[00:00:00] Welcome to Gracious Words. Gracious Words is taken from the Weekly Women's Bible Study,
[00:00:15] taught by Cheryl Brodersen at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
[00:00:36] On today's program, we'll see how Jacob and his family must flee from Laban.
[00:00:41] The way ahead looks intimidating, dangerous, and unknown, but God's presence and power is with them.
[00:01:06] And now here is part two of Cheryl's message titled, The Way Forward.
[00:01:19] Why he's putting everyone on camels, Rachel sneaks back to her father's tent while Laban is shearing the sheep and takes the household idols.
[00:01:30] She's so upset that she hasn't received the rightful inheritance she feels she's entitled to.
[00:01:35] Now this might be a protective measure, like if I get rid of his idols he can't hurt us,
[00:01:40] or maybe she thought my dad will be powerless without his idols,
[00:01:44] or maybe she's taking them because they're valuable, silver and gold,
[00:01:49] or maybe she's taking them because they also in those days often if you were buying property you got the idol of the property
[00:01:56] because people associated the gods with particular areas or land.
[00:02:03] All of these are possible. Any of these, all of these it could be,
[00:02:07] D, all of the above, or E, you missed it.
[00:02:12] Joseph successfully pulls up camp and makes his way to the mountains of Gilead.
[00:02:18] Laban finds out three days later and he has a seven day pursuit, I mean seven days.
[00:02:24] He's going to get to Jacob but during that time he has a dream verse twenty-four.
[00:02:31] And God comes to Laban at night and says be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.
[00:02:38] It's like God says you're not doing anything.
[00:02:42] You know I don't even want you speaking good or bad to him, let alone touching him.
[00:02:47] In other words don't try to coax or bribe him to come back.
[00:02:52] Don't threaten him. Don't threaten him.
[00:02:55] Do not try to be any influence at all on Jacob.
[00:03:00] This dream that Laban has is reminiscent of the dream that God gave of Bimelech concerning Abraham and Sarah.
[00:03:06] In Genesis twenty-three God said to Bimelech,
[00:03:10] Indeed you are a dead man, you are a dead man.
[00:03:13] You are a dead man, you are a dead man.
[00:03:16] You are a dead man, you are a dead man.
[00:03:19] In Genesis twenty-three God said to Bimelech,
[00:03:23] Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken.
[00:03:28] She is a man's wife.
[00:03:30] God put the fear of himself in a Bimelech through a dream and now he puts that same fear in Laban and on Laban.
[00:03:41] Laban has nothing he can hold against Jacob.
[00:03:45] He can't say, well you cheated me out of this because it's Laban who has done the cheating.
[00:03:50] All he's got on Jacob is the household God.
[00:03:54] Jacob tells Laban, you search. Go ahead.
[00:03:57] If you find him you have the right to take it back and punish whoever has them.
[00:04:02] Now I find it interesting that Laban goes first to Jacob's tent.
[00:04:06] He's sure it's Jacob.
[00:04:08] I'll get that guy. He's taken my idols but there's no God in that tent.
[00:04:13] Then he goes to Leah's tent. I never trusted her. I had to get rid of her anyway.
[00:04:17] He goes to Leah's tent, no idols.
[00:04:20] Then he goes to the maid's tent. Then it's got to be Bilhah or Zilpa.
[00:04:26] Nope.
[00:04:27] And then last, I think the most unsuspecting person would have been Rachel.
[00:04:33] I think Rachel was probably the most like Laban.
[00:04:36] So he goes in there and there she is.
[00:04:38] Obviously she's got that deceit gene because she's sitting on the idols and she says,
[00:04:44] excuse me, woman time.
[00:04:47] You know how men are?
[00:04:53] God gave that to us as a protection.
[00:04:56] Rachel is sitting on these idols so obviously she does not have any respect for them.
[00:05:11] She would not make this claim if she respected them at all.
[00:05:14] But she is hiding them and she's not going to give them back.
[00:05:18] God then closes the door to any return for Jacob or his wives to padean our own.
[00:05:26] He closes the door. We all hate closed doors, don't we?
[00:05:29] We like to keep all our options open.
[00:05:31] If you're anything like me, we like every option open.
[00:05:34] You know, we like to do let's make a deal.
[00:05:36] There are three doors.
[00:05:38] Which one do you want?
[00:05:39] Oh, I don't know.
[00:05:40] Can we just stay here forever and just have the possibilities?
[00:05:43] You know how hard it is for somebody to choose?
[00:05:45] I don't know.
[00:05:46] Which door?
[00:05:47] Which door?
[00:05:48] Because you don't want the other two doors closed because one of them might have the car.
[00:05:52] You know, you want to keep all your options open.
[00:05:55] You know my dog Barnabas hates closed doors.
[00:05:58] I'm just telling you, just so you can know.
[00:06:01] Barnabas, the great big black golden doodle, he hates closed doors.
[00:06:04] So we've got, because Golden Doodles, I read this article that you could get a set of bells on your door
[00:06:10] and they'll ring the bells instead of going,
[00:06:13] so we've got the bells on the door and the dog goes over in the morning.
[00:06:17] Actually, Brighton and I get up, we're reading our Bibles and the dog's just sleeping like,
[00:06:21] you guys again?
[00:06:22] And sometimes he leaves the room because he doesn't like the lights on.
[00:06:25] Then he comes back, he does downward dog, he's into yoga.
[00:06:28] And he comes over and he like sets his head on one and sets his head on the other of us
[00:06:34] and then he goes over and he starts ringing the bells and looks at us.
[00:06:39] And so one of us has to get up and we open the door and the screen is broken
[00:06:44] so he can just go in and out.
[00:06:46] It came out, you know, of the frame but just a flap of it
[00:06:50] and we thought about fixing it but it kind of makes a really good dog door.
[00:06:53] So he goes out, it's only been like that since we've had him, so it's only four years.
[00:06:58] So he goes out, he goes out and you know,
[00:07:02] he lays in front of the closed, of the open door.
[00:07:05] He just lays outside in front of it.
[00:07:07] Now the minute we begin to close the door he jumps up and he comes in
[00:07:11] and he goes over and he lays on his back.
[00:07:13] So Brian closes the door because it's cold, right?
[00:07:15] It's like 50 degrees outside and you know,
[00:07:18] he goes over to the pillow as soon as Brian closes the door,
[00:07:21] guess what he does?
[00:07:22] Gets up and rings those dreaded bells.
[00:07:25] So we let him out.
[00:07:27] He goes, he sits there and so Brian goes to close the door,
[00:07:30] he jumps up, like don't you close that door.
[00:07:34] Then he comes in, then he sits over on the pillow.
[00:07:37] Brian closes the door, he goes over,
[00:07:39] and Brian's like, don't you try this with me?
[00:07:42] You get over on that pillow.
[00:07:44] He's like, gets on the pillow, he sits,
[00:07:48] you can kind of see him, he's like this and he's thinking.
[00:07:53] Then he gets up, like I've given him enough time,
[00:07:55] I'm going back to the bells.
[00:07:59] He simply wants the door left open.
[00:08:04] You know, that's how we are, aren't we?
[00:08:07] And we're just like sitting like don't close this door, Lord.
[00:08:10] I'll just sit as close as I can to this open door,
[00:08:13] just please don't close this door.
[00:08:15] But God will close the door so we don't turn back.
[00:08:20] In fact it said that he parted the Red Sea
[00:08:22] for the children of Israel to walk through,
[00:08:25] then drowned the Egyptian army because he didn't want
[00:08:28] the children of Israel going back to Egypt.
[00:08:31] God will close the door because he knows our propensity
[00:08:33] to go back, and he knows our propensity
[00:08:36] to romanticize the past.
[00:08:38] You know when you've got enough of a separation
[00:08:40] you're like, you know it wasn't that bad?
[00:08:42] I was only beaten a couple of times.
[00:08:45] Just had to make just a few bricks without straw.
[00:08:48] And so what they wanted to take my baby
[00:08:50] and kill him but you know it wasn't that bad in Egypt.
[00:08:54] You know because there were onions and there was garlic
[00:08:58] and there was flavor to my food.
[00:09:00] It's not that bad.
[00:09:02] You know just because I got food poisoning last time
[00:09:05] I ate there let's give it a chance again.
[00:09:07] Because we romanticize and we forget the bondage
[00:09:14] God will close the door.
[00:09:17] He closes the door.
[00:09:19] Some doors close softly, almost imperceptibly
[00:09:22] and others are just slammed shut, locked behind.
[00:09:28] Ouch.
[00:09:31] Jacob and Laban pile stones
[00:09:33] who created a pillar of witness between them.
[00:09:35] Isn't it interesting?
[00:09:37] Jacob made a pillar when he let the promised land
[00:09:41] so he could remember and go back into the promised land.
[00:09:44] Now he makes a pillar of rocks again
[00:09:47] but this stone pillar means no going back.
[00:09:52] Laban will not venture forward into Canaan to find Jacob
[00:09:56] and Jacob will never return to Padaam or Ram
[00:09:59] and they leave each other to the Lord
[00:10:01] with the simple greeting misspaw.
[00:10:04] Now I remember in my time that people started making necklaces
[00:10:08] and you get one side that says miss
[00:10:10] and the other one gets the paw
[00:10:12] and it's like two halves of a heart.
[00:10:14] Like isn't that sweet?
[00:10:15] And the Lord watched over each of us
[00:10:17] why we're absent from one another
[00:10:19] and my dad that would drive him crazy.
[00:10:21] He'd be like they don't understand misspaw
[00:10:24] that means you dirty rotten scandal
[00:10:26] God's gonna get you if you try anything.
[00:10:29] Like misspaw, you scoundrel.
[00:10:32] That's what they were saying
[00:10:34] literally is like misspaw like
[00:10:36] you know not this but
[00:10:39] he's watching you if you try anything
[00:10:42] and Jacob's like you think God's watching me he's watching you.
[00:10:46] That was what misspaw means
[00:10:48] so go ahead get the necklace
[00:10:50] but get it for somebody you kind of don't trust.
[00:10:53] Here you can have the paw
[00:10:56] I'll have the miss.
[00:10:58] Misspaw.
[00:11:00] Jacob is saying and Laban is saying
[00:11:02] maybe I can't watch you
[00:11:04] but God will get you if you try anything.
[00:11:08] Jacob couldn't safeguard himself from Laban
[00:11:11] but he could say you know what
[00:11:13] I'm gonna leave you to God
[00:11:15] I am going to leave you to God
[00:11:17] the door closed behind him
[00:11:20] and Jacob is forced to move into Canaan
[00:11:23] but just as he's forced into Canaan
[00:11:26] we read in chapter 32 verses 1 and 2
[00:11:30] that he is not alone but the angels of God
[00:11:33] now that Jacob's eyes are open like
[00:11:35] oh my goodness God has been with me this whole time
[00:11:40] that's why I'm still alive
[00:11:42] that's why Laban wasn't able to do everything he wanted to do
[00:11:45] now his eyes are open
[00:11:47] and he sees the angels of God
[00:11:50] those that he had dreamed about that were going up
[00:11:52] and down the ladder into heaven at Bethel
[00:11:55] now they're right here
[00:11:57] and there's a double camp
[00:11:59] there's not only his camp but there's another camp of angels
[00:12:02] that in other words
[00:12:04] Jacob has a mobile God
[00:12:07] these angels are not just stuck in Bethel
[00:12:11] going up and down when she thought
[00:12:13] oh this is it this is where angels are
[00:12:15] no that the angels of God have been with him
[00:12:19] wherever he is
[00:12:21] wherever he is so is the camp of God
[00:12:25] so is the Lord of heaven's armies
[00:12:28] they are with Jacob wherever he's been
[00:12:32] the way ahead might look intimidating dangerous
[00:12:34] and unknown but God's mighty force is with him
[00:12:38] angels are accompanying him
[00:12:41] Jacob needs this sign
[00:12:44] because the next news he receives is daunting
[00:12:47] Esa is on his way
[00:12:49] now that would be one thing
[00:12:50] Esa is on his way he got your message
[00:12:52] he's on his way
[00:12:53] now Jacob had sent a message to Esa
[00:12:55] look I'm coming into the land
[00:12:57] I don't want anything from you
[00:12:59] in fact he'd even said to his servants
[00:13:01] tell Jacob
[00:13:03] address him as Lord
[00:13:05] which the word for Lord is actually
[00:13:07] well all can mean husband or superior
[00:13:10] address him as Lord
[00:13:12] and tell him that his servant
[00:13:14] Jacob I'm not coming back to overthrow
[00:13:16] to supplant
[00:13:18] I just want to come back into the land
[00:13:22] but there's no response forthcoming
[00:13:24] you know I think Jacob was hoping
[00:13:26] for something like oh welcome
[00:13:28] can't wait let's have a party
[00:13:31] and instead the news is daunting
[00:13:34] yes Esa got your message
[00:13:36] he's assembled 400 men
[00:13:40] and they're coming
[00:13:41] not they're coming to greet you
[00:13:43] but they're coming
[00:13:44] Esa with 400 men
[00:13:47] in verse 7 we read that
[00:13:49] Jacob is greatly afraid and distressed
[00:13:51] so he comes up with a backup plan
[00:13:53] isn't that just so us Lord I trust you
[00:13:55] but just in case you don't come through
[00:13:58] I've got this plan B
[00:14:01] be great if you just did a miracle
[00:14:03] but if you're not in the mood
[00:14:05] I've got plan B
[00:14:07] Jacob always had a plan B
[00:14:09] he was always going into plan B
[00:14:11] if God doesn't give me the blessing
[00:14:13] that he's promised
[00:14:14] I've got plan B
[00:14:15] I'll just pretend to be Esa
[00:14:17] if if Laban cheats me
[00:14:20] it's okay I've got a plan B
[00:14:22] I will strip the bark
[00:14:25] and I will you know
[00:14:27] make sure that I show the stripped bark
[00:14:29] and put it in the watering troughs
[00:14:31] whenever the strongest of the animals come
[00:14:34] I've got a plan B
[00:14:36] he's got a plan B
[00:14:38] he divides his company into two groups
[00:14:40] the first group get this
[00:14:42] is expendable
[00:14:43] if Esa attacks the first group
[00:14:45] the second group can escape
[00:14:48] he's got a plan B
[00:14:50] go ahead guys
[00:14:51] you great at first servants
[00:14:52] male, female, cattle
[00:14:54] all that
[00:14:55] go ahead
[00:14:56] but he's got his second group
[00:14:58] will escape
[00:15:00] and Jacob prays
[00:15:02] oh God of my father
[00:15:05] Abraham
[00:15:06] and God of my father
[00:15:07] Isaac
[00:15:08] the Lord who said to me
[00:15:10] return to your country
[00:15:12] and to your kindred
[00:15:13] and I will deal well with you
[00:15:14] remember Lord
[00:15:16] in other words
[00:15:17] remember Lord
[00:15:18] this was your idea
[00:15:20] I'm returning because you told me to return
[00:15:23] then Jacob prays
[00:15:25] I am not worthy at the least
[00:15:27] of all the mercies
[00:15:29] and of all the truth which you have
[00:15:31] shown your servant
[00:15:33] for I crossed over this Jordan
[00:15:35] I came here with nothing
[00:15:36] crossed over this Jordan with my staff
[00:15:38] and now I've become two companies
[00:15:40] Jacob is now responsible
[00:15:42] for a company of people
[00:15:43] including wives, sons and servants
[00:15:45] he's now so vulnerable
[00:15:47] of all these that are with him
[00:15:49] before he wasn't vulnerable
[00:15:51] it was just him
[00:15:52] he could hide
[00:15:53] he could run
[00:15:54] he could escape
[00:15:55] but you can't escape
[00:15:57] when you've got like
[00:15:59] 200 people with you and animals
[00:16:01] you know you can't escape
[00:16:03] if you just have barnabas with you
[00:16:05] you can't
[00:16:06] which is a dog
[00:16:07] I remind you
[00:16:08] you can't escape
[00:16:09] he's vulnerable
[00:16:11] there's little children
[00:16:13] the move count be as fast
[00:16:16] he said I am not worthy
[00:16:18] of the least right
[00:16:19] Jacob is now responsible
[00:16:21] for a company of people
[00:16:22] God has given him this company
[00:16:24] and Jacob is responsible
[00:16:26] to protect safeguard and keep
[00:16:28] but this company is only his
[00:16:30] because of God's blessing
[00:16:33] and then he says deliver me
[00:16:35] I pray
[00:16:36] from the hand of my brother
[00:16:38] verse 11
[00:16:39] from the hand of Esau
[00:16:40] for I fear him
[00:16:42] here
[00:16:43] here is the issue
[00:16:45] here is honesty from Jacob
[00:16:47] Lord I'm afraid
[00:16:50] I fear him
[00:16:52] this is unpredictable
[00:16:54] lest he come and attack me
[00:16:56] and the mothers of my children
[00:16:59] and my children
[00:17:01] remember the last thing
[00:17:03] that Jacob heard concerning Esau
[00:17:05] was that he was filled
[00:17:07] with a murderous rage
[00:17:09] remember this is Esau the Hunter
[00:17:12] this is a man that hunts
[00:17:14] enjoys
[00:17:15] enjoys hunting
[00:17:17] enjoys stalking animals
[00:17:20] and killing them
[00:17:21] and then eating them
[00:17:23] it's just like finding out that
[00:17:25] you know
[00:17:26] I don't know
[00:17:27] Ted Bundy has your address
[00:17:29] and wants to come by for dinner
[00:17:31] it's just
[00:17:33] not a good proposition
[00:17:35] it's just
[00:17:37] and not only that
[00:17:38] he's got 400 just like him
[00:17:39] coming
[00:17:42] and Jacob says
[00:17:43] I fear him
[00:17:45] you know I have someone in my life
[00:17:46] kind of like this
[00:17:47] and I was just like
[00:17:48] I understand
[00:17:49] I put my hand on the scripture
[00:17:51] and said Lord
[00:17:52] I understand
[00:17:53] I fear
[00:17:54] I fear
[00:17:56] but this is
[00:17:57] here's the ticket
[00:17:59] David said
[00:18:00] what time I am afraid
[00:18:02] I will trust in the Lord
[00:18:04] Jacob is saying God
[00:18:05] I don't want my fear
[00:18:06] to keep me from your will
[00:18:08] I don't want my fear
[00:18:10] even though it's very real
[00:18:12] even though there are very strong possibilities
[00:18:14] that Esau is still
[00:18:16] still angry
[00:18:18] still got murder's intent
[00:18:20] still hunting innocent bunnies
[00:18:23] even though this is a very real possible
[00:18:26] ability
[00:18:27] I don't want my fears to keep me
[00:18:30] from your will
[00:18:32] what Jacob is saying
[00:18:33] I'm going forward Lord
[00:18:35] but I'm going forward afraid
[00:18:37] I need you
[00:18:40] I need you
[00:18:44] the way forward
[00:18:48] for Jacob is ahead
[00:18:50] but ahead looks lethal
[00:18:54] and Jacob counts on God's promise
[00:18:57] here is his only comfort
[00:18:58] for you said
[00:18:59] I will surely treat you well
[00:19:01] and make your descendants
[00:19:02] as the sand of the sea
[00:19:03] which cannot be numbered
[00:19:04] for multitude
[00:19:05] in other words Lord
[00:19:06] if he kills me it's on you
[00:19:08] because your promises won't happen
[00:19:11] if I go down
[00:19:12] and my sons go down
[00:19:13] your promises cannot be fulfilled
[00:19:16] when threats
[00:19:18] when you are threatened
[00:19:20] when intimidated by the enemy
[00:19:22] it's so important to recount
[00:19:24] the promises of God
[00:19:26] not just the immediate promises
[00:19:28] but the promises concerning
[00:19:30] a future and a hope
[00:19:32] so important
[00:19:34] the only way for Jacob is ahead
[00:19:37] Satan's greatest weapon
[00:19:38] is intimidation
[00:19:39] isn't it
[00:19:40] he uses fear
[00:19:41] to keep us from going forward
[00:19:43] into all God house
[00:19:44] you see forward
[00:19:45] is the place of blessing
[00:19:47] forward
[00:19:48] not backward
[00:19:49] forward
[00:19:50] but Satan will say things like
[00:19:51] well you know it's one thing
[00:19:53] if you want to risk your life
[00:19:55] but what about your kids
[00:19:57] are you thinking about them
[00:19:59] is this healthy for them
[00:20:03] I heard that voice
[00:20:04] when we were about to move to England
[00:20:06] I still remember sitting on the beach
[00:20:07] at Carl's bad
[00:20:08] and Brian was surfing with Char
[00:20:10] and with Brayden
[00:20:12] you know I think Brayden was 5
[00:20:14] 4 or 5 at the time
[00:20:16] and Char was 13
[00:20:18] and Brayden could
[00:20:20] this is what happens
[00:20:22] when your dad is a surfer
[00:20:24] at 4 years old Brayden could stand up
[00:20:26] and he didn't want the little
[00:20:28] shore break
[00:20:29] he wanted to go out with his dad
[00:20:31] he could stand up on a surf board
[00:20:34] and stand up
[00:20:36] do a bottom turn
[00:20:38] he could surf
[00:20:39] at 4 years old
[00:20:41] it was like crazy
[00:20:42] he just had this natural ability
[00:20:44] to
[00:20:45] he used to sneak out of the house
[00:20:46] and ride his brother's skateboard
[00:20:48] in the neighborhood
[00:20:49] at 4
[00:20:50] I was such a great mother
[00:20:51] I was unaware
[00:20:52] I had to go find him
[00:20:53] like wait anyone see Brayden lately
[00:20:55] what happens with your youngest
[00:20:56] is you think one of the older ones
[00:20:57] are watching them
[00:20:58] and none of them are
[00:20:59] they're all doing their own thing
[00:21:00] and then you're like wait
[00:21:02] I'm missing one
[00:21:03] I did that a couple of times
[00:21:05] and
[00:21:06] just truth be told
[00:21:08] so I'd find him and he'd be skateboarding
[00:21:10] in the neighborhood
[00:21:11] I'd be like you're 4
[00:21:12] you're not supposed to skateboard
[00:21:13] he ripped his chin open
[00:21:15] skateboarding
[00:21:16] it was just
[00:21:17] then I'm like Lord is it right
[00:21:19] to take my sons
[00:21:20] I mean I know you're calling us
[00:21:22] to London
[00:21:23] but there's no ocean there
[00:21:24] and they've got this identity
[00:21:26] and this affinity
[00:21:27] with
[00:21:28] you know the Pacific Ocean
[00:21:30] which tends to be warmer
[00:21:32] than the Atlantic English
[00:21:34] ocean
[00:21:35] Lord
[00:21:37] and Lord
[00:21:38] I remember him speaking to me
[00:21:40] speaking to me if you will
[00:21:41] speaking to me saying
[00:21:43] I will be their identity
[00:21:45] I will be their identity
[00:21:47] but nevertheless it's one thing to do it
[00:21:49] Lord I'm willing to go
[00:21:50] but is it right to uproot my children
[00:21:53] and take this away from them
[00:21:55] and that was what
[00:21:56] I remember the devil
[00:21:57] just like coming up and going
[00:21:58] they're all surfing
[00:21:59] let's talk
[00:22:00] you're like okay
[00:22:02] you know
[00:22:03] is it right to do it to your children
[00:22:04] like I understand
[00:22:05] you know this is
[00:22:06] Brian Fields maybe
[00:22:07] you know called
[00:22:08] but really
[00:22:09] you're gonna do this to your kids
[00:22:10] you're like oh
[00:22:11] I didn't think
[00:22:12] you all of a sudden this
[00:22:14] this fear
[00:22:15] like what am I doing to my children
[00:22:18] here's the time
[00:22:19] to pull out the personal promises
[00:22:22] of God
[00:22:23] and repeat them in prayer
[00:22:24] God had given me
[00:22:26] has given me a special scripture
[00:22:28] for each of my children
[00:22:29] that I pray over them again and again
[00:22:31] it was time to pull out the promises
[00:22:33] and saying Lord this is what you said
[00:22:34] over that one
[00:22:35] this is what you said
[00:22:36] over this one
[00:22:38] had nothing to do with surfing
[00:22:41] he crosses
[00:22:42] he's been on the east side
[00:22:43] of the J.Bak River
[00:22:45] which is a tributary
[00:22:47] of the Jordan River
[00:22:49] it's one of the largest
[00:22:50] tributaries of the Jordan River
[00:22:52] it's 50 miles north
[00:22:55] of the Dead Sea
[00:22:57] it's one of the fullest places
[00:22:58] of the Jordan River
[00:22:59] and it actually means
[00:23:00] luxuriant river
[00:23:02] but once Jacob crosses the J.Bak
[00:23:05] with all of his family
[00:23:08] with all of his servants
[00:23:09] all of his livestock
[00:23:10] it's going to make escape
[00:23:13] more difficult
[00:23:15] and nearly impossible
[00:23:17] and Jacob prepares an
[00:23:18] appeasement gift
[00:23:19] for his brother very quickly
[00:23:20] think about it
[00:23:22] Jacob who's keen to get
[00:23:23] the best from self from Laban
[00:23:25] is now willing to give
[00:23:26] the best away for peace
[00:23:28] 200 female goats
[00:23:29] 20 male goats
[00:23:30] 20 ewes
[00:23:31] 20 rounds
[00:23:32] 30 camels
[00:23:33] you know I like the camels
[00:23:35] 40 cows
[00:23:36] 10 bowls
[00:23:37] 20 donkeys
[00:23:38] 10 foals
[00:23:40] he instructs his servant
[00:23:41] to put some space
[00:23:42] between each of the groups
[00:23:44] like make it look really impressive
[00:23:46] make it look like such a
[00:23:48] and there's more
[00:23:49] not only the ronko knives
[00:23:51] but there's more
[00:23:53] you answer this deal now
[00:23:55] and we will throw in
[00:23:57] 30 camels
[00:23:59] unbelievable deal
[00:24:01] Jacob sends his family
[00:24:03] his livestock
[00:24:04] his servants
[00:24:05] to the west side of the J.Bak
[00:24:07] then he finds a place
[00:24:09] where he is all alone
[00:24:11] has no one with him
[00:24:13] nothing beside him
[00:24:15] it is reminiscent of his time in Bethel
[00:24:17] when he had a rock for a pillow
[00:24:19] and he was all alone
[00:24:21] and this time rather than a dream
[00:24:23] there is a man
[00:24:25] but not just any man that comes
[00:24:27] and rest with them all night long
[00:24:29] and what a man
[00:24:31] Jacob seems to go from
[00:24:33] one dangerous situation to another
[00:24:35] fleeing Laban
[00:24:36] and then reuniting with Esau
[00:24:38] Jacob relied on God
[00:24:40] and his promise that his descendants
[00:24:42] would be as numerous as the sand of the sea
[00:24:45] if Esau would have killed Jacob and his family
[00:24:47] the promise could not be fulfilled
[00:24:49] as Jacob went forward
[00:24:51] and trusted God's promise
[00:24:53] it gave him hope concerning the future
[00:24:55] like Jacob we also face
[00:24:57] uncertainty in our own lives
[00:24:59] and the only way ahead
[00:25:01] is trusting in God and his word
[00:25:03] we hope you have been blessed
[00:25:05] by today's Bible study
[00:25:07] for more information about the
[00:25:09] Gracious Words radio program
[00:25:11] and the teaching ministry of Cheryl Brodersen
[00:25:13] please visit our website at
[00:25:15] GraciousWords.com
[00:25:17] Coming up next time on the Gracious Words program
[00:25:19] we'll look at God's blessings for Jacob
[00:25:21] as we continue our series
[00:25:23] Our Great Creator
[00:25:25] in the book of Genesis with Cheryl Brodersen
[00:25:27] We do hope you make plans to join us
[00:25:29] Again for more information
[00:25:31] please visit our website at
[00:25:33] GraciousWords.com
[00:25:45] This program is sponsored by
[00:25:47] Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California
Sponsors
