Episode 40
Genesis Chp 30 vs 31 to Genesis Chp 31 vs 15
Trading Mandrakes for Love: A Bible Tale
Pastor Bob Thibodeau discusses the complexities of family dynamics in Genesis, highlighting how Jacob navigated tricky relationships with Leah and Rachel.
He breaks down the drama that unfolded when Jacob was deceived into marrying Leah first, and how the competition for children led to some wild exchanges over mandrakes (of all things!)
The episode showcases how God’s blessings played a role in Jacob's growing family and wealth as he worked for Laban.
Pastor Bob emphasizes the importance of faith and trust in God, even when things seem chaotic.
Listeners are reminded that God's presence and blessings can be found in the most complicated situations.
Takeaways:
- Pastor Bob discusses the complicated family dynamics between Jacob, Rachel, and Leah in the Bible.
- He explains how Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah and the consequences of that deception.
- The episode covers the significance of faith and trust in God amidst challenging situations.
- Pastor Bob highlights God's blessings upon Jacob despite the conflicts with Laban and his family.
- The story emphasizes the importance of recognizing one's worth and the blessings one has received from God.
- Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own lives and the blessings they have been given.
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Transcript
Hello everyone, everywhere.
Speaker A:Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.
Speaker A:Welcome to your 15 minute daily Bible walk.
Speaker A:We're so blessed you're joining us today.
Speaker A:Last time we left off with Genesis chapter 30 and verse 13.
Speaker A:And we just went through how Laban had tricked Isaac.
Speaker A:Yeah, Jacob tricked Jacob into marrying Leah first.
Speaker A:Got him drunk during the wedding feast.
Speaker A:And when they woke up in the morning, it was Leah, not Rachel.
Speaker A:He worked.
Speaker A:He made a deal.
Speaker A:He was so angry, he said, okay, you can have Rachel to fulfill her week.
Speaker A:Give her Leah her week long wedding celebration and then I'll give you Rachel as well.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So that's what he did.
Speaker A:Didn't even give Rachel a party.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:She just.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Deals a deal.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:But you got to serve me seven more years for her.
Speaker A:But you can go into her first.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:So Rachel wasn't getting pregnant.
Speaker A:Leah did.
Speaker A:And we covered all that last time, all the kids that Leah had.
Speaker A:And Rachel decided to come up with the same plan that, that Sarah had with Abraham.
Speaker A:Where do you think she got that idea?
Speaker A:From that story, right?
Speaker A:They know the traditions, they know the family lineage.
Speaker A:So work then.
Speaker A:We'll do it again now.
Speaker A:And that's what happened.
Speaker A:And then Leah, she let off, left off with childbearing.
Speaker A:So she says, well, I'm not going to let her do it and get away.
Speaker A:I'm going to give more kids by my handmaid.
Speaker A:And that's what she did.
Speaker A:And we left off last time with verse 13 where Leah had Asher.
Speaker A:That's child number eight.
Speaker A:All right, so verse 14 now.
Speaker A:And we, we covered last time that this went over a span of years, right?
Speaker A:Probably six, eight years that this has been going on like this.
Speaker A:Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, found mandrakes in the field, brought them to his mother.
Speaker A:You know, kids do that today.
Speaker A:They'll pick a flower here, maybe they'll see an apple and give it to their mom, right?
Speaker A:And Leah, then Rachel said to Leah, give me, I say, some of your son's mandrakes.
Speaker A:And then Leah, and you know that, that snidey, he just almost, you know, hear the, the snidiness in this statement.
Speaker A:Said, is it a small matter that you've taken my husband?
Speaker A:Not our husband, my husband.
Speaker A:You've taken my husband and now you want to take away my son's mandrakes also.
Speaker A:And Rachel said, tell you what, he shall lie with you tonight if you give me some of your son's mandrakes.
Speaker A:They're trading this boy around.
Speaker A:Well, I'm telling you this, that family is not right.
Speaker A:Jacob came out of the field in the evening and Leah went out to meet him, said, you have to come home with me tonight because I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.
Speaker A:I can hear him say, what?
Speaker A:But what did you do?
Speaker A:Okay, I'll go.
Speaker A:What an idiot, right?
Speaker A:But I'm telling you anyway.
Speaker A:Verse 17.
Speaker A:Because he decided to do that.
Speaker A:He was in agreement with it.
Speaker A:He could have said, nah, we.
Speaker A:I'm not.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But instead he's like, okay, and followed her into the house.
Speaker A:So God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Speaker A:And Leah said, God's given me a hire because I've given my maiden to be my husband.
Speaker A:And she called his name Iskar.
Speaker A:And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
Speaker A:And Leah said, God has endued me with a very good dowry.
Speaker A:Now will my husband dwell with me, because I have now borne him six sons.
Speaker A:And she called his name Zebulun.
Speaker A:Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
Speaker A:I bet she's thinking, thank God I finally got a girl.
Speaker A:Although the boys were the ones that, you know, you needed work and do all that stuff.
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:The father of the house loved the boys and all that.
Speaker A:But you know, you know, mom wanted a girl, right?
Speaker A:And she finally Got 1.
Speaker A:Verse 22.
Speaker A:Then God remembered Rachel.
Speaker A:And God listened to her and opened her womb, and she conceived and bore a son and said, God has taken away my reproach.
Speaker A:And she called his name Joseph and said, the Lord shall add to me another son.
Speaker A:And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, send me away now that I may go into my own place, into my own country.
Speaker A:Give me my wives and my children from whom I have now served you, and let me go.
Speaker A:For you know my service which I have done for you.
Speaker A:And Laban said to them, I pray thee, if you found favor in.
Speaker A:If I have found favor in your eyes, stay.
Speaker A:Just stay.
Speaker A:For I've learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me because of you, because you're here.
Speaker A:The Lord has blessed me, you know, He.
Speaker A:That's the power of partnership there, folks.
Speaker A:When you recognize the blessing is blessing someone and you bless them, you get blessed too.
Speaker A:And here Laban is seeing this right.
Speaker A:He says, appoint me whatever wages you want and I'll give it to you.
Speaker A:And they said, I'm done.
Speaker A:Well, you know how I've served you and how your cattle was with me.
Speaker A:I took care of all Your cattle.
Speaker A:For it was little which you had before I came and is now increased into a multitude.
Speaker A:I mean, you are now a rancher.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You are now one of the leading ranchers in this area, boy.
Speaker A:And the Lord has blessed you since my coming.
Speaker A:Now, when shall I provide for my own house also?
Speaker A:How am I.
Speaker A:How can I provide for my own house also?
Speaker A:And he said, what can I give you?
Speaker A:Laban said, what can I give you?
Speaker A:And Jacob said, tell you what, don't give me anything.
Speaker A:Nothing.
Speaker A:If you will do this for me, then I'll stay again and feed and keep your flock.
Speaker A:And I'll pass through all the flock today and I'll remove from them all the speckled and all the spotted ones.
Speaker A:All the brown cattle among the sheep, the spotted and the speckled of the goats, those will be my hire.
Speaker A:So shall my righteousness answer for me in the time to come.
Speaker A:And here's the deal.
Speaker A:When it shall come from my hire before your face, everyone that is not speckled or spotted among the goats or brown among the sheep that should be counted stolen by me.
Speaker A:In other words, if they're pure in color, they're yours.
Speaker A:If there's any spots or straight stripes on them, anything, those are the ones that belong to me.
Speaker A:If you find any that are not spotted or speckled or striped or whatever amongst my stuff, then you can consider them stolen by me and you can have them back.
Speaker A:And Leon said, behold, may it be according to your word.
Speaker A:And he removed that day the he goats that were ring strength and spotted, all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, everyone that had some white in it, all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Speaker A:And he set three days journey between himself and Jacob.
Speaker A:And Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
Speaker A:Verse 37.
Speaker A:Jacob took him rods of green poplar and the hazel and chestnut tree, and the of the hazel and chestnut tree, and peeled the white streaks in them.
Speaker A:He he stripped off the bark, making white streaks in them, made the white appear which was in the rods.
Speaker A:And he set the rods which he had piled before the flocks and the gutters and the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, so that they would conceive when they came to drink.
Speaker A:And the flocks conceived before the rods and brought forth cattle ring streak speckled and spotted.
Speaker A:And Jacob did separate the lambs and set the faces of the flocks towards the ring strake and all the brown in the flock by Leavan.
Speaker A:And he put his own flocks by themselves and did not mix them with Laban's cattle.
Speaker A:It came to pass whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle and the gutters that they might conceive among the rods.
Speaker A:When the cattle were feeble, he did not put the rods in.
Speaker A:So the feebler ended up being Laban's and the stronger jacobs.
Speaker A:The man increased exceedingly.
Speaker A:Jacob increased exceedingly.
Speaker A:He had much cattle.
Speaker A:He had maidservants, men, servants, camels and asses.
Speaker A:He increased because of his willingness to serve Laban.
Speaker A:But Laban said, make your deal and we'll live by it.
Speaker A:So here Jacob is trusting God.
Speaker A:I mean, who would think that stripping bark off a tree rod, a tree branch, and putting it out in the middle of the, you know, by the.
Speaker A:The troughs where they feed and all that during, you know, the.
Speaker A:The mating season, that that would cause the cattle to have.
Speaker A:That doesn't make any sense.
Speaker A:It's not supposed to make sense.
Speaker A:Supposed to make faith.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:He was trusting God.
Speaker A:That's what faith is.
Speaker A:He was trusting God to increase him.
Speaker A:And it worked.
Speaker A:God answered his prayer.
Speaker A:All right, that takes us through the end of chapter 30.
Speaker A:Let's begin chapter 31, verse number one.
Speaker A:And he heard the words of Laban's son saying, jacob's taken away all that was our father's.
Speaker A:And of that which was our father's, he's gotten all his glory.
Speaker A:And Jacob beheld the continents of Laban.
Speaker A:It was not towards him as before.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:You can see the hate.
Speaker A:You can, you know, if you are involved with friends or family that they really don't get along.
Speaker A:You can sense it.
Speaker A:You can see it, right?
Speaker A:And that's what.
Speaker A:There's what he's saying here.
Speaker A:So the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers, to your family, and I'll be with you.
Speaker A:Remember the blessing he made with him.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:He said, if you increase me, take care of all my needs, I'll serve you, but let me go back home in peace.
Speaker A:God said, it's time.
Speaker A:It's time for you to leave, boy.
Speaker A:So Jacob sent.
Speaker A:Called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock.
Speaker A:And he said unto them, I've seen your father's continence that it is not towards me as before.
Speaker A:But the God of my father has been with me all along.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Remember, they know the story.
Speaker A:Abraham sent his servant, right, to get Isaac a boy, a wife.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:And now he's there because Rebecca Set him back.
Speaker A:Because him and Esau were getting at it.
Speaker A:Now, the deal he made with God is that you know.
Speaker A:You bless me, take care of my needs, prosper me.
Speaker A:I'll serve you forever.
Speaker A:But just let me go home in peace.
Speaker A:Now God says it's time to go, right?
Speaker A:So he says.
Speaker A:I've seen your father's continence towards me.
Speaker A:And it's changed.
Speaker A:It's not like it was before.
Speaker A:But God, the God of my father has been with me all along.
Speaker A:You know that.
Speaker A:With all my power, I've served your father.
Speaker A:I've done everything he wanted.
Speaker A:I sacrificed so he could prosper.
Speaker A:Your father has deceived me.
Speaker A:He's changed my wages 10 times.
Speaker A:But God would not permit him to hurt me if he said this.
Speaker A:The speckled shall be your wages.
Speaker A:Then all the cattle bear speckled.
Speaker A:Because God took care of me.
Speaker A:If he said, the ring strake shall be your hire, than bore all the cattle.
Speaker A:Ring strake.
Speaker A:So God's taken away the cattle from your father and given them to me.
Speaker A:And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived.
Speaker A:I lifted up my eyes and I saw in a dream.
Speaker A:Behold the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring strick, speckled and grizzled.
Speaker A:And the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob.
Speaker A:And I said, I am here.
Speaker A:He said, lift up now your eyes and see all the rams which leap upon the cattle.
Speaker A:They're all ring streaks, speckled and gristled.
Speaker A:For I have seen all that Laban has done unto you.
Speaker A:I am the God of Bethel.
Speaker A:Remember that.
Speaker A:That's what he called that place where he seen the portal into heaven.
Speaker A:I am the God of Bethel.
Speaker A:Where you anointed the pillar, where you vowed a vow unto me.
Speaker A:So now arise.
Speaker A:Leave from this land.
Speaker A:Return to the land of your family.
Speaker A:And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him.
Speaker A:Is there anything left here for our father that belongs to us?
Speaker A:In our father's house?
Speaker A:Are we not counted of him as strangers?
Speaker A:For he sold us.
Speaker A:He sold us like slaves.
Speaker A:And has devoured all of our money too.
Speaker A:All the riches which God's taken from our father.
Speaker A:It's ours.
Speaker A:It belongs to us and our children now.
Speaker A:Whatever God has said to you, do.
Speaker A:And that's where we'll leave it at today.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Hallelujah.
Speaker A:This is a great story.
Speaker A:I hope you're getting a lot out of this.
Speaker A:Praise the Lord.
Speaker A:Till next time.
Speaker A:As Pastor Bob reminding you to be blessed in all that you do.
