Date: 18 August 2024, 9.30 am
Speaker: Ps Luwin Wong Sermon Text: Genesis 31:1-55
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TRANSCRIPT
There was a curious case last year of a man who was arrested at Suntec City for touching the head of a 4 year old boy. Weird thing to do, weird thing to get arrested for. I didn’t know it was an offence honestly. When I was 4 years old, and still looked cute, I remember that random aunties and uncles at coffeeshops and wet markets would pat me on the head, or pinch me on the cheeks, “aiyo, so cute!”. Apparently, you are not allowed to do that these days. Maybe you’re not allowed back then too, we just didn’t know.
The mom called the police, and Staff Sergeant Rosli came with his partner and two other police officers to apprehend Mr Mah.
4 policemen arrived on the scene to deal with a man who touched the head of a toddler. We certainly don’t fool around in Singapore. That is why our fine city is ranked #1 safest country for tourists.
But that’s not the weird part of the story. The police arrested Mr Mah, not for a crime he committed, but under the Mental Health Act. Which means to say, they apprehended him because they believed he was mentally unstable to the point where he posed a danger to society. For touching a kid’s head.
They handcuffed him, put him into a police car, brought him the Central Division's Lock-Up, and put him in a cell.
Mr Mah was then examined by a doctor that night, who referred him to the Institute of Mental Health for treatment, and he was moved to a padded cell.
At about 3am, Mr Mah was escorted to IMH, where a doctor attended to him at about 5am.
After observing Mr Mah for several hours, the doctors at IMH came to realise that he was not actually mentally ill, and there was no reason to detain him.
He was discharged from IMH at about 7pm.
Imagine being Mr Mah, put yourself in his shoes. Someone arrested you because they said you were insane. And you had to convince the authorities and the doctors that you are not, in fact, insane. How are you going to do that?
“I’m not insane!” Doctor scribbles on notebook, “Ah ha, exactly what an insane person would say. Check. Presenting symptoms are consistent with mental illness”.
So he was arrested one day, and then for the next 24 hours or so, was imprisoned because the police said he was insane, when he actually wasn’t. So he sued the police and was awarded $20,000 for wrongful imprisonment.
But there’s another twist to this tale, even though Mr Mah was wrongfully imprisoned, his total legal fees amounted to way more than his awarded damages. So he ended up losing $30k suing the police in the high court.
As one former Manchester united player, once said, “Life, isn’t fair. If it was fair, it’d be called fair. But it isn’t. It’s called life.” To be fair, he is football player.
But that’s the tough part about life under the sun. It doesn’t always treat you fairly.
And so in such situations, when you are misunderstood and treated unjustly by the powers that be, don’t you wish you had someone with you to defend you, to stand up for you, to provide for you, someone sees everything and always knows the truth, and in addition, has the authority to issue judgments between men? Wouldn’t that be nice?
Our text today tells us that the Christian has such a person with them. Our God is provider and protector. Our God watches everything, and judges justly between men. What a source of comfort for us who live in a fallen, and unfair world. To know we have such a God.
Let us pray, and we’ll get into the passage.
Heavenly Father, help us, by your Spirit, to see your faithfulness towards us in your providence and justice for your people. And help us then to simply trust, to lean on you and obey your will.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
GEN 31:1-3 1 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
The opening verses of the chapter introduces us to the key characters of the story, the problem, as well as the solution.
The characters are Laban and his sons, Jacob and the Lord. All three parties will be involved in the conflict and resolution that follows.
The problem is this: Laban not longer regarded Jacob with favor. Why? Because Jacob had grown rich from working for Laban. And Laban and his sons were envious of Jacob’s possessions. Not just envious, they feel entitled to it.
“Jacob has taken (not earned from, but taken) all that was our father’s, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.”
And as we know, family members and dispute over money rarely ends well, if ever at all. But from the outset, we know that this isn’t a fair assessment of the situation. Jacob didn’t “take” anything from Laban. Everything he had, he worked for it, he earned it, with toil and sweat.
And the Lord’s command to Jacob offers him a solution to the problem. Leave Laban, leave Paddan-aram and return to Canaan.
“Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
The promise that God will be with him, is not incidental, but essential to this command. Because as far as Jacob is concerned, Laban may be mean to him, but at least he’s not trying to kill him, he’s husband to both his daughters after all. He may be mistreated, but he is in no danger of being murdered.
Which is what potentially awaits him in the land of his kindred. His mother Rebekah have passed on. His kin in Canaan would include his brother Esau, who had threatened to kill him, which was why he’s in Paddan-aram in the first place.
Without God’s promise that He will be with Jacob, leaving Laban and returning to Canaan would be a foolish move to make. It’ll be a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In other words, Jacob is caught between a rock and a hard place. Life may be difficult in Paddan-aram, but at least his life is secure, and he has grown wealthy from it. But Canaan is unknown entity, he hasn’t been back in twenty years. He doesn’t know what’s in store for him there, except that the last time he was there, his brother had said he would kill him.
So, to obey God’s command requires trust that will be faithful to his word to be with him, that God has the power to protect him from Esau and to provide for him in Canaan. Jacob’s obedience to God’s command is not so much a calculated risk as it is an act of faith. That’s the first thing to note.
But his faith in God, his trust in God to protect and to provide is not based on empty hope or wishful thinking. Jacob faith, like ours today, is an evidence-based faith. We can trust God because God has given evidence that he is trustworthy.
And it is on the strength of this evidence that he seeks to persuade his wives to leave their land and kindred.
GEN 31:4-9 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
Jacob is in effect telling his wives, do not assume that because we are living in your father’s land, that it is your father who has been protecting and providing for us. In fact, it is quite the opposite.
Your father does not like me, and as a boss, he has attempted 10 times to cheat me of my wages. It has been God who was with me, God who has been protecting me from the schemes of Laban, God who has provided these wages for me.
If Laban said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. How is that possible? That’s not natural, it’s a miracle, an act of God. It was God, not Laban, who provided Jacob his wages.
And then Jacob gets to the point:
GEN 31:11-13 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”
See, see what God has given me, the livestock that we have. It is because God has seen what Laban has done to me.
And this God has told me to fulfil my vow to him, to go out from this land, and return to Canaan.
It is no easy thing, to make a life-changing decision to leave all they have known and go to an unknown land, but here is how his wives responded to him:
GEN 31:14-16 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”
They were convinced, they acknowledged that it is not their father who has been taking care of them and providing for them, it was God all along. So they decided to entrust themselves to God rather than their father.
Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”
So, convincing his wives to leave Laban was the first hurdle, which he successfully crossed. The next hurdle is actually leaving Laban. It’s not going to be easy, because remember, he is going to take with him, Laban’s daughters, his grandkids and a whole lot of livestock that Laban and his sons seem to think is really theirs.
GEN 31:17-18 17 So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.
See what Jacob is taking with him and notice the emphasis that it is his.
His sons, his wives, his livestock, his property that he had gained, the livestock that he had acquired. He is taking them all back to Canaan. And Laban will not be pleased.
GEN 31:19-21 19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods. 20 And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21 He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
So Jacob waited till Laban was away shearing his sheep, which might take a few days, and fled without his knowledge.
And this is how Laban reacted when he learnt about Jacob’s departure.
GEN 31:22-25 22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” 25 And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead.
You might not notice this on plain reading, but the author employs the vocabulary of a military engagement to describe Laban’s pursuit of Jacob.
Pursuing him, following close after him, overtaking him, and then pitching his tents opposite of him, all these are typical used to describe a battle scene.
It’s a common sight for the armies of two nations to draw up battlelines and pitch their tents across each other, awaiting the battle.
You could say that the situation between Laban and Jacob was intense.
The tension of the narrative, of course, was punctuated by God’s appearance to Laban in a dream: “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
Which is to say, don’t even think about harming Jacob.
But that doesn’t stop Laban from confronting Jacob.
GEN 31:19-21 26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly.
Oh please. Right, he pursued Laban for seven days because he wanted to throw a farewell party for them. Right. Give me a break.
And then he reveals his hand in the next verse.
29 It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?”
He came with the intention to harm Jacob, and would have done so, had God not intervened in a dream to warn him against it. See friends, how God protects his people.
But Laban had another concern, he has lost his gods. Imagine that, returning home one day and going, I can’t seem to find my gods. Did anyone see my gods? I last saw them on the table. Did someone steal my gods?
I mean, surely that should reveal something about the gods you worship. But his concern for his lost gods doesn’t just reveal the impotence of his religion, it also reveals to distinguish Laban from Jacob. Laban is not a worshipper of Yahweh, they do not share the same faith. Laban is not part of the covenant people of God.
Jacob’s response was to explain his secretive departure, and to protest his innocence.
GEN 31:31-32 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.”
Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
Jacob reveals Laban’s true intention, Laban chased him not simply to take back his gods, but take back what he believes belongs to him – “his” daughters, and we can assume as well, “his” livestock. All of which are not really his, they belong rightly to Jacob. It was God who thwarted Laban’s plan. The God who provided for Jacob also protects him.
Now Laban could not find his household gods in Jacob’s possession, because his daughter deceived him. And Jacob now goes on the offensive.
Having acquitted himself of Laban’s charges, he now counter-charges Laban.
GEN 31:36-41 36 Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban… 38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.
He says, everything that I have, your daughters and the livestock with me, I earned them. I worked 20 years for you. 14 for your two daughters and 6 for your flock. They rightly belong to me. You, on the other hand, have tried your level best to cheat me of my wages. 10 times you changed them. How dare you now come looking to take them back.
And he adds this:
GEN 31:42 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”
In other words, if God had not been with me, I would have been empty-handed. If God had not rebuked you in a dream last night, you would have harmed me.
God has been on my side, providing for me, and protecting me from your injustice.
Our God, my friends, is a provider and a protector of his people.
So if we are with him, doing his will, seeking his kingdom, then he is with us, and we need not be anxious about our provision.
MATT 6:28-33 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Our heavenly Father knows how to provide for his children.
I was in Thailand last weekend, as you know. And Somsart and his family was hosting me. And we spoke about the first time he met Hermonites. About 15 or so years ago. He said it’s hard to believe that it was so long ago. He still single, and now his kids are 11 and 9. And I asked about his finances and he says he all these years, he doesn’t know how he provides for his family. He does not get a regular salary, just some support here and there, and when he some open days in his calendar he will work at the gas station, pumping gas and cleaning cars for a bit of money. But he says on so many occasions, when needs a sum of money to pay the bills, his children school fees, etc. Somehow, just enough will come in. They don’t have much, but they have food to eat, they have clothes to wear, they have a roof over their heads.
If you asked him where his financial security is found, he only has one answer: God provides.
His testimony is not unique. Countless servants of God who have made it their life’s mission to seek first his kingdom, will testify to the faithful providence and protection of God in their lives.
Our heavenly Father provides for his people. He does not promise we will get what we want, but he does assure us he will give us what we need, he grants us daily bread. Our God provides.
Our God also watches and judges.
Now, after hearing Jacob recount that he had worked twenty years for his wives and livestock, Laban, against logic, continues to assert his claim on Jacob’s possessions.
GEN 31:43-50 43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine…
But he concedes that this stalemate is best resolved peacefully. So he asks to make a covenant with Jacob.
44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.”…he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”
Laban says that God is witness between him and Jacob. Even though they are out of one another’s sight, they are never out of God’s sight. God sees, God watches between Laban and Jacob, and God be witness between them.
Friends, we have a God who sees. We have a God who is witness to all that happens to us.
In times of trouble and distress and mistreatment and injustice, don’t we often hope that there is someone who sees the truth of the situation, who knows what happening to us. God does. God watches, God sees, God knows.
But knowing is one thing, we also want a person who can do something about it, to set the record straight, to establish justice.
And is who God is. This seeing, watching, all-knowing God is also the judge of mankind.
GEN 31:51-54 51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
God, who is witness to the affairs of men is also the judge of men.
What does this mean? Well, it means we ought to fear him. If he’s the judge, we better make sure we are on his good side. We ought to fear him, which is the name Jacob used to identify God – the Fear of Isaac.
It also means that we can entrust ourselves to him. In times when we are mistreated, misunderstood and misjudged, we can entrust our fate to God, for he sees all things, and judges all men.
We can have the confidence that God will balance the scales of justice finally and certainly.
That is what our Lord Jesus did.
1 PETER 2:19-23 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
In the face of injustice and mistreatment, Jesus did not seek revenge, but entrusted himself to his Father who judges justly.
He did so, Peter says, to leave us an example, that we might follow in his steps.
Life is not fair. Injustice is everywhere. We will be misunderstood by others. Mistreated by authorities with the power to harm us. But we are not alone. We have the assurance that someone is with us, and knows our afflictions and he will deliver the final just judgment.
But let us bear in mind the example of Christ. Who walked willingly to the cross to suffer an ignoble, unjust death. But who was raised to life again, and is given the name above all names.
God the righteous judge will always vindicate and reward the faithful.
May that be of comfort to us as we journey as pilgrims in a fallen world that is not our home, until we come into the ultimate Canaan, where we will dwell with God in a kingdom of righteousness forevermore.
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