(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. Right, Genesis chapter 30 now, and I'll just remind you where we were in the last chapter. Jacob arrived in Haran, if you remember, to find a well with a stone rolled over it and a load of sheep waiting to be watered. He'd gone on a long journey and eventually Rachel arrived with her father Laban's sheep and Jacob rolled the stone away and watered the sheep. It was a picture of the resurrection providing access to the word of God and we looked at how its belief in that resurrection that provides access to it. Jacob described himself as Laban's brother and we looked at that and how it's a loving title really, being a brother or sister in Christ. Laban ran to meet him and refused to let him serve him for nothing with Jacob saying that he would work for seven years for his younger daughter Rachel. We looked at how he approached Laban, not Rachel, and the decision was in Laban's hands, also how he was willing to work for a wife as well. But then it all went a bit downhill for Jacob, didn't it, with Laban tricking him and under the cover of darkness and perhaps the cover of a veil too. We kind of mused at least. He gave Jacob Rachel's tender-eyed sister Leah instead, which is how she is described, which was a sort of comeuppance for Jacob after Esau and the blessing being basically the deception and the stealing of that. He complains to Laban who says that it's not custom to give the younger daughter. I only decided to tell him that after the point. And then basically another seven years work will secure Rachel too, is what the agreement was. Now where Leah was hated, God opens her womb but Rachel was barren. Leah ends up birthing Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah and then prays God for having been blessed by him. It said in verse 32 there of Genesis 29, And Leah conceived and bare a son and she called his name Reuben, for she said, Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction, now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again and bare a son and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me the son also, and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again and bare a son and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons. Therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again and bare a son and she said, Now will I praise the Lord, therefore she called his name Judah and left bearing. And then Genesis 13 verse 1 starts with, And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said unto Jacob, Give me children or else I die. I'm going to pray before we get going with this chapter. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for all the lessons we can get out of this chapter, Lord, and the ones that I've chosen to expand on. Please just fill me with your spirit now, Lord. I need your help to preach tonight. Just help me to have energy and just help everyone here. Also to just stay alert, stay just focused on what your word is saying, Lord. And fill us all with your spirit, please. In Jesus' name, pray this Amen. So we've got this messed up situation where Jacob is married to these two sisters. So if you remember from last week, he got Condyn to the first one. He loved Rachel, got Condyn to marry Leah. So he then said, Well, I'll work another seven years for Rachel after having been tricked and given Leah as a wife. Leah, though, was blessed with children, having been the hated of the two, but Rachel has been unable to conceive. Now, what was the result of all of this? Well, Rachel envied her sister. And we're going to look at envy briefly because it is a powerful emotion, isn't it? Really powerful emotion. Turn to Proverbs chapter 14. The envy is eating her up so much that she seems suicidal. We just saw her say, Give me children or else I die. That's what she said. Give me children or else I die. And it's one thing for someone who's having trouble conceiving to be upset, emotional, to have that longing for a baby. And look, there's some heartache out there. There's some hard situations for people out there. But add the envy into the mix and it all seems to get a lot worse, doesn't it? So it's one thing to be upset, to long for children. It's another thing when you start envying other people because it's such a powerful, it's really such a dangerous and just a destructive emotion. And we see in Proverbs 14.30, it says this, A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones. It said a sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones. So envy will eat you up. It will affect your health as well. It will make you sick. It will make you ill. It will make you get ill. You know, a sound heart, someone with their emotions in check, without the bitterness that goes with envy, without the stress to the body, aids good health, doesn't it? When you're happy, when you're joyful, when you have a sound heart, when you have your emotions in check, you're generally going to be more healthy as well. I don't know, if you come across people that are just very stressed, they just seem very unwell a lot, don't they, as well? They get ill a lot. And not just kind of the bugs going around all the time. It starts to lead into chronic illness as well, doesn't it? A lot of people that have very high stress, you know, situation in life will get sick and ill afterwards. You know, many times you might have heard of situations where maybe someone passes away, sadly, and the stress to the spouse ends up with them usually following not a long time after, very often. Not all the time, but very often, right? And stress and not having a sound heart is obviously a big problem. It really affects us. It's known to be a massive factor in many chronic illnesses, stresses. But a sound heart is the opposite to that. And envy isn't a sound heart, okay? Like I said, it eats people up, doesn't it? It consumes people. I've been around people that are very envious and it consumes them. And it's hard, it's hard seeing that in people, isn't it, as well? Because you just see the envy in them for someone, for whoever it is, and it's really hard to deal with. It makes their bones rotten, it's said here. Envy the rottenness of the bones. And something you need to do, I think, and for all of us here, look. Envy, we could all and will all get envious at times in life. You need to recognise when you're being envious. That's something you need to get on top of. You need to recognise when it's envy. Because I think what happens many times is people will be dishonest with themselves and then blame the hatred that goes with envy on something else. So instead of just saying, yeah, man, I just really envy that person, instead they just end up hating that person. They hate them for something else. For example, this is an example I thought about, that maybe I've grown up hearing people talk about this a lot. You'll hear people say this term in this country a lot, oh, those silver spoon posh people, or those spoilt brats. And people just have a kind of hatred for people with money a lot of the time, don't they? And a lot of the time it's not really because that person's really probably done anything wrong. A lot of the time it's just because they envy them. But then instead of going, I just wish I had that money, I wish I had that upbringing, I wish I had those chances and those opportunities in life. Instead they'll just hate on them for apparently being silver spoon. This is a term they used to use as if they've just been given it all from young. Or they just envy them, but instead of saying they envy them, they hate them because they're actually just a spoilt brat. But maybe a lot of the time they probably haven't been, maybe in comparison to others. But that's one thing you hear people say. Another one is when people envy someone. For example, they might envy someone's job in the workplace, so then what they do is they're just critical of everything they do. So instead of saying, I just really envy them, I really wish I had their job, they just end up criticising everything they do in their job. They just criticise everything, they're doing it all wrong. Look how useless they are, this and that, but really it's just because they envy their job. And I think a lot of the time people just aren't honest about it. We spoke about it on Sunday. People envy someone's perceived life, but really they have little clue about the reality of the life. And a lot of the time envy is an emotion, which a lot of the time goes with a bit of blindness as well. You envy what you perceive, but you don't really know the truth. People envy their life, envy their so-called opportunities, envy whatever it is they think they have that they wish they had, but they don't understand anything else. And it doesn't just stop at envy. Turn to Proverbs 27, because envy can lead to crazy behaviour. So it's not that they're just eating up with envy. Envy then is a catalyst for worse. Proverbs 27 and verse 4 says this, Proverbs 27, 4. Wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, but who is able to stand before envy? Now wrath and anger are powerful emotions, aren't they? If you come up against an angry wrathful guy, who knows what might happen. You prefer not to deal with people when they're angry and wrathful. You prefer to deal with people when they're calm and you can have probably a rational, calmer discussion, but even worse is someone envious. The lengths envious people will go to. It's amazing sometimes. The slander, defamation, theft, robbery, a lot of that comes from envy, doesn't it? And even murder. People will go as far as murder and all sorts of just crazy things because of envy, because they're eaten up with envy. But like I said, they don't often admit that they're eaten up with envy. They just find a way of blaming the person that they're envious of. Now it is a characteristic of the reprobate. You don't have to turn to Romans 1.29 says that they're full of envy, but it can affect all of us at times. Like many things on that list, they're full of it. However, we can all be envious at times. Now if you're full of envy, that's a bit more concerning. But we can all get envious, which is what happened with Rachel back in Genesis 30. She envied her sister Leah. She envied the tender-eyed Leah, the sister that wasn't beautiful and well-favoured, because she had something else that she didn't have. So she didn't think about all that stuff. She was just envious of her because she had the children and she didn't. It said in verse 1, When Rachel saw that she begged Jacob and I children, Rachel envied her sister and said unto Jacob, Give me children or else I die. The envy was so strong that she was suicidal. I mean, that's some pretty strong envy, isn't it? And of course, that went hand in hand with wanting the children as well, the desperation for them. Verse 2 says, And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's stead? Who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? So it does seem like she's blaming him, the way she said, Give me children or else I die. And it's interesting, by the way, that Sarah, Rebekah and now Rachel all had trouble with this. You notice that? So all three here, as we're going through the fathers of the faith, all their wives had trouble with bearing. Yet with all three, God eventually came through for them. And often when we go through a trial and see God act, it does strengthen our faith, doesn't it? And something to remember, when you go through something, a lot of the time eventually you'll benefit from that because you'll see God work, you'll see God come through, and it should strengthen you at the end. But here, you know, obviously it's a hard thing to go through at the time. When you're in the middle of it, it's hard, isn't it? When you're in the middle of a trial, when you're in the middle of some problem, it can be really difficult. And Rachel is in a bad situation here for her. Jacob's getting angry, he's saying, It's not my fault. And although we didn't see it described as God making her barren, Genesis 29, 31 said, And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb. So that's something he did, but Rachel was barren. He could have opened her womb, though, couldn't he? God is able to do that, that's what ultimately needs to happen. But he hadn't done so at this point. So Rachel, in the grip of envy and desperation, she does something really bizarre now. Like I said, envy then leads on to bizarre things that people do. Verse 3 said, And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah! Going unto her, and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And that's the fruits of envy, right? Irrational decision-making, doing things that the same person wouldn't do that. Someone who's got their emotions in check isn't going to go, Right, take my handmaid, have a baby with her, and that somehow means that I'm bearing you a child. I mean, it's just bizarre, isn't it? But again, she's not in her right mind because she's gripped by envy. What should Jacob have done? He should have said, No way, right? He should have said, No way, what are you talking about? I've already got one too many wives, OK? We've already gone down the wrong route here. What on earth? I'm going to take a third wife now so you can feel like you're somehow having a baby through your handmaid. What are you talking about? Your crazy woman maybe should have shaken her a bit and slapped her about. I'm kidding her. But he should have at least tried to sober her up a bit. What are you doing, right? OK, but instead he yields. It says in verse 4, And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife, and Jacob went and unto her. And Bilhah had conceived and bared Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son, therefore called she his name, Dan. Now, Dan means a judge. So she's still talking crazy, OK? The crazy talk is just continuing. And now we've got a third wife added to the mix as well. So this kind of, like we talked about last week, this sort of Jerry Springer show is just kind of continuing, right? It's getting even more extreme, all right? And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again. So he's given her, like, oh, now I'm going to conceive of her, but now she's conceiving again. So this wasn't, like, a one-off thing now. Now he's kind of got his third wife on the go. And bared Jacob a second son. Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali. Now, the only thing that she prevailed in was causing more problems further down the line. I mean, what on earth, right? Now they've got a third wife in the mix. The whole thing is just a mess. I mean, how she prevailed against her sister, I mean, just complete craziness, right? And again, because of the envy, and she's just not in her right mind at all. Naphtali, by the way, means wrestling. And what this does do, because it doesn't just cause problems, you know, you can imagine, I'm sure there are all sorts of issues that we just were never covered in the Bible from having now, now at this point, a third wife. We're going to see what happens in a minute, because what it does also do is it then sets Leah off. So, having done this, it says in verse 9, When Leah saw that she had left Bering, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. I mean, it gets even crazier. And Zilpah Leah's maid bared Jacob a son, and Leah said, A troop cometh, and she called his name Gad. Gad means a band or a troop. And Zilpah Leah's maid bared Jacob a second son. So again, that didn't just stop there. It's like, oh, right, let's get another one on the go then. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed, and she called his name Asher. Asher meaning happy. Now, you can read this, and I think you can skim read this and just think, well, you know, that just must have been the way they were, right? It's a cultural thing. They just kind of, you know, get their hand made in and they somehow think that they've bared, but no, that's not what's happened here. What's going on is, for me, it just shows how easily a little folly spreads. That's what we're seeing here, and when I say a little folly, it was a lot of folly, right? But it just shows how that folly just spread now to someone who wasn't gripped by envy, or maybe she got envious with a couple of children coming along by Bilhar. I mean, what on earth, right? But whatever happened, she's seen her do it, and now she's doing the same thing. Someone does something crazy, it gets validated, and then someone else does the same bit. And why? Because we are easily led, believe it or not. Every single person here is easily led to some degree, because you get these people calling the masses. You would have heard it a lot during Covid, the sheeple. Everyone heard that name before you, talking about the sheeple? Oh, the sheeple again, you know, the sheeple are just going and lining up for their jabs, or the sheeple are, you know, all putting their masks on, or whatever, you know, the time. And people use it over lots of things, don't they? Acting as if they're just so free-thinking. But the reality of it is that we're all easily led to some degree. It just depends who you're led by. And that's the truth. We all get led because we all are sheep. And it's just, you know, obviously there's a difference in who... You know, there is a big difference depending on who you're led by. Because if it's not the liberal mainstream, and don't get me wrong, you know, I think there are levels to this, you're probably much better off to not be led by the liberal mainstream, OK? However, it's kind of one alternative or the other that is usually full of lies too, yeah? People just kind of... They're not led by the liberal mainstream. A lot of the time they'll just find someone else, some sort of, you know, guru or something to lead them. Turn to John chapter 10. The New Age bunch always think that they're so free-thinking. Have you ever noticed? You talk to these sorts of guys like, well, I'm just a bit more free-thinking, I just believe that God is a... God is a kind of whatever, a higher power, spirit, something else. It's like, well, you got that from someone else. You didn't just come up with your own idea. You've just been led by someone else, you idiot. You know, but you think that you're somehow this free-thinking person. The ultra-conspiracy theorists always think that they're so free-thinking, don't they? So the ones are all the way out there. They're like, you know, I'm just free-thinking, man, you know, I just work it all out myself. But what are they usually doing? They're usually just following someone else. It's usually just someone else they're just getting all their information of. And so many of these guys who do their old, you know, the classic kind of do-your-own-research sort of, you know, mantra and everything else, a lot of the time they haven't done any research, they just watched a YouTube video. And now they think that they've done their research. Now, what's the answer? The answer is to be led by the right shepherd, by the good shepherd that giveth his life for the sheep and take everything else with a pretty large pinch of salt. That's what we should do, right? That's the trick, because we are sheep. You just want to be led by the right shepherd. John chapter 10 and verse 11 says, this is Jesus Christ speaking, he said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, but he that is an hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. So, you know, an example, for example, big farmer doesn't care for you, believe it or not, you know, some people are kind of on the other side with this, they just think, well, if it comes from the pharmaceutical companies, it must be, they must care for us, right? I mean, it's just all these lovely charitable people up there, right? You know, who just happen to be becoming multi-billionaires at the same time, they must care for you, right? But at the same time, Alex Jones doesn't care for you either. He's not sitting there going, I just really want to help the people, he's just making money on the other side. And whatever the versions, I don't know, you know, David Icahn, I mean, that guy definitely doesn't care for you, that guy's a devil all day long, isn't he? And so, I mean, that guy is a full-on wreck for value, didn't he call himself Jesus Christ or something? But people will listen to clowns like that, and think, well, he just cares about getting the truth out to the people. No, he just uses a little bit of truth to wash down all his poison. And this is how these guys work, right? Rishi Sunak doesn't care for you, but then neither does Elon Musk. Neither does the guy with his so-called government papers on his YouTube video. You know, they don't care for you. And whether it's small-scale and they're just trying to get themselves a name and trying to get some sort of attention and maybe even get some clicks on their channel or something else, the reality of it is that you can't really trust any of these people. You can't trust any of them. The best thing that we can do is accept that we're sheep and that we need a good shepherd to lead us. That's the best thing we can do, right? Don't get too high and mighty and think, no, no, no, I'm not led at all. Everyone's led, all right? But we just need to be led by the good shepherd. Verse 14 says in this Jesus Christ, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. That's the only good shepherd out there, okay? He is a good shepherd, and he guides us through his word, okay? The only absolute truth out there, okay? That's how we're led, we're led through the word of God, we're led by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only one you really want to be led by, isn't it? Now turn to Hebrews 13, Proverbs 30 and verse 5, you're turning to Hebrews 13, Proverbs 30 and verse 5 says, every word of God is pure. You can trust this King James Bible. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. And his word, for example, doesn't tell us to marry multiple wives, does it? From as early as Genesis 2, 24, it says, therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, I shall cleave unto his wife, that's a singular, and they, plural, shall be one flesh. Okay? That's what the word of God tells us to do. And the word of God didn't tell anyone to be going and getting multiple wives. And a good thing to remember around other believers, okay, is to be led by the word of God. Not what so and so does, because this is what we've just seen in Genesis. They've been led by what... that's what I see. I see Leah looking at what Rachel's done with Bilhah and Leah is going, okay, well, I might do the same thing as that then. And people do that, don't they? People do that around churches. They see how so and so or whoever does something and then they just go, well, that must be okay because they do it. And then a lot of the time that's how crazy stuff starts happening and you start to get sort of a trend of something in a church, for example. I don't think we really have that now, but we did have that, didn't we? We had crazy stuff being pushed upon people and people just thinking, well, they get ten salvations every time they're outsold and they must be right. I mean, I'm going to follow that person because everything they say is with like a praise God and holy this and holy that and people get conned by it, don't they? And that happens all over. People, they get conned, they get... and this is how sometimes people operate is they lift themselves up in a group and then they just start doing slightly crazier and more ungodly stuff and the group start following them. And you've got to be careful not to do that, okay? Because just because you're in church, you say, well, so and so, they're three to thrive, you know, wear a tie every time they come in. They must be right. I'll just do whatever they do. I'll just parent how they parent. I'll just act like them. I'll just... my spare time will be spent doing whatever hobbies they do because they must be okay. Well, that's not right, okay? That's not what we should do. Now, look, people are often led by example, okay? And that can be okay as long as the example is in line with the Word of God, okay? So that's something we have to be careful for. The example that we're being led by has to be in line with the Word of God. And Hebrews 13 where you've turned to in verse 7 says this. Remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the Word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. So it's not a blind following, agreed? Okay, we don't ask for blind following here of what we do and what we teach in this church. It's with consideration to their behaviour and that's to be judged by what? The Word of God. It's to be judged by the light of God's Word. So it's fine to follow an example as long as the example is in line with the Word of God, right? That's why we constantly tell you in this church, and other good churches do the same, to read and study your Bibles. You have to read and study your Bibles. And you say it and you can sit here and go, well, people are coming to church, they're going out sowing. I mean, of course they read and study their Bibles. Wrong! Wrong! Sadly, in a church like ours there'll be many people that are slack on their Bible reading. There'll be many people that will listen instead, will choose to listen to sermons and not read their Bible. And nothing wrong, look, listen to some good sermons out there, as long as they're good preachers and they're men of God. But the Bible reading comes first. You have to read your Bible, you have to learn to study it yourself and be able to learn yourself and not have to hang off what anyone else says. Don't hang off what I say, hang off what the Word of God says, right? But Jacob, he had the rule over them, didn't he? So it said here, remember them which have the rule over you. Okay, he had the rule over them, he was the man here, wasn't he? He was the husband and he was being influenced into crazy decisions, wasn't he? So he wasn't leading properly. However, we look at stories like this and we laugh and we joke and we go, what on earth are they doing and everything else? In all of their defense, they didn't have the indwelling Holy Spirit in a complete written Word like we do, did they? Okay, they didn't have what we've been given. These people didn't have any of that. I mean, at this point, my thoughts are probably the oral word was being handed down but they didn't have the written complete Bible, did they? So they were dealing with a lot less. Now, yes, God spoke to them, okay? However, they couldn't just go, right, what does the Word of God say about this? And we can, with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth as well. Now, they didn't have that. And here's the thing, though, for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required. So we've been given all of that, therefore, our standards should be much higher than these people. And don't look at this stuff and go, well, so a few wives, you know, probably not that bad then. You know, well, get the handmaids in as well and, you know, turn it into a harem. No, there's a lot more expected of us. And it's a big book is no excuse either. I mean, you know, what should be the answer to... Because it is a big book, right? It's not like that clown Quran, it's not like many other books. This is a big book, isn't it? It is a meaty book and there's a lot in here. And what should be the answer? Well, all the more reason to read it more, isn't there? It's a big book, so it needs reading more. It needs memorizing more. It means coming to church more to hear it preached. It means you need to get to grips with it more because it's such a big book and there's so much in there. It's not like, oh, this is so big. I mean, I'm only going to, you know, scratch the surface. I might as well not bother. No, that should inspire you to do more, right? Back in Genesis 30, the drama continues, said in verse 14. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. Now, these are known as love plants or love apples as well. I think they seem to be aphrodisiacs, apparently bearing some kind of yellow, small-sized apple fruit, which apparently is quite agreeable to smell and to eat. Now, just remember that Reuben was the first son by Leah, so I don't know. There have been a few more sons from Leah and two each from the handmaids, so I'm guessing he's probably around double digits now. But Rachel wants some of these mandrakes, OK? It says in verse 15. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? And wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. So it seems like Jacob is being passed around by these women, OK, sold for some mandrakes. And I mean, this guy is... I mean, it gets worse and worse, doesn't it? I don't know what's going on with his family here, but... Verse 16, it says, Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, Thou must come in unto me, for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. So it didn't take much persuading, did it? And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bared Jacob the fifth son. So that's the fifth from Leah, aside from the four sons from the handmaids. And just the point there, you go, like, what's up with Jacob? What's up with his leadership here? He's just literally getting kind of hired out and stuff. Well, you know, one of the issues here is he's got multiple wives. He's got multiple wives that he's probably trying to keep happy with the envy, with the issues, with the problems, and he's just, like, folding like a cheap deck of cards, isn't he? If there's anything they ask and say, he's just doing it because he's just probably trying to keep the peace because it's so hard to have any peace. I mean, what an absolute mess, right? And again, I'll just say that because I know, you know, at least in our probably day and age, some people would imagine that this is a great situation to be in. Believe me, it's not, okay? This is the worst situation you could be in with four wives competing and everything else. What an absolute headache it must be and just what a stress and everything else. Well, okay, it says, so he lay with her that night and God hearkened unto Leah and she conceived a bear, Jacob, the fifth son. Now, that's the fifth from Leah, by the way, not the fifth son total, aside from the four sons from the handmaids as well. And Leah said, God had given me my hire because I have given my maiden to my husband and she called his name Issachar. Issachar meaning horror or reward. And Leah conceived again a bear, Jacob, the sixth son. And Leah said, God had endued me with a good dowry. Now will my husband dwell with me because I have borne him six sons and she called his name Zebulun, meaning dwelling or habitation. And after, she bare a daughter and called her name Dina because she was hungry and it was after lunch. No, no, I'm kidding. Dina meaning judged or acquitted. And verse 22, God remembered Rachel and God hearkened to her and opened her womb and she conceived and bare a son and said, God hath taken away my reproach and she called his name Joseph and said, the Lord shall add to me another son. Now, Joseph means increased tradition. So God did come through for her in the end, didn't he? He said here, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb. He hearkened to her, which means what? She's clearly been praying, isn't she? She's been calling out to God, he's hearkened to her. He's heard and responded and it took a while, but he has come through in the end, hasn't he? And, you know, just another reminder there that, look, don't stop praying, right? You've got sometimes you can have issues and problems and you think, well, I prayed once and nothing happened, time to move on. I get the feeling she prayed for a long time here. I mean, we're however many, eight, nine or whatever, sons later and Dina as well. There's been a lot of praying, right? And a lot of time gone by. I mean, probably it's the best part of the 14 years now that she's been barren and then eventually God's blessed her with a child. And you can imagine how absolutely blessed she must have felt, right? Now, we're up to 11 of the... Sorry, it's 11... He's the 11th, 11 of the 12 sons. And Benjamin is to come later with... And then we've seen there's one daughter, Dina, as well. Verse 25 says, And it came to pass where Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go, for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry, for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. So Jacob is saying that it's time to move on there, okay? At this point, he served him for at least 14 years. Now, in Genesis 31, just flick over there quickly in verse 41. Jacob says to Laban in Genesis 31, 41, Thus have I been 20 years in thy house. I served thee 14 years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle, and thou hast changed my wages ten times. So the six years likely being between now and then, I think, okay? At that point where he's saying that. So that's to follow when we see what happens with the cattle. So at this point, I think we're up to 14 years. But Laban wants him to stay because of the blessing that he's received due to Jacob. Okay, so he's been blessed in his, you know, and ultimately in his business, okay, as, you know, a farmer, due to Jacob. And that should be the testimony of most employers out there, shouldn't it, that has a Bible-believing man of God for an employee, okay? That should be, at least, depending on the line of work and depending on how long you're there, that should be the sort of testimony that we would hope. Turn to Colossians chapter 3, because some might say, well, I'm not that good at my job, though, or I'm not particularly skilled, or I don't get on with my worldly colleagues that well, you know? It's just the way it is. That's why they don't like me in the workplace. But when you work, you should work as unto the Lord, okay? You should put in maximum effort in everything you do. Ecclesiastes 9-10 says, whatsoever, your turn to Colossians 3, but Ecclesiastes 9-10 says, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest. So there's one go at life here, isn't there? You've got one go at this vapour of a life. Work your backside off, yeah? Work your backside off, and not just for the spiritual things, also in your work life. Work hard, yeah? Do your job properly, do it diligently, work hard. You've got one go at it. You don't want to look back in years to come and think, you know, well I did alright with this and that, I was a bit of a slack, lazy worker. We should work as unto the Lord, right? In everything that we do. Mums running the home should be working as unto the Lord. Yeah, you should be working as if Jesus Christ is about to walk in and eat that meal you've cooked. Jesus Christ is about to walk in and run his finger along the surfaces like I do every time I've... Don't do that, guys. What is this? But that's how a mum should work. And I understand that it can be hard, right? But they should, right? Kids with their schoolwork, right? They should be working as unto God. Because, look, if you work harder at school, kids, and there's only a couple in here tonight because everyone else is sick, I've got one sneaking at the back there as well. If you're working hard at your schoolwork, ultimately what are you going to be able to do? In the future, you'll hopefully be able to get a good enough job to be able to provide for your family and have your kids homeschooled. You'll be able to have a good enough job to be able to serve God and have time to be able to do things for God, to be able to go places, you know, and just do all the things that you're able to do if you have, like, a job that can provide for that, right? You need to work hard. You need to work hard, and regardless of any of that, you need to work hard because God tells you to. Because everything you do should be as unto the Lord, right? Colossians 3.17 says this, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. So whatever you do, and here's the thing is that, yeah, the majority of my job might be doing relatively spiritual things, but every single person here, when you're in your secular job, you're still working for God. You're still ultimately working for God as much as someone else is who's writing sermons and running a church. It's all for the Lord, right? Everything we do, really, we should be working as unto the Lord. That's the ministry you're in at that point, right? And he said in verse 22 there, Servants, so that's employees, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-services, men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fear and God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. So whatever you're doing. So if you're a kid doing chores at home, if you're a man running a business, yeah, whatever, you do it with some effort as if God has asked you himself to do it. That's how we should work. And if we get that mentality, what a great worker we're then going to be in everything we do. And here's the thing is then, what a great thing is you're always going to have the Lord in your mind as well. So then that should help you with many other areas and help you with avoiding pitfalls and temptations to sin and everything else because you're focusing on everything you're doing working to the Lord. That would be a great mentality to be able to continuously be in, wouldn't it? And think how much better your day-to-day work life would be in whatever area it is. Think how much better you'd be doing things if you really focused on the fact that God's watching you, his eyes are everywhere, in every place beholding the evil and the good. His eyes, he's watching you and you're working for him. And how much better would you really do, how much better would you do a job if he was actually in the flesh standing over you while you're working? How much better would you kids do your schoolwork if the Lord Jesus Christ was standing over you watching you doing your work? How much neater would you do it? How much more effort would you put in? Men, how much better would we be in the workplace? How much more punctual would we be? How much more time would we put into everything we're doing? How much more diligent would we be with our work? That's how we should think, shouldn't we? And now we're all going to fail at that at times, but that's a benchmark, isn't it? And it said in verse 24, knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. And I believe alongside that, and obviously there's the inheritance, there's the fact that ultimately you're saved. That's enough, isn't it? But there are rewards you can earn. And I believe that there are even eternal rewards for working hard in your secular job, in your chores and everything else. I believe that there are rewards. I will only get rewards for soul winning. No, you get rewards for just serving the Lord and you serve the Lord when you go to work. You serve the Lord, kids, when you're doing your schoolwork, when you're studying. You serve the Lord, ladies, when you're providing in the home, when you're running your house, when you're doing many things at home. We're all serving God in our day-to-day lives because everything we're doing is as unto the Lord. So here's a great way to rack up some rewards is just be diligent in everything you do in your day-to-day work, right? He said, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done and there is no respect of persons. So it doesn't matter who you are, you slack on the job, you steal from your employer, from your customer, people out there in the workplace, if you're self-employed, you'll receive for that from the Lord as well. Oh, well, it's all right because I avoided that sin, I avoided, you know, whatever it is. It doesn't matter, I went soul winning, but I'm going to work and I'm slacking and I'm basically getting paid for nothing and I'm turning up late and I'm leaving early and I'm basically stealing from my employer. How do you think God looks at that? When you're working as unto the Lord. Sounds like you're going to get some chastisement for that, right? And there's no respect of person. Oh, well, it's okay because I've got 20 salvations down the road in Southend. So, you know, I'm not going to get... No, there's no respect of person. It doesn't matter who you think you are, if you're slacking, if you're basically... because it's sinning really, isn't it? You're stealing from your employer, you're slacking on the job, you're taking time from him at the least, I think you're going to receive for the wrong which you've done and there is no respect of persons. Well, Jacob, though, is a good example in this area. He's clearly a hard worker, isn't he? And that's why Laban was blessed. So, verse 27, it said, And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry, for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And that's a great testimony to have, isn't it? Whether your boss is the good or thrower who have stitched you up and given you the wrong wife. I mean, he's even worked hard for him. I was talking about this with someone earlier, because sometimes you can have some pretty hard stuff with your boss at work, can't you? It's not like they're all just going to be like, oh, you're just such an amazing worker. Sometimes they'll persecute you. Sometimes you're going to have some rough times at work, sometimes they're going to hate on you for maybe standing on your faith or something else. But we need to work even harder, and Jacob's a great example here, where Jacob, I mean, I don't know if any of us have had our bosses kind of sneak in a dodgy-eyed wife under the cover of darkness. And Jacob still worked hard, didn't he? And he still worked hard, and he still became a blessing to him. So it's a good example for us, isn't it? It was said in verse 27, and Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry, and he's basically, wait, stay here working, for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. So this is Laban talking, okay? He's saying, appoint me thy wages, say what you want to get paid, and I'm going to give it to you. And he said unto him, thou knowest how I have served thee, this is now Jacob talking, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude. And the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming, and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? So he's agreeing that the Lord has blessed Laban since his working for him, but remember he's got his four wives, eleven sons, and one daughter to provide for you. He's got a big old family there, right? So he's saying, well, look, how am I going to provide for my family, okay? And ultimately he's saying in the future as well, it's like, look, I can't just, I've done all this, I've built your business and everything else, I can't just leave with nothing when I do leave, okay? And he said, what shall I give thee? And Jacob said, thou shalt not give me anything, if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock. I will pass through all thy flock today, removed from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle and all the brown cattle among the sheep and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come from my hire before thy face. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. So he's saying that he will take all of the spotted and speckled cattle and goats and the brown sheep as payment for looking after Laban's flock, okay? Pretty clear there. So he's saying, that's going to be my payment, I'm going to get those ones, so I'd imagine those that aren't speckled and spotted, the sheep that don't have, you know, that don't have any brown in them or anything else will be left for Laban, okay? And Laban said, behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he-goats that were ring-straked, which is circular streaks or lines, and spotted and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted and every one that had some white in it and all the brown among the sheep and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. Now, I might be wrong here, however, it looks as though Laban has done a dirty move here. This is Laban doing a dirty move on Jacob. The he is Laban, for me, and Laban said, behold, I would it might be according to thy word, and he removed that day, remember, he said, I'm going to take all of those and he removes them all. The he-goats that were ring-straked and spotted and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted and every one that had some white in it and all the brown among the sheep and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. So he's basically, just all those ones that he said, like, these are all going to be mine, he's just taken them away. I mean, this Laban is dodgy as anything, isn't he, right? And Laban, because you're going, well, wait a sec, didn't it say his sons? Yeah, Laban's got sons too. And probably much older than, I mean, Jacob's sons at this point, for me, I mean, I can't even be 14, the elder, I don't think Ruben could have been 14, because he served for seven years and was given Leah, so at this point I don't even think he's up to that age, because if I'm right, he served seven years before he's given Leah, then the first son, so, I mean, he's had them all quite close, because he's had obviously the handmaids as well, so I'm sure they're bearing at the same time as well. But for me, they're kind of under, they're like seven years plus at this point, there's like some close together ages and everything else, lots of children born at the same time and stuff with the handmaids as well. Maybe not, maybe, it looks to me like that, or at least it's not very long now at this point anyway. So, have a look at Genesis 31 just to show that, because it says in verse 1, And he heard the words, Genesis 31, 1, he heard the words of Laban's son, saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our fathers, and of that which was our fathers has he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, behold it's not toward him as before. So Laban's got sons as well, right, okay, who are obviously outspoken here as well. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father has been with me, and you know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God suffered him not to hurt me. So perhaps one of those talking about here, where he agreed for the speckled, and Laban seems to remove them. I think that's what we've just seen there. So verse 34, let's look at it again, it's said in Genesis 31, Genesis 30, sorry, Genesis 30 and verse 34, And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word, and he removed that day the he goats that was ring-streaked and spotted, and all the she goats that was speckled and spotted, and every one that had some whiten it, and all the brown among the sheep, gave them into the hand of his sons, and he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. So what was Jacob's response to this? And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree, and peeled, which is I think just a way of saying peeled, white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks, in the gutters, in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. So this is some sort of farmer's sort of tricks or something here, where the peeled streaks of white, this is what I believe it's doing, is encouraging breeding. So he's encouraging breeding. Now maybe he's creating some sort of funnel system too, to keep them in close proximity when they're watering. So I think maybe he's keeping them very close quarters when they're coming to water, so they're on top of each other, they're close to each other, so he's encouraging breeding. He said, and the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle, rings, strakes, speckled and spotted. Now, what I think, and I've heard people I'm sure in the past talk about, well this is some way of getting them to be speckled and spotted, rings, strakes. I mean that would be some sort of magic trick. I don't think that's what we're seeing here. I think the fact that they bring forth rings, strakes, speckled and spotted is of God. So look at chapter 31 in verse 7. Chapter 31 in verse 7 says this, And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God suffered him not to hurt me. That's what we just read. If he said, Thus the speckled should be thy wages, and all the cattle bear speckled. If he said, Thus the ring-strake should be thy hire, then bear all the cattle ring-strake. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold the rams which leaped upon the cattle, with ring-strake, speckled and grizzled. So that seems to me what's just happened here. The result of the breeding is a load of ring-strake, speckled and spotted because God's blessed him here. That's what I think's happened. Then verse 40, where back in Genesis 30 says, And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks towards the ring-strake, and all the brown in the flock of Laban. Okay, remember that he's looking after the rest of Laban sheep here. And now we're talking about, you know, this is ongoing. This is going on over years. And he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, okay, this is the stronger cattle of Laban's, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the guts, that they might conceive among the rods. So he's again funneling them into this system to conceive. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in, so the feeble were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. So basically, he's got these ring-strakes and specked and everything else, and he's funnelling in the stronger cattle to breed with his, to the ones which he's meant to inherit, because they're the ones that was agreement that he would take, and the feeble are ones he's not. So he just starts getting all these stronger, you know, that are then going to go on and live better, and have more, and breed better in the future and everything else. And I think that's what the rods are for. The rods are to basically encourage breeding, rather than to change the colour of them or something like that. There's something to do with this white-straped rods and everything else which seems to encourage breeding, that's what I believe here. And the man increased exceedingly because of this, and had much cattle and maidservants and menservants and camels and asses. So I think this must be over the six years then, or at least over some of that six years. Now, I might have to do a bit of maths after this, because then I started realising, wait a second, because it took seven years of work to get Leah, didn't it? Then he gets Rachel straight after and does the next seven years, so how many years into the six years we are already before he eventually leaves, because if he leaves at 20 years, but it took seven years then and a year to have the best part of it to have a baby, then the eldest Ruben could have been by the time he left, must have been 12 years old, right? Which means that there were some close together kids there, right? However, at what point, he already had the 11 before he left, and I don't know how long this has taken place over. But like we said, because he's got the two handmaids as well, and then obviously Rachel at the end, then I'd imagine there was a lot of close together kids here as well. So anyway, that's what I think that's talking about. I've looked at that many times before and thought, what's going on there? How is these popular branches or whatever, these rods, suddenly making... But I think the point is that I don't think he's lying in the next chapter where he said, God's just blessed me. Whatever was my high, God bless that. I don't think he's lying there. I think that's actually true and that's what's happened there, is that even though Laban did another dirty, and that's why he's saying he's changed my wages ten times, they changed again, he just took away all the ones that were meant to be his. But God still blessed him and he still ended up coming through all of that. That's what I believe. But again, we'd love to chat about it if anyone's got any other ideas on that. That was Genesis chapter 30, and we're going to finish up in prayer. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for all the lessons we got out of that chapter, Lord, lessons about being diligent in the workplace, lessons about avoiding envy and the consequences of envy and other such things, Lord. I just hope everyone here, if there are things there that need to talk to them a bit, just take them into their heart, Lord, and try and apply it to their lives, as we should, as how we should deal with the correction, the reproof, and sometimes the exhortation that comes from your word, Lord. Please help us all to just get home safe and sound this evening, help us to be well enough and healthy enough, all our church members, to be able to be back in church on Sunday. In Jesus' name we pray all this. Amen.