Title Jacob's First Night/Genesis 29: 17-30
Today is Passion Sunday.
There are three main types of hardships in our life.
The first is the righteous sufferings of the Savior.
The suffering he suffered for sinners without sin or trespass could be called righteous suffering. And the second affliction is the ambiguity of suffering.
Joseph is falsely accused of being imprisoned, and Daniel is misunderstood and goes into the lions' den with slander.
These are called hardships.
And there is also suffering as a penalty for sin. This suffering is a relatively common suffering that we suffer as the price of our sins.
The main character of today's text is Jacob, and the suffering that Jacob suffered was also suffering as a punishment for his sins. Jacob said to his father, Isaac, to his older brother Esau, "I am old, so hunt and cook for me.
When Jacob, who had been given the firstborn’s inheritance, came out, his brother Esau went in and, knowing that his younger brother had received the firstborn’s inheritance in his stead, beat the ground and wept and cried, ‘How could a younger brother who came out of one womb deceive me like this, wearing sheepskin and coming in again? I deceived my father while calling his name, and by using this weakness, can he receive the inheritance of the eldest son that I will receive?” I saw my brother who had been deceived by hitting the ground weeping, and was afraid of his wrath, so he ran away at night.
And Jacob went to his maternal uncle's house and worked as a servant.
Then, when my maternal uncle asked me what my wages would be, I said, "Maternal uncle, I am not married yet, but Rachel, the second daughter of your uncle, is beautiful, so if you take me as my wife, I will repay you by working as a servant for 7 years. " So Jacob worked as a servant for the one he loved like Haru for 7 years, and at the 7th year, he had his first night.
On the first night of the Israelites, the bridegroom goes in and turns off the lights and waits for the groom, then the groom enters to sleep, and after sunrise, the groom checks the groom's face. So, all night long, he knew that it was Rachel he loved, and Jacob confessed that he loved him, and then woke up and looked up to find out that it was not Rachel whom he longed for, but rather Leah, his uncle's eldest daughter.
Leah was less handsome than Rachel. Then Jacob hit the ground and wept, and asked how his uncle could deceive me like this. When he thought about it, he saw that his older brother was weeping seven years ago, and the sin he had planted sprouted after seven years. . And he can't even change his wife like a thing now. You can't even sell it to the market as a beast.
And when I sit in my beloved wife's room and look at her, happiness cannot be expected.
In this situation, I fell into disappointment and thought it was fate and thought it was my sin.
But Jacob did not sit down and got up. Then I went to visit my maternal uncle. “Maternal uncle, how could you do this to me?” “Jacob, the law in our town does not allow the older daughter to be left behind and the younger daughter to go first. So I will give Rachel you are waiting for in seven years, and after that, work for another seven years, and then I will give you two daughters. will give it all
And not only that, but I will also give you my daughter's maidservants so that you can become a wife." In this way, Jacob's unhappiness turned into happiness, and hardship became the start of a new beginning. So, after 20 years, he was rejected and returned to his hometown. This is the message of today's text about returning to .
In the words of the text, we find three important events.
The first is human history.
In biblical terms, today's history is about 6,000 years. 2,000 years from the time of Adam and Eve to Noah, 2,000 years from Noah to Jesus, and 2,000 years from Jesus to today. However, there are two kinds of people at this time. There's communism like Red Esau, who likes to fight. I like to craft weapons. I like to fight. Anyone can see that communism is taking over the world. However, the woman the Bible speaks of in Mother's arms is the church. Giving alms in the church, helping others, praying, searching the Word, serving the Lord, and winning the victory of Jacob, who looked like a very weak woman, is that the rise of communism at the end of this era will eventually fall. , that people who depend on God will triumph. Hallelujah!
Therefore, when Isaac was 60 years old, a red and white boy appeared in Rebekah's womb, and Esau seemed to win, but Jacob's victory is a prophetic event in the history of the times.
The second is a redemptive event.
And those who go out wearing the clothes of Jesus' grace will surely receive salvation. If we solve this in the soteriology of redemption, today we are not made of these things, such as our efforts, our actions, and our own training, but clearly, only through the merits of Jesus, the Son of God, the work of salvation will take place. There is no name under heaven to be saved, but only the name of Jesus gives salvation. Hallelujah!
The third is Jacob's tribulation.
Now, what Jacob started with happiness has now turned into tribulation. Marriage, which started on the first night to be happy, is a problem that cannot be solved when you open your eyes. solved it with A person named Jacob, whenever tribulation comes, rises up from the tribulation and seeks a life that can solve it right away. Problems change and blessings happen, and tribulations change and blessings happen. So Jacob changes and becomes Israel. It happened. Today, as we enter the Holy Week, the suffering that comes to us now is not the suffering that we will suffer, but that the Lord has already suffered. Clearly, we must seek a solution so that hardships can change and the work of blessings must occur. I bless you in the name of the Lord that this grace may come to you.