The text of Genesis 33:1-20 gives the conclusion to the long anticipated meeting of Jacob and his twin, Esau. All that Jacob had been through now led up to this most significant moment when he would have to face up to his brother. But while the reader might have expected to be fireworks and anger, the situation has been diffused. Jacob is different and so is Esau. God has been good! But Jacob’s half-hearted response to God leaves the door open for compromise and temptation to make their way in his family.

Message

Outline

• The fourteenth in this series
• Amazing and remarkable…
• Some of the fruits of God’s work in Jacob’s life
• See how Moses tells us that …

1. The path of humility leads to greater service (v.1-3)
2. A thankful heart leads to a fruitful testimony (v.4-11)
3. Half-hearted obedience leads to complicated consequences (v.12-20)

A warning about what’s to come!
God’s work to make us His own…

When Jacob was left alone at the river Jabbok, with all his family and goods sent on ahead of him to placate Esau, he could never have known that this was the moment when his life would be changed forever. After meeting with angels earlier in chapter 32, then his own messengers returning from Esau, then God met him. And he did it in such a way that Jacob would always remember. The text of Genesis 32:24-32 is vital in understanding God’s plans and purposes for Jacob and also, for you and me.

Message

Outline

• The thirteenth in this series
• Jacob’s limp…
• Jacob is being taught to trust God
• See how Moses tells us that …

1. Jacob’s walk was changed (v.22-25)
2. Jacob’s desire was changed (v.26)
3. Jacob’s name was changed (v.27-32)

Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity!
The choice before you…

When Jacob finally broke ties with Laban, he had another, bigger trial with someone else ahead of him. His twin brother, Esau. Though Jacob feared His meeting with Esau, God showed his great kindness to Jacob in preparing him for what was ahead – even sending his angels to remind him of his previous encounter with the Lord at Bethel. The story is related to us in Genesis 32:1-23, where, by the end of the passage, Jacob is entirely alone (verse 24a) unaware that he had another meeting with some One else before Esau.

Message

Outline

• The twelfth in this series
• A quick recap of the story
• Jacob is heading straight for Esau
• See how Moses tells us that …

1. Angels met him (v.1-2)
2. Messengers met him (v.3-8)
3. He met with God (v.9-12)

Jacob is all alone!
The only way for wrath to be turned away!

After Jacon and family left Laban secretly, it’s little wonder that Laban did his best to ctach up with his fleeing family. The text of Genesis 31:22-55 tells the story of how Laban caught up with Jacob, the difficult conversation thjat followed and the fruitless search for the household gods he valued so highly (that Rachel had hidden in the camel’s saddle.) There are lessons to learn from this. Lessons about God’s protective providence for Jacob and also about the kind of God we worship.

Message

Outline

• The eleventh in this series
• The classic chase scene
• A quick recap of the last scenes
• See how Moses tells us of …

1. An escaping employee being pursued (v.22-30)
2. An angry accuser being rebuked (v.31-42)
3. A cautious covenant being established (v.43-55)

The providence of God – again!
The person of God – Living and True!

There are many times when decision making is hard. Guidance doesn’t always come easy. But in the case of Jacob in Genesis 31:1-21, the Lord made the decision for Jacob to leave Laban a relatively easy one. He told him to go. Circumstances around Jacob were also pointing in that same direction. And even when he talked this over with Rachel and Leah, they too were of the same opinion. And so, he upped and left – with his family – all without telling Laban. Not that he was running away looking for ease. Rather, he had an appointment to keep with his brother, Esau.

Message

Outline

• The tenth in this series
• Where we are in the story
• A gradual change in Jacob
• See how Moses tells us of…

1. How the plan was prompted (v.1-3)
2. How the decision was confirmed (v.4-16)
3. How the departure was enacted (v.17-21)

Clarity in a crisis moment
Three ‘green lights’ – time to follow the Lord’s directions!

Through all the story of Jacob’s life, God’s providence and favour toward him is evident. This is never more so than in the outworkings of the evenst recorded in Genesis 30:25-43. While Jacob is trying to free himself from Laban’s hold, the Lord enables Jacob to see his flocks and wealth flourish under His good provision, so that when the time comes and Jacob flees from Laban and parapres to meet his brother, Esau, he also has much to give.

Message

Outline

• The ninth in this series
• Where we are in the story
• Jacob’s ‘itchy feet…’
• See how Moses tells us of Jacob and Laban and…

1. The topic they discussed (v.25-28)
2. The plan they formed (v.29-36)
3. The result they noted (v.37-43)

Proposal, counter proposal and the Lord’s proposal…
Behind a ‘frowning providence’ – the hand of the Lord!

Although the Bible tells of men who had more than one wife (such as Abraham and Jacob) it never speaks favourably about it. Jacob is a case in point. Although he loved Rachel and ended up being married to her after marrying her sister, Leah, things didn’t work out well! Jacob soon found himself in a corner, unable to solved Rachel’s infertility and the centre of a squabble between his two wives and their maids. Not a good place to be in. It was a place however, where Jacob could not wrangle his way out of, but he, and his wives, all needed a good dose of wisdom that begins with the fear of the Lord.

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Outline

• The eighth in this series
• Where we are in the story
• The honest truth about the patriarchs and their wives!
• See how Moses tells us of…

1. Rachel’s unwise decisions (v.1, 4-14)
2. Leah’s unhelpful reaction (v.15, 17-21)
3. Jacob’s unholy confusion (v.2-3, 16)

Relief for Rachel and lessons for Jacob and Leah…
The way of the truly wise…

The ongoing story of Jacob and Rachel and Laban continues in Genesis 29:21-35. The text tells of how Jacob ‘met his match’ in Laban, that is, to say, his match in deception! For in having woken up the morning after his marriage to find that he had married Leah and not Rachel, Jacob had been deceived in a similar way to his own deception of his father and brother. But God had good to Jacob, and despite the ongoing saga this created, He blessed him with 4 sons – one of whom who would be the ancestor of the Lord Jesus!

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Outline

• The seventh in this series
• Where we are in the story
• It’s a win for Jacob and for Laban…but…!
• See how Moses tells us of

1. Jacob reaping what he had sown (v.21-30)
2. Jacob receiving what he didn’t deserve (v.31-35)

There must be consequences for sin…
There is grace for those who sin!

In Genesis 29:1-20, so many of the promises of God that Jacob heard at Bethel began to be confirmed. No wonder he wept. He was aware of the goodness of God toward him, not only leading him to the place he set out for, but also providing for him a potential wife in Rachel. It remains to be seen how things will work out with his future father-in-law, Laban, but at this moment in his life, all was very good.

Message

Outline

• The sixth in this series
• Where we are in the story
• God’s providence for Jacob and his plans for him!
• See how Moses tells us of the providence of God in …

1. His arrival at Haran (v.1-8)
2. His meeting with Rachel (v.9-12)
3. His employment with Laban (v.13-20)

God will guide you…
God will grow you…

The next event in Jacob’s life as recorded in Genesis 28:10-22 is highly significant. Jacob was now an exile from home, and so it was while he was on his journey to his uncle’s that the Lord God appeared to him and gave him many assurances. The result was not only that Jacob had hist first encounter with God, but also called the Lord ‘my God’, proceeding from Bethel with the promise of blessing and protection by God – all undeserved and all of grace.

Message

Outline

• The fifth in this series
• Where we are in the story
• Jacob setting out on that journey!
• See how Moses tells us of …

1. His temporary respite (v.10-12)
2. His terrifying revelation (v.13-16)
3. His grateful response (v.17-22)

What Jesus said about this event…
The promises of God – for you!