Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Sunday's Message - The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Jacob with Leah and Rachel)

We're going to spend the summer of 2023 with the Patriarchs. During eleven worship services, beginning on Father's Day, we'll use passages from the book of Genesis to look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, focusing on how the Lord was consistently and actively involved in their lives. And by the end of the summer, we should have a better understanding of the one whom they followed and on how that same God can lead us. During this series, we'll look at the stories and passages below:


On Sunday, the message focused on what we can learn from the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel,Genesis 29:15-28. A recording and copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.


Of course, Maggie and Debbie aren’t here this morning, they’re in Indianapolis. Debbie is reliving the ‘80s with her two best friends from high school, Kathy and Lora. And Maggie is hanging out with her favorite aunt and uncle, Carla and Rick. And although right now they’re not at the same place, at the same time, I believe they have one important thing in common. They both miss me, or at the very least Coco. 

Now, they were able to make this little trip without me, which they’re both calling a vacation for reasons I don’t fully understand, because Maggie is between apartments right now, and so she’s been home for the last week. And so, this past Wednesday, as sort of a treat, Debbie thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie, you know, as a family. Of course, as some of y’all may know, there are some powerful movies playing in Clarion right now. I mean, you’ve got Sound of Freedom, all about child trafficking, and Oppenheimer, about the development of the atomic bomb: powerful stuff, right? And so, knowing my love of history, naturally, we saw Barbie. 

And you know, as I was working on my sermon yesterday, it hit me that one particular part of the movie really has a lot to do with what we’re talking about this morning. You see, without giving too much away, at one point in the story, the stereotypical Barbie, the one played by Margot Robbie, feels absolutely powerless over what she sees happening in Barbieland. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s the same sort of thing going on in the scripture we’re looking at this morning, namely the passage about Jacob with Leah and Rachel, the only story about the patriarchs we’ve seen so far that doesn’t mention God at all. I mean, it was God who chose Abram and promised Abraham and Sarah a son. And it was God who told Abraham to send away Ishmael and Hagar and to sacrifice his son Isaac. And God played an important role when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac and when Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys, Jacob and Esau, and certainly when Jacob had the vision of the ladder to heaven at Bethel. You see, God played some part in each of those stories, but when you’re talking about how Jacob ended up married to both Leah and Rachel, God’s name isn’t mentioned at all. 

And I’ll tell you, that’s really what we’re going to look at this morning, and I’m talking about those times in our lives when God seems nowhere to be found. That’s going to be our focus. And we’re going to discuss it by looking at the story itself without break and explanation and then by relating it to ourselves. Now that’s the plan.

And like I said, we’re going to start by looking at the story itself. And just to sort of set it up, this was what happened right before verse fifteen. You see, after experiencing his dream at Bethel, Jacob made his way to his uncle Laban, and the two started talking about what Jacob could do in order to earn his room and board. And right after Jacob offered to do some work for Laban, this is what it says in Genesis:

Laban said to him, “You shouldn't have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?”

Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I'll work seven years for you.”

Laban replied, “It's better for me to let you marry Rachel than for someone else to have her. So stay and work for me.” Jacob worked seven years for Laban, but the time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.

Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up, and I want to marry Rachel now!” So Laban gave a big feast and invited all their neighbors. But that evening he brought Leah to Jacob, who married her and spent the night with her. Laban also gave Zilpah to Leah as her servant woman.

The next morning Jacob found out that he had married Leah, and he asked Laban, “Why did you do this to me? Didn't I work to get Rachel? Why did you trick me?”

Laban replied, “In our country the older daughter must get married first. After you spend this week with Leah, you may also marry Rachel. But you will have to work for me another seven years.”

At the end of the week of celebration, Laban let Jacob marry Rachel, and he gave her his servant woman Bilhah. Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, but he had to work another seven years for Laban. [Genesis 29:15-30, CEV]

Now that’s what it says. You see, the same guy who’d already cheated his brother out of his birthright and lied to his father to steal the blessing that should have gone to Esau, Jacob, the “Heel,” was totally ripped off by his uncle and future double father-in-law Laban. I think that’s what you can call karma. 

And you know, even though I’m assuming that nobody here has ever faced this specific situation, I think we can all identify with what he must have been feeling. Because, I’ll tell you, I believe we all know there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless. I mean, just think about what happened to Jacob; can anyone call this fair? Good night nurse, he’d already made an arrangement with Laban, that in exchange for seven years of work, he’d get to marry Rachel, the woman whom Jacob loved so much. Now that was the contract. But then, on the day of the wedding, after Laban had thrown him a big party, which may have involved some alcohol (something that fortunately we no longer serve at weddings for this very reason), when Jacob woke up the next morning, he discovered he was married to Leah, the sister who wasn’t beautiful and who didn’t have a good figure and who couldn’t get her eyes to sparkle. Now that’s what happened, and after the deed was done, well, Jacob was powerless to do anything about it, wasn’t he? I mean, back in the day, there were no annulments or quickie divorces and so he was stuck with Leah. But since they didn’t seem to have any problems with bigamy, not unlike the reality show Sister Wives, Laban allowed him to work seven more years in order to marry Rachel right now. And you know, if we take the moral issues and general creepiness out, I think we’d agree that all of this really was unfair and that Jacob was really powerless to do anything about it. 

And I don’t know about y’all, but as I look at my own life and the lives of folks I know, darn it, there are times when life still seems unfair and I feel powerless. For example, I’m thinking about a middle-aged woman whom I knew well when I was in Weirton whose husband one day just up and left her or about the guy with an extremely sick wife who recently got laid off and lost his health insurance or about my own brother Gary, who in spite of his beauty, is a Type 1 diabetic. And these are just a few examples from my own life, and I don’t believe I’m alone. As a matter of fact, I think everybody faces times when life just seems downright unfair and when we feel powerless to do anything about it. And if you can say that it’s never happened to you or anyone you love, I just have one word for you: wait. You see, sadly, this unfairness and this lack of power, man, it just seems to be a fact of life, a characteristic of living. And that’s true even in the Bible. I mean, as it relates to life not being fair, just listen to what it says in Ecclesiastes: 

Here is something else I have learned:

The fastest runners
    and the greatest heroes
don't always win races
    and battles.
Wisdom, intelligence, and skill
don't always make you healthy,
    rich, or popular.
We each have our own share
    of misfortune.

None of us know when we might fall victim to a sudden disaster and find ourselves like fish in a net or birds in a trap. [Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, CEV]

And as to feeling powerless, just consider how the disciples must have felt when this happened:

Jesus and his disciples returned to the crowd. A man knelt in front of him and said, “Lord, have pity on my son! He has a bad case of epilepsy and often falls into a fire or into water. I brought him to your disciples, but none of them could heal him.”

Jesus said, “You people are too stubborn to have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here.” Then Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. It went out of the boy, and right then he was healed. 

Later the disciples went to Jesus in private and asked him, “Why couldn't we force out the demon?” [Matthew 17:14-19, CEV]

I’ll tell you, it really doesn’t matter who you are or whom you follow, I think we all have something in common: there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless. 

And you know, when this kind of thing happens, and trust me, it will, we are not feeble and we are not helpless and we are not weak. And I’ll tell you why. You see, when life seems unfair and when we feel powerless, it’s at those times, we can trust in God and do the best we can, and I’m talking about the best we can with what we’ve got. And even though there’s no indication in this Genesis story that Jacob showed any kind of faith, he certainly played the hand he’d been dealt, deciding to work another seven years for the guy who’d pulled a fast one.

But you know, as we look at ourselves and try to figure out what we’re going to do when we feel threatened by problems and pain that seem to have more control over us than we have over them, I’m telling you, at those times, we can certainly trust in God, leaning on him for support when life seems to be coming apart at the seams and we don’t know why. You see, we can decide to see God in the same way the Psalmist saw him when he wrote this:

God is our mighty fortress,
always ready to help
    in times of trouble.
And so, we won't be afraid!
Let the earth tremble
and the mountains tumble
    into the deepest sea.
Let the ocean roar and foam,
and its raging waves
    shake the mountains. [Psalm 46:1-3, CEV]

And we can claim the words of Paul when he wrote this to the Romans:

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. [Romans 8:26-28a, CEV]

I’m telling you, when life seems unfair and we feel powerless, we can trust in God. But that’s not all.

Because, at those times, we can also do the best we can with what we’ve got. And you know, even if we don’t have much, we all have something: something that we can use to help us deal with what we’re facing and something that we can offer that can keep us moving in the direction we’ve been called and created to go. In fact, even if we have very little to use and to offer, in the sight of God, man, it is enough. But I’ll tell you, regardless of what it is, how we use it, well, that always comes down to a decision. It’s like Paul wrote to the Galatians, 

Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord. [Galatians 6:9-10, CEV]

You see, regardless of what we have or don’t have, I’m telling you, this we can do. And I’ll tell you something else, as we try to figure out what it is and how it can be used, we can remember that we’re offering it together. And you know, isn’t that what the Body of Christ is all about, working together in order to help people? Sure it is; it always was and it always will be. And if you don’t believe me, just listen to what it says in the Letter to the Hebrews:

Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God's throne!  [Hebrews 12:1-2, CEV]

You see, regardless of what we’re facing or how we feel, at those times, we can trust in God and do the best we can.

Now, like I said, on Wednesday, Debbie, Maggie and I saw Barbie, and I’ve got to admit, I really liked it, although remember, I’m a guy who has no problem wearing a pink shirt. And in case you were wondering, as it turned out, when faced with her own problem in Barbieland, the stereotypical Barbie endures to the end and everyone grows including all the other Barbies and all the Kens but sadly not the one and only Allan. For the most part, they all got beyond their problems. 

And you know, that was also true for Jacob and can be true for us. You see, like it was for him, for us, well, there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless. But I’ll tell you, at those times, we can decide to trust in God and to do the best we can with what we have. You see, this is something we can do, because there are times when our lives seem a lot like the story of Jacob with Leah and Rachel.
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