SEPTEBER 22, 2024

Bible verse “GENESIS 31:17~20”

Sermon title "The Jacob’s life 7"

preacher Rev. Joshua Oh

Jacob lived with his uncle Laban for over 20 years, using every means and tactic available to him to ultimately amass more wealth and possessions than Laban. Was Jacob able to become wealthy because he was devout in his faith to God? Did he succeed in life because his faith was sincere and God blessed him? Did Jacob give a tenth of his earnings to God, serve the Lord as his God, and teach faith to his 13 children and four wives? No, Jacob never gave a tenth to God during his time with Laban, nor did he serve the Lord or teach his family about faith in God. Yet, Jacob became rich and successful. This aligns with a belief prevalent in today’s Christianity—that being prosperous and successful in all things is a sign of God’s blessing. People think that if they succeed and become wealthy, it must be because God is blessing them. That’s why the vow prayer Jacob made at Bethel 20 years earlier had to be interpreted as a prayer of faith, and why his deceit in taking Laban’s possessions is called "wisdom."

However, the Bible clearly shows that Jacob did not live a life of faith in serving God. In Genesis 31:9, Jacob says, "Your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God did not allow him to harm me." This is Jacob making excuses to Leah and Rachel after being caught stealing Laban’s possessions. Jacob is claiming that God took their father’s livestock and gave it to him. But wasn't it Jacob who originally set his own wages? He is now accusing Laban of changing the agreement ten times, when he himself set the terms. This is Jacob’s faith.

And this is also the faith of many Christians today. They believe that taking from non-believers and calling it "faith in God" is acceptable. They expect that God will give to those who believe in Him, even by taking from others. They believe God does this. But is it true that God took Laban’s livestock and gave it to Jacob? Is God truly like that? Would God take from others and give to Jacob? If God were truly like that, He wouldn’t be a just or fair God, and He wouldn’t be righteous. He would be a biased, unreasonable God who favors only His believers. If God were like that, He would not be able to judge or rule the world.

The reason God can judge and rule the world is because He is just, fair, and righteous. Now, because the world is full of sin, people may claim that God is unfair and unjust. But when they stand before God’s judgment seat on the final day, they will realize how fair, just, and righteous God is. By then, it will be too late to realize it. Jacob manipulated his way into taking Laban’s livestock, but then credited it to God’s blessing. If you only read this part of the story, it might seem like Jacob was a man of great faith. He says, "All glory to God." But the third commandment in the Ten Commandments is "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Jacob is misusing the righteous and just name of God by saying, "God has taken your father’s livestock and given it to me."

When did God ever say to Jacob, "I will take Laban’s possessions and give them to you"? Never. God never does such things. If Jacob truly believed in God, he should have accepted the wages Laban set, no matter how many years it took to accumulate wealth. That is the life of a believer who trusts in God. If Jacob had lived as a faithful servant of God, accepting the life given to him in Laban’s house, Jacob’s story wouldn’t have taken 24 chapters to tell. But Jacob didn’t live that way. That’s why the Bible had to spend three chapters explaining his time in Laban’s house.

The second evidence that Jacob did not live by faith is found in Genesis 31:19, where it says, "When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods." Rachel, Jacob’s most beloved wife, whom he worked 14 years for without pay in order to marry, secretly stole her father’s household gods when leaving her father’s house.

What are these household gods? They are called teraphim, wooden figures about a cubit tall, carved into the shape of a human, and believed to be household deities that protect the home and bring wealth and fortune. If you’ve ever been to a Southeast Asian or Chinese restaurant, you may have seen a small shrine near the entrance with a figurine carved into it. The belief is that this figure will bring fortune and prosperity to the establishment. That’s what Rachel stole—her father’s household gods, which she believed would bring protection and fortune.

These teraphim eventually spread to Canaan and, by the time of the Judges, had become so widespread that they were not only considered household deities, but grew into full-fledged idols that opposed God. The one who introduced this practice was Rachel, the wife Jacob loved so much. Judges 17:4-6 says: "After he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make an idol. And it was placed in Micah’s house." Verse 5 continues: "Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest." Verse 6 concludes: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit."

A man named Micah from the tribe of Ephraim took two hundred shekels of silver and made a life-sized idol, which was a teraphim. He then set up a shrine to worship it, made an ephod, and installed his son as the priest. This man from the tribe of Ephraim, not a pagan, was worshiping teraphim as if it were God. It wasn’t a foreigner who did this. Why did this happen? Because there was no king in Israel at that time, so everyone did as they saw fit. What about now? The Word of God has been completed in the 66 books of the Bible, and there are pastors in every church who preach God’s Word. Yet, many believers do not serve God as their King but live according to what seems right to them. They think it’s better to read the Bible on their own and live their faith privately rather than attending a church that they find problematic or difficult. That’s why they don’t go to church—they’re living according to their own judgment, and yet they still call themselves Christians. "Christians who don’t attend church"—does that make any sense? That’s what Micah did. Because he didn’t acknowledge God as his King, he lived according to his own judgment, making teraphim, appointing his son as a priest, and setting up his own shrine, calling it a temple where he worshiped God. In Judges 18, the tribe of Dan sees what Micah did and becomes envious. They steal the idol, the teraphim, the ephod, and even Micah’s priest, then set up their own shrine and began offering sacrifices—not to God, but to the teraphim. This was the state of Israel at the time.

Only 300 years had passed since Joshua had conquered Canaan, and already Israel had fallen into complete spiritual corruption. If one does not acknowledge God as their King and serve Him, they will live like Micah or the tribe of Dan, following their own judgments. Likewise, if a believer today does not recognize God as King, they will end up living according to their own way of thinking, just like Micah and the tribe of Dan. Rachel firmly believed that the reason her father Laban had become wealthy in Haran was because of the teraphim, the household gods, which had protected and blessed him. So, as she was leaving her father’s house, she stole the teraphim, thinking they would protect and bring fortune to Jacob and their family.

Later, Jacob found out that Rachel had stolen the teraphim. What did Jacob do? If Jacob had even a small amount of faith in God, no matter how much he loved Rachel, he should have been furious with her and thrown the teraphim away. But Jacob, knowing about it, simply turned a blind eye. Even though Rachel stole the teraphim because she was a foreigner who didn’t originally know God, how are we to understand that Jacob, after seeing the stolen teraphim, simply ignored it? Can we really say that Jacob faithfully served God during his 20 years at Laban’s house? Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, the patriarch of faith, saw the teraphim and just pretended not to notice! The man who supposedly believed in God for three generations allowed idols into his house.

If Jacob had been serving only the Lord God, as he had vowed at Bethel, not only would he have stopped Rachel, but he should have gathered all 17 members of his family to instruct them in faith and devotion. If Jacob had regularly shared stories about God with his family, Rachel would never have even thought of stealing the teraphim, believing they were household gods that would protect her family. But Jacob was a man who only paid lip service to God, believing alone and ignoring his family. He never shared God with anyone—not with his family, not with his beloved Rachel, not with his children.

When Laban heard that Jacob had fled, he couldn’t just let it go. It wasn’t because Jacob was his son-in-law or because he loved him. If Jacob had run off by himself, Laban might have let him go with a simple “goodbye.” But Jacob had taken most of Laban’s wealth with him—along with his two daughters and 13 grandchildren. How could Laban just let that go? Genesis 31:23 says, "Taking his relatives with him, Laban pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead." Laban chased after Jacob for seven days, relentlessly day and night. Jacob was acting like a man who pretended to believe in God, but behind the scenes, he stole everything and ran. Laban couldn’t stand Jacob anymore and chased him down with all his might. But then, in Genesis 31:24, God came to Laban in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

Laban wasn’t a believer in God. He was furious and riding hard to catch Jacob and punish him. But then, some unknown God appeared in a dream and said, "Don’t touch Jacob. If you do, you’ll regret it." And Laban, despite his anger and determination, replied, "Yes, I understand."

Believers today hear the Word of God week after week, until their ears are practically clogged with it, and yet they still don’t live according to what God says. But Laban, who had never even heard of this God, after a single dream where God said, "Don’t touch Jacob, or else," obeyed without question. How did God appear to Laban that caused him to respond with "Yes, I understand"?

In Acts 7:2-3, we find Stephen’s final sermon: "To this he replied: 'Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. "Leave your country and your people," God said, "and go to the land I will show you."'" Abraham had lived in Ur of the Chaldeans for generations, but after a single word from God in a dream, he immediately gathered his things and left his homeland. What kind of God appeared to Abraham that caused him to pack up and leave everything behind?

The Bible says that "the God of glory" appeared to Abraham. We can’t even imagine what that must have looked like or the circumstances surrounding it. But Abraham must have felt that if he didn’t leave Ur of the Chaldeans immediately, this God would destroy not only him but his entire family, perhaps even the entire land of the Chaldeans. Fearing this, Abraham packed up and left.

Though the God who appeared to Laban wasn’t quite the "God of glory" who appeared to Abraham, He must have appeared in a similar way. God warned Laban, "Do not say anything to Jacob, either good or bad," and Laban had no choice but to obey. If God had appeared to Laban in the same glorious form as He did to Abraham, Laban would have followed Jacob all the way to Canaan.

How could Laban have possibly sent Jacob away peacefully? Yet, in Genesis 31:55, it says, "Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home." The man who had chased Jacob for seven days intending to kill him ended up blessing Jacob, his grandchildren, and his daughters before returning home.

May the God of glory, who appeared to Abraham, the same God who appeared to Laban in a dream, also appear to us, to our families, to our neighbors, and to our church. May He speak to us in such a way that we live with fear and reverence for Him. May we no longer live according to our own judgments, but according to the word of our King, God, and may we become believers who follow His Word. I bless you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.