WEBVTT

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Good morning. How are y 'all doing today? You're

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doing good. I like it. I'm doing great. How are

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the rest of you doing this morning? Hey, if this

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is your first time joining us here at Hosanna,

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whether you're here in the sanctuary or watching

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us online, we want to say welcome to all of you.

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We're so glad you're here to worship with us

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at Hosanna. I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning

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we're going to be looking at how God works through

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the lowly. That's not a word we use very often

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in our vocabulary nowadays, but it means something

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or someone of low status, low importance, or

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low rank. It could refer to somebody that we

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would call humble or meek. It could refer to,

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like, simple organisms or primitive things or

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humble organisms. Or it can describe something

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that's simply unpretentious, whether it's a person

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or a place or a thing or whatever. But it's a

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rare word that isn't in use much today. But biblically,

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especially in older translations, we see this

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word a lot. It's something that is seen by some

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as a precursor to being humble, that you start

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with a lowly state of mind and that leads to

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humility. But in most cases, if you're looking

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between a newer translation and older translation,

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you will see lowly and humble interchanged. For

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example, in Philippians 2 .3, it says, do nothing

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out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility,

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consider others as more important than yourselves.

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And if you have an older translation like a New

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King James or a King James version, it might

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say lowliness of mind instead of humility. Or

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Ephesians 4 .2, it says, with all humility and

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gentleness, with patience, bear with one another

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in love. And again there, that word humility

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is rendered lowliness in some of the older translations.

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But this idea of lowliness or humility, it's

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simply this, a feeling towards God. that he has

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absolute right over your life. That's what humility

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is. It's this idea that he can do with you as

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he pleases and has absolute authority to tell

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you what is best for you. And now we can understand

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why humility is something that rankles against

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our flesh. Me growing up, my mantra was, don't

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tell me what to do. And then I got saved. Wow,

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that changed fast. You know, I was very rebellious,

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very independent, very all figured out on my

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own. And then God let me fall on my face two

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million times while I was learning the lesson

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that he is the one that is guiding and directing

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and should be in that place. But this idea that

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God has absolute right over your life and that

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he can do... with you as he pleases, that he

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has absolute authority to tell you what is best

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for you. This doesn't just apply in good situations,

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it applies in all situations. This applies even

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in difficult situations that we might bring upon

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ourselves or situations that are thrust upon

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us. To be able to stand back and say, God, I

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believe you're sovereign. God, I believe you

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are almighty, you're omnipotent. And so I believe

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that you know that I am in this situation right

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now. And since I know that you work out all things

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for the good to those that love Christ Jesus,

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then I know that if I am still in this situation,

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you are allowing it and you're going to work

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good through this. So I'm okay. That's humility.

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That's a humility with the Lord. We see this

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type of thing demonstrated all over the Bible.

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In the Old Testament, in 2 Samuel chapter 19,

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there was a man named Mephibosheth. There we

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go. And he demonstrated this type of humility

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before the king there. In Matthew chapter 8,

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verses 5 through 10, the story of the centurion

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who came to Jesus and said, please heal my servant.

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We see him demonstrating this type of humility.

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And then, of course, in Matthew 8, verse 20,

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Jesus himself, who is God in the flesh, told

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those before him, I don't even have a place to

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lay my head. So whether it's a... lowly circumstance

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we find ourselves in, which is a very kind of

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diminished circumstance, a difficult circumstance,

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one without means or resource, or it's a person

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that has a lowly attitude, it's an important

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thing to see how God works in and through those

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situations. And that's what we're going to be

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looking at today, to see how God responds to

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the humble in humble circumstances. And we're

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going to see that through the birth of Jacob's

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first 11 sons. and his only daughter. It's going

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to be seen through their birth order. It's going

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to be seen by who gave birth and when. And it's

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a really interesting take here because I titled

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this study, The Battle of the Babies. And you'll

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understand that as we walk through the verses

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today. But the important thing to understand

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here is that we see God working through one woman

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who starts out humble. becomes a little prideful,

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and then returns to her humility. And we also

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see God waiting on someone who is very prideful

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and waits and waits and waits to bless them with

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children until they've reached that place of

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humility in their own lives. And the lesson applies

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to us that the best way to live is humble. The

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best way to live, especially as a believer, more

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so as a believer, is that God is sovereign. And

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God knows everything that is happening on our

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entire planet, whether we understand it or not,

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whether we agree with it or not, God is sovereign.

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And so it's for us as his kids to be able to

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step back and process everything that's happening

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through that, to understand that when we do find

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ourselves humbling ourselves appropriately, God

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tends to work in that state because that's where

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he operates. But we also see that when we stand

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pridefully against him, he waits. And he waits

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until we find ourselves coming to that place

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of humbling ourselves before him. But we're going

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to worship God first because I don't think there's

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any more humbling act we can do than to sit down

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and say, God, we want to praise you as the Lord

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of the universe, the God of my life, the Savior

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of my soul. You are everything. You deserve everything.

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And so let's pray and then let's worship. Father,

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we love you so much. God, it is a miracle and

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a wonder. that you work through our lives because

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our lives are just such a mess. Lord, whether

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it's things that come upon us or things that

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we bring upon ourselves, Lord God, there is such

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great hope in the fact that you still work your

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will. Your unconditional promises that you've

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made, Lord, you work through our mess because

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you made those promises and you cannot lie. But

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at the same time, Lord, simultaneously with that,

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God, there is a place where you will work or

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wait. depending on where we're at in our lives

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and how we're responding to you, Lord. God, your

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word says so much about us being humble people

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to recognize that we deserve nothing. In fact,

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we deserve judgment, Lord, but because you loved

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us so much that through our faith in you, we

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have been pardoned of that sentence, God, adopted

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into your family as your children and blessed.

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But Lord, while we live our lives here on this

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earth, Lord, we still have this free will that

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sometimes causes us to stand proudly against

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you. Lord, may we learn today that the consequences

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of that, Lord, can be great delay in our lives

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and the blessing that you want to bring. But

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contrary to that, Lord, when we're humble, Lord,

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our hearts are a fertile ground for you to do

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your work, to work through, to bless us and the

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people around us. Lord, we want to worship you

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because you are just so great. So we praise your

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name this morning. For you are sovereign. You

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are almighty. You are love. And you are a love,

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Lord, that we can never completely fathom, Lord.

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But we receive it. Bless us today, Lord, as we

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hear from you. We love you. It's in Jesus' name

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we pray. Amen. This morning we're going to be

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in Genesis 29, verse 31, and we're going to be

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going all the way through verse 24 of chapter

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30. But before we get into that, I have an opportunity

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coming up here at the end of September through

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October to... represent our church. I've been

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invited to go out to the South Sudan with Far

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-Reaching Ministries to do some teaching and

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training with their chaplain corps for the army.

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And there's a lot going on in South Sudan right

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now. The war is active. And the chaplains there

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are just being a part of a great work that God

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is doing. They're taking the gospel to the front

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lines in that country. And people are getting

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saved all over the place in the midst of a very

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terrible situation. So I've got an invitation

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to go and to kind of go as a representative of

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this church to teach and to train there for a

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couple weeks. And so I'm going to be doing that.

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I leave on September 30th. I'll be back on October

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15th. And just wanted to share that with you

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guys so you could pray for me and pray for me.

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the ministry there and pray for that country

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and what's taking place. But also, as we've done

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in the past, if there's anything you want to

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do to participate financially in the trip, you

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can do so by just making a donation online or

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in the tithe envelopes and just write Sudan for

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that. There is a cost associated with flying

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out there and whatnot, but I'm just personally

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very excited for what God's going to do. I went

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out there in 2011 and got to teach the chaplains

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there and was there for a few weeks and got malaria

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and all that fun. stuff. And they said, well,

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that's what makes you an official missionary

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in Africa. So I qualify now. And so I'm going

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to go back and just really blessed at the opportunity

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and the invitation. And I'm blessed to go there

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and to just represent our church there on the

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front lines in South Sudan. And so, again, if

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you would like to participate in that financially,

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you can make a donation for that through the

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app or whatever. Just make a note for a Sudan

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trip. But definitely, please be praying for us.

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traveling mercies and safety and all that stuff

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up there. But yeah, pretty excited about that.

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So, but with that, let's get into the word today.

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You know, we're going to be, like I said, in

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Genesis 29, and we're looking at the birth of

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Jacob's first 11 children and his only daughter.

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But before we get into that, I have to begin.

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addressing something that we've seen a lot through

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Genesis, and we're going to continue to see a

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lot through the stories in the Old Testament,

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but I have to begin with the creation account

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on marriage. You know, we're all familiar with

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early in Genesis, God made it very clear that

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his intent for marriage, his intent for man and

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woman, was one man, one woman, together for life.

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That was God's intent. When God created Adam

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and then he created Eve, he didn't create Eve's.

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He created one woman, right? And they came together

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and became one flesh. And so any number of wives

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past that is really going beyond what God had

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intended for creation. It was there in Genesis

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2 .24 where he said, this is why a man leaves

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his father and mother and bonds with his wife.

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singular, and they become one flesh. Now, this

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doesn't preclude situations where there's a loss

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of a spouse and remarriage, but that's an entire

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another Bible study, so we're not going to spend

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time on that. But in light of this creation account,

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every polygamous marriage situation in Genesis

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is always presented with a dark cloud. hovering

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over it. Earlier in Genesis in chapter 4, we

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had the story of this man named Lamech who had

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this braggadocious, chest -thumping, just bragging

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about how violent he is to his two wives. And

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his picture with the picture of the pre -flood

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world, it was just a very violent, abusive culture.

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And that's how multiple wives was presented there.

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Then we get to Abraham's story, who was with

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his wife Sarai, and he loved her, but then they

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had the situation where they were trying to help

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God with his plans, and he listened to his wife

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in taking Hagar to sleep with him so that she

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could bear children in place of Sarai's barrenness,

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and so it's interesting there that the scripture

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there, when it says Abraham listened to the voice

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of his wife, and entered into what would be this

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kind of polygamous arrangement is the same exact

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language that echoed what Eve said to Adam or

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what it said there in Genesis where it says,

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Adam, listen to the voice of his wife and partake

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of the fruit. So I'm not putting the women on

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blast here, but the idea is there was this bitterness,

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there was this fall, there was this just badness

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that followed in the fall, and it also followed

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Abraham when he entered into his polygamous situation

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as we've studied. Most recently, we saw Esau,

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who is Jacob's brother. It's told that he married

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two Hittite wives, and then he went out and married

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a third wife from Ishmael's family. And that's

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not casting a good light because Esau is the

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picture of someone who's disregarding God's word

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and disregarding God's will, and he's a very

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ungodly character. And then you have Jacob. And

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as we've been studying Jacob's life, we've seen

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that he's duped into polygamy, but he went along

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with it either way. So polygamy is a violation

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of the covenantal faithfulness that God demanded

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of his bride Israel. And if you want to dive

00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:52.559
into that in much more detail, go read the book

00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.200
of Hosea in the Old Testament. But with that

00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:58.460
as a background, now as we dive into the growth

00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:01.120
of Jacob's family, we have to understand that

00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:04.259
he is a polygamist. He is married to two wives,

00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.360
and he's going to end up then having sexual relations

00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:10.179
with not only them, but both of their servants.

00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:12.539
And so there's four women that he's building

00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:14.620
a family with here. There's no question about

00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:16.700
that. And, you know, you might look at that and

00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:20.539
go, strictly speaking, it's not his fault. Laban

00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:23.039
duped him into it, but we do know that it certainly

00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:27.490
wasn't his choice to be in this situation. But

00:14:27.490 --> 00:14:29.789
Jacob finds himself in this situation just as

00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.029
a result of his own sins catching up to him.

00:14:32.070 --> 00:14:35.870
As he has been a victimizer, a deceiver, he is

00:14:35.870 --> 00:14:39.070
now the victim of deception himself, and he finds

00:14:39.070 --> 00:14:41.389
himself in this very difficult situation. He's

00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:44.190
stuck in the land called Paddan Aram. He's at

00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:47.149
the mercy of his scoundrel uncle Laban. He's

00:14:47.149 --> 00:14:50.509
been indentured to him for 14 years, or will

00:14:50.509 --> 00:14:52.710
have been indentured to him for 14 years, working

00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:56.720
for no pay. working for free just to pay off

00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:00.039
the bride cost of the women that he has married.

00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:03.240
He had one wife that he didn't even want, wasn't

00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:06.340
attracted to, and that was Leah. He didn't love

00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:07.899
her at all, it tells us, and then he had one

00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:11.500
wife he did who was cherished by him, the one

00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:13.519
that he paid all his attention to, the one he

00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.700
gave all his focus, and you can imagine how that

00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:21.960
worked out in the domestic bliss. He was bound

00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.460
here in marriage to two sister wives, one who

00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:27.179
was just supermodel beautiful, one who was plain

00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:30.039
and unnoticed, and all the contentions that would

00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:32.080
come from that. And what we're going to see in

00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.200
the story today is that both of them are going

00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.419
to use their children to give words to their

00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:39.100
feelings about their situation and one another,

00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.360
whether it's to celebrate something God is doing

00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:44.799
or to brag in a very prideful way. But it's just

00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:48.679
a messy, messy situation that is going to play

00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:52.320
out over years and years of time. in hatred between

00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.120
sisters and hatred between brothers and drama

00:15:55.120 --> 00:16:00.080
and stress. It's just, it's a bad story. Still

00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.059
though, this is the beginning of the 12 tribes

00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:06.360
of Israel. This is the beginning of what is going

00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:09.500
to be God's chosen people all from one dad and

00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:12.600
four moms. Now I don't know that Jacob knew that

00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:15.600
he was going to have 12 sons, right? I don't

00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.340
think he was planning for that. He just knew

00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:21.580
that God had promised him that his offspring

00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:23.179
were going to be like the dust of the earth.

00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.899
This was the same promise that he inherited from

00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:30.519
his dad, Isaac, and Isaac inherited from Abraham.

00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:32.659
It was the unconditional promise he had made

00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:34.820
to Abraham and his offspring and his family.

00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:37.799
God had told Jacob that your offspring are going

00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:39.159
to be so numerous, you're going to spread out

00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:41.419
to the north and the west and the east and the

00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:43.279
south, and all families of the earth are going

00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:47.389
to be blessed through you. All these births that

00:16:47.389 --> 00:16:49.250
we're going to see should have been just a joyous

00:16:49.250 --> 00:16:51.370
situation. It should have been a time of just

00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:54.690
celebration and just excitement because God is

00:16:54.690 --> 00:16:58.070
fulfilling his plans birth after birth. But instead,

00:16:58.190 --> 00:17:01.250
what we're going to see is because of the selfish,

00:17:01.370 --> 00:17:04.430
sinful nature that is in mankind, this joyous

00:17:04.430 --> 00:17:08.029
birth story turns into a story of bitter scorekeeping.

00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:12.069
And so read with me in Genesis chapter 29, verse

00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:16.430
31. When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected,

00:17:16.609 --> 00:17:19.150
he opened her womb. But Rachel was unable to

00:17:19.150 --> 00:17:22.269
conceive. Leah conceived, gave birth to a son,

00:17:22.349 --> 00:17:24.789
and named him Reuben. For she said, The Lord

00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:27.230
has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will

00:17:27.230 --> 00:17:30.950
love me now. She conceived again, gave birth

00:17:30.950 --> 00:17:33.509
to a son, and said, The Lord heard that I am

00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:36.410
neglected and has given me the son also. So she

00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:39.769
named him Simeon. She conceived again, gave birth

00:17:39.769 --> 00:17:42.029
to a son, and said, at last my husband will become

00:17:42.029 --> 00:17:43.869
attached to me because I have born three sons

00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:48.150
for him. Therefore he was named Levi. As she

00:17:48.150 --> 00:17:50.470
conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said,

00:17:50.509 --> 00:17:53.190
this time I will praise the Lord. Therefore she

00:17:53.190 --> 00:17:59.369
named him Judah. Then Leah stopped. I'm sorry,

00:17:59.509 --> 00:18:05.890
my tablet just gave me a weird notice. All right.

00:18:07.150 --> 00:18:09.309
This time I will praise the Lord. Therefore she

00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:11.410
named him Judah. And then Leah stopped having

00:18:11.410 --> 00:18:15.529
children. So despite the sin, despite the deceptions,

00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:19.130
despite the polygamy, the Lord is beginning to

00:18:19.130 --> 00:18:22.150
work out his own purposes through this mess.

00:18:22.690 --> 00:18:26.410
He is beginning to fulfill the promises he made,

00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:28.769
the unconditional promises he made through all

00:18:28.769 --> 00:18:30.309
of this. And we're going to see in this story

00:18:30.309 --> 00:18:35.980
that although Rachel was the beautiful one, the

00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:40.359
loved one, the cherished one, probably very proud

00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:43.140
of her position as the favored wife in the family

00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:48.579
and all of that, God closes her womb. And I believe

00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:51.779
the reason is because there's pride in her heart.

00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:53.240
We're going to see this through the story that

00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:55.700
she is very proud of the fact that Jacob loves

00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:58.289
her. She is very proud of the fact that she gets

00:18:58.289 --> 00:19:00.650
all the attention. She is very proud of the fact

00:19:00.650 --> 00:19:03.630
that she really has everything. She has everything

00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:07.089
Leah would want. And so she carries that with

00:19:07.089 --> 00:19:09.190
her pride. She thinks that she's the one that

00:19:09.190 --> 00:19:10.750
should have everything because she's getting

00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:13.450
everything. And then you have Leah, the neglected

00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:17.539
wife. The one who finds herself in a... humble

00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:20.420
circumstance, a lowly circumstance where she's

00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:23.440
unloved and unwanted and probably unpaid attention

00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:27.000
to, a woman who is just desperately praying and

00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.460
hoping that her husband would eventually love

00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:33.539
her, she was the one who gave birth first in

00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:36.519
the family. That it was in her humble state,

00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:40.259
her state of being in a very low situation that

00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.380
God comes through and says, I want to honor you,

00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:44.759
I want to bless you, and she gives birth to the

00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.890
sons first. Now, we have to understand how big

00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:51.289
of a win this was for her because in the culture,

00:19:51.430 --> 00:19:54.150
it was very different than today. In the culture,

00:19:54.170 --> 00:19:57.650
women didn't have any rights as the men had.

00:19:57.750 --> 00:20:00.599
In many cases, they were... sorry, considered

00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:03.160
property, but they were still loved and treated

00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:06.079
well in most cases. But the highest pinnacle

00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.099
of success for a woman in this culture was to

00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:11.220
give birth to sons for their husbands to further

00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.839
on the family name. Daughters were blessed and

00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:15.680
cherished too, but daughters would get married

00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.680
off to another family. It was sons who would

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:21.019
carry on the family name and inherit the wealth

00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:24.839
and carry all that forward. And so for her to

00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.480
bear children, especially sons, was really the

00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:31.210
pinnacle of success. She got this honor. We can

00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:34.690
imagine Rachel would be devastated by this, and

00:20:34.690 --> 00:20:37.369
she was. She was very upset by this because she,

00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:40.029
like I said, was the favorite. She was the one

00:20:40.029 --> 00:20:43.910
who was adored. She was the one who rightly expected

00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:47.829
to be the matriarch within Jacob's family, that

00:20:47.829 --> 00:20:49.849
she was going to be the one that had all the

00:20:49.849 --> 00:20:51.930
power and the control and the love and the recognition

00:20:51.930 --> 00:20:55.430
and all of that. She was the blessed one. She

00:20:55.430 --> 00:20:58.190
was the beautiful one, after all. She was the

00:20:58.190 --> 00:20:59.809
one that was supposed to have everything. But

00:20:59.809 --> 00:21:02.589
instead, Leah was the incredibly fertile one.

00:21:02.750 --> 00:21:04.930
And she just starts popping out babies like a

00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:08.970
machine gun here. So now Jacob is working his

00:21:08.970 --> 00:21:11.230
second seven years to pay off the debt for Rachel.

00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:14.329
And in this, we see this picture that Leah is

00:21:14.329 --> 00:21:19.099
just sad and lonely. And that broken heart that

00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.700
she has is enshrined in the names of her first

00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:23.400
four kids. And this is really kind of what this

00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:26.680
whole section is built upon. And so it says that

00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.880
she gave birth to a son and named him Reuben.

00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:34.559
Now, Reuben means literally, look, a son, right?

00:21:35.059 --> 00:21:37.140
I mean, how's that for naming your child? You

00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:39.500
know, hey, look, a son. That's a great name for

00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:42.670
him. But she's excited, right? Giving birth to

00:21:42.670 --> 00:21:45.650
a son, big deal. And so in her excitement, she

00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:48.390
names him that exact thing that forever when

00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:49.910
someone would look at him, they would go, look,

00:21:50.049 --> 00:21:53.430
I gave a son to my husband. And so now the other

00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:55.369
thing we see Leah do here in her lowly state

00:21:55.369 --> 00:21:57.890
is she gives God the credit for it. The Lord

00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:00.529
has seen my affliction. Right? She's in that

00:22:00.529 --> 00:22:03.029
place of understanding that God is in control.

00:22:03.150 --> 00:22:05.710
God is the one in charge of her life and everything.

00:22:05.910 --> 00:22:08.289
And so God is the one who has seen my affliction

00:22:08.289 --> 00:22:10.609
and given me this son. And so she recognized

00:22:10.609 --> 00:22:13.829
God with that. And she's expecting that with

00:22:13.829 --> 00:22:17.250
this son, her husband would come to love her

00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:20.769
because she gave him a son, right? That's a huge

00:22:20.769 --> 00:22:23.470
deal. So of course he's going to love me. But

00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:26.250
sadly, as the next three births are laid out

00:22:26.250 --> 00:22:29.319
for us, we're going to see that That didn't happen

00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:33.059
in her life. She gave birth to a second son.

00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:36.019
She says, the Lord heard that I'm neglected and

00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:37.940
has given me this son also. So she named him

00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:41.900
Simeon. Simeon means the Lord has heard, right?

00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:45.140
So the idea here is she gives God credit again

00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:48.440
in her lowly state. She lets the Lord get the

00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:50.460
glory for all that, but then she names the kid

00:22:50.460 --> 00:22:53.319
something that shows that her hope for love is

00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:55.660
diminishing a little bit. The first son, he'll

00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:59.069
love me now. The second son, Well, the Lord has

00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:00.970
heard that I'm neglected. And it's almost like

00:23:00.970 --> 00:23:03.970
naming her son is trying to say, Jacob, the Lord

00:23:03.970 --> 00:23:05.769
has heard my heart. Are you paying attention?

00:23:06.349 --> 00:23:10.390
Right? And so, but maybe the second son would

00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:12.569
melt Jacob's heart. Maybe he would, you know,

00:23:12.569 --> 00:23:15.829
finally, you know, come to love her as he loves

00:23:15.829 --> 00:23:18.609
Rachel. Then she has a third son. She conceived

00:23:18.609 --> 00:23:21.329
again, gave birth to a son and said, at last,

00:23:21.390 --> 00:23:23.670
my husband will become attached to me because

00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:28.420
I have born three sons for him. Levi means attachment.

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:31.960
But this is the sad part of this. I mean, although

00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:34.799
Leah is like the fertility jackpot here, right?

00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:37.819
Three sons. I mean, it's just like everything

00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:41.079
a man would want in that culture, we see that

00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.099
her hope for love has diminished by the third

00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:46.039
son. She's no longer saying, maybe he'll love

00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:48.720
me. She's no longer saying, the Lord's heard

00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.579
me. Like, are you hearing me, Jacob? She's now

00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:54.359
going, well, look, I'll settle for just a connection,

00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:58.759
an attachment. Like, okay, maybe he'll never

00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:00.380
love me, but at least let's have a connection

00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:03.900
of some kind. Let's have some sort of relationship

00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:06.200
here. And it's just this picture. She's so lonely.

00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.299
Her hope is fading. Then she gets to her fourth

00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:13.460
son that she gives birth to, who is Judah. And

00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:15.140
it says she conceived again, gave birth to a

00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:19.519
son. This time I will praise the Lord. That's

00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:22.799
what Judah means, praise, right? But the sad

00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:26.490
part here is, here's Leah. who now has no hope

00:24:26.490 --> 00:24:30.569
of love, no hope of a connection, right, just

00:24:30.569 --> 00:24:33.009
improved relations with her husband, she had

00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:36.190
given up. She had given up all of that, and so

00:24:36.190 --> 00:24:38.650
now, as she gives birth to her fourth son, she's

00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:41.329
like, okay, no love, no hope, no connection.

00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:44.809
Well, at least I could thank God for my four

00:24:44.809 --> 00:24:48.230
sons. At least I could give him praise. And that's

00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:50.190
an important picture of lowliness and humility,

00:24:50.390 --> 00:24:55.099
is to be able to say, Whatever my situation is,

00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:59.420
I could praise God. I could give him glory. You

00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:01.200
know, we often say, like, what's the silver lining

00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:03.859
in a situation? What are the good things? And

00:25:03.859 --> 00:25:05.619
we often do that. I do that in counseling where

00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:08.359
people are, like, in a very bad time or a bad

00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:10.559
situation, and they're just very despondent.

00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.980
They're like, I just, this is so terrible. And

00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.240
I'm like, yeah, but are there any good things

00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:17.960
in here? Let's focus on those things. Because

00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:21.299
if God is sovereign, if God is almighty, if God

00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:23.579
is omnipotent, then obviously he knows you're

00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:26.940
in this bad situation. And he's allowing it to

00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:29.339
happen for a reason that you don't yet understand.

00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:33.359
So instead of focusing on, oh, this is bad, this

00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:35.380
is terrible, this is bad, try and find a way

00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:37.900
to say, God, you have full authority to put me

00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:40.720
in any situation you want. God, my life is yours

00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:45.180
in every possible way. And so God, I'm thankful

00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:48.470
that, and then whatever it is. I'm thankful I'm

00:25:48.470 --> 00:25:50.890
alive. I'm thankful I have four kids. I wanted

00:25:50.890 --> 00:25:53.430
my husband's love, she's saying. I wanted a connection

00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:56.410
with him at least. But in lieu of all of that,

00:25:56.470 --> 00:25:59.190
praise God, I have four sons, right? She's able

00:25:59.190 --> 00:26:01.890
to focus on that even in the difficulty of her

00:26:01.890 --> 00:26:04.910
time. And so now if she could see the future,

00:26:05.130 --> 00:26:07.150
man, I think she would just be overjoyed right

00:26:07.150 --> 00:26:11.559
now because giving birth to Levi and Judah. From

00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.339
those two sons came the priestly tribe of Israel

00:26:14.339 --> 00:26:17.640
and the kingly tribe of Israel, Judah and Levi.

00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:21.539
And so in her line is going to be Moses and Aaron

00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:24.700
and David, King David, and the Messiah, Jesus

00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:28.799
Christ. What an honor that she gets. What a huge

00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.940
privilege she has, even in this dark situation

00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:34.059
where she wants love and she wants attachment

00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:36.619
to her husband. She doesn't get that. She's not

00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:38.220
getting it, but she's able to say, hey, thank

00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:41.019
God for these kids. And God then honors her,

00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:43.799
you know, down through her line. Now, unfortunately,

00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:46.220
at the time, she didn't necessarily know that.

00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:48.559
She remains neglected and unloved, but she's

00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:52.460
got four on the scoreboard, okay? Now, with each

00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:54.700
birth, you can imagine Rachel's barrenness became

00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:58.599
more and more intolerable for her, right? Leah's

00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:00.859
popping out sons one after the other, and Rachel's

00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:04.309
like... What's going on here? I'm humiliated

00:27:04.309 --> 00:27:06.970
by this. Now Leah with four on the scoreboard,

00:27:07.170 --> 00:27:09.690
Rachel's own maternal instincts had to have been

00:27:09.690 --> 00:27:11.589
kicking in here, and so we get to Genesis 30

00:27:11.589 --> 00:27:14.650
verse 1. When Rachel saw that she was not bearing

00:27:14.650 --> 00:27:17.890
Jacob any children, she envied her sister. Give

00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:22.609
me sons or I will die, she said to Jacob. Now

00:27:22.609 --> 00:27:24.849
here's the woman who had all the love, all the

00:27:24.849 --> 00:27:28.099
attention. Probably all the stuff, all the gifts.

00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.619
She probably got whatever she wanted, right?

00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:34.480
Because she was just adored by Jacob. But that's

00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:37.359
not enough. Because she doesn't have any children,

00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:41.700
she's envying her sister who has nothing in regards

00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:46.339
to her place in the family except children. That

00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:48.559
word envy there means to be painfully desirous

00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:52.759
of another's advantages. She was so jealous it

00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.210
hurt. It hurt with inside. She wanted to start

00:27:56.210 --> 00:27:58.789
a family, which isn't a bad thing, and she wanted

00:27:58.789 --> 00:28:02.769
that so bad she hurt. But the immediate context

00:28:02.769 --> 00:28:05.750
of it was Leah is getting it, and she's the one

00:28:05.750 --> 00:28:07.730
nobody's ever paid attention to. I'm the one

00:28:07.730 --> 00:28:09.630
that's always gotten everything I wanted, and

00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:13.890
why is God not blessing me with kids? Now, I

00:28:13.890 --> 00:28:15.529
believe in the family, too, that Rachel knew

00:28:15.529 --> 00:28:18.259
that. God is the giver of life. I believe that

00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:20.279
was a part of this family, a part of their teaching

00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:22.640
and their knowing, and yet she's dismissing all

00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:24.900
of this. And so she has this outburst towards

00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:27.599
her husband. To be quite honest, to me it sounds

00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:30.180
like the temper tantrum of a very spoiled rich

00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:33.039
girl, right? I'm used to getting my way with

00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.160
everything. You know, the ultimate Karen, if

00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:36.559
you want to call it that. If you're named Karen

00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:38.180
in here, I don't mean that as a derogatory term

00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:40.680
towards you. But in our culture, it's that one

00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:42.819
lady that's going, let me talk to your supervisor.

00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:45.299
And just, you know, my room is not right. And

00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:47.519
just going to escalate and argue and just be

00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:49.619
obnoxious about that. This is kind of how Rachel

00:28:49.619 --> 00:28:52.519
is responding here. She's throwing a fit because

00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:56.400
she's not getting her way with children. But

00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:58.279
what we have here now is two very desperate women.

00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:02.019
One desperate for love, desperate for attachment

00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:05.640
with her husband, and one who is desperate for

00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:09.000
children. Neither one of them is happy. They're

00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:12.700
looking at the other side. Now, I'm not saying

00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:15.839
those situations aren't real, but they're looking

00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:17.700
at the other side and they're desperate for what

00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:19.480
they don't have. And, you know, isn't polygamy

00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:24.839
fun? You know, right? Verse 2. Jacob became angry

00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:26.660
with Rachel and said, am I in the place of God?

00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:30.900
He has withheld offspring from you. Despite Jacob's

00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:33.660
own failures, he still recognized God's authority,

00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:37.319
right? Despite his own issues. And maybe here

00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:41.299
we are, you know, 10 years into his 14 -year

00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:43.900
working for these two women. Maybe he's learning

00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.599
some things at this point. Maybe he's going,

00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:50.019
look, I can't do anything about this. I imagine

00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:52.319
him going, look, obviously I'm not the problem.

00:29:52.420 --> 00:29:56.700
Look at Leah, four sons already. So lay off.

00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:00.160
This isn't my issue here. But he says, am I in

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:03.019
the place of God? He's the one you need to go

00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:05.559
talk to. He's the one you need to go deal with.

00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:09.819
I mean, this may be simply a coward's blame shift

00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:12.579
here, but either way, he was right. He was right.

00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:15.839
God is the one that is doing these things. And

00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:18.660
he's like, go talk to God. I can't do anything

00:30:18.660 --> 00:30:22.839
about your barrenness. It's not my fault. Give

00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:26.099
me sons or I'm going to die. Come on. Grow up.

00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:30.799
So, undeterred, Rachel finds a way to even the

00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:35.039
score. Verse 3. Then he said, or she said, here

00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:37.619
is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her and she'll

00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:40.960
bear children for me so that through her, I too

00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:44.200
can build a family. So Rachel gave her slave

00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:47.190
Bilhah to Jacob as a wife. and he slept with

00:30:47.190 --> 00:30:51.250
her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel

00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:53.930
said, God has vindicated me. Yes, he has heard

00:30:53.930 --> 00:30:56.630
me and given me a son. So she named him Dan.

00:30:57.529 --> 00:30:59.730
Rachel's slave Bilhah conceived again and bore

00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:02.789
Jacob a second son. Rachel said, in my wrestlings

00:31:02.789 --> 00:31:04.630
with God, I have wrestled with my sister and

00:31:04.630 --> 00:31:10.789
won, and she named him Naphtali. Now, I am pretty

00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:16.039
sure that Rachel here knew the story of Abraham

00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:20.680
and Sarah and Hagar. She had to have known the

00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:22.819
story. It was a pretty famous story in the family,

00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:25.039
especially when it was like, you know, Jacob,

00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:27.440
you know, your dad and his brother don't get

00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:29.059
along. What's going on, right? The story was

00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:33.579
probably well known in the family. I believe

00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:37.420
that Rachel was also familiar through Jacob with

00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:40.380
Esau's marriages and how dad didn't approve of

00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:43.680
those things. And then more than that, I imagine

00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:47.549
that, In those first seven years, she was just

00:31:47.549 --> 00:31:50.210
dreaming of a monogamous, lifelong relationship

00:31:50.210 --> 00:31:53.329
with her husband, Jacob, right? That specialness

00:31:53.329 --> 00:31:56.150
of coming together and the sexual intimacy between

00:31:56.150 --> 00:31:59.009
married people, and yet she tosses all of that

00:31:59.009 --> 00:32:03.369
out the window in her pride. I'm so jealous of

00:32:03.369 --> 00:32:05.869
Leah. I'm so jealous that I don't have kids that,

00:32:05.910 --> 00:32:07.109
you know, I'm going to let you sleep with my

00:32:07.109 --> 00:32:11.980
maidservant. That's what she did. Now, this was

00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:14.680
a custom of the time. When a woman was barren,

00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:17.279
they could have their maid servant kind of be

00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.700
the surrogate and stand in and sleep with the

00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:21.839
husband, get pregnant, and give birth. And in

00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:24.839
some cases, the woman who was barren would have

00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:28.140
the servant sit on their lap and give birth to

00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:31.099
the child so that it was symbolic of the wife

00:32:31.099 --> 00:32:36.140
giving birth, right? So, what Rachel essentially

00:32:36.140 --> 00:32:38.480
does is calls in the second string from the bench

00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:41.980
and the birth wars begin. So following the culturally

00:32:41.980 --> 00:32:44.779
acceptable protocol, not God's will, I would

00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:51.259
say, Jacob consents. And I just, what? I got

00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:55.920
to sleep with your servant? Okay. Right? I mean,

00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:00.140
there's no pushback here. There's no, and anyways,

00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.220
I don't want to get too into that, but I'm just

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:04.740
like, Jacob, come on, bro. But he just throws

00:33:04.740 --> 00:33:07.359
gas on the fire of this polygamous relationship

00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:10.579
and all the drama and stuff going on here. And

00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:14.660
so what do we have here now? Woo -hoo. Rachel

00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:17.880
does this plan. Two for Rachel. She's catching

00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:22.440
up. Right? Take that, Leah. We see it in the

00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:24.240
names here. And this is like, I'm just like,

00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:27.400
how did these kids grow up? Like Dan. Dan means

00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:31.799
judged or vindicated. judged as in a decision

00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:34.279
was made on your behalf. And so he's like, oh,

00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:37.500
oh, God heard you, Simeon, right? Okay, yeah,

00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:40.660
God heard me too. I'm the beautiful one. I'm

00:33:40.660 --> 00:33:42.059
the one that's supposed to get everything, and

00:33:42.059 --> 00:33:44.700
so I'm gonna name my kid that God has vindicated

00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:49.680
me, that I'm coming to get you, Leah. Mom, why

00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:53.940
is my name Dan? How did, what did they, so anyways.

00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:59.650
Naphtali, why? I've been wrestling with my sister

00:33:59.650 --> 00:34:03.329
and wrestling with God, and I'm winning. I'm

00:34:03.329 --> 00:34:05.309
wrestling the lead position back. And so you

00:34:05.309 --> 00:34:07.230
see that now they're using their kids in this

00:34:07.230 --> 00:34:10.309
domestic dispute, even in their names. You know,

00:34:10.309 --> 00:34:12.309
look, Leah, my cleverness is being rewarded.

00:34:12.449 --> 00:34:15.090
Aha, you had four. Well, I brought in the second

00:34:15.090 --> 00:34:19.030
string, and now we have two. So then it's halftime,

00:34:19.070 --> 00:34:22.869
and I believe Leah adjusts her strategy. And

00:34:22.869 --> 00:34:25.590
Leah's like, oh, I have a second string as well.

00:34:25.650 --> 00:34:29.139
Verse 9. Then Leah saw that she had stopped having

00:34:29.139 --> 00:34:32.280
children. She took her slave Zilpah and gave

00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:35.639
her to Jacob, his wife. Leah's slave Zilpah bore

00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.880
Jacob a son. Then Leah said, what good fortune,

00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:42.260
and she named him Gad. When Leah's slave Zilpah

00:34:42.260 --> 00:34:44.920
bore Jacob a second son, Leah said, I am happy

00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:48.500
that the women call me happy, and so she named

00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:52.360
him Asher. And now the scoreboard reads, what

00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:56.840
is it, six to two, right? Leah's pulling ahead.

00:34:59.340 --> 00:35:01.500
Now, here's the problem with Leah at this point.

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:04.219
She started out so good. She started out humble.

00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:06.179
She started out just like, oh, God, thank you

00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:09.800
so much for the kids. You gave me this son. You

00:35:09.800 --> 00:35:12.659
gave me this son. And then Rachel pridefully

00:35:12.659 --> 00:35:15.619
just kinds to wrestle her own way and gets two

00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:18.539
kids through her maidservant. Now, Leah, I think

00:35:18.539 --> 00:35:21.219
Leah's getting caught up in the prideful back

00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:25.869
and forth here. Oh, no. My kids are all I have.

00:35:25.909 --> 00:35:27.869
Rachel has everything else, and now she also

00:35:27.869 --> 00:35:30.909
has kids? I've got to get back in here and start

00:35:30.909 --> 00:35:33.329
fighting back, and we see that in the names,

00:35:33.489 --> 00:35:36.590
right? We don't see her saying, oh, God bless

00:35:36.590 --> 00:35:38.570
me with a kid. No, she just says, I'm going to

00:35:38.570 --> 00:35:42.309
name this one Gad. What good fortune. Oh, Rachel,

00:35:42.429 --> 00:35:43.889
you think you're catching up? Look at the scoreboard,

00:35:44.010 --> 00:35:48.010
right? And then the second one is born, named

00:35:48.010 --> 00:35:54.530
Asher, and Asher means happy. The picture here

00:35:54.530 --> 00:35:58.750
is Leah is starting to sway into that prideful

00:35:58.750 --> 00:36:00.590
area. She's starting to get caught up in the

00:36:00.590 --> 00:36:03.010
competition. She's starting to get caught up

00:36:03.010 --> 00:36:05.730
in, you know, it's not God that matters ultimately.

00:36:05.750 --> 00:36:08.809
It's my status and my kids and how many I have

00:36:08.809 --> 00:36:10.929
and all of this stuff. And so it's like, you

00:36:10.929 --> 00:36:12.530
know, it's like, ha -ha, Rachel, look at the

00:36:12.530 --> 00:36:15.110
scoreboard. Six to two, you poor infertile thing.

00:36:16.130 --> 00:36:18.670
You can't catch me. I'm a baby -making machine.

00:36:20.309 --> 00:36:23.150
Even though these last two came from her second

00:36:23.150 --> 00:36:27.210
string. But the last one, Asher, we see a little

00:36:27.210 --> 00:36:28.989
bit of Leah's attitude here because you see where

00:36:28.989 --> 00:36:31.789
she's deriving her joy. It doesn't say I'm going

00:36:31.789 --> 00:36:33.690
to name him Asher because I'm so happy God is

00:36:33.690 --> 00:36:35.409
still blessing me this way. She goes, I'm happy

00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:40.110
that the women call me happy. She's getting caught

00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:43.010
up in what other people think now too. Not God's

00:36:43.010 --> 00:36:46.969
favor. No, thank you God for another son. But

00:36:46.969 --> 00:36:50.099
I'm going to name this one Rachel. Everybody

00:36:50.099 --> 00:36:53.099
else thinks I'm blessed. Everybody else is happy

00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:55.260
for me because I'm having more kids. Take that.

00:36:56.659 --> 00:36:59.079
And again, mommy, why am I named Asher, right?

00:36:59.139 --> 00:37:00.599
What did they tell these kids as they were growing

00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:03.659
up? But Rachel is now losing the contest. She

00:37:03.659 --> 00:37:06.320
knew it. Leah, unfortunately, was losing focus.

00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:09.440
She was losing the focus on her humble condition

00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:11.780
and the God that was there for her. And you think,

00:37:11.880 --> 00:37:15.139
wow, could it get any worse? Oh, yeah. Verse

00:37:15.139 --> 00:37:18.039
14. Reuben went out during the wheat harvest

00:37:18.039 --> 00:37:20.260
and found some mandrakes in the field. When he

00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:22.000
brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked,

00:37:22.219 --> 00:37:24.340
please give me some of your son's mandrakes.

00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:27.280
But Leah replied to her, isn't it enough that

00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:29.980
you've taken my husband? Now you also want to

00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:33.239
take my son's mandrakes? Well then, Rachel said,

00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:35.360
he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for

00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:38.199
your son's mandrakes, speaking of Jacob. When

00:37:38.199 --> 00:37:40.260
Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah

00:37:40.260 --> 00:37:42.039
went out to meet him and said, you must come

00:37:42.039 --> 00:37:45.000
with me for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.

00:37:45.710 --> 00:37:48.590
So Jacob slept with her that night. What on earth

00:37:48.590 --> 00:37:53.530
is going on with this family? Right? Dysfunction

00:37:53.530 --> 00:37:57.090
junction. That's what this is. Now, mandrakes,

00:37:57.230 --> 00:37:59.329
right? The mandrakes are a perennial Mediterranean

00:37:59.329 --> 00:38:01.989
plant that has bluish flowers in the winter.

00:38:02.130 --> 00:38:04.969
And then in the summer, it has yellowish, like,

00:38:04.969 --> 00:38:07.369
plum -sized fruits. And at the time, they were

00:38:07.369 --> 00:38:10.329
considered an aphrodisiac. They were also considered

00:38:10.329 --> 00:38:12.690
a cure for infertility, right? So if you got

00:38:12.690 --> 00:38:15.739
mandrakes and you... did whatever they did with

00:38:15.739 --> 00:38:18.519
them, you could cure your barrenness, right?

00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:21.219
And so now it doesn't tell us here that Leah

00:38:21.219 --> 00:38:23.320
requested these. It just tells us that Reuben

00:38:23.320 --> 00:38:25.260
was out during the wheat harvest and he found

00:38:25.260 --> 00:38:29.159
some. Now maybe he was also caught up in this

00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.460
family drama, right? He was on Leah's team and

00:38:31.460 --> 00:38:34.050
so maybe he had been... hearing about the fights

00:38:34.050 --> 00:38:36.449
or just observing what's going on. I mean, obviously

00:38:36.449 --> 00:38:38.349
he was the first son, so he's been around for

00:38:38.349 --> 00:38:41.230
a while at this point. It doesn't give us any

00:38:41.230 --> 00:38:43.670
indication that Leah was like, oh no, I'm not

00:38:43.670 --> 00:38:46.309
having kids. Go find me some of this. But the

00:38:46.309 --> 00:38:48.110
fact is, is that Reuben found him and brought

00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:50.530
them in thinking they would be of help to his

00:38:50.530 --> 00:38:54.130
mom or something that would bless her. We obviously

00:38:54.130 --> 00:38:56.170
know there's no real power in the mandrake, right?

00:38:56.269 --> 00:38:58.510
But apparently both of these women gave it some

00:38:58.510 --> 00:39:01.809
credence, so much so that it became coin. It

00:39:01.809 --> 00:39:05.329
became a currency to barter with. And so Rachel,

00:39:05.610 --> 00:39:08.449
desperate for fertility, barters for the mandrakes.

00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:10.690
Obviously she's fully in. Oh, mandrakes, that's

00:39:10.690 --> 00:39:14.289
the magic stuff that'll help me out. And so she

00:39:14.289 --> 00:39:15.989
tries to barter with this. Now it's interesting,

00:39:16.289 --> 00:39:19.289
Leah, knowing that she has the upper hand, is

00:39:19.289 --> 00:39:21.670
like, isn't it enough that you've taken my husband?

00:39:23.309 --> 00:39:25.090
She's just like jabbing her in the ribs with

00:39:25.090 --> 00:39:28.630
that. And then Rachel says, okay, he can sleep

00:39:28.630 --> 00:39:31.809
with you tonight. What this seemingly is telling

00:39:31.809 --> 00:39:35.489
me, that in this polygamous nightmare, two wives,

00:39:35.630 --> 00:39:37.889
two servants, Jacob has been sleeping with all

00:39:37.889 --> 00:39:39.989
of them at this point, three of them have given

00:39:39.989 --> 00:39:43.210
birth, that it seems like Rachel was in control

00:39:43.210 --> 00:39:45.769
of the sex calendar. That's what it appears like.

00:39:45.869 --> 00:39:48.710
Now, it would make sense. She's the favored one.

00:39:48.789 --> 00:39:51.070
She's all that. So she was the one that determined

00:39:51.070 --> 00:39:53.309
who got what night on the calendar because she's

00:39:53.309 --> 00:39:54.849
the one that's saying, okay, I'll let you have

00:39:54.849 --> 00:39:57.630
a night with Jacob. I'll let you have a night

00:39:57.630 --> 00:40:00.590
with him if you give me the mandrakes. And then

00:40:00.590 --> 00:40:05.309
we see how twisted this is. Because then Leah

00:40:05.309 --> 00:40:08.489
goes out to meet her husband, her husband, and

00:40:08.489 --> 00:40:12.389
goes, I've hired you with my son's mandrakes.

00:40:13.360 --> 00:40:18.280
Like Leah had to pay for the privilege of being

00:40:18.280 --> 00:40:21.400
intimate with her husband. So twisted this family

00:40:21.400 --> 00:40:27.000
is. Now the arrangement takes place. I imagine

00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:29.219
since Leah had stopped having children, it said

00:40:29.219 --> 00:40:31.079
earlier that both women were kind of desperate

00:40:31.079 --> 00:40:32.659
to have more children because they're caught

00:40:32.659 --> 00:40:35.139
up in this fight and this race. Neither one of

00:40:35.139 --> 00:40:36.840
them humbling themselves and saying, God, we

00:40:36.840 --> 00:40:39.320
just trust you. I trust you in my barrenness.

00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:41.739
I trust you in the fact that I stopped having

00:40:41.739 --> 00:40:44.099
children. God, your will be done. No, they're

00:40:44.099 --> 00:40:46.420
fighting and they're trying to make things happen.

00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:50.760
It's just really sad. I mean, it's really sad.

00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:53.619
Just on an aside here, you know, sexual intimacy

00:40:53.619 --> 00:40:57.159
is something God created. And he created it to

00:40:57.159 --> 00:40:59.960
be this beautiful, wonderful act between two

00:40:59.960 --> 00:41:03.199
people and a commitment of marriage. It's not

00:41:03.199 --> 00:41:06.219
just created for procreation and having kids.

00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:10.280
Go read the Song of Solomon. It's a love book

00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:13.360
about just the beauty that is in the intimacy

00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:16.579
between two people in the context of marriage.

00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:19.289
It was never meant to be something to be bartered

00:41:19.289 --> 00:41:23.570
or traded or purchased or sold as a commodity,

00:41:23.750 --> 00:41:26.710
but that's exactly what the devil has done with

00:41:26.710 --> 00:41:29.449
what is meant to be a very private, beautiful,

00:41:29.670 --> 00:41:32.750
wonderful enjoyment between two people in marriage.

00:41:34.110 --> 00:41:36.070
You know, we've heard the phrase our whole lives.

00:41:36.130 --> 00:41:40.469
The oldest profession is prostitution, selling

00:41:40.469 --> 00:41:44.550
sex for money. An organization called Covenant

00:41:44.550 --> 00:41:49.739
Eyes. did a study on this, and they said in 2023,

00:41:50.219 --> 00:41:54.599
the pornography industry made, the estimates

00:41:54.599 --> 00:42:01.340
are between $58 and $300 billion. That's insane.

00:42:01.780 --> 00:42:05.239
That's people paying for watching or whatever,

00:42:05.420 --> 00:42:10.019
participating in, and it's just, it's foul. It's

00:42:10.019 --> 00:42:11.980
a huge issue. It's a huge issue in the church.

00:42:13.710 --> 00:42:15.469
And the devil tries to say, no, no, no, it's

00:42:15.469 --> 00:42:18.829
okay to pay and trade and watch. No, it's something

00:42:18.829 --> 00:42:21.969
meant to be private and beautiful and in the

00:42:21.969 --> 00:42:25.889
context between a married couple. And yet we

00:42:25.889 --> 00:42:28.010
see these women here getting caught up in their

00:42:28.010 --> 00:42:31.590
personal notoriety and their personal position

00:42:31.590 --> 00:42:33.730
and their personal prestige and power. Now they're

00:42:33.730 --> 00:42:36.449
both caught up in bartering something that shouldn't

00:42:36.449 --> 00:42:39.329
be bartered for. They both need to be taken down

00:42:39.329 --> 00:42:41.690
a notch. Rachel is still just as prideful as

00:42:41.690 --> 00:42:44.050
she had been from the beginning. Leah, she's

00:42:44.050 --> 00:42:45.630
starting to swing that way because she's lost

00:42:45.630 --> 00:42:49.610
her focus. Verse 17. God listened to Leah and

00:42:49.610 --> 00:42:53.050
she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah

00:42:53.050 --> 00:42:55.610
said, God has rewarded me for giving my slave

00:42:55.610 --> 00:42:59.679
to my husband. And she named him Issachar. Then

00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:02.099
Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

00:43:02.260 --> 00:43:05.380
God has given me a good gift, Leah said. This

00:43:05.380 --> 00:43:08.059
time my husband will honor me because I have

00:43:08.059 --> 00:43:11.320
born six sons for him. Then she named him Zebulun.

00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:14.059
Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

00:43:15.019 --> 00:43:18.039
So apparently, since Leah was unable to have

00:43:18.039 --> 00:43:19.980
kids after the first four, she had been praying,

00:43:20.119 --> 00:43:22.519
speaking to the Lord. I believe both women were

00:43:22.519 --> 00:43:24.059
doing that. They were desperate. They were crying

00:43:24.059 --> 00:43:26.099
out to the Lord, but also trying to do anything

00:43:26.099 --> 00:43:30.579
they could. And the Lord heard Leah. I believe

00:43:30.579 --> 00:43:33.039
what we see in Leah's response is she started

00:43:33.039 --> 00:43:36.019
kind of coming back to that humble place again.

00:43:36.599 --> 00:43:38.880
She gives God the credit, right? She's praying.

00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:41.619
God responds. He's furthering his own promises.

00:43:41.739 --> 00:43:44.000
This isn't his endorsement of what she's been

00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:46.239
doing, what Rachel's been doing. He's just fulfilling

00:43:46.239 --> 00:43:49.679
his own promises, but this had to really tick

00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:52.960
Rachel off because Leah gives Rachel the mandrakes,

00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:55.500
and then Leah pops out three more kids, right?

00:43:56.000 --> 00:44:01.219
I mean, holy cow. She was just livid, but Leah

00:44:01.219 --> 00:44:04.019
seems to be back to giving God the credit. right?

00:44:04.079 --> 00:44:06.880
She seems to be back to saying, okay, God, thank

00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:09.159
you, but her focus is off now, and that's what

00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:11.539
sin does to us. It kind of pollutes our focus

00:44:11.539 --> 00:44:15.300
and our mind because she's going, God, you're

00:44:15.300 --> 00:44:17.639
rewarding me for giving my husband my servant.

00:44:18.619 --> 00:44:21.440
No, Leah, that's not at all what's taking place

00:44:21.440 --> 00:44:23.820
here. That's not what God wants. That's not what

00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:26.079
God has intended, but that's what she thinks

00:44:26.079 --> 00:44:28.719
in this moment. There's a glimmer of hope, but

00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:31.639
she's still off on her focus there, and she names

00:44:31.639 --> 00:44:35.179
the kid Issachar. That means reward or wages.

00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:39.619
I think it was still a jab back at Rachel because

00:44:39.619 --> 00:44:41.500
it's like her going, okay, Rachel, you made me

00:44:41.500 --> 00:44:44.300
hire my own husband. Boom, the first kid I had

00:44:44.300 --> 00:44:48.300
after that, God paid me back. Wages, reward.

00:44:49.260 --> 00:44:53.510
And then Zebulun, right? We're not really sure

00:44:53.510 --> 00:44:56.449
what that name means, but most seem to think

00:44:56.449 --> 00:44:59.230
it has to do with honor or honored because of

00:44:59.230 --> 00:45:01.690
her reasoning for doing that. And so we see the

00:45:01.690 --> 00:45:03.949
scoreboard again now. It's just like, you know,

00:45:03.949 --> 00:45:06.789
Rachel's pulling way ahead. She's pulling way

00:45:06.789 --> 00:45:09.590
ahead here. And, you know, but here's what's

00:45:09.590 --> 00:45:13.170
kind of sad. Rachel has kind of swung this way

00:45:13.170 --> 00:45:15.690
towards pride. She's kind of, oh no, God is the

00:45:15.690 --> 00:45:18.090
one in this, but I'm still caught up in this

00:45:18.090 --> 00:45:20.610
pride issue. She isn't looking for love anymore.

00:45:21.920 --> 00:45:25.219
She's not looking for attachment anymore. She's

00:45:25.219 --> 00:45:28.199
maybe starting to come back to giving God credit

00:45:28.199 --> 00:45:31.559
and stuff, but her reason for naming Zebulun

00:45:31.559 --> 00:45:35.159
Zebulun is my husband has to honor me after this.

00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:37.519
He has to respect me after this. He's not going

00:45:37.519 --> 00:45:39.860
to love me. He's not going to cherish me. He's

00:45:39.860 --> 00:45:41.300
not going to pay attention to me, but he has

00:45:41.300 --> 00:45:43.559
to honor me. He's going to give me respect because

00:45:43.559 --> 00:45:48.630
I have borne him all these sons. My side of the

00:45:48.630 --> 00:45:51.829
team has eight total, six from my own body personally.

00:45:52.710 --> 00:45:56.570
Now, I believe the birth of Dinah was God working

00:45:56.570 --> 00:45:58.550
to keep her pride from swelling out of control,

00:45:58.730 --> 00:46:02.840
right? She's been just popping out suns. Huge

00:46:02.840 --> 00:46:05.179
reason for her to be prideful. Huge reason for

00:46:05.179 --> 00:46:07.980
her to stand up. Especially against Rachel who's

00:46:07.980 --> 00:46:09.980
trying to fight her in all of this. But then

00:46:09.980 --> 00:46:12.380
she gives birth to the daughter Dinah. Equally

00:46:12.380 --> 00:46:15.179
a beloved child. But in the culture, daughters,

00:46:15.300 --> 00:46:18.179
again, were married off and so weren't as big

00:46:18.179 --> 00:46:21.460
a deal as sons. But there's no explanation of

00:46:21.460 --> 00:46:24.119
her name here. Like all the other children that

00:46:24.119 --> 00:46:25.820
have been born, there's an explanation of why

00:46:25.820 --> 00:46:28.119
they're named what they're named. Dinah, no explanation.

00:46:30.349 --> 00:46:32.250
And I thought, okay, well, what does Dinah mean?

00:46:32.409 --> 00:46:36.389
It's an offshoot of Dan. It means judgment, vindication,

00:46:36.389 --> 00:46:40.090
decision, right? And the fact that she's the

00:46:40.090 --> 00:46:42.730
seventh child that Leah gave birth to, because

00:46:42.730 --> 00:46:44.789
Leah gives birth to no more children after this,

00:46:44.889 --> 00:46:49.650
it could be symbolic here that as Dinah is the

00:46:49.650 --> 00:46:52.510
seventh child, and God is like, okay, Leah, you're

00:46:52.510 --> 00:46:55.610
done having kids, we know biblically seven represents

00:46:55.610 --> 00:46:59.630
completion. Right? And her name Dinah as an offshoot

00:46:59.630 --> 00:47:02.429
of Dan meaning decision or vindication. It could

00:47:02.429 --> 00:47:06.409
be simply this naming that God is saying, you're

00:47:06.409 --> 00:47:10.110
done having kids. And I'm giving you this daughter

00:47:10.110 --> 00:47:12.489
because you're starting to forget that it's all

00:47:12.489 --> 00:47:17.829
me. It's not you. It's all me. Speculative, but

00:47:17.829 --> 00:47:20.510
it could be that. Meanwhile, Rachel apparently

00:47:20.510 --> 00:47:22.849
has been humbled now. And we see this in verse

00:47:22.849 --> 00:47:27.369
22. Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to

00:47:27.369 --> 00:47:30.010
her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore

00:47:30.010 --> 00:47:33.449
a son, and she said, God has taken away my disgrace.

00:47:34.369 --> 00:47:38.070
She named him Joseph and said, may the Lord add

00:47:38.070 --> 00:47:42.070
another son to me. Now when it says God remembered

00:47:42.070 --> 00:47:43.769
her there, it means to recall with kindness.

00:47:45.150 --> 00:47:47.889
The idea there is God had never forgotten about

00:47:47.889 --> 00:47:51.630
Rachel, but he was just waiting and waiting and

00:47:51.630 --> 00:47:54.460
waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting for Rachel

00:47:54.460 --> 00:47:58.460
to humble herself. Waiting for Rachel to give

00:47:58.460 --> 00:48:01.579
up her pride and step away from who she thought

00:48:01.579 --> 00:48:04.239
she was and what she thought she deserved to

00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:07.460
totally trust God. I believe God was waiting

00:48:07.460 --> 00:48:09.420
for her to learn what she needed to learn, what

00:48:09.420 --> 00:48:11.179
she needed to experience, what she needed to

00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:15.820
grow through her situation. And that is one of

00:48:15.820 --> 00:48:18.400
the big reasons God allows us to go through situations.

00:48:18.739 --> 00:48:20.619
James says, count it all joy, right? For all

00:48:20.619 --> 00:48:22.079
those trials and all those things. They're meant

00:48:22.079 --> 00:48:24.989
to... produce character. They're meant to hone

00:48:24.989 --> 00:48:27.050
us and shape us, and so you're in a difficult

00:48:27.050 --> 00:48:31.889
situation. The humble attitude is, God, you're

00:48:31.889 --> 00:48:34.130
allowing this, so I'm not going to complain.

00:48:34.690 --> 00:48:36.550
I'm not going to kick. I'm going to try and learn

00:48:36.550 --> 00:48:38.329
what you're teaching me, but Lord, I trust you.

00:48:38.650 --> 00:48:41.570
That's not what Rachel was doing. Rachel was

00:48:41.570 --> 00:48:45.690
complaining. Rachel was throwing a fit. Rachel

00:48:45.690 --> 00:48:47.510
was conniving and scheming, and God said, okay.

00:48:48.420 --> 00:48:50.300
Well, I'm going to keep waiting, and I'm going

00:48:50.300 --> 00:48:52.820
to keep waiting. And finally, Rachel had gotten

00:48:52.820 --> 00:48:58.179
to this point because her response, God has taken

00:48:58.179 --> 00:49:01.619
away my disgrace. That shows us that something

00:49:01.619 --> 00:49:03.900
had happened within her that God noticed. God

00:49:03.900 --> 00:49:06.659
recognized, okay, you're ready. You're ready

00:49:06.659 --> 00:49:08.579
to give me the glory. You're ready to give me

00:49:08.579 --> 00:49:11.539
the credit. You're ready to step away from yourself

00:49:11.539 --> 00:49:13.900
and put all that stuff away. She had come to

00:49:13.900 --> 00:49:15.980
the end of herself, right? No more surrogates,

00:49:16.019 --> 00:49:20.619
no more mandrakes. It was all God now. For Rachel,

00:49:20.659 --> 00:49:23.300
I believe at this point, the scoreboard didn't

00:49:23.300 --> 00:49:26.420
matter anymore. It wasn't about what other people

00:49:26.420 --> 00:49:30.179
thought. It wasn't about winning. God, I just

00:49:30.179 --> 00:49:32.760
want you to bless me, and I want to bless you

00:49:32.760 --> 00:49:36.420
for it. And then so it says God opened her womb.

00:49:37.650 --> 00:49:39.550
It's interesting here at the end of the story

00:49:39.550 --> 00:49:41.610
when Rachel finally humbles herself, God opens

00:49:41.610 --> 00:49:45.750
her womb. She's in a lowly state, a lowly attitude,

00:49:45.809 --> 00:49:48.730
and it's the same exact phrase at the beginning

00:49:48.730 --> 00:49:51.769
of the story when it said God recognized Leah's

00:49:51.769 --> 00:49:56.349
state and opened her womb. We're meant to learn

00:49:56.349 --> 00:49:58.929
something from that. We're meant to learn the

00:49:58.929 --> 00:50:01.150
type of people and situations that God works

00:50:01.150 --> 00:50:03.789
in. We're meant to learn how we should be in

00:50:03.789 --> 00:50:05.650
situations, especially when we find ourselves

00:50:05.650 --> 00:50:09.929
in humble circumstances. To not get prideful

00:50:09.929 --> 00:50:12.349
and start banging our fist and throwing it up

00:50:12.349 --> 00:50:15.150
at God and being mad, but being able to step

00:50:15.150 --> 00:50:17.170
back and say, Lord, I don't understand this.

00:50:18.210 --> 00:50:24.170
Lord, I don't even like this. But if I said I

00:50:24.170 --> 00:50:26.010
committed my life to you, that means I've given

00:50:26.010 --> 00:50:28.329
you complete and full authority over my life.

00:50:29.579 --> 00:50:31.480
That means that I've given you the right to put

00:50:31.480 --> 00:50:34.460
me in any situation you deem necessary for my

00:50:34.460 --> 00:50:38.760
life and my growth. That means that, God, I am

00:50:38.760 --> 00:50:44.800
not entitled to knowing the plan. But yet, God,

00:50:44.860 --> 00:50:49.019
I'm just going to trust you. And then also being

00:50:49.019 --> 00:50:51.559
like, God, and then when I screw things up myself

00:50:51.559 --> 00:50:54.780
and bring trauma into my own life, you can even

00:50:54.780 --> 00:50:59.219
work through that. I don't want to make bad decisions,

00:50:59.380 --> 00:51:02.760
but God, you're God, you're sovereign, you're

00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:08.159
almighty. And so I believe here, Rachel understood

00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:11.760
that she had children only because God willed

00:51:11.760 --> 00:51:15.199
it. God allowed it. Leah had children, not for

00:51:15.199 --> 00:51:18.820
any other reason than God did it. Now, you know,

00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:21.480
getting pregnant for Rachel. Had to have been

00:51:21.480 --> 00:51:23.599
one of the most overwhelming joys of her life,

00:51:23.880 --> 00:51:25.900
you know? You figure all these kids that have

00:51:25.900 --> 00:51:27.800
been born, right? Nine months pregnancy, recovery

00:51:27.800 --> 00:51:29.760
time, nine months pregnancy, recovery time. It

00:51:29.760 --> 00:51:32.820
had been years at this point that Rachel had

00:51:32.820 --> 00:51:35.199
been struggling, and all the shame she had felt

00:51:35.199 --> 00:51:38.119
about not being able to fulfill her wifely duty,

00:51:38.219 --> 00:51:41.019
in that sense, to bear children, the sense that

00:51:41.019 --> 00:51:44.280
comes with that barrenness, you know, the incompleteness,

00:51:44.320 --> 00:51:46.760
the worthlessness that comes from that, the struggle,

00:51:46.840 --> 00:51:50.079
the fight, all of that. And she had finally gotten

00:51:50.079 --> 00:51:53.480
pregnant. But it wasn't until she was in this

00:51:53.480 --> 00:51:55.639
place to say, God, you get the credit for it.

00:51:57.739 --> 00:52:01.619
No battle of names, no competition. She's finally

00:52:01.619 --> 00:52:03.880
just trusting in the Lord, wanting to be blessed.

00:52:04.239 --> 00:52:07.400
Not to win, but just because God blessed her.

00:52:08.840 --> 00:52:11.159
And she's also trusting him for any future children.

00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:15.300
So here we have 11 total sons for Jacob, and

00:52:15.300 --> 00:52:17.909
she's praying a prayer that God did. one day

00:52:17.909 --> 00:52:20.190
indeed answer with the birth of son number 12,

00:52:20.309 --> 00:52:23.409
Benjamin. But that's a later story. So what is

00:52:23.409 --> 00:52:27.250
this all about? Baby wars, right? Battle of the

00:52:27.250 --> 00:52:30.389
babies and the names. You know, one, we've been

00:52:30.389 --> 00:52:32.369
seeing through Jacob's life that human cleverness

00:52:32.369 --> 00:52:34.849
and human determination doesn't accomplish the

00:52:34.849 --> 00:52:37.469
work of God, right? God accomplishes the work

00:52:37.469 --> 00:52:40.710
of God. In the mystery of God's sovereignty and

00:52:40.710 --> 00:52:43.110
our free will, God works through all of our decisions,

00:52:43.230 --> 00:52:47.059
good and bad, to work his will. But it's God

00:52:47.059 --> 00:52:50.099
who accomplishes the work of God and the word

00:52:50.099 --> 00:52:53.239
of God. But what we do see in this story is the

00:52:53.239 --> 00:52:55.980
state of mind that we should be walking in and

00:52:55.980 --> 00:52:58.579
remaining in and staying in. A state of mind

00:52:58.579 --> 00:53:01.639
through which God works. And God works actively.

00:53:01.820 --> 00:53:04.960
And it's those that are humble and lowly. Those

00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:08.400
that are truly recognizing that God, you're in

00:53:08.400 --> 00:53:11.099
control. You're the one. You have authority over

00:53:11.099 --> 00:53:12.800
my life. And I give you that authority. I'm not

00:53:12.800 --> 00:53:15.320
going to fight you on that. That lowly condition

00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:18.519
that Leah found herself in. Having a life of

00:53:18.519 --> 00:53:21.420
rejection and a life of no notice and all the

00:53:21.420 --> 00:53:24.300
stuff we've talked about. She started there.

00:53:24.920 --> 00:53:28.719
She started to waver into pride, but she came

00:53:28.719 --> 00:53:32.179
back. And some of us, that's the life we've been

00:53:32.179 --> 00:53:34.750
living, right? Maybe you've... had a place where

00:53:34.750 --> 00:53:37.030
your situation, your attitude is very lowly,

00:53:37.070 --> 00:53:39.309
and maybe you start to get a little pride in

00:53:39.309 --> 00:53:40.849
your life, start to get caught up in the competition

00:53:40.849 --> 00:53:43.349
with somebody down the street or that person

00:53:43.349 --> 00:53:45.530
or that person. Maybe you're in the place that

00:53:45.530 --> 00:53:47.949
Rachel is in, right? And you're just like, why

00:53:47.949 --> 00:53:50.110
is everybody else having babies and I can't?

00:53:51.590 --> 00:53:54.449
And I can't answer that question for you other

00:53:54.449 --> 00:53:57.570
than it's the situation God has allowed you to

00:53:57.570 --> 00:54:01.570
be in. Balea. She started, went up, went back.

00:54:01.630 --> 00:54:04.869
Rachel, she was proud from the beginning. Both

00:54:04.869 --> 00:54:06.570
of those things represent all of us in different

00:54:06.570 --> 00:54:10.550
phases of our life. Rachel came back, or Rachel

00:54:10.550 --> 00:54:12.690
finally gave up her pride. Leah came back to

00:54:12.690 --> 00:54:15.230
her humility. And they both ended up in a place

00:54:15.230 --> 00:54:17.269
where God was now working in and through them

00:54:17.269 --> 00:54:22.969
and blessing them in their lowliness. It's this

00:54:22.969 --> 00:54:25.670
lowliness that God wants to see from his people.

00:54:26.190 --> 00:54:28.449
It's that lowliness that God wants to work in

00:54:28.449 --> 00:54:30.230
because when God works through humble people

00:54:30.230 --> 00:54:32.150
and humble circumstances, guess who gets the

00:54:32.150 --> 00:54:37.969
glory? God does. God doesn't want to work through

00:54:37.969 --> 00:54:39.590
people who are going to be like, I'm so great

00:54:39.590 --> 00:54:42.150
and I'm so good and I'm such a good this and

00:54:42.150 --> 00:54:44.630
I'm such a great speaker and I'm the most fertile

00:54:44.630 --> 00:54:47.369
woman in the world. That's not who he wants to

00:54:47.369 --> 00:54:48.610
work through because then they're going to steal

00:54:48.610 --> 00:54:52.690
the glory from him. But it's those who sit back

00:54:52.690 --> 00:54:56.130
and go, The very fact that you would know my

00:54:56.130 --> 00:55:00.650
name, God, is enough. The very fact that you

00:55:00.650 --> 00:55:03.909
would look into this creation and notice me is

00:55:03.909 --> 00:55:09.590
enough. And yet, you're going to pay my price

00:55:09.590 --> 00:55:14.210
and give me salvation through faith? And then

00:55:14.210 --> 00:55:15.630
you're going to send your Holy Spirit to live

00:55:15.630 --> 00:55:17.409
within me and mold me and shape me for the rest

00:55:17.409 --> 00:55:19.130
of my life here on this earth, give me the power

00:55:19.130 --> 00:55:23.389
to say no to sin and temptation? Point me back

00:55:23.389 --> 00:55:25.289
to the cross every time I sin and fall for the

00:55:25.289 --> 00:55:27.090
rest of my life knowing that you paid the price

00:55:27.090 --> 00:55:30.010
for it all? Giving me the hope of heaven? I deserve

00:55:30.010 --> 00:55:36.889
none of that. But God, you love me so much. Yeah,

00:55:37.710 --> 00:55:41.929
take my life. I've made a mess of it. Please.

00:55:43.110 --> 00:55:46.309
I'm nothing, Lord. You're everything. But God,

00:55:46.329 --> 00:55:49.250
I trust and know that you can do great things

00:55:49.250 --> 00:55:52.789
through my life. That's humility. That's what

00:55:52.789 --> 00:55:55.690
God is looking for in his people. It's a humility

00:55:55.690 --> 00:55:57.750
that came all the way through in the beginning

00:55:57.750 --> 00:56:00.150
and the lowliness of the birth of the Messiah.

00:56:00.190 --> 00:56:03.730
When Mary heard that Elizabeth, heard Elizabeth

00:56:03.730 --> 00:56:06.909
confirm the Messiah's in your womb, we have recorded

00:56:06.909 --> 00:56:11.010
in Luke 1, verse 46, Mary said, my soul magnifies

00:56:11.010 --> 00:56:15.130
the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

00:56:15.130 --> 00:56:18.469
because he has looked with favor on the humble

00:56:18.469 --> 00:56:22.679
condition of his servant. Surely from now on

00:56:22.679 --> 00:56:24.320
all generations will call me blessed because

00:56:24.320 --> 00:56:26.119
the mighty one has done great things for me and

00:56:26.119 --> 00:56:30.340
his name is holy. What was her response? The

00:56:30.340 --> 00:56:34.280
Messiah's in your womb. Whoa! Well, come on,

00:56:34.280 --> 00:56:38.460
of course. I'm Mary. Don't you know what they're

00:56:38.460 --> 00:56:39.579
going to do in the future? There's going to be

00:56:39.579 --> 00:56:41.199
a whole worldwide church that's going to say,

00:56:41.280 --> 00:56:42.980
hey, Mary is so important you have to talk to

00:56:42.980 --> 00:56:46.280
her instead of talking to Jesus. Jesus is too

00:56:46.280 --> 00:56:52.090
busy. So talk to his mom. That's a traditional

00:56:52.090 --> 00:56:56.469
Catholic thought. You can't pray to Jesus because,

00:56:56.530 --> 00:56:59.110
well, he's running the universe. But go talk

00:56:59.110 --> 00:57:02.989
to his mom. She can manipulate him. Mary didn't

00:57:02.989 --> 00:57:04.809
say that. Mary wasn't thinking that. Look, I'm

00:57:04.809 --> 00:57:07.389
gonna be a saint. People are gonna worship me.

00:57:08.369 --> 00:57:10.369
No, what does she say here? She's like, my soul

00:57:10.369 --> 00:57:13.750
magnifies the Lord. Because he looked on me a

00:57:13.750 --> 00:57:16.070
nobody. I'm a nothing nobody from a nowhere place

00:57:16.070 --> 00:57:18.750
with nothing. And I'm gonna give birth to the

00:57:18.750 --> 00:57:25.750
Messiah? the savior of the entire world. The

00:57:25.750 --> 00:57:28.949
Lord then came as a lowly baby, born in humble

00:57:28.949 --> 00:57:33.369
conditions, right? Born in a manger in the filth

00:57:33.369 --> 00:57:37.429
and the dirt, born with nothing. God, God of

00:57:37.429 --> 00:57:42.210
the universe. And he came to save a world that

00:57:42.210 --> 00:57:44.570
was in the saddest, lowly state of all, a world

00:57:44.570 --> 00:57:49.739
that hated him. And yet he came to die for us.

00:57:51.139 --> 00:57:53.219
You know, James 4, 6, it says he gives greater

00:57:53.219 --> 00:57:57.039
grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud

00:57:57.039 --> 00:58:00.460
but gives grace to the humble. If you want grace

00:58:00.460 --> 00:58:04.820
in your life, don't resist him. Don't be the

00:58:04.820 --> 00:58:08.280
beginning, Rachel. Be the end, Rachel. Don't

00:58:08.280 --> 00:58:09.980
be the middle, Leah. Be the beginning and the

00:58:09.980 --> 00:58:14.099
end, Leah. Be in a place where you say, I deserve

00:58:14.099 --> 00:58:18.079
nothing. I've earned nothing. I'm nothing without

00:58:18.079 --> 00:58:22.340
the Lord. I'm a sinner. I'm a lost sinner. And

00:58:22.340 --> 00:58:23.840
then when you come to God that way and you say,

00:58:23.880 --> 00:58:25.960
God, I'm asking you to save me even though I

00:58:25.960 --> 00:58:29.340
know I don't deserve it. Man, God jumps at that

00:58:29.340 --> 00:58:32.679
opportunity because he made an unconditional

00:58:32.679 --> 00:58:40.059
promise. Whoever believes in him, Jesus Christ,

00:58:42.940 --> 00:58:45.139
Whoever would trust in him for their salvation

00:58:45.139 --> 00:58:48.679
and their faith and their life, they would not

00:58:48.679 --> 00:58:53.360
perish but have everlasting life. But that only

00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:56.619
comes to the humble. You have to let go of your

00:58:56.619 --> 00:58:59.659
pride. You have to let go of those proud things.

00:58:59.860 --> 00:59:01.320
And I'm not saying you can't be like, hey, I

00:59:01.320 --> 00:59:03.039
did a good job and I feel good about that. I'm

00:59:03.039 --> 00:59:05.320
talking about thinking, I need nothing. I don't

00:59:05.320 --> 00:59:07.420
need God. I'm myself. I'm a self -made person.

00:59:07.480 --> 00:59:12.019
I'm so great. I'm this, I'm that. You could be

00:59:12.019 --> 00:59:13.880
so proud and so great, and then guess what? One

00:59:13.880 --> 00:59:17.119
day you're going to be dead. And nobody cares.

00:59:19.139 --> 00:59:21.000
And if you reach that point without Jesus Christ

00:59:21.000 --> 00:59:23.000
as your Lord and Savior, you're going to stand

00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:24.400
there and you're going to be like, I'm so great.

00:59:24.519 --> 00:59:25.440
And he's going to be like, are you kidding me?

00:59:26.099 --> 00:59:30.659
I'm God. And you'll find yourself suffering,

00:59:30.739 --> 00:59:34.699
separated from God in hell forever. But if you're

00:59:34.699 --> 00:59:36.900
willing to humble yourself, God is ready to work.

00:59:39.299 --> 00:59:40.880
And so if you're in this room this morning, you

00:59:40.880 --> 00:59:42.800
don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

00:59:43.320 --> 00:59:45.159
You can look back on your life and see the mess

00:59:45.159 --> 00:59:50.199
that pride has made in your life. I'm telling

00:59:50.199 --> 00:59:55.019
you this with absolute assurance that God will

00:59:55.019 --> 00:59:59.099
save you today. But you have to let go of your

00:59:59.099 --> 01:00:01.400
pride. You have to receive him. You have to bring

01:00:01.400 --> 01:00:03.360
yourself to that lowly state where God can work

01:00:03.360 --> 01:00:15.269
in your life. Let's pray. Father, Lord, it was

01:00:15.269 --> 01:00:18.010
the very sin of Satan who exalted himself in

01:00:18.010 --> 01:00:20.889
pride that led to him being kicked out of heaven.

01:00:24.969 --> 01:00:32.409
Lord, pride is such a wicked sin. The pride of

01:00:32.409 --> 01:00:36.280
saying that we are. the most important, and therefore

01:00:36.280 --> 01:00:43.139
we should have this or have that. Lord, all that

01:00:43.139 --> 01:00:45.440
does is corrupt and pollute our lives and pollute

01:00:45.440 --> 01:00:50.460
the lives of those around us. And yet, God, you

01:00:50.460 --> 01:00:52.320
can still work through those things, and I believe

01:00:52.320 --> 01:00:55.920
you're working this morning. For anybody in this

01:00:55.920 --> 01:00:58.159
room, God, that does not know you as their Lord

01:00:58.159 --> 01:00:59.800
and Savior, God, I believe you've been speaking

01:00:59.800 --> 01:01:06.300
to them. That, Lord, their pride has put them

01:01:06.300 --> 01:01:12.400
in a position where you would resist them. And,

01:01:12.480 --> 01:01:14.239
Lord, I pray this morning you reveal to them

01:01:14.239 --> 01:01:16.920
the truth, that, Lord, they can carry that pride

01:01:16.920 --> 01:01:21.960
to their grave, but it's not going to earn them

01:01:21.960 --> 01:01:27.679
anything. And Lord, we've seen today, God, that

01:01:27.679 --> 01:01:29.559
it's the lowly, the humble that you're going

01:01:29.559 --> 01:01:31.360
to work through, Lord, even when we're stumbling

01:01:31.360 --> 01:01:35.539
with our own flesh through that. And so I pray,

01:01:35.599 --> 01:01:37.739
Lord, today for those that don't know you, God,

01:01:37.800 --> 01:01:39.239
that maybe you've been speaking to and they're

01:01:39.239 --> 01:01:40.820
ready today to know you, that they would walk

01:01:40.820 --> 01:01:44.920
away from their pride. They would set it down

01:01:44.920 --> 01:01:47.159
and realize that before an almighty and perfect

01:01:47.159 --> 01:01:52.780
and holy God, they are a sinner, period. That,

01:01:52.840 --> 01:01:57.170
Lord, no work, no act, Nothing they could ever

01:01:57.170 --> 01:02:01.489
do or ever have done is enough to pay the price

01:02:01.489 --> 01:02:06.510
for their sin against you. And that Lord, even

01:02:06.510 --> 01:02:08.750
today, they would realize this very moment that

01:02:08.750 --> 01:02:12.230
they need you. They need your forgiveness. They

01:02:12.230 --> 01:02:16.690
need that free gift of grace. Not because they've

01:02:16.690 --> 01:02:19.090
earned it, but simply because you love them as

01:02:19.090 --> 01:02:23.530
messed up as they are. And so while we're praying

01:02:23.530 --> 01:02:27.389
right now, if you're in this room, It's all heads

01:02:27.389 --> 01:02:29.150
bowed and eyes closed here. If God is speaking

01:02:29.150 --> 01:02:30.610
to your heart this morning, you know you need

01:02:30.610 --> 01:02:32.630
to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

01:02:34.050 --> 01:02:38.010
Or if you're watching online today, for those

01:02:38.010 --> 01:02:39.590
in the room, I just want you to raise your hand

01:02:39.590 --> 01:02:42.349
and say, yeah, I need to walk away from my pride.

01:02:42.369 --> 01:02:46.230
I need to receive him. To say, I recognize that

01:02:46.230 --> 01:02:48.289
I've broken his law. I recognize that I deserve

01:02:48.289 --> 01:02:53.039
judgment. I recognize that I deserve death. I

01:02:53.039 --> 01:02:56.300
recognize that as big as I think I am, I realize

01:02:56.300 --> 01:03:00.159
that God Almighty is bigger. That I am a wicked

01:03:00.159 --> 01:03:03.400
sinner because I have broken His law. If that's

01:03:03.400 --> 01:03:04.960
you in this room and you say, I need a Savior,

01:03:05.139 --> 01:03:08.219
I see you in the back. Anybody else? God is speaking

01:03:08.219 --> 01:03:12.300
to you right now that you need to be forgiven.

01:03:12.519 --> 01:03:15.320
You need to be saved. That your life can be made

01:03:15.320 --> 01:03:18.960
whole through Him. Just raise your hand up where

01:03:18.960 --> 01:03:20.559
I can see it. Let me pray with you this morning.

01:03:23.079 --> 01:03:26.880
All right, and if you're watching online, just

01:03:26.880 --> 01:03:29.820
pray this prayer with me. For those of you in

01:03:29.820 --> 01:03:31.559
the room that want to receive Christ, pray this

01:03:31.559 --> 01:03:35.099
prayer with me and say, Lord Jesus, I know I've

01:03:35.099 --> 01:03:41.119
sinned. It's hard to admit that, Lord, because

01:03:41.119 --> 01:03:47.519
I think that I'm all that. But God, when I compare

01:03:47.519 --> 01:03:53.730
myself to you, I recognize. That I am simply

01:03:53.730 --> 01:03:57.949
a wicked sinner in the face of your holy perfection.

01:04:01.010 --> 01:04:06.710
God, I let go of my pride today. I cast it away.

01:04:08.750 --> 01:04:16.250
Lord, I give you authority over my life. I give

01:04:16.250 --> 01:04:20.190
you the right to take me in and through every

01:04:20.190 --> 01:04:27.639
situation. Because I trust that you work all

01:04:27.639 --> 01:04:31.480
things to good for those who believe in you.

01:04:33.599 --> 01:04:38.619
God, forgive me of all of my sins. Come into

01:04:38.619 --> 01:04:43.920
my life as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for

01:04:43.920 --> 01:04:50.340
loving me so much. Help me to live humbly. Help

01:04:50.340 --> 01:04:55.079
me to follow your spirit. Help me to be shining

01:04:55.079 --> 01:05:01.840
your glory in all things. Teach me how to be

01:05:01.840 --> 01:05:06.659
the way you want me to be. Teach me how to love

01:05:06.659 --> 01:05:11.380
the way you love me. It's in Jesus' name I pray.

01:05:12.260 --> 01:05:15.900
Amen. Well, for those of you that prayed that

01:05:15.900 --> 01:05:17.440
prayer this morning, whether you're here in the

01:05:17.440 --> 01:05:20.639
room or online, you've just entered into a relationship

01:05:20.639 --> 01:05:23.809
with a God who created you. A God you have been

01:05:23.809 --> 01:05:27.449
separated from by disbelief and sin. And now

01:05:27.449 --> 01:05:29.250
things are different. You're going to see things

01:05:29.250 --> 01:05:30.969
different. You're going to act different. I'm

01:05:30.969 --> 01:05:32.250
not saying you're going to be this holy brand

01:05:32.250 --> 01:05:34.550
new person today because your flesh is still

01:05:34.550 --> 01:05:38.190
with you. But you are saved through your faith.

01:05:39.670 --> 01:05:42.130
God has now begun a work of sanctification in

01:05:42.130 --> 01:05:43.929
your life where he's just changing you to be

01:05:43.929 --> 01:05:49.730
more and more like him. Humble. Joyous. Holy.

01:05:52.000 --> 01:05:54.059
Your part in this plan is to submit to that.

01:05:54.440 --> 01:05:56.980
We have a package up here for you. It's called

01:05:56.980 --> 01:05:58.699
a New Believers Pack. You can either come up

01:05:58.699 --> 01:06:00.380
to get it after service or as you're exiting

01:06:00.380 --> 01:06:03.380
today, ask one of the greeters out in the foyer

01:06:03.380 --> 01:06:06.300
because we want to help you on this relationship.

01:06:06.480 --> 01:06:08.940
We want to help you get to know God more and

01:06:08.940 --> 01:06:13.039
more. One of those ways you do that is to come

01:06:13.039 --> 01:06:15.000
to Bible study where we teach the Word of God,

01:06:15.079 --> 01:06:17.909
whether that's here or any other church. Go to

01:06:17.909 --> 01:06:19.710
a place that is teaching the Word of God that

01:06:19.710 --> 01:06:21.409
you would know Jesus more and more every single

01:06:21.409 --> 01:06:23.929
day. And I know, I promise, your life is going

01:06:23.929 --> 01:06:27.650
to be changed for the good forever. For the rest

01:06:27.650 --> 01:06:29.409
of us, you know, if we've got pride that we need

01:06:29.409 --> 01:06:31.230
to walk away from, walk away from it. If you

01:06:31.230 --> 01:06:34.190
need help with that, get prayer. Me and some

01:06:34.190 --> 01:06:35.789
of the other elders and worship team will be

01:06:35.789 --> 01:06:37.730
up here after service to pray with you if you

01:06:37.730 --> 01:06:40.969
need that. But it's not us. We don't have any

01:06:40.969 --> 01:06:43.530
special access. You don't have to wait for us.

01:06:43.590 --> 01:06:45.210
Grab the person next to you and say, hey, brother,

01:06:45.269 --> 01:06:48.940
sister, pray with me. Because we all have access

01:06:48.940 --> 01:06:50.920
to the Lord who loves us. We all have access

01:06:50.920 --> 01:06:54.019
to seek him on behalf of one another. But don't

01:06:54.019 --> 01:06:55.780
wait. Don't walk out of here today without prayer.

01:06:57.219 --> 01:06:59.280
God wants to bring you back to a humble place.

01:07:00.619 --> 01:07:04.900
Do that. Let him. I pray that God blesses you

01:07:04.900 --> 01:07:06.760
guys richly. I pray that he blesses your lives

01:07:06.760 --> 01:07:09.500
richly. I pray that in your humility you see

01:07:09.500 --> 01:07:11.880
him work in ways you've never seen him work before.

01:07:13.900 --> 01:07:16.340
I pray that when God does these awesome, miraculous

01:07:16.340 --> 01:07:18.519
things in your life, your first and only reaction

01:07:18.519 --> 01:07:23.260
is praise God. To him be the glory. Because that's

01:07:23.260 --> 01:07:25.019
what he wants to do is just be glorified in your

01:07:25.019 --> 01:07:28.280
life. Let's close worshiping him because we want

01:07:28.280 --> 01:07:30.860
to give him all the glory. Amen? Amen. God bless

01:07:30.860 --> 01:07:31.119
you guys.