“Glory to the Precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Isaiah 27: 6 Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Hallelujah

Redemption of Jacob - the patterns

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we see that Jacob is being held captive by Laban. We see in Genesis 30:26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” 

Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

Then Jacob said a few things and said that if you do as I tell you then I will take care of your flock again.

In the same manner, many of us with the intention of making money we do not listen to God's will and come forward to do God's work. We act without thinking regarding where we must do what work. Because we act in this manner, we may have to come across painful situations. The reason is because there is the spirit of the world within us we do not do God's will. Because of this we become captives. God allows us to be made captives.

Jacob says in Genesis 30: 32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.

In this manner Jacob asks and Laban listens to him.

Genesis 30: 35, 36  So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 

Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. 

And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. 

So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 

Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

In this manner, the rods of the green poplar, almond and chestnut trees is shown by God as a pattern of God's words (Christ's teachings). These brought forth strong flock.  God is showing that those who obey God's words are strong in faith and those who do not accept God's words are weak in faith through Jacob and Laban  as a pattern. Therefore to make us all one generation those who are strong in faith must support those who are weak in faith. We must keep this in our mind. We must know that we should never lose God's vision for the sake of money.

God was with Jacob and so he commands him to go to his own country. We must know that our soul should never leave our own country Israel and move around to other places. After God gives us the joy of our salvation and blesses us by changing us into God's house we must make sure that only God's will is being done in that house. We must not do other things according to what our mind and flesh desires. We must realize this well and strengthen our heart in God. 

Because God told Jacob to come back to his family and his father's country -

Genesis 31: 17 - 20 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 

And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. 

So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

Then Laban took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.

Genesis 31: 24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

From this what we understand is that, because God was with Jacob he delivered Jacob from all the troubles and saved him. Even if the enemy follows him, God did not deliver him into the hands of the enemy. God did not show that Rachel has stolen the household idols. In every way God was with Jacob. We will meditate the next portion tomorrow.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless you all.

- To be continued