The Deceiver is Deceived
Genesis 29-31
Isaac and Rebekah are one of the great love stories of the Bible. They waited 20 years to conceive and then they were expecting twins. These twins jostled in Rebekah’s womb. She wondered what was happening in her womb. The Lord spoke to her:
22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. (Genesis 25:22-25)
Jacob came out of the womb grasping to the heal of his older twin brother Esau. His name meant grasping. Figuratively his name meant deceiver. Jacob deceived his father Isaac into thinking he was Esau so he would receive the blessing intended for Esau.
Jacob did not receive the blessing because of the deceit. He received the blessing despite the deceit. What follows is that Jacob will reap what he sows. He sowed deceit with his brothers blessing. He receives deceit from his uncle Laban.
Stealing Esau’s blessing was the cause for Jacob to flee his homeland like a fugitive. The journey would serve a dual purpose to find a wife. Jacob was the selfish secular man without God. He was willing to destroy others to get ahead, but ultimately his deceit was destroying him.
Now Jacob is down and out. He is penniless and on the run. It was in that condition with nothing but a stone pillow that Jacob had his encounter with God we know as Jacob’s ladder. This ladder was a bridge between Holy God and sinful man.
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12)
Jesus refers to himself as that bridge. He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (John 1:51)
When Jacob had this experience with the Lord, he was a changed man. After this experience that is his spiritual transformation, he vows to serve God.
Jacob vows to serve God and he vows to tithe.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD[f] will be my God 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” (Genesis 28:20-22)
Jacob sets up the stone that was his stone pillow and he makes an altar there and calls the place Bethel, the house of God. Jacob is a changed man. His name is still Jacob and will not be changed to Israel until another experience with God. He is now a changed man with a changed heart. He is not a grabber, but now he is a giver.
Jacob sets out from Bethel a changed man who will serve God with a giving heart. He still goes on to Haran, but now with a sense of purpose. He goes to Haran with a conviction that God is with him.
Jacob Meets Rachael. (Genesis 29) Haran is the place that Jacob’s grandfather Abraham sent his servant to find Jacob’s father’s wife Rebekah. It is Jacob’s mother Rebekah who insisted he go back to her hometown to find his wife. Abraham’s servant brought gold rings and bracelets and gave the expensive gifts to Rebekah’s family.
One of the most important ones in approving the marriage of Rebekah was her brother Laban. Laban profited financially from the dowry paid for Rebekah to marry Isaac. Laban is Jacob’s uncle that he will be meeting in person for the first time when he reaches Haran.
Now Isaac arrives in Haran, not with gold and costly gifts, but penniless. Now crafty Laban plans to capitalize on the situation and deceive the deceiver. Jacob is in love with Laban’s daughter Rachael. Jacob agreed to work for Laban seven years in exchange for marrying his daughter Rachael.
Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” (Genesis 29:17-18)
Love motivated Jacob. There was a large stone over the well that normally the shepherds rolled away to water the sheep. When Jacob saw Rachael, he rolled the stone away himself. Jacob kissed Rachael and wept aloud. When Rachael found out who he was she ran to tell Laban. Then Laban and Jacob embraced, and Laban brought Jacob into his home.
So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. (Genesis 29:20)
This was the plan, but Jacob was deceived. He was not given Rachael in marriage but Leah. Jacob asked Laban why have you deceived me?
Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” (Genesis 29:26-27)
Laban said it is not our custom to give the younger until the older is married. There is a parallel in this and the way Jacob deceived his father to receive the blessing that by custom should be reserved for the eldest son.
Laban forced Jacob to work an additional 7 years for the marriage of Rachael. This turned seven years of work to a total of 14 years.
What Laban did was wrong. He forced his daughter on a man who did not love her. Ultimately it caused jealousy between the sisters. This jealousy was magnified when Rachael was not having any children. The names of the children told the story the misery what Laban did caused.
Children of Leah
Ruben- The name sounds like, see my misery, means see my son.
Simeon- The Lord hears, I am not loved
Levi- name means attached, she attached hope her husband would love her.
Judah- name means praise
Issachar-
Zebulun-
Children of Bilhah who was Rachael’s servant:
Dan-
Naphtali-
Children of Zilpah who was Leah’s servant:
Gad-
Asher-
Children of Rachael:
Joseph-
Benjamin-
When Jacob arrived in Haran, he was penniless. Now he is not only serving God, but he is rich materially. God was blessing him with descendants and wealth.
Jacob experienced a genuine conversion at the Jacob’s ladder experience at Bethel. But he began to slide back to his old ways. He did not keep his experience with God fresh. Jacob reverts to scheming and deceit again.
Laban deceived Jacob and made him work 7 additional years and also Laban changed Jacob’s wages many times.
Now Jacob is going to deceive Laban. He orchestrated the flocks that would become his. The speckled and spotted flocks now belonged to Jacob. God did not bless Jacob because he deceived Laban but in spite of it. Jacob manipulated the situation, but he had so much because God prospered him and gave much to him. Jacob grew exceedingly prosperous.
In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:43)
Because of Jacob’s prosperity some things changed. Laban’s attitude toward Jacob changed. Laban’s sons grew jealous of Jacob. It may have been the jealously against him that caused Jacob to again seek and listen to the voice of God.
Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” (Genesis 31:3)
Jacob explained to Rachael and Leah all that was happening between him and Laban and Laban’s sons.
He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. (Genesis 31:5-7)
God told Jacob to leave Haran. He did not tell him to sneak away just to leave.
Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. (Genesis 31:20)
Laban pursues Jacob and God allows him to do what he should have done already, face up to Laban. He needs to be honest with Laban and not continue in deceit. Laban accused Jacob of deceiving him.
Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. (Genesis 31:26)
Moreover, Laban’s household idols were missing. Rachael had stolen them and gets away with it. This is terrible that Rachael did this. Jacob went to Haran to find a wife so that he would marry a woman who worshipped only Almighty God. Now Rachael is bringing in that destructive influence.
They build an altar to God as a witness between them.
So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. (Genesis 31:45-47)
The Bible study notes say: The Aramaic Jegar Sahadutha and the Hebrew Galeed both mean witness heap.
Laban warns Jacob:
If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” (Genesis 31:50)
Jacob the deceiver is a changed man. He had a change of heart. Deceit ruined Jacob but God saved him and blessed him. How could Jacob continue to return to deceit? Sin got a foothold. Don’t let deceit or any sin get a foothold and cause harm to you and shipwreck your relationship with God.
