I want it and I want it NOW!

Does anybody know who said that? <My children. The girl from Willy Wonka.> Does this sound like us today? Society. It starts with children. What do they want? Everything they see on TV and they want it now. Adolescents and teenagers want it now. They get out of school and get a job and want a house with a two-car garage, three cars, etc. Do you get the picture? Who is this right now? Us. Today we’re going to see that this was Esau. We’ll see the consequences of Esau’s impatience. I wanted to emphasize this because the next time you do this, you can look at each other and say, "You’re Esau, aren’t you?"

Chip off the old block

We’re going to see Isaac do exactly what Abraham did. He’s going to lie about his wife and call her his sister. Does that ring a bell? Isaac’s a "chip off the old block"—just like Abraham. Is that not true with what we pass on?

A Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Does anybody recognize that? Jacob and Esau. The "wolf" is Jacob in the "sheep’s" (Esau’s) clothing.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!

--Sir Walter Scott

Who’s that? Jacob. All over the place. Jacob. We’ll see that this morning. Jacob is an interesting character in the Bible. We saw how Abraham’s relationship grew with God. We saw a little bit about Isaac (with more this morning). He had one, but there were some things that he wanted to see done rather than what God had already told him to do. However, Jacob is one of those character studies in the Bible that makes you wonder, "Why would God ever choose Jacob?" He is just a sorry, low-down, good-for-nothing individual—just terrible! I’m going to say these things and you’re going to say, "But he’s a Patriarch! He’s really up there! Father of the tribes! He started it all!" I hope when we get through this that you’ll see his relationship to God. He starts out as a descendant of a strong " Old Testament Christian" (Abraham) and we’ll see that he’s very far away from the Lord. He had no time for God. We’re going to see how his relationship developed.

Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place.

Does anybody recognize that from the lesson? Bethel. That’s when Jacob really started thinking, "Wait a minute. Maybe there really is a God and He takes care of me."

Genesis 25:19-20

This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

If you figure this out, you’d almost think this is lower Alabama (with people marrying their cousins). Abraham’s brother was Nahor. Nahor’s son was Laban. Laban’s son was Bethuel. So Rebekah is actually Abraham’s great niece. That’s what his purpose was, though. He said, "Go back and marry someone in the family." That’s a concept I want you to keep in mind.

Genesis 25:21

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Does that sound familiar? Sarah.

Genesis 25:22

The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

She was going to have twins.

Genesis 25:23

The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

It sounds fine that one will be stronger than the other, but notice the last part: the older will serve the younger. Does everybody understand that? The last-born is going to be in charge of or rule over the first-born.

Who is saying this? The Lord, God. So this is God’s plan. Just like God told Abraham that he would have many descendants—what did Abraham and Sarah start doing? "This is what God’s promise or will is, so let’s carry it out. Let’s make sure His will is done." They did it in their own way, rather than waiting on God. I want you to keep that in mind because here’s something that God told Rebekah while she was still pregnant, saying, "Rebekah, the older will serve the younger." So what does Rebekah think as a mother? What does she know? It’s backwards, but God has ordained it. This is God’s will. This is God’s plan. Rebekah says, "I now know God’s plan and I haven’t even had the babies yet. I know what’s going to happen."

Will Rebekah help or hinder God’s plan? She hinders because she tries to work out God’s will—just like Abraham. The lesson we all need to learn is that God will show us dreams and make promises to us. We will see His will, and what will we do? Instead of waiting patiently, being still and quiet, and waiting for God to work miraculously, we try to go out and do whatever His will is so that we can stand up after it’s done and say, "Look what I did," as opposed to, "Look what God did." That’s something we need to learn today. Not: Want it now, But: Wait on God. If there is a theme here, it’s "wait on God."

There were two nations. Esau had the Edomites. We’ll see them in contention with the tribe of Israel later on..

Genesis 25:24-26

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Esau means, "hairy." Jacob means, "grasping the heel." Now we know their names. Jacob and Esau.

Who’s going to be in charge? Jacob. You’re going to hear about Jacob for the rest of Genesis. We have Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. From Jacob comes a bunch of kids. They become the tribes of Israel. You may not know them all, but you’ll know certain ones of them because they follow through the rest of the Bible. You need to know the tribe of Judah. When I say "tribe," it’s just a "family" or "clan" that comes after Jacob. So Jacob is very, very important to understanding the rest of the Bible.

I’m going to go through this more with you next week. You’ve probably got diagrams in your Bible covering the tribes of Israel. We’ll see this more.

Genesis 25:27-28

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

What a contrast! Esau was a man’s man. Jacob was a mama’s boy. Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. What does this mean? The family was dysfunctional. You could walk into the family tent at night and feel the tension. Every time Rebekah says something bad about Esau, what does Isaac do? Defends him, "Well, that’s just a man. He’s out there shooting wild turkeys. He’s providing for the family." Whenever Isaac said anything bad about Jacob, what did Rebekah do? Took up for him. There is contention in the family.

By the way (and I’ve told you this since day one), if you go out and buy some novel that you think is the greatest book you’ve ever read, (to me) you ain’t seen nothing until you’ve read these stories. If you can get by the names and really read the stories, I promise you that you’ll see families and people interacting just like you today. It’s in Genesis—the first book of the Bible! It’s amazing. You’ll look at it and agree that soap operas have nothing on the Bible. It’s all here.

Again, the key is relationships. That’s what we’re looking for.

Genesis 25:29-31

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

Edom means, "red" and is where we get "Edomites."

It doesn’t say here, but what do you think Rebekah’s been telling Jacob? "You’re the one! God told me before you were even born." Can you see her, every day, going through this with Jacob?

They’ve grown up. Esau comes in and is hungry. I don’t know whether women can really appreciate this. I can’t wait to get out in the yard and get muddy, wet, dirty, sweaty, and bloody. I come in and feel, "Ah. That was great! I love that." I’m hungry. I’m famished. Give me anything. Can you all identify with that?

Genesis 25:32-34

"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

How hungry was Esau? He was starving. What was ruling his mind? His stomach, not his brain.

Remember that God told Rebekah what was going to happen. That was totally against what the practice was. The oldest would always inherit the birthright and the blessing. We're going to see that there are two parts here: the birthright and the blessing. The oldest always got them. God said, "That won’t happen in this case. The older will serve the younger."

The birthright was material possessions. The blessing meant, "You’re it. You’re the leader of the family now. You’re the patriarch. You’re the one." The birthright was the inheritance and the blessing acknowledgement of the passing of family control.

I want it and I want it NOW! Do you see what Esau’s doing? This is not the last. We’ll see this all the time with Esau’s mentality. If you have this mentality, how is your relationship with God? Weak. This week, watch yourself. When you see a commercial on TV, you’ll say to yourself, "I want that." Go get a mirror, look in it, and say, "I am Esau. I want it and I want it now." What does scripture say? Wait on the Lord. Let God provide it so that when you get it, you can tell other people, "God gave it to me. It wasn’t something I did."

My wife taught me a lesson. Many years ago, our TV died. We had one TV in the house. Can you imagine the days like that? But our one and only TV went out. I was in Sears faster than lightning… we can’t exist without a TV. Did I even think about the cost? No. Go get that TV. I need it to satisfy me, watch football games, occupy the kids, etc. So I got the TV. A day or two passed and I noticed that my wife was a little upset. "What’s wrong, honey?" "Nothing." "Come on. Tell me what’s wrong." "Well, I think you should have waited a while and talked to me about this purchase." It was $500 or so. What was I doing? I want it and I want it now. I didn’t want to wait. To make a real long story short, we unplugged the TV for 2-3 months. We told the kids it was gone. One month went by and we replaced it with other things. Two months went by and we forgot about it. It’s amazing. You don’t need it. We survived!

The bottom line is Esau thought more of his stomach than his birthright. Don’t tell me, "Well, I’d never do that in a million years." I’ve done it. You’ve all done it. We compromised something that was more valuable because of how we felt at the time, rather than waiting. We’ve all done that. Esau didn’t care about his birthright. What did he care about? How he felt right then: hungry.

What was Esau’s relationship to God? He didn’t appear to have one. Maybe he’d heard about God, but that’s it. He cared only about himself, how he felt, and right now. To me, this is modern-day America. This is what the media pushes on us through TV, commercials, magazines, and advertising.

God is just begging with us, "Just WAIT! Please wait! I’ll give you more than you’ve ever imagined. Just wait." We don’t wait. We go on. We’re impulsive. We’re all guilty of that. Every one of us is guilty. I want it and I want it NOW! We can’t wait.

Genesis 26:2

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.

That is very key throughout the Old Testament. Christ, the Messiah, is going to be born in Israel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants have got to be in Israel. You can see this at the beginning of Matthew 1.

Genesis 26:3-5

Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."

Where did this come from originally? Genesis 12, the most important chapter of the Bible. There are other important chapters in the Bible and I’ll tell you about them later. This is the blessing. You’ve got to nail this down. This is what God is doing to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob—all the way down. He’s saying, "I’m giving you the land. I’m going to bless you. I’m going to give you innumerable descendants. And through your offspring, all nations will be blessed." How is that? It’s Christ, again. It isn’t said just one time in the Old Testament. God says it over and over and traces it through the Old Testament, "That’s where I’m headed. I’m giving you the Old Testament to point to the Messiah so that you can endure, patiently." We are encouraged through the Scriptures that we might have hope. This is what God planned: to have Christ. You can’t miss that. It’s really good.

Genesis 26:6-33

This is Isaac dealing with the people around him. He shows some spiritual maturity in how he handles them. You can read that.

Genesis 26:34-35

When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

When Abraham wanted Isaac to be married to Rebekah, what did he do? Keep it in the family, right? What did Esau do? Esau actually went against his parents and married Basemath (which is an interesting name). Two people have children on the way in here, right? Here are some good names for your babies. (Ha ha).

These were Hittites. Hittites were Canaanites. Canaanites were people living in this area. Esau married outside the family without the blessing of Isaac and Rebekah. What was Esau saying? "I want it, I want it now, and this is the way I want it." And they were a source of grief. This is going to come up again.

Genesis 27:1-4

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow--and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."

Bells, whistles, alarms. What did Isaac just do? He tried to make it happen his own way. What else did he do? What had God already told Rebekah that I’m sure she shared with Isaac? Who’s going to get it? Jacob. What is Isaac trying to do? He’s going to give it to Esau. Is that disobedience? Is that sin? Is that going against God’s will? God’s going to take care of it, but here’s man, again, saying, "Well, I know what Rebekah said, but maybe Rebekah didn’t really hear what God said, so I think Esau should get it. I’m going to give it to Esau." I’m sure Rebekah told him 50,000 times. Nearly every day, "Now listen Isaac, God told me Jacob was to get the blessing." You don’t think she did? Isaac was probably thinking, "Well, the Lord didn’t tell me. She’s probably wrong."

Genesis 27:5-6

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau,

This is so good. I know some of you do, but I don’t know why all of you don’t read the Bible. Read this. It is so good. It is a drama.

Genesis 27:8-10

Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies."

What is Rebekah doing? She’s going to deceive Isaac. His eyes are weak—he can’t see well.

Genesis 27:11-13

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me."

Did you know that the curse fell on her? Did anybody read that? What’s the curse? She never got to see Jacob again alive after this incident. They were separated. She never got to see Jacob, the love of her life whom she cared for and nurtured. God removed Jacob from her sight and she never got to see him again.

Genesis 27:14-15

So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

This is called deception. That is what this is: manipulation and deception.

Genesis 27:16-20

She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The LORD your God gave me success," he replied.

Lie!

"How did you find it so quickly, my son? I mean, was the turkey just standing outside the door and you shot it?"

Listen to what Jacob says, "The Lord your God gave me success." Whoa! As far as I’m concerned, Jacob should have been struck dead right then.

Genesis 27:21-29

Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not." Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied. Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness-- an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

Uh Oh.

Jacob is given another chance. What does he say? "I am. I’m Esau!"

"Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field."—He smelled like dirt.

That is an accurate blessing because that’s what’s going to happen. Esau’s descendants are going to live in servitude to Jacob’s descendants.

Genesis 27:30-33a

After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." Isaac trembled violently and said,

I don’t know why you all don’t read this. This is so descriptive with interaction and dysfunctional families.

Genesis 27:33b-35

"Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him--and indeed he will be blessed!" When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me--me too, my father!" But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."

So Jacob got Esau’s birthright and his blessing which is what God had in mind all along. I don’t think God had it in mind for Rebekah and Jacob to do it this way and we’re going to see the consequences of it. There are consequences for Rebekah and Jacob stepping in and not waiting on God. We’re going to see those consequences.

Genesis 27:36b-37

Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?" Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"

This blessing is the kind of word that is honored by family. When I give a blessing to my son, it is his. It’s not just an entitlement that somebody expects, but I say to people, "This is my son. He has this." It meant much more to them then than it does now. Our "word" today is kind of wishy-washy. I wish it weren’t so. I wish your word were your word, period.

But there was no blessing or birthright left for Esau.

Genesis 27:38-41

Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

Esau was mad. I want it and I want it now.

Genesis 27:42-43

When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.

So here we go: back up to Haran. This is where Abraham originally came through. He’s going back up there.

Genesis 27:44-45

Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"

Actually, she did.

Genesis 27:46

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."

Now, remember whom Esau married. These are her daughter-in-laws.

Genesis 28:1

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman.

Here’s Isaac bowing to the pressure Rebekah put on him.

Genesis 28:2-4

Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham."

This is Isaac telling Jacob this. Isaac said, "OK. God blessed you and it’s going to work this way. Now go. Get out of here. Your mother thinks you should leave." Note that Rebekah didn’t come to Isaac and say, "Jacob needs to leave because Esau’s going to kill him." What did she come to Isaac with? "I’m worried that if Jacob stays here, he’s going to marry one of these women, so let’s get him out of here." What do you call that, again? More deception. More manipulation. More of "I’m going to get my own way about these things."

Genesis 28:10-11

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

What a man. Jacob was a real man—using a stone for a pillow. Ha ha.

Genesis 28:12-14

He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.

What does that sound like? Genesis 12. Do you see that it’s being repeated: to Abraham, to Isaac, and now to Jacob?

We don’t have time, but go see John 1:45-50. You’ll see that Jesus is calling His disciples. They asked, "Who is he?" They answered, "Well, he’s the carpenter from Nazareth." The response from one of the disciples is, "How could anything good come from Nazareth?" Jesus replies, "Now I see someone who has no guile or deception." He’s referring to Jacob and Rebekah’s manipulation. Then He said, "You will see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man from heaven." This very reference (the stairway on earth) is talking about Christ. This is a future reference to Christ. The way you get to God is through? Jesus Christ. That’s what it’s talking about. Jesus fulfills that in this conversation in John 1. It’s astounding. Go read it. You’ll be amazed by what it says there.

John 1:45-51

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Genesis 28:15

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

This is God talking to Jacob. Someone tell me. What is the spiritual relationship between Jacob and God right now? Before he left, what was it? Did we see Jacob praising the Lord, talking to God, or relying on Him? No. So where is he now? His relationship with God is a big, fat zero right now. He’s on this trip and he has God appear to him. What would happen to you if God appeared to you like this? Whoa! It would make you change. God promises to be with Jacob.

Genesis 28:16

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place.

Genesis 28:17-19

He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Now listen to this. This is you, accepting Christ and trying to understand the Christian life and how nice and rosy it’s going to be. Here is Jacob’s spiritually mature response to God who has appeared to him and made all of these promises. Listen to this. If you were Jacob, you’d say, "Yes, God. I’ll praise you and obey you." But listen to this. Here’s Jacob’s response.

Genesis 28:20-21

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Isn’t that something? What had God already promised him? Everything. Then here comes an "If, then." IF God does all this, THEN I will make Him my God.

Don’t miss this. You and I are just like Jacob with God, today. God gives us all of these promises today. You should accept those as they are and make them a part of your life. When things come up, you hold onto those promises.

-OR-

You do this: "IF, God, you do these things and those things, THEN I’ll do this." Do we not do that? We do that. We take the promises of God and put an "if" in front of them. What does God want from you? That’s not faith. What is that called? Conditional love. If you’ll do this, then I’ll do this. God wants unconditional love, not conditional love.

Genesis 29

Jacob leaves and goes to his mother’s brother’s (uncle Laban). He gets there.

Genesis 29:16

Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

Now those are good names. Forget "Basemath." Ha ha.

Genesis 29:17

Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.

That’s a nice way of saying that Leah wasn’t very pretty.

Genesis 29:18

Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."

So Leah was older.

He works seven years. You can read this. This is the consequence that you’re going to see. He works for seven years, is ready to consummate his marriage to Rachel, and guess who’s with him in the dark? Leah. He comes storming out of the tent, runs to Laban and asks, "What have you done to me?" Laban looks at him and says, "Well, you don’t expect my younger daughter to be married before my older one, do you? Work another seven years, and I’ll give you Rachel." So he works another seven years. This is all in here! This is fascinating stuff! Let someone else drive you home so that you can read this on the way home from church..