Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

We must understand that the Word of God does not ever change according to our own circumstances.

The Word of God remains the same and the meaning of the Word of God is always unchanged.

God says what He means, and God means what He says!

The important thing to us as it was to Joseph is that The LORD will never forsake us if we love Him!

*****Gen 39:3  And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 

Gen 39:4  And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. 

We should know it was not the sin of Joseph that caused him to be a slave in Egypt.

Yes, Joseph was a sinner, but it was the sin of his brothers that caused him to be in Egypt.

Nothing in God's plans for Israel, changed at all when this thing happened!

God does not adapt to the things of the world. God's plan moves along at His own pace and nothing and nobody can change what God has planned from the very first day of Creation.

Joseph found "Grace"!

Grace is the unmerited favor of God.

The word "Grace" is seen in the Bible 170 times and the actions of God's "Grace" are seen many more times than this.

We need to understand God wants to show us His "Grace" and not His "Judgment"!

Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

Psa 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 

Psa 84:12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. 

Grace is not just a New Testament word!

Even as a young man of 17, the work ethic of Joseph impressed this Egyptian soldier.

*****Gen 39:5  And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 

Gen 39:6  And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. 

Gen 39:7  And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 

Joseph ran the household of Potiphar so well Potiphar could concentrate on his duties but there was one duty that was being neglected, his wife.

Notice how her sin began in her eyes.

She cast her eyes upon Joseph. She saw a goodly person. She saw a young man well favored by all that knew him.

What do we know?

We all need to make a covenant with our eyes!

Our eyes will get us in trouble!

Job 31:1  I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 

Job 31:2  For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 

Job 31:3  Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 

Job 31:4  Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? 

Job 31:5  If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 

Job 31:6  Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 

We see that Job had the right answer.

We also see this woman was daring and shameless in her sin.

1Jn_2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

By the words of Jesus, this woman had already sinned.

Mat_5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus said this of a man, but it is the same for a woman!

Joseph had done nothing to cause this but maybe he could have made himself more aware and been more ready for what did happen. Perhaps!

Joseph knew better than to sink to this depth of sin!

Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 

Pro 6:24  To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. 

Joseph also began to realize the scorn of a woman.

Pro 21:19  It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. 

*****Gen 39:8  But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 

Gen 39:9  There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me "but thee", because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 

Joseph was being trained for things that were in his future and we must understand that we must survive temptation!

Pro 22:14  The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. 

No doubt Potiphar knew something of the ways of his wife because he had warned Joseph.

We should not doubt that this was a beautiful and attractive woman and she certainly held power in her political circles.

The one thing we will understand from the Word of God is that He will help us to escape temptation.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

God also warns us about these things when we are young.

2Ti 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 

2Ti 2:23  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 

Joseph chose to do the right thing. He ran.

Joseph might not have known what would happen, but he knew he would remain innocent in the eyes of God and God would protect him.

We can just imagine Joseph as he might say to himself, "what would Jesus do" when he did say "how then can I do this great sin of wickedness against God"?

This woman would not have known the meaning of what Joseph had said because her gods had no such rules.

We see that "sex" outside of marriage is indeed a "great wickedness" in the eyes of God.

We live in a world where these things are blessed by the government and if mistakes are made then it is alright to solve that problem by murdering that unborn child.

The master of the house had trusted Joseph with all his possessions but not with his wife.

We must understand that all sin is first against God and God alone!

Deu 25:16  For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Sin always interferes with our relationship with the Lord!

Psa 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 

If our prayers and our conversations with the Lord cease to be heard, our life will become miserable.

This woman could not stop her lusts for Joseph, or she refused to, and she lacked opportunity.

*****Gen 39:10  And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 

Gen 39:11  And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 

You know the Lord will never accept the excuse "well I just had to give in, she would not stop".

When we look to other humans from a human point of view, we will not always get the right answer.

But when we look to humans from Heaven's point of view, we can see right from wrong.

Potiphar's wife treated Joseph in a humiliating way by requesting him to her bedroom and doing so very often.

She saw Joseph as no more than a slave who should have been obedient to her.

In reality, there is just no way defend sex outside of marriage.

Joseph was not about to sacrifice his purity or his integrity just to please his master's wife.

Joseph may not have been a teenager anymore, but he was not going to ruin his adult life by disobeying God!

Joseph had to fight this battle every day until this day when he was alone in the house with this foolish woman.

Maybe Joseph should not have put himself in this position but as a hard and devoted worker, he may not have even noticed he was alone with her.

The world does not know the meaning of sin!

Potiphar's wife had probably set these things up and we will notice these men were close enough for her make contact with them quickly, if things did not go her way.

What should we know? The Word of God.

Pro 5:1  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 

Pro 5:2  That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 

Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 

Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 

Pro 5:5  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 

Pro 5:6  Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 

Pro 5:7  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 

Pro 5:8  Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 

Pro 5:9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 

Pro 5:10  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 

Pro 5:11  And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 

Pro 5:12  And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 

Pro 5:13  And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 

Joseph allowed this woman to get a little too close to him and she caught him by his garment.

*****Gen 39:12  And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. 

Joseph ran out of his garment as a man escaping for his life and in reality, this would have been true.

Joseph did not stop to argue with this woman, it was time to get away from her no matter the consequences.

This is the second time someone removed the coat of Joseph!

What is our lesson here?

When we are in the habit of referring everything to God we will not be easily deceived by the appearance of things in this world.

Joseph was not about to get into a pulling match with this wicked wife of his master Potiphar.

She then changed her approach and blamed Joseph when, "by her holding onto the garment" should have been obvious, she was the blame.

She explains herself to her husband.

*****Gen 39:16  And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 

Gen 39:17  And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 

Gen 39:18  And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 

Gen 39:19  And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 

We should immediately notice that this woman laid the blame on her husband saying, "this Hebrew servant you brought onto us". 

Wicked women know how to remove the blame from themselves.

Potiphar became enraged as most men would do.

We must understand that God's people will face false accusations and these things will increase.

The world has no other way to battle the truth.

Pro_12:17  He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

Pro_12:19  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

A charge of rape or attempted rape has never set well with any people.

Of course Joseph was innocent, but he would never be able to convince Potiphar of the truth even if he knew about his promiscuous wife. The politics of his position would not have allowed it.

Joseph is wronged by his master for political reasons and Joseph expects to be killed but this is not in God's plan and Joseph has spent enough time in the house of Potiphar to see how the political things work in Egypt.

Joseph will not be killed but he will be placed in prison.

*****Gen 39:20  And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 

In many ways this is seen as a mild punishment, but we must see that Joseph is being protected by the Lord, after all he is innocent of all charges.

We can also suspect that Potiphar may not have believed all the things his wife had said and to me the evidence proved she was lying.

I believe Joseph was imprisoned for appearances and Potiphar had placed a lot of trust in Joseph and I believe Potiphar actually believed Joseph but none of these things mattered because Jehovah knew the truth.

Once we are "justified" by the Lord it does not matter what the world believes.

We live in a heavily biased nation with politicians ensuring that it stays that way.

Many similar things were going on in Egypt in that day of Joseph.

1Pe 2:19  For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 

1Pe 2:20  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 

All these things are examples of the things that happened to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isa_53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

It would not be long before Joseph would be running this prison still learning things God wanted him to learn for what lied ahead in his future.

*****Gen 39:21  But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 

The truth is gates and bars cannot shut out the mercy of God!

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Joseph receives the same confidence from the Jailer as he had with Potiphar.

We can be sure there were no loose women in this place.

Our light can shine in a prison as well as it does outside a prison and those who are witnessed to cannot run away.

Joseph had no special traits that made him better than anyone else.

As Christians we are not better than any other people but by the "Grace of God".

It was the Lord who was on the side of Joseph!

Remember, the Apostle Paul, was content wherever he was located, and God had to put Paul in prison so he could give us the Epistles.

Paul would have never slowed down long enough to write these precious books if he had remained free all those years.

For Joseph, prison was his next steppingstone, to being second in command of all of Egypt.

God certainly does work in mysterious ways!

Isa_55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Joseph became second in command at the prison.

You know, it must have been an absolute pleasure to watch this young man work!

It is a pleasure to work around Christians rather than around those who are lost. 

We have different goals as Christians!

Joseph did not have any friends and family around him, but he did have his God with him at all times!

*****Gen 39:22  And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

Psa 106:46  He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.  

As Joseph had grown up, he had witnessed the power of God.

Joseph had dreams that he knew where real.

Joseph knew that God had been with him in his service to Potiphar.

But now even in prison Joseph was seeing that God was with Him and a very great lesson lie before him.

We must all be patient and wait on God!

Joseph may have been in prison, but he was respected, and he had a purpose even in his bounds!

*****Gen 39:23  The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

What is it that gives one special power over men? It is not great natural gifts! It is not superiority of the mind! It is not the gifts of rank and fortune!

The thing that gives one special powers over men is the fact that the Lord is with him!

The only thing Joseph needed to know was that the Lord was with him!

The only thing that can put space between us and God is our disobedience!

Yes, the world had treated Joseph terrible, but this is what the world does. The world will turn on you in a moment if you go against the world.

If we will continue to serve the Lord, praying for our forgiveness and being obedient to the Word of God, we will find that we can prosper even if we are locked up in a prison.

Our prosperity and our success do not depend upon circumstances.

Our prosperity and our success depend upon our integrity, and our attitude, and our character, and our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If our character is more like Jesus, then we will be successful and blessed of God.

If there is one other thing we must clearly get in our heads, it is that we must patiently wait on the Lord!

Psa_27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

The one thing that Joseph did not forget to do was to act like the Lord is the boss!

Col 3:23  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 

Col 3:24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 

Col 3:25  But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. 

Eph 6:8  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 

These things may sound hard to do, but if we remember our ending, then this little time we spend in this flesh upon this earth is really nothing when we compare it to the Glory World!

Amen

From Riches to a Shepherd

Joseph and his Brothers

Book of Genesis Chapters 36 through Chapter 38

As we go through these last lessons in the Book of Genesis, we need to remember the time these children spent in Mesopotamia.

How they witnessed the envy and jealousy of the wives of their father.

How two sisters were locked in a bitter feud over them as they were born.

How their grandfather had treated their father Jacob so deceitfully.

How in all their time had had not seen much love from their parents and their grandfather.

They had witnessed envy and jealousy and strife all their days.

We can just imagine how these mothers had taught hatred.

And then Jacob got in on this thing by choosing to show favoritism to Joseph because he was born of Rachel the only wife he truly loved.

This is no way to raise children and we will begin to see some of the results of these things in our lesson today.

Did God also show favoritism to Joseph or does God just try to show how He cares for abused children?

The life of Joseph is expressed in many words in the rest of the Book of Genesis and there are many lessons we can learn from these chapters of Joseph's life.

Israel would soon need an earthly savior and God chose Joseph to be that earthly savior.

Joseph is a prime example in the Old Testament of what a Christian should be in the New Testament!

Joseph was raised in a wealthy home, but he spent many years as a slave before rising to a place of power.

As a slave he worked hard enough to become the manager of his master's estate.

As a prisoner he worked so hard he became manager of the prison.

As a man of God, he was called upon to give spiritual guidance to Pharaoh and became second in command of Egypt.

All these things happened because he was a willing servant of God!

What did the Apostle Paul teach us?

Php 4:11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 

Php 4:12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

Joseph never took his eyes off the Lord at any time in his life!

We must also never forget that Joseph was just a sinner used by the Lord to accomplish certain things.

Joseph became the deliverer of Israel as Israel grew from a family into a nation!

God has a plan for each one that He saves if we will be just as willing as Joseph, and be content as Paul no matter our circumstances.

We may be called upon to do many things in these last days.

We must completely understand though many things happen that we do not agree with, the Almighty God is the supreme Ruler of this world!

We must never blame Jehovah for the way the world is going, we must accept that God knows what He is doing and do the work he gave us to do right up till the sound of the trumpet.

God is the Sovereign Ruler of this world that He created that we are in the process of ruining.

*****Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

The first thing we see is that Jacob is still showing favoritism in this family, this time aimed at Joseph.

These other sons and daughters have witnessed these things all their days.

When you have one father and four different mothers there will be problems in the house as each mother tries to do the best for her own children.

Favoritism causes division within the home. It did then and it does now!

When Joseph was old enough, he began feeding the flocks along with his other brothers.

We know Israel was rich and richness was counted by the number of animals he owned in that day and Israel had many animals.

From the stories of Laban and his daughters we found that Jacob was good with animals and his sons would have learned from him.

Joseph was with his brothers trying to learn the skills necessary to be a shepherd. 

The truth is Israel (Jacob) should have had more sense than to single out Joseph for special treatment as he had been a part of these sort of things all his own life and it was multiplied as he had spent 20 years with Laban and been misused himself.

Joseph was his favorite son because Rachel was his favorite wife, and all the children knew these things to be true.

For God's own plan, he had equipped Joseph with some skills it did not seem his brothers had but we know God does not show favoritism to anyone, especially His own children, whom we are.

We all play a part in the plan of God for this world and He is making all the arrangements for our future home with Him in His House.

We are all different and we all have different skills, but it is how we use those skills that can be a benefit in the work of the Lord.

Once we are saved then the Holy Spirit will decide what else we need, and He may even increase those skills we have or turn us to an entirely different set of skills.

Now we cannot be sure just what a coat of different colors would look like, but we can be sure none of the other children who were all grown men at this time had one like it.

And it being hand made by dad made it even more hated by the others.

It was a rich looking garment of royalty that a shepherd would have no need of, but it is here where we can see in typology our Savior.

Our Savior took off the robes of royalty to put on the coat of a shepherd.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

None of these things set well with Joseph's brothers.

Here again we will see another type of Christ as He came to His own and was rejected by them.

*****Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. 

As we already know from previous Scripture, Jacob loved Rachel far above his other wives.

No doubt all the other boys who were now grown men had lived in this scenario all their days. 

They had been eyewitnesses to the deceit of Laban their grandfather.

They had been eyewitness to the envy and jealousy of Leah and Rachel because they lived in the middle of it.

They now witnessed the favoritism of Jacob toward Joseph.

Joseph was partially beloved for his mother's sake.

But Joseph was the only son who was at home with his father during Israel's older years as Joseph had just turned 17.

And no doubt Joseph was just special in his ways and just a little bit different from the other boys.

When Jacob started dressing Joseph in finer clothes, it just brought all these things to a head and we already know "envy" brings with it, untold sin.

Pro 27:4  Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? 

In a family we are born to help one another, and we should take this mindset out into the world, but envy causes us to destroy one another, even if they are close family.

Joseph's 10 brothers hated him so much that they could not even speak to him in words of peace. They could not offer him peace. They could not even wish him well.

Then God steps in with prophetic dreams.

*****Gen 37:5  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 

Gen 37:6  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 

Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 

We do not know if Joseph could feel the presence of the hatred of his brothers.

We can be sure that Israel (the man) did not realize just how much Joseph was hated by his brothers and we see that the mothers are not even written about which means that the Holy Spirit did not think it relevant to tell us about their ways at this time.

We can be sure this was not a happy family!

We know the future of Joseph so we can only say that God was already preparing Joseph for his future.

We should understand that God will always prepare us for some future part of His plan if we make ourselves “teachable” and “available” as our Pastor preached just recently.

If we already think we know everything then God cannot teach us anything about the truth.

We know that Joseph told his dream to his brothers, but Joseph never got the opportunity to interpret his dream as they did this themselves.

We should understand that it was the sons of the two handmaids that had become concubines that Joseph was telling his dream to.

These four young men probably felt less love from their father Israel than them all.

This dream did not set well with them according to their own interpretation.

We know from the Scriptures that they did indeed bow down to Joseph once Pharaoh had made Joseph second in command of all Egypt.

Gen 42:6  And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. 

Gen 42:7  And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. 

Again, we find that these things are written more for the Church than for these sons of Israel.

We also can see that when Joseph knew his brothers, he spoke rough to them as they had to him all their

days when he was a young teenager.

We can see that these four brothers of the handmaids had it in their mind that Joseph would never get the opportunity to rule over them, they would kill him first.

*****Gen 37:8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 

If you have read the entire Book of Genesis you know that these sons of Israel had made the right interpretation of Joseph's dream.

Gen 42:6  And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. 

On the day of the dream, they knew Joseph could not rule over them because they would not allow it under their own power.

If Jacob made Joseph to be the head of the family, they would not ever agree with Joseph!

Joseph was despised even more.

Joseph was hated even more.

Makes us think of the days of Jesus Christ.

We are told that the Lord Jesus Christ will one day rule this entire world.

Every knee will bow to Him!

Rom_14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

All those who already despise the Lord, certainly hate Him even more when they are told that they will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Satan goes berserk when you tell him this!

Satan still has a belief that he can defeat Christ Jesus and so do his followers. They are so confused to the truth.

The truth will still hold to be the truth and every soul that has ever lived will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Php_2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

The true Church, that is hated today will be even more hated on the day of the Rapture.

We can just imagine how much hate boils over at the resurrection of the dead and they face the Lord God Judge of Righteousness.

Rom_1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Mat 22:31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 

Mat 22:32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

But Joseph dreamed another dream.

*****Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 

Gen 37:10  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 

This dream is similar to the first one in that it was Joseph who his family would bow to.

In the Bible we know that most all dreams were prophecy of some future event.

Jacob (Israel) had such dreams and though he rebuked his son, he did observe the saying of his son.

Was Joseph being cocky? Was Jacob rebuking Joseph to ease the hatred of his other sons?

This dream is a similar dream to the first and it insured the truth of the first dream.

Gen 41:32  And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 

Joseph could say this to Pharaoh because he had experienced it himself.

What we must realize is, that God is working behind the scenes to carry out His own will. He is still doing this today and He will continue until things reach their peak as described by the prophets and by the Book of Revelation.

Just as God put things in place for Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy, God is putting things in place with Joseph and his family to fulfill prophecy.

What had God told Abraham.

Gen 15:13  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 

Gen 15:14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 

God used a teenage son of Jacob to get these things started.

None of his brothers could understand what was happening, but they too would be used of God and they did not even realize it.

His brothers had decided to get rid of Joseph and God used them to do this thing.

They would not be allowed to kill Joseph.

Watch how God's plan  works.

*****Gen 37:23  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 

Gen 37:24  And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Notice these four sons of the handmaids who hated Joseph and would have killed him, while the remaining sons were satisfied just to get rid of him and not kill him, but these to also despised that coat made by their father.

Envy could have caused murder, but it also would cause their own father to suffer for many years when they all knew the truth.

For 21 years they allowed their father to mourn for Joseph even though they knew what happened to him!

In typology we know that the Lord Jesus Christ was stripped of His robe.

Psa 22:18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Also in typology we see the pit as a place called Hell.

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 

Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 

Hell is also a place without water!

Luk_16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

All the lost have a fear of the pit!

Isa_24:17  Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

Those bound for Hell have rejected the truth of God.

Isa_38:18  For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

Joseph would be saved from the pit or from Hell, just as every born again, child of God, because of the "Grace of God"!

Isa_38:17  Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

We can also see this pit as the empty grave of the Lord then Reuben found this pit to be empty.

The grave of Jesus is still empty!

The enemy will deliver Joseph to the auction block as a slave.

*****Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 

If not for these seed of Ishmael, Joseph may have been left in that pit to die. 

God’s plan was to safely get Joseph to Egypt so He provided transportation!

We see that where envy reigns there is no pity!

Humanity is forgotten when envy reigns.

Have we not seen all these things the last few months in our elections?

Those who have envied and hated president Trump, have not just shown that hatred, but they certainly will not show pity and they want his life destroyed.

Why do not the American people see this and put a stop to it?

The brothers of Joseph continued until Joseph was completely out of their site and out of their lives, or so they thought.

We see malice is like a deadly poison.

Pro 27:4  Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? 

Joseph had begged his brothers for his life, but their ears were closed.

Only Reuben seemed to have some feelings for his younger brother.

*****Gen 37:29  And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

It may have been Reuben's plan to slip away to do something and then return to get Joseph out of that pit and take him to safety, but the others may have caught on.

Gen 37:22  And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. ?

It is also curious to see that it was Judah who suggested to sell Joseph.

Gen 37:25  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 

Gen 37:26  And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

It was also a Jew who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for silver.

Life was just not precious enough in those days and we live in a world where life is not very precious today.

This is why the Lord teaches us to choose life because all that Satan has is death.

Deu_30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Reuben had warned his brothers about harming Joseph, but they had paid him no attention.

Gen_42:22  And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

We should understand God always hears the cry of the innocent!

Psa 9:12  When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. 

When Reuben rent his clothes it showed his brothers how disappointed he was in them, but Reuben never told his father Jacob the truth for some reason.

What is the truth?

Pro 28:13  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. 

This is another law that God will never break.

We will never be able to defy God and get away with it!

No matter what we think about the politics of our nation this tiny Scripture in the Book of Proverbs will hold true.

God will not be mocked for very much longer!

*****Gen 37:30  And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? 

Gen 37:31  And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; 

Gen 37:32  And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no. 

Reuben asked his brothers how would he ever explain to his father the things about Joseph?

These wicked brothers already had devised a scheme.

They killed one of the goats and dipped that special coat of colors into the blood and sent by a servant to their father.

They were unwilling to face Israel until they knew his reaction!

Their story would be that the coat was found, and they had not seen Joseph.

All those who do such things should know that there will be another special coat dipped in blood one day soon.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 

Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

These ten sons of Jacob did not have the fortitude to witness the outburst of grief from their father. 

They did not want to be there to answer any questions Jacob might have.

These who were willing to kill their own brother but sold him into slavery. became cowards willing to hide their crime and each one had to agree to never let this information come out so their father would know what they had done.

God has another little rule about these things.

Num_32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and "be sure your sin will find you out".

All the hidden wickedness and corruption in our own government will eventually be found out. We can be sure of this!

Another thing we might not realize is, there were some wild animals in that day that would attack humans.

*****Gen 37:33  And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. 

Gen 37:34  And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 

Gen 37:35  And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. 

When we think of lions, we think of the African lions that roar on the plains in Africa.  Few people know that there is actually another lion species, the Asiatic Lion, that used to roam Asia as well.

So, there were wild beast in this area in that day and humans were attacked by these animals. It was not too farfetched, for Jacob to believe his son was killed by some wild animal.

It would be 22 years before Jacob would see his son Joseph again, but Jacob did mourn for his son longer than what we would call normal for that day. If there is a precise time of mourning for such a loss.

We should notice that these wicked sons did not actually say that Joseph was dead, but they left their father with very little choice, but to believe Joseph was dead saying they did not find his body which was no doubt rent to pieces.

What do we know is that once Benjamin was born Jacob became ever more protective of him!

We also know that Jacob had deceived his father Isaac.

As parents we also think the worst when something happens to our children. Though Jacob mourned, Joseph was safe in the arms of God stationed to save all his family and preparing to build a nation.

No human could sit down and make such a plan as this plan of God!

*****Gen 37:36  And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

Joseph had some hard lessons to learn at such a young age. We know he was only 17 years of age at this time.

As far as Jacob was concerned, all the things that happened to him after this were against him.

Gen_42:36  And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

In reality, all these things had a purpose because he was living in the plan of God which can never fail!

Now this does not mean that God approved of what happened to Joseph, God already knew what He was going to do.

God never approves of the mistreatment of any human being!

God just takes something bad and makes something good come out of it!

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Our God is so great that He can work out His purpose even when people are doing their worst as we see today.

The plan of God cannot fail nor can it be hindered by any human being or any group of humans.

Amen

 

Returning To the House of God

Back to Bethel

Book of Genesis Chapters 34 and 35

As we study the Old Testament, we see that these people who preserved the Word of God were just historical people as we are.

These are real people with real problems who found out that it is Yahweh who has all the answers.

These stories of life in the Old Testament are real and they are true.

We see that it is not always easy to be a believer.

We will face many challenges as we try to serve the Lord.

The best solution is the solution the Lord gives us, which is to keep the commandments to God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jacob had to live with the decisions he had made, and he had to find God's "Grace".

The best place to begin in search of God's "Grace" is at the House of God!

We must always understand God does not need our sacrifices God needs our obedience!

*****Gen 35:1  And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 

Jacob had made a vow at Bethel. God had kept His side of the vow, but Jacob had wavered in his vow.

Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 

Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 

Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. 

Many a Christian today, who were on fire for God, when they first asked Jesus to come into their heart, have now cooled off and they need to go back to Bethel, the House of God, and renew their vow as did Jacob.

Jacob had been blessed many times over. Jacob had not given his tenth and Jacob had not given his heart to God which is far more important.

During this “Covid” Plague, many of God's children have grown cold and afraid and they no longer give their heart to God.

In fact many have even forgotten to support the House of God!

They have just quit on the Lord no matter their excuse!

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 

Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 

We make a vow to the Lord the day of our salvation, the very moment of our salvation, or we are not saved!

God wanted the heart of Jacob just as he had the heart of Abraham!

Jacob did not need to go alone, he needed to take all his family so they too could join him at the altar of God.

But there are always some things that need to be left behind!

*****Gen 35:2  Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 

No matter who we are or where we come from, as Christians we need to renew our commitments to the Lord first and then to each other.

The second will not work without the first!

The family is the first government that our Creator endorsed.

We might say "I have never had strange gods in my life", but we are fools to think so!

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 

Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 

Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. 

All these things are false gods that we have allowed into our lives without thinking that they are false.

Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 

We must keep the Lord "first" at all times and those weak and beggarly elements, which are worldly things, need to be replaced with the Word of God, that is the Word of Truth!

We need to be clean!

The Bible does say come as you are, but in this instance, we are talking about the children who are already in the family of God.

We must cleanse ourselves because we spend every day in a wicked and sinful and corrupt world.

Jesus said to Peter:

Joh_13:10  Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

To wash our feet as Christians is to walk holy and undefiled.

We must wash the filth of this world off before we make request of the Lord.

It is called recognizing we are sinners, asking for forgiveness every day and asking for a refilling of the Holy Spirit every day or more often as the need arises. 

We still live in this filthy flesh!

We are still dirty rotten sinners saved only by God's Grace!

That "Grace" comes only by Jesus Christ!

In our Spiritual life, that has been "justified" by the Lord and purified by the Lord, need not think that we are undone if in our walk in this life we will contract some stains. 

We need to wash away those stains!

We get this same meaning where it says a change our garments.

We need to wash away the filth of this world and the Word of God is that cleansing agent.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 

Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 

This washing occurs as we are doers of the Word, we are obedient to the Word of God!

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: "but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God". 

1Co 6:12  All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 

We cannot allow ourselves to be brought under the power of this world when our power is of the Lord.

We just need to go to the "House of God".

*****Gen 35:3  And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

We are foolish if we do not remember from where God has brought us from.

Where were we?

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 

1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 

We must never forget the power of our "faith" in the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must remember our deliverance! 

The Lord will always, "Always", deliver those who come to Him in faith and repentance!

2Sa 22:2  And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 

2Sa 22:3  The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 

2Sa 22:4  I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: "so shall I be saved from mine enemies". 

If we love the Lord, truly love the Lord, He will always deliver us from our day of distress!

As far as Jacob was concerned Laban was in the past and it was Esau, his own brother who brought these fears to him.

Jacob may not have known just how to approach Esau but as God does, God said to "let his journey begin at Bethel, the House of God".

This is a great lesson for us all.

No matter what we are going through, we need to go to the Lord in prayer and there is no better place to pray than the altar at the house of God.

Yes, we are to go to our closet and get alone with God.

But a Spirit filled House of God, where others who love the Lord can bring great peace of mind.

God is our deliverer!

Psa 18:17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 

Psa 18:18  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

Jacob had asked his family to give up all false gods and to go with him to the House of God.

Anything people worship is to them a god!

Anything we put before the Lord has become our god!

But there is only one true God!

*****Gen 35:4  And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 

Gen 35:5  And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 

If we go back to where Jacob had begun his journey to escape from Esau, we will understand this better.

Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 

Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 

Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. 

Jacob had vowed a vow to Yahweh and God was doing His part and had done His part.

God always does what He says He will do!

We must repent of our old life and walk in the Word of God!

We must bury our old gods and seek the Living God!

Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

We must put away our own thoughts and seek the "Mind of Christ"!

1Co_2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

What was the mind of Christ?

To do the will of His Father!

Joh_8:28  Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

When we are doing the will of our Heavenly Father, we will be doing the will of our Savior!

Until the Lord takes us home, we will still be amongst our enemies!

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy!

*****Gen 35:6  So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. 

Gen 35:7  And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 

Luz was a royal city of the Canaanites.

By the direction of God, Jacob was directed right into the mouth of the enemy.

This is the location of the Church today.

As long as we are upon this earth we will live amongst our enemies.

In reality, this nothing to be frightened of.

We are strangers and pilgrims in the land.

Even in the midst of our enemies we can find the "House of God"!

Mat_18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Notice that Jacob had found something that is more important than the House of God.

Jacob came to realize if God is not in the House, then it is not a true House of God.

It is El-bethel, the "God of House" that makes a true Church!

So many places of worship today have forgotten this.

Jesus is finding that in America, He is no longer welcome, much like when He came the first time.

Luk_9:58  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

My question is how have we allowed this to happen?

We as Christians have to be the laziest people on the face of the earth!

We think once we are saved, we can forget the world we live in.

We are left in this world to make a difference and we are failing because we refuse to do the work of God.

It is the "God of the Church" that makes the difference, and He must live within us!

We cannot abandon our places of worship as we are told to today, but we had better bring Jesus with us when we go.

We need revival in America.

Not just for lost souls, as many believe, but to revive all the Church, the "Body of Christ"!

There can be no revival if it does not begin with each Church member, each believer!

Jacob built an altar to sacrifice the tenth he had promised to complete his vow, and he was now much closer to the Lord, the God of the House.

It was not the animals that made the sacrifice, it was the heart of Jacob that was important if he was to be Israel.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

If we do not look to Jesus, then we have not laid aside every weight we carry, and we will be worn out before our journey begins.

It was not the journey Jacob made to get to the House of God, it was the journey he made after he had been to the House of God.

Will the God of the House be with him?

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

It was a good time for one to repent and give her heart to God.

*****Gen 35:8  But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. 

We do not know for sure, but Deborah would have been more than 140 years old at the time of her death.

Gen 25:20  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. 

Compare

Gen 35:28  And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 

Deborah had left Haran with Rebekah 140 years before this death.

“Allonbachuth” means, the "Oak of Weeping".

No doubt this nurse had spent many of Jacob's early years teaching him and helping to raise him.

If we set our roots down in a Bible believing Church, we will see over time, many of the Saints of God go home to glory.

These will be days of sadness until we wake up to the fact that they went to where we want to go, to the Glory World of Heaven.

Death and burial is in all our future unless the Rapture of the Church takes place before our day comes!

We must also understand that on our journey to Heaven the true "Promised Land", we will not be exempt from the things that happen to all humans.

Our journey will not always be easy nor is it intended to be.

Life is not all that fun especially as we get older, but we live, knowing that a life given to the Lord is a life that cannot die.

I am so glad I am no longer a "dead man" but am alive forever in Christ Jesus!

So Yahweh came to visit Jacob another time.

*****Gen 35:9  And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. 

Gen 35:10  And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 

We might miss this if we are not looking.

God takes the time to remind us who we are!

God provides us that assurance we need to stay motivated!

Once Jacob had given his heart to Yahweh, The Almighty God, He then reminds Jacob he is no longer the supplanter, but he is a prince in the family of God and the priest of his own family.

Rev_1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev_5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Our Lord God likes it get up close and personal and He tries much more than we do to get close to us.

We sometimes forget just how much we are loved by our Creator.

And God said:

*****Gen 35:11  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 

Gen 35:12  And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. 

The great "I Am" said call me "El Shaddai" there is nothing in this Universe as powerful as the Almighty God.

Why do we express the fears that we do?

He is God "All Sufficient"!

He is able to make good on every promise He has ever made!

We must allow El Shaddai to do His work at His own pace and in His own time.

We can see that He had His watchful eyes on Israel, the man, as He has always had His eyes on Israel, the nation.

Part of those promises given to Abraham would be given to Israel and many of those promises are not yet fulfilled even today, and we should understand that we can only be a living part of God's plan if we listen to what He says and then do as He has commanded us.

Israel would be the father of a great nation.

The tiny nation of Israel today stands a small but powerful nation, because of these blessings given to Jacob on this day we are reading of.

Also the Lord Jesus Christ is the "promised seed" and all nations have within their borders those who love and serve the Lord.

We know that Heaven where the Lord is today is that true "Promised Land", open to all to give their heart to God Almighty, El Shaddai!

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen

Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 

Eph 3:21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. 

The things of this world from Creation until today, have come about exactly as the Word of God has said, and things will continue until they reach their climax at the return of our Savior.

We have no reason to doubt the Word of God!

How can we doubt something that has proven to be true over and over again?

*****Gen 35:13  And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. 

Gen 35:14  And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. 

We know God did not meet Jacob face to face or Jacob would have died on the spot, but God did meet with Israel in some visible display of His glory that hovered over him while God talked to Israel just as He did in the time of Moses over the Tabernacle.

When Jacob had first met the Lord at Bethel, he set up a stone he had used for his pillow. 

Israel now took the time to erect a more stately and more lasting memorial probably placing that first stone in some part of it.

Israel then hallowed it with freewill offerings.

If our offerings are not given freely then they are meaningless!

This is the first place the drink offering is mentioned in the Bible.

In many places we will see the English word wine, but alcohol would have never been used in an offering to God.

The Bible says we are not even to look upon fermented grape juice.

Pro_23:31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

We know that God will never go against His own Word!

Many so-called religions forsake these words, but Israel would not have.

This grape juice was to be poured on the altar as a sacrifice!

There is more to a drink offering than we think! 

We can call it symbolism, but we use the phrase "typology" which is more appropriate.

He first poured a drink offering of wine and then he poured oil over it. 

If we look closely, we can see Jacob was prophesying about the sacrifice of Jesus by his actions. 

We know that Jacob was the father of twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. 

The Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel. 

One of Jacob’s sons was Judah; where we get the word Jew, and we know that Jesus was a Jewish Man from the tribe of Judah. 

Jesus stated emphatically, “Salvation comes by the Jews”. 

Salvation came by the Jews in their act of preserving the Word of God and teaching us by example!

Jacob poured the offering on a stone that he had set up. 

Jacob did not just see a stone and use it; he set it up to make an altar. It was a pillar it was a cornerstone! 

The Bible says God was going to lay a Cornerstone of salvation, a sure foundation. 

The scriptures tell us Jesus is that Cornerstone, set up by God! 

The drink offering of wine or grape juice symbolizes Jesus’ blood, poured out for us. 

After the ‘blood’ came the oil, which symbolizes the third Person of the Godhead; the Holy Spirit, Who has been poured into Christians for us to

‘drink’. 

We know of course, we receive the Holy Spirit after we have been washed in the blood of Jesus; so Jacob poured the offerings in the correct order. 

The "blood of Jesus" is poured upon that lost soul, then the oil the Holy Spirit is pour into that lost soul to cause a New Life!

We see over and over again we can find salvation in the Old Testament played out to teach the Jews of the coming New Covenant by the "Blood of Jesus Christ.

God would never use some fermented corrupt liquid to show us these things! 

"Fermentation" is a corruption of the "Fruit of the Vine"!

Jesus Christ was without sin and without corruption.

if we want to pour out our own drink offering, then when we go to the altar, we need to pour out our heart to a "Righteous Savior" and not some "fermented substitute".

The best place to do this is at the House of God!

*****Gen 35:15  And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. 

Remember the only city that was near this place was Luz a royal city of the Canaanites.

In the future this place would be named Bethel.

In this day of Jacob (Israel), he was saying the House of God!

God will speak to us anywhere and at any time but there is just something special about meeting with the Lord at the House of God.

Isa 43:10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 

Isa 43:11  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Amen

 

What Do We Teach Our Children

 Rachel and Leah

Book of Genesis Chapters 30 Through 33

In last week’s lesson we saw that "deception" can destroy a family. 

In this week’s lesson we will see that "jealousy" can reek havoc on any family and "envy" besides being a great sin can also cause many family problems.

There are many reasons we do not need two wives, and in this lesson, we get to see some of those reasons.

Bigamy has never been blessed by the Lord!

It is far better to believe that God knows what He is doing than to go against Him in any way!

We will see in this lesson, that though Jacob had left home because of the fear of death from his brother Esau. 

Jacob had now been away from his parents for 20 years.

We will see that Jacob did not love Leah as he did Rachel, because Leah had been a major part of the deception of Jacob by her father Laban.

Jacob's home was full of tension simply because Jacob was spiritually weak at this time!

It was as much Jacob's fault he was deceived, as it was Laban's.

Lust will blind our eyes to the truth!

We do not know if Jacob celebrated too much at that feast of Laban.

Gen 29:22  And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 

Or it could have been his lust for Rachel that clouded his eyes, which is more the truth.

Gen 29:21  And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 

We do know that Leah was substituted for Rachel.

Gen 29:23  And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 

Leah could have told Jacob what was happening, and she did not.

We must remember there was no electricity for lights in those days. When night came it was dark!

Leah wronged Rachel as much as she did Jacob and we can only suspect that she would do anything to get away from her father's house.

We do not know about Rachel other than Laban had removed her out of the picture, probably locked away from Jacob.

None of these things changed Jacob's desire for Rachel!

In God's eyes, Leah became the wife of Jacob and she bare him many sons, one of them being Judah who would carry on with the Covenant made to Abraham.

The Messiah came from the line of Judah.

The title Jew comes from the name Judah.

We all have a tendency to yield our feelings to the love story of Jacob and Rachel, but once Jacob sealed his marriage with Leah then she was his true wife.

One more thing we must see is, that Jacob was a shepherd who worked really hard to obtain a wife. 

In typology this is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did.

It is by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we become the "Bride of Christ".

We can see our Savior throughout the Old Testament!

Laban gave Rachel to Jacob with the understanding that he would serve him 7 more years.

Leah who was the less loved, bore Jacob 4 sons in short order while Rachel was barren.

Jealousy and envy brings this family their first problems.

*****Gen 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. 

Gen 30:2  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? 

Immediately jealousy now brings with it envy.

We might ask ourselves, why did God show us all these things?

God wants us to know that these were real people who suffer through the same things all people suffer through today.

This is the reason that "God's Grace" is so important!

Where would we be without the "Grace" of God?

It was in fact sin that was working in this family.

Satan was hard at work to destroy this family!

Leah was having children and Rachel was not, so the problem was not Jacob.

Rachel was not so much upset over her barrenness, as she was of Leah's fruitfulness.

This could mean many things which we will not discuss here.

The point is it is God who controls the womb. It is the parent who controls the health of the child in one way or another.

Envy is grieving at the good of another.

There is not much greater sin than this in the eyes of God!

Envy leads to strife, and division, and railing, and hatred, and sometimes murder!

Rachel did not even consider that it was God who made the difference, and we know Leah had been praying constantly to God and God listens to those who are harmed.

Except for bearing children, Rachel had all the advantages of love from Jacob.

We must never be envious of our brothers and sisters in Christ when God has blessed them with some good thing!

One child would never satisfy Rachel! It would take more than one child to stop her envy as she tells Jacob, "give me children".

Rachel decided if she could not have more than one child with Jacob, then she would just die.

We know that Rachel did die with the birth of her second child.

We should be careful what we ask for.

These things would never gain her favor with God. Neither will they work for good in our own relationship with the Lord!

Rachel decided, much like Sarah decided, that she would solve this problem herself, when she should have gone to God in repentance of her sin.

*****Gen 30:3  And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. 

Gen 30:4  And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. 

Now Jacob was God's man, but he allows himself to get caught up in Rachel's envy and jealousy.

Compare Jacob to Job for a moment: Job told his wife.

Job 2:10  But he said unto her, "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh". What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. 

These would have been good words for Jacob to tell Rachel.

Jacob had told his wife Rachel that she need not come to him when she should be going to God, which was the truth.

We do not know if she ever did.

What do we know? Whatever we want comes by the hand of God!

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

We can believe this or not, but it is true!

Rachel pleaded with Jacob for more than one child and we know she died with the birth of her second child Benjamin.

We know that in the Scriptures we find Hannah and Hannah was barren and she prayed for only one child from God, and then she had many.

Leah also prayed to the Heavenly Father and had many children. 

We should be able to see the difference here!

The substitution of Bilhah would only add to the sin of Jacob, but by the culture of that day those children from Bilhah would be considered the children of Rachel.

Much like the surrogate mothers of today.

We would have thought that her own sister's children would have given her more reason to love them than those from some surrogate.

Jacob gave in to this sin of his wife.

*****Gen 30:5  And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 

Gen 30:6  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.

Rachel named the first child of Bilhah, a boy, Dan. The name Dan means a judge, because Rachel felt that God had judged her, but now God had given her a son.

Jacob later, when he pronounced his blessing upon Dan, said he would judge his people. 

This could have been a prophecy of Samson who was of the tribe of Dan.

In reality, Rachel believed it was an injustice for God to leave her barren and Leah so fruitful.

This is no way to build upon a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father!

It is a fact, with her attitude she did not deserve the blessings of God, and He certainly would not hear her prayers.

Bilhah gave another son.

*****Gen 30:7  And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. 

Gen 30:8  And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

All of a sudden, we realize that Rachel was trying to make it a competition with her sister as to who could provide Jacob the most sons.

Naphtali was Jacob's fifth son but other than this, we do not know much more about him.

These are certainly things we see in a family where bitterness, envy, jealousy, and strife are!

Now Leah gets caught up in this thing with her sister.

*****Gen 30:9  When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 

Gen 30:10  And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. 

Gen 30:11  And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. 

Gen 30:12  And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. 

Gen 30:13  And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. 

Isn't it amazing how some of these names came about?

Because of envy Rachel had put her personal maid into the bed of her husband Jacob she said she loved.

Now Leah because she was barren for a year did the same.

We can see the power of rivalry.

We also see that mischief and scheming is the result of the ignorance of God's "Grace".

More important, we see the inability to put confidence in the promises of God.

It is in the promises of God where our hope lies!

We should understand the wisdom of God which joins one man to one woman!

Jacob the father of these children, has now became a bedroom servant to his now four wives, rather than a husband and priest to one wife and family.

God was not in all these man-made problems or I should say woman-made in this instance.

We also see the many problems of "bigamy".

We see that God is left out of the picture between these two sisters.

God will never bless bigamy! 

God will never bless these marriages and we will see the results of envy and jealousy portrayed in these children as they grow older.

These children were raised in the roots of bitterness and envy and strife and mischief.

This is the same way they lived until they grew older and matured by getting closer to Jehovah (Yahweh).

These are all carnal things that go against the Word of God!

1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 

When we resemble the world we live in, we certainly are not like Jesus and therefore are not Christians.

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

We see all these things play out in the world today, especially in the politics of our nation which has divided us all.

Let us not get caught up in these things.

Jas 3:13  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 

Jas 3:14  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 

Jas 3:15  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 

Jas 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 

Jacob decided he needed a change in family and decided it was time to go home.

*****Gen 30:25  And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

Out of respect to his father n law, Jacob asked for permission to leave with his family.

Jacob now had eleven sons and a daughter. He had been in Haran at least 14 years probably more.

Nothing in the plan of God called for him to remain in Haran.

All the promises of God were bound up in the promises to Abraham!

We all of have a yearning to go home if we know our Heavenly Father.

In fact as the children of God, most of us who are on up in years are yearning for our Heavenly home.

We know we are just strangers here on earth.

Jacob knew he would always be a stranger in Mesopotamia.

Jacob knew the promise of God was to his seed, and those twelve children who he now had were those seed.

One of those children, Judah, would lead to the Messiah!

We all as fathers have the responsibility to take care of our families!

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 

This is not only food and clothing and a place to live but their safety and most of all to teach them about our Savior, who is also our Creator.

If we do not take care of our family in all the ways of God, then we do not have faith in the truth of God and are worse than an infidel.

*****Gen 30:26  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 

We see what Jacob was asking for was freedom.

Jacob sought for the freedom to take care of his own family.

Jacob had been working for Laban all these years and Laban had prospered far above what he could have gained by himself, under the power of his own family.

Jacob's contract with Laban was fulfilled and he had no reason to hold him.

But Jacob's children were also the grandchildren of Laban and he might resist Jacob from taking them away from him.

Laban had deceived Jacob!

We are being deceived by powers we do not understand today in our government and our freedoms are at stake.

We are wrong if we do not try to keep our freedoms!

The biggest problem we see here in America is the fear of losing our freedoms.

Our freedoms are eroding away especially since this plague has begun and our government has seen what they can get away with.

The people have been much more than lenient, but our patience is ending, and this new government is not very promising.

It is our desire to be free, yet most people are under the bondage of not only governments, but more important in bondage to Satan.

Only Jesus can set us free!

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

It all begins with the same faith that Abraham had that caused his righteousness.

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 

Laban was not ready to just allow Jacob to leave for he knew for certain he would prosper as long as Jacob remained in bondage to him.

In this we see Satan in typology.

Satan prospers every time he captures the child of God!

Gen 30:27  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

Laban was ready to do about anything to keep Jacob, not because of his love for Jacob, not even because of his love for his children and grandchildren, but because he knew the God of Jacob would cause him to prosper as long as Jacob was working for him.

It was greed that had controlled Laban all his days!

The one thing Laban did not count on was that Jacob could also be a deceiver.

*****Gen 30:27  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. 

Gen 30:28  And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

Jacob had been a faithful and hard worker for fourteen years working long hours to care for the animals of Laban and Laban had prospered greatly.

Jacob had fulfilled his part of the contract with Laban.

It was Laban who was the deceiver all this time. 

Of course Jacob prospered in his work because God had promised Jacob many things.

Gen 28:15  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. 

God had also done as He had said He would do!

Laban did not want to lose Jacob because of his skills with animals.

Laban was willing to do just about anything to keep Jacob working for him and now was willing to pay him wages.

Laban entered into a partnership with Jacob.

Notice that even the wicked deceivers know how to speak pleasant words when it is for their own benefit.

This is another trait of Satan and Satan's followers!

Laban had seen the benefits of serving Yahweh, but Laban still considered Yahweh to be just one god among many other false gods.

Today we know there have been many lost souls who have benefited from the work of good Christian employees.

Many companies stay afloat because of good Christian workers and they do not want to lose them, but they are often not willing to treat them fairly.

At this time in Jacob's life, he realized that he was bound in duty to take care of his own family.

As long as he worked under contract for Laban, his family had no benefit. His sons had no future except to be slaves forever for Laban.

It was time for Jacob to think about them!

Jacob was ready to place his future in God's hands.

What would be Jacob's wages?

Gen 30:32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 

Gen 30:33  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

Jacob agreed for Laban to remove all such animals from the herds, so there would be no crossbreeding and Jacob could only claim those born in the future.

Jacob believed it was in God's hands for the color of the different animals and we should to.

So it began.

For six long years these things went on and Laban's sons who were to spy on Jacob felt that he was in some way stealing their father’s animals.

Jacob did try some trickery, but that trickery was for the entertainment of those sons or Jacob thinking he could influence the birth of those animals, but the things Jacob had done could not have made those animals change their colors.

Gen 31:11  And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 

Gen 31:12  And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 

Gen 31:13  I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. 

Then Jacob decided it was time to leave with his family and leave in secret.

Many things happened as Jacob left for the Promised Land, but the most important thing was a wrestling match.

*****Gen 32:24  And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 

Gen 32:25  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 

Gen 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 

Gen 32:27  And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 

Jacob had sent his family over the river and decided he needed some time alone with God. (We all do)

He would soon be meeting with Esau, and Jacob had real fear for his life, and for the safety of his family.

What does the name Jacob mean? Jacob means a supplanter.

To supplant is to have a stratagem, a plan, or a scheme to take away someone else s possessions.

Use tricks to gain the advantage on someone else.

We should understand that it was not by Jacob's strength that he prevailed in this match, it was by Heaven's power.

We see again where prayer is the answer to all our problems.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much

We should understand that when we are discouraged our Lord will not cause us more discouragement. 

The Lord is the answer to all our problems!

*****Gen 32:28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

The Lord gave Jacob a new name.

Israel means at this time meant "a prince with God" and as a prince he had power with God.

Israel the man, would also have power with men.

Jacob learned that to become a new man he would have to change his behavior.

He could be no longer the supplanter but a true man of God.

Another meaning of the name Israel is "prevailed".

Jacob had prevailed with the help of God and he would prevail against Esau by the help of God!

What is our lesson here?

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

It takes a prayer asking for forgiveness and repentance to gain the favor of God and then by God's "grace" we can also become a prince in the family of God!

God teaches us all these things in the Old Testament so we can see the same truths in the New Testament, and we will know our God is the same today as He was in the time of Jacob.

Amen.