[00:00:00] Welcome to Gracious Words. Gracious Words is taken from the weekly women's Bible study, top by Cheryl Brodersen at Calvary Chapel Host a Mesa, California On today's program we'll see how Jacob meets his wife Rachel and agrees to work seven years as
[00:00:40] Dahlry for her. He is in love and smitten and when it's time for him to see his bride he experiences his wife. And now here is part one of Cheryl's message titled, A Tale of Two Sisters.
[00:01:20] So I'm just going to give you a hint. This morning we're going to be talking about how God takes our disadvantages and turns them to advantages. And that gives me a lot of hope because today I left the house with the wrong notes
[00:01:32] without my telephone and Brian said, I'm going to bring you a coffee but I didn't know that his time table was to bring it at 10 15. I like to have it at around 9
[00:01:44] 15 while I'm going over my notes and usually one of the girls in the office is so sweet to me to get it for me that I usually go over my notes and now I couldn't go over my notes because I didn't have them
[00:01:58] and I didn't have my telephone to call anybody and when I finally borrowed somebody else's phone because Brian wasn't going to answer from his strange woman so I found a phone that he would answer.
[00:02:08] He's like, I'm at Pete and I'm like okay but I need my notes and anyway so then I have a computer here and Laura's trying to get them and they're not coming in Laura Jackson is the computer genius.
[00:02:21] I mean whenever I have a problem she fixes it for me. She's like wondrous and she was having problems and I'm just sitting there I shoot like five pieces a gun because they were there. It's just like
[00:02:35] you know I just you know and I'm like no no no no no no no no no because I have a couple good quotes that I don't know by heart and I've just like oh it didn't as I'm looking at it I thought how
[00:02:47] I wrong I am speaking this morning on how God makes our disinvantages and makes them an advantage and can I see this too? This is the first time I've worn these shoes they're from Nordstrom's rack and they're giving me a blister on my left foot big toe
[00:03:04] and so thank you. I was barefooted in the office running around I put these on just for you just for you not even for Brian no if I just slipped my foot back just kind of hang my toe
[00:03:18] I mean but oh heal that's another disinvantage getting all the words wrong but if I just hang my heel off the back I'm fine I'm really fine but I'm glad I've got your sympathies that's
[00:03:30] really nice so I'm going to tell you this just real quick. I titled this just in case you're a little put off by the chapters to just studied this week we know one thing Jacob was a busy man
[00:03:44] but I've titled this a tale of two sisters not to be confused with Dickens a tale of two cities but a tale of two sisters in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 11 it says
[00:03:59] the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong nor bread to the wise nor riches to men of understanding nor favor to men of understanding nor favor to men of skill but time and chance
[00:04:13] happened to them all not one of all of the advantages whether it's swiftness or strength or bread the right food or riches or even understanding intellectualism gives you an advantage spiritually that doesn't guarantee success I Brian we were on a trip and I didn't bring a book and
[00:04:49] he says I've got a book for you to read it was outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and it's probably an interesting book Brian loved it I fell asleep a couple of times but his whole proposition is that
[00:05:05] it really is randomness that makes greatness but he believes that God is in the randomness that it really is a spiritual component to why some people make it another people don't but it's possible
[00:05:23] to have every material advantage in life and yet have a deep barrenness that sinks down into your soul physical and material advantages can become deficits when you begin to lean into them
[00:05:40] work out from them and seek them to alleviate the sense of barrenness I remember I think I was about 26 or 27 looking in the mirror see my first line around my eye actually I went to a makeup
[00:06:00] account and said do you have something for this and she looked at me and she said and I looked back and said oh did you really just say oh and she's like yeah so I went to a different store just say
[00:06:15] shoes different stores you guys are so with me I feel it but anyway I remember that I remember this thought that I had like man it's time to start working on personality you know what they say
[00:06:32] what's 1098 some of you will get this some of you want so those of you over 40 get prepared maybe over 50 prepared to get it those under 50 just go what it's okay what goes 1098 7654321
[00:06:47] bow Derek aging yeah ask somebody over 50 to explain it to you and she will again the physical the material advantages become deficits when we lean into those and expect those to get us through life
[00:07:07] he'll worry who is a successful actor said I don't have a single complete show movie or anything else that I could look and say knelt that one but endless dissatisfaction is I suppose what gets us out of bed
[00:07:24] in the morning Ted Dwayne I don't know who this guy is but I like this quote as humans we've such a we are such a discontinued species I love this as humans were such a discontinued species we're always
[00:07:39] trying to further ourselves and you get all the way to the moon and then it's just discontinued you want to go to Mars satisfaction and contentment do not come by way of physical advantages material advantages the natural advantages or emotional advantages true satisfaction true contentment
[00:08:02] can only come when we recognize God for who he is what he does and his compassion for us in Genesis 29 and 30 we have the kale of two sisters the youngest sister had every advantage and yet I nine discontent that brought jealousy, rivalry and dissatisfaction to Jacob's house
[00:08:29] the older sister who had every disadvantage found contentment and even joy in the Lord so let's go a little background and we'll go to chapter 29 and I'm just going to summarize 29 and 30 as quickly as I can after having an encounter with God at Vethel
[00:08:51] Jacob picks up his feet and heads towards Mesopotamia before his encounter with God he's in flight mode after his encounter with God he's in expectation mode but he arrives just by the divine
[00:09:06] will of God at a field outside of her on and he sees shepherds there waiting to water their flocks any asks them where are you from and they said her on on he says do you know
[00:09:18] labin and they said yes we not only know labin but right there that's his daughter who is coming to water the flocks now it tells us in Genesis 29 that Rachel was a shepherdus this was very
[00:09:34] very rare in the eastern culture one because a shepherdus was vulnerable because she'd be in the fields with strange men and you know anything could happen in the fields also it probably means
[00:09:48] that labin's sons who will read about later in chapter 31 that they were two young still to be shepherds it took extreme energy, stamina and bravery to be a shepherd and yet Rachel is a
[00:10:10] shepherd so this speaks very highly of Rachel tells us that she had energy that she had stamina and now she was very courageous and brave Jacob when he sees Rachel is ecstatic he tells the other
[00:10:22] shepherd take water your flocks and then leave you want some time alone with this cousin but the shepherd says that's not the way we do it but Jacob has his own skill set he's been taking care of
[00:10:36] his father's herds and flocks he's been managing Isaac's household so he goes over and he rolls away this stone he's not afraid of the other shepherds he's showing off his strength for Rachel
[00:10:53] and he is also showing his knowledge of shepherding and defending and protecting Rachel at the same time Jacob kisses Rachel he weaps and identifies himself as her cousin Rebecca Sun Rachel is so excited she
[00:11:09] goes running back to her father she tells Laban I've met Rebecca Sun Jacob he's in the field Laban comes running out invite Jacob back to his home Jacob stays with his uncle Laban and after a week
[00:11:27] Laban says you know you really should work for me and I'm willing to pay you what do you want me to pay you and Jacob says all work seven years for Rachel in those days a dowry would be about 30
[00:11:42] to 40 shuckles that would be the bride price 10 shuckles was a year's wages so he is saying I'm willing to work double for Rachel you know not three years or four years I'm willing to work
[00:11:59] seven years that's how greatly he esteems and values Rachel that would have been so flattering to Rachel maybe or maybe she was like oh yeah you should we don't know but that was his way of
[00:12:15] esteem and saying she's worth seven years of labor that was unheard up to offer that kind of price for a bride Jacob is in love with Rachel the younger Laban sisters she is beautiful
[00:12:31] Laban tells us she's beautiful in face and form she's got a great figure and she's got a beautiful face but it also tells us that her sister Leah has delicate eyes they can also be translated week eyes
[00:12:47] John Corson said something which it's kind of cool and I've never known John to be cool but he said this meant that it hurt to look out her other connotations or interpretations are that she was fragile
[00:13:05] I mean she's got the sister that's got all this stamina but she's fragile another interpretation is that she had bad eyesight and squinted and finally it conveys the idea that she was not beautiful
[00:13:21] Laban hires Jacob for seven years the years fly by for Jacob as he works knowing that at the end he will receive Rachel he probably started working around forty years of age or 41 so he is now
[00:13:39] 47 or 48 now the wedding night has come and Laban no doubt because it's a wedding feast those could last for seven days he flies Jacob with wine and food and then sends him into a dark tent
[00:13:56] does any of this sound familiar? then in that dark tent Leah is dressed up like Rachel so Leah goes into the dark tent pretending to be her younger sister dressed like her younger sister
[00:14:16] in the darkness just like Isaac who had darkness because he couldn't see and Jacob was sent into that tent pretending to be his older brother dressed as his older brother applying his father with wine and savory stew so at this wedding after all of the festivities
[00:14:43] Jacob's in the dark tent Leah comes in dressed like Rachel now the wedding night ratified the marriage you could have the ceremony but it wasn't considered ratified until the wedding night so Jacob wakes in the morning only to realize he has married the wrong daughter
[00:15:06] Laban justified his deceit by cultural protocol and his culture the eldest must be given in marriage first isn't that interesting it's her birthright to be married first the fact that her father
[00:15:21] wants to pawn her off by deceit is also telling the fact that there had been no sooner for Leah in seven years is also telling she is unwanted in her own father's household she is unwanted
[00:15:36] by any of the men who live in her arm and it's a culture that a spinster daughter was considered a deficit so Laban encourages Jacob to fulfill his week for Leah now they would have all
[00:15:51] week again this is celebration but a week was reserved to the bride and for the groom we would call it a honeymoon but in those days it was to guarantee the conception of the first child to give the wife
[00:16:04] time to conceive and no doubt this is what happens with Leah then after seven days Rachel is given to Jacob as a wife and then Rachel has seven days along with Jacob to conceive on Jacob must work
[00:16:22] another seven years for Rachel he works hard for Laban for 14 years he has two wives who have plans for him and every day when he comes in from a hard days work after watching the flocks of Laban
[00:16:40] in the cattle of Laban he has a different sleeping partner it might be Leah might be Rachel might be Bill Ha or Zilpa after 14 years of working for Laban Jacob is ready to return to Canaan but he has no
[00:16:55] wives but he has only wives and sons no riches he has no way to support them but he's ready just to gather up his whole clan and go back to Isaac Laban bargains with him to work another seven
[00:17:10] years and Laban says this I have learned by divination that God is blessing me because of you divination doesn't necessarily mean by means of magic it could mean that I've divine or I've realized
[00:17:24] spiritually that I've had an epiphany that the reason I'm blessed is because of you so Jacob negotiates with Laban Jacob will work for livestock Jacob agrees to take the least of Laban's
[00:17:38] flock the speckled the streak the spotted Laban agrees to these terms but before these terms can start what does Laban do he removes all the streak the spotted and the speckled out from his livestock
[00:17:56] that Jacob will be taking care of he gets it to his own sons and he sends his sons 50 miles away so that Jacob will have to start from scratch because the idea is that streaked will get birth to
[00:18:10] streaked striped will get birth to striped but when you're starting again with solids the odds go way down that there will be any streaked spotted or speckled so this is again this is Laban being
[00:18:25] Laban right this is being deceitful so Jacob starts from nothing now not to be outdone or outwitted by his bicycle laban Jacob thinks in his heart to complete this game you won't find down the scriptures you
[00:18:41] just have to have a divine revelation that he's thinking that but using a combination of folklore and science Jacob makes the strongest animals together he peels back the branches exposing the white
[00:18:56] now this is a word play in the Hebrew because the word laban actually means white or whitey so what Jacob does is he exposes the white of the branches to to get the goats and the sheep
[00:19:14] and the cattle to have spots and speckles and streaks now did do you think that worked? no some think he's actually thinking it's working that is producing this others think he's reminding God that laban cheated him by exposing the white at the maiden troughs and saying
[00:19:38] God you know what laban is done to me get even with him what it is we don't know but it's interesting that during these seven years Jacob's wealth increases to unparalleled success he's exceedingly prosperous with all the distant phantages he prospers he gets large flocks
[00:20:01] he gets male and female servants he gets camels he gets dunkies in seven years he goes from impoverished in having nothing but children and whites to having exceeding large flocks male servants camels and dunkies that's better than Amazon stock that's crazy
[00:20:26] now meanwhile in Jacob's house something else altogether is going on Rachel who has all the natural advantages is barren let's talk about Rachel's advantages we talked about her beauty her perfect figure but let's talk about her personality she's got
[00:20:49] personality she ran a told her father she could make demands of Jacob she's a woman with skills useful she's strong she's brave but also emotional strength she's wanted she's loved she's esteemed and valued yet she has a nine disc content her natural advantages were not substitutes
[00:21:21] for the barrenness that she carried and this barrenness that she had caused her to be so jealous of her sister's fruitfulness she becomes jealous of the one with all the disadvantages she becomes competitive and she becomes angry Rachel's natural advantages
[00:21:46] moved her to seek natural means to alleviate this barrenness she had gotten so used to leaning into her natural advantages you know there's nothing worse than seeing a 90 year old try to flirt
[00:22:01] you know you're just like oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh you know no offense but those older women that are showing off things that should have been covered you know when I see some of these aging
[00:22:14] stars wearing outfits that you know bikinis it's like no no no no no no you know put those away you know don't burn them even it's it's just not a good book but they're still leaning
[00:22:31] on the past on what they used to be I remember there was a lady she was in her 80s and we Brian was when we were in vista and I was I think 24 25 at the time and she came to church with
[00:22:45] all these pictures of her in a bikini when she was in her like 40s and she says I have something to show you you think your wife is so good looking take a look at these and Brian's like
[00:22:58] maybe not it's not for so I'm saying maybe not I think these would be really good to show your husband oh he's seen them but I just want to show you your wife's got nothing compared to what I have and
[00:23:09] you it was like okay I think there's a little dimension there obviously but you know to lean into there are people I have seen that lean into those natural advantages and get used to using natural advantages because they've always had them it's very very dangerous
[00:23:33] and what we see in verses one and two chapter 30 is that she went to Jacob she blamed Jacob for problems she says give me children or else I die it's your fault I'm blaming you I've got all the
[00:23:51] natural advantages this should not be happening to me it's gotta be your fault but Jacob says your problems with God see God I'm I in the place of God who is withheld from you the fruit
[00:24:07] of the womb you need to go to God then she comes up with a plan not unlike Sarah's to acquire children through serrigates this was very common in the eastern culture this the serrigate
[00:24:24] pregnancies with the mates and we look at it go Jacob worked hard for labin 14 years for two wives when he loved and wanted and the other he was tricked into as we see the drama unfold
[00:24:41] it appears that Rachel has all the advantages she is beautiful desired and loved by her husband however she was bearing nothing could make up for this she grew envious of her sister who was blessed
[00:24:54] with sons but instead of praying to God she blamed Jacob and took matters into her own hands we hope you have been blessed by today's Bible study for more information about the gracious words radio program and the teaching ministry of Cheryl Broderson please visit our website at
[00:25:13] graciouswords.com coming up next time on the graciouswords program we'll see Rachel's consequences as we continue our series our great creator in the book of Genesis with Cheryl Broderson we do hope you may plans to join us again for more information please visit our website at
[00:25:43] we will fall on our needs and surrender with surrender to this program is sponsored by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, California
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