Genesis 29:15-29
Jacob Deceived

The Lord appeared to Jacob at Bethel at the stop of a staircase to heaven. He declared unconditionally and irrevocably his love for Jacob and his commitment to protect Jacob. He swore that he would be with Jacob wherever he goes, that Jacob's descendants would be as the dust of the earth, that in that offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed, and that he would bring Jacob safely back to this land. The Lord has given Jacob the inheritance. Jacob receives the land, the promises, the blessing, and the presence of God that were first given to Abraham, then to Isaac.

Further, the Lord has begun to confirm his promise. He has brought Jacob safely to the land of Haran. He has secured him a place in the household of Laban. Jacob is about to secure a bride through whom the promised descendants may be born.

So everything is perfect, right? We can expect to see Jacob living off the fat of the land, becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world, amassing riches, and gaining cultural, social, and political clout. Right?

What we get is a Jacob who serves, who suffers persecution, and who waits for the promises of God to be revealed from heaven. Like Christ. Like Christ's Church.

1. The Story
   Let's look at the story to make sure we understand what's going on in it. Then we can answer some questions like what this says about Jacob, what this says about Israel, what this says about Christ, and what this says about the Church - you and me and the whole body of believers who rest in Christ and wait for his appearing.
   1. Jacob Labors for Rachel
      1. We left Jacob last week as part of Laban's household
         1. "Surely you are my bone and my flesh," Laban said
         2. In effect, Laban had adopted him, had made him a son in his household.
            1. And Laban had no other sons.
            2. We know that when he refers to Leah as his "firstborn" later in this passage
      2. Now Laban, under pretense of generosity, takes all that away.
         1. "Should you serve me for nothing?" Laban asks generously. "Tell me what your wages should be."
         2. It seems like a nice offer, but it's a great step down
         3. Until then, Jacob had been like a son in the house.
         4. He'd had a right to whatever was in the household, to labor within that house, and to share in the rewards of that labor
         5. Now he's being reduced to the status of a hired hand
         6. Laban is sly; he's a trickster. He's cheating Jacob out of what he offered him when he said "Surely you are my bone and my flesh."
      3. Jacob accepts, though; and he names his wages: Rachel.
      4. "I will serve you seven years for [her]" he says.
         1. It's what we've been hoping for since Jacob met Rachel at the well.
         2. But right before he utters those words, a plot complication is introduced
         3. Rachel has an older sister, Leah
      5. Laban has two daughters
         1. Leah and Rachel
         2. In Hebrew, a cow and a ewe (female sheep) - so right away we're being given different impressions of them
         3. Leah is the elder, Rachel the younger
         4. Leah is not particularly attractive
            1. Her eyes are "delicate" or "tender" or "weak"
            2. Her eyes lack the spark and sharpness that a man of the world hopes to see in a potential bride.
         5. Rachel, on the other hand, is a babe:
            1. beautiful of form and appearance
            2. She's got curves in all the right places and she's got a pretty face
            3. In the eyes of the world, this one's definitely a keeper
      6. Jacob makes the deal explicit: "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."
      7. Laban agrees to the deal
      8. So Jacob serves
         1. He serves seven full years
         2. But they seem only a few days to him
            1. This is an ironic reference back to chapter 27 when Rebekah urged Jacob to go and stay with Laban "a few days."
            2. He's actually staying a long time, but it seems like "a few days" because of his love for Rachel.
   2. Jacob Is Deceived
      1. The time finally comes.
      2. Jacob, impatient by now, demands his wife from Laban without even saying "please"
      3. So Laban throws a feast
      4. And at the end of the day he brings Jacob's bride to him
         1. It is dark, so Jacob cannot see well
         2. The bride is veiled, so her face cannot be inspected
         3. And Jacob is merry with the food and drink of the day
         4. So, although these sisters could hardly be more different, the ruse works
         5. Jacob wakes up married to Leah.
   3. Jacob Is Rebuked
      1. Jacob goes to Laban to rebuke him for his trickery
      2. And Laban says, "I don't know what they do in your country, but around here we don't take the rights of the firstborn and give them to a younger sibling."
      3. What can he say in reply?
      4. So Jacob quietly arranges to labor another seven years, this time at least taking delivery of the second bride up front.
   4. Jacob Labors for Rachel
      1. Jacob does not accept the outcome
         1. He will remain married to Leah
         2. But he does not resign himself to the providence of God and say, this then is my wife and I shall love her.
         3. Rather, he grumpily accepts Leah, but adulterously he still loves Rachel
      2. So he arranges to labor another seven years for her
      3. And this time he takes delivery up front.
   5. Does All This Sound Familiar?
      1. Two sisters, two siblings of the same sex
         1. an older and a younger, a firstborn and another
         2. the younger one loved because of what the eye can see and the flesh can appreciate
         3. In a sense she is loved because she is the younger - still beautiful and worth looking at.
         4. the older despised because she lacks what is desirable to the eye of flesh
      2. A man who seeks the one but somehow receives the other
         1. The bride is veiled. It is dark outside
         2. She is presented to the man not as herself but as her sister.
         3. He is deceived
         4. And by the time he discovers the deception it is too late. The situation, the marriage, cannot be revoked.
      3. I hope this sounds familiar to you
         1. I hope it reminds you of the story of Isaac and Jacob and Esau
         2. Jacob the younger and Esau the older
         3. Isaac preferred Esau because he was the older, the firstborn, just as Jacob preferred Rachel because she was younger and more beautiful.
         4. And Isaac preferred Esau because Esau was a mighty man, a hunter, and Isaac ate of his game.
         5. In other words, Isaac judged his sons with worldly eyes and chose the strong one who brought him the food of this world
         6. But when it came time to bless them, Isaac was deceived
            1. Jacob comes to him, pretending to be Esau
            2. Isaac's poor eyesight makes the deception easy, just as the veil on Leah, and the darkness, make deceiving Jacob easy
            3. And when Isaac finds out that he has blessed Jacob rather than Esau, it is too late.
      4. And then comes the punchline - In this country we do things right. The firstborn comes first.
2. What This Says About Jacob
   1. Has the Grace of God Failed?
      1. We might draw that conclusion.
      2. After all, hadn't God promised to be "with" Jacob wherever he went?
         1. How, then, could God allow this to happen?
         2. A simple "Heads up, Jacob! Turn on the light and get a better look!" would have been helpful.
         3. Why is God silent when his speech would have been so helpful?
         4. Why does God not intervene to ensure that Jacob's 7 years labor has not been in vain?
         5. What good are the promises of God if you can work that long and that hard and see it all turned to futility and chasing after wind?
      3. What happened to God "choosing" Jacob?
         1. Wasn't it promised to Rebekah that Esau (the older) would "serve" Jacob (the younger)?
         2. Didn't Isaac confirm this in blessing him when he said, "Let nations serve you"?
         3. Yet here in 15 verses the word "serve" is used 6 times, almost every other verse
         4. And who's doing the serving? Jacob!
         5. What good are the promises of God?
      4. There's a bitter sort of justice in it, of course
         1. Jacob, the deceiver, becomes Jacob the deceived
         2. Jacob was treacherous to father and brother, now his uncle is treacherous to him
      5. But if God intends to count Jacob's sins against him then Jacob is doomed!
         1. What then was the point of choosing Jacob in the womb?
            1. Before he had done anything right or wrong.
            2. Does God now suddenly intend to hold Jacob's wrongs against him and make him pay for them all?
         2. What was the point of appearing to Jacob at Bethel at the top of that staircase?
            1. Wasn't God saying, "In spite of your sins, Jacob, I continue to choose you. I will continue to single you out as the recipient of my grace"?
            2. This was Jacob's hope. This was what put the spring in his step even as he left the promised land. This was how Jacob the selfish became Jacob the hospitable.
         3. Has Jacob been ripped off?
      6. No, of course not!
         1. God is no liar. He is faithful. He will keep his promises.
         2. But while Jacob waits, he suffers.
            1. He waits, helpless to fulfil God's promises. God must act or Jacob is lost.
            2. Jacob suffers to teach the nation of Israel something about their identity.
            3. Jacob serves and suffers to teach the people of God something of the servanthood and sufferings of Christ
         3. So Jacob's suffering is redeemed
            1. Here is no futile suffering such as unbelievers undergo.
            2. Here, rather, is the suffering of one who has entrusted his future to God and will not turn his face from that, suffer what he may.
            3. Here are the sufferings of one who is a picture of Christ.
            4. And here, therefore, are the sufferings of one who may encourage you, dear believer, to be patient in suffering as you wait for the day of glory. It is not as though the promises of God have failed.
      7. And in God's providence, the Messiah will be descended not from Rachel but from Leah
         1. Jesus will be the lion of the tribe of Judah - Judah the son of Leah.
         2. Jacob may have been clueless about what he was consummating in that dark tent. But God knew. God has not lost control of his plan.
   2. Jacob Is Not the Final Promised Seed
      1. Nevertheless, Jacob is defective. He's a mixed bag.
      2. He is not an ideal portrait of Christ
      3. There he is with his father Isaac's failing
         1. He takes his eyes off Christ, a bit, and surveys the world
         2. Just as Isaac loved Esau because Esau filled his belly with good food
         3. And Isaac rejected Jacob, though God had chosen him, because of this worldly self-serving attitude.
      4. So Jacob chooses a bride with the eyes of flesh
         1. He does not inquire of the Lord
         2. He does not pray a pious prayer like Abraham's servant, saying, "Give me the *hospitable* one."
         3. Rather he looks the sisters up and down, taking their measurements with his eyes, observing their curves, checking for high cheek bones and sparkle in the eyes. Does it sound a bit crass? I hope so.
      5. And when he gets the "wrong" one, he does not accept the providence of God and faithfully love her.
      6. He keeps her around for whatever pleasure she can provide or out of sense of social obligation; and he still goes after the pretty one.
      7. He was not judged by God according to whether he was pretty
         1. Indeed, in his sins he was unspeakably ugly in God's sight
         2. Yet this is how he judges his brides.
      8. Oh! How we need a better picture of Christ than this faithless, heartless man!
      9. How we need Christ himself!
3. What This Says About Israel
   1. Part of Their Identity Is Bound Up in Suffering
      1. Jacob suffered under Laban. He served under duress. And he waited for God to fulfil his promise to return him to the land of promise.
      2. So the children of Israel suffered under Pharaoh. They served under duress. And they waited for God to fulfil his promise to return them to the land of promise.
      3. The experience of Jacob is the experience of the people descended from him. Their identity is bound up in him.
   2. Their Identity in Jacob Is a Mixed Bag
      1. Their identity is in Jacob, whom God chose before he had done anything right or wrong
      2. Their identity is in Jacob, to whom God appeared at Bethel.
      3. But their identity is also in Jacob who treated Leah shabbily because he was selfish and judged according to the values of the world.
      4. Israel learns that from the beginning there has been a tension in their identity
         1. Partially they love the promises of God
         2. Partially they love the world
         3. They serve two masters
         4. Someone must come who will shake them out of this and put their identity totally in the heavenly
   3. They Must Sink Their Identity in One to Come
      1. Jacob is not a good enough identity
      2. They must look to the promised seed and say, "That's who we are. We are the people who wait for the Messiah in whom we will finally be Redeemed and have an identity worth having."
      3. Then the experience of Christ will be theirs as well
         1. His suffering will be theirs
         2. His justification will be theirs
         3. His entry into heaven and sitting at God's right hand will be theirs.
4. What This Says About Christ
   1. Christ Is the Perfect Jacob
      1. We've seen over and over that the book of Genesis points to Christ, that it has pictures of him
         1. Abel resurrected in Seth
         2. Noah the rest-giving bringer of a new creation
         3. Isaac the impossible birth who is the promised seed
      2. But we've also seen that those pictures are imperfect
         1. Abel really dies and is still dust until the bodily resurrection
         2. Noah didn't bring in a real new creation, but one still filled with sin
         3. Isaac is not really slain for the sins of the people but himself needs a substitute
      3. These things taught the fathers and the prophets to long for the real thing rather than to sink their faith in defective pictures
      4. These things teach us what glory and perfection we have in our Savior.
      5. If you want this story told right, you have to see how it is told in the life of Jesus.
         1. Christ is the true promised seed
         2. Christ is the true and perfect husband of his bride, the Church
   2. Christ Is the True Suffering Servant
      1. He has labored for you and served for you and suffered humiliation for you that he might gain you as his bride
      2. Does he receive you and realize he's been tricked?
         1. He expected beautiful holiness but what he got was you, ugly and covered with sin!
         2. No! His labor has made you beautiful
         3. His suffering has made you perfect
      3. Will he set you aside and seek another bride? Will he accept some concubines into the mix? God forbid!
      4. Here then is a Jacob who is better than Jacob. Here is your husband, oh bride of Christ!
5. What This Says About the Church
   1. We Are the Beloved Bride of Christ
   2. Our Identity Is Bound in Suffering with Christ
      1. The sufferings of Jacob pointed to the sufferings of Christ (How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe! Jesus tells his disciples, for not understanding this.
      2. Just as Christ suffered, so we are called to suffer
      3. But it is not suffering for our sins, which are taken away
      4. Christ has purified our suffering; we suffer for his sake as we wait for him to appear.
      5. This is our identity in Christ
         1. Not to be rich in the eyes of the world
         2. Not to be socially and culturally and politically relevant
         3. But to be marginalized, ignored, misunderstood, deceived, tricked, exploited, persecuted, and scorned
         4. Like Jacob. Like our Savior.
      6. We who reign with Christ appear to have no power
         1. Our message is foolishness
         2. We boast in our weakness, the weakness of the cross
         3. And we wait patiently, setting all our hope on the grace that is coming when Christ is revealed.
   3. Our Identity Is Bound in Waiting for His Appearing
      1. Just as Jacob couldn't bring himself back to the promised land
      2. But he had to wait for the Lord to move
      3. So, while we suffer, we wait. And therefore we do not suffer as those who have no hope.
      4. Then come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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