“Jacob Prospers”

“Jacob Prospers” (Genesis 30:25–43)

Pastor Cameron Jungels

Eastside Baptist Church

Sunday PM, July 10, 2016

 

Genesis 30:25–43 (NIV)

25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30 The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”

31 “What shall I give you?” he asked.

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied.“But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”

34 “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 35 That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Jacob, however,took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

1.1 1. Jacob fulfills his contractual obligations to Laban and desires to take his wives, children, and possessions and leave (25–26).

 

2.          2. Laban desires for Jacob to stay because the Lord’s blessings on Jacob have overflowed on him as well (27–28).

 

3.    3. Jacob desires to work for more than wages and the price of his wives. He wants to build his own household possessions and flocks (29–30).

 

4.    4. Jacob and Laban come to an agreement in which Jacob will keep all the spotted and dark colored sheep/goats for himself as his own while he maintains Laban’s flocks (31–36).

 

5.     5. Jacob wisely outmaneuvers Laban, and God causes Jacob’s flocks to grow to be more numerous than Laban’s while under his care (37–43).

 

Textual Main Idea: In fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, God blessed Abraham’s grandson Jacob and caused him to prosper with flocks, servants, and wealth as he did Abraham and Isaac before him, and Jacob’s prosperity ended up spilling over to Laban as well.

 

Applications/Lessons

 

1.    1. God delights in using his people to bless others around them.

 

2.  2. In keeping with his promises, God faithfully blesses his people and cares for them.

 

3.  3. We can’t rush God’s timing for blessing.

 

Sermon Main Idea: Because God is merciful and faithful, he blesses and prospers his covenant people, and he often uses his covenant people to be a blessing to others around them.