“No Process, No Progress”
TEXT: Genesis 31:1 – 34:1-31, KJV
Youth Focus this week: Learning the first 15 books of the Bible
Key Verse: “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” Genesis 31:42, KJV
“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless. But God saw the fix I was in and how hard I had worked and last night rendered his verdict.” Genesis 31:42, MSG
Introduction: Hannaniah’s False Prophecy of 2 years led to Jer 29:11: “The plans I have for you!”
PRO – means “forward” but can also mean “for.” CESS means movement
Processional – suggests that theres a pause in the program before anything else happens
We are oftentimes confusing what we call the devils punishment with God calls Process!
Previous Points:
- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit created man, the highest earthly species in His own image and For specific Purpose
- Man’s purposes on earth are to, Reproduce (Gen 1:28), Replenish (1:28) to Be Responsible (1:28) and Responsive (1:29 Behold – 2:17)
- Angels are also created beings capable of love, logic and liberty
- Lucifer, once a gifted Angel was removed from Heaven and has become the enemy of God known as satan or the devil
- Satan only has one power….. to convince us that we have none which he does by tempting us to sin through 3 tricks: Lust of Flesh, Lust of Eyes and Pride of Life!
- God has given man the power to resist sin with love, logic and liberty!
- CR: Job 2:3 The Hebrew Word: Chazaq (khaw-zek) means to grow firm inculcating that God will often teach us life lessons through curriculums we may not like.
THREE PRIMARY LESSONS WE LEARN FROM STUDYING GENESIS
- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit created everything in this world For Purpose!
- Man has been given Love, Logic and LibertyI
- Holding to Gods unchanging Hand through hard times is the harbinger of Biblical Christianity
BACKGROUND BIBLICAL CONTEXT:
Chapter 27 Issac gives the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau Chapter 28 Jacob leaves home and heads to his Uncle Laban’s but sees a ladder on the way Chapter 29 Jacob makes it to Uncle Labans house and meets the love of his life Rachel Chapter 30 Jacob works for his Uncle, builds a family with his two wives and gets his own field (Labans sons tend Jacobs few flock and Jacob tends Labans)
| Leah | Zilpah | Rachel | Bilhah |
| Reuben | Gad | Dan | |
| Simeon | Asher | Naphtali | |
| Levi | |||
| Judah | |||
| Issachar | |||
| Zebulun | |||
| Dinah | |||
| Joseph |
“20 Possible Pieces of Gods Process to Move Us Forward.”
Chapter 31
1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.
Transliteration: kabod Definition: abundance, honor, glory
- God may be using people who lie on you as part of the process {Joseph at Potiphars, Jesus}
2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
- God may be using people who change on you as part of the process
3 And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
Bear in mind that this is Moses’ writing Not Jacobs; so this verse is the voice of a man who knows God
Transliteration: Yhvh Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-ho-vaw’)
Relational name of God used 6,800 times (Ps 23:1)
- God may be using people-problems as part of the process {not financial, not credit, not sick, not sin}
People-Problems are sometimes the main reasons we seek personal revelation and personal relationship because there’s nothing more outside of our control to handle than other homosapiens
4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,
Name Rachel meant Beautiful Lamb but the name Leah meant Wild Cow
Ugly vs. Pretty; Bad vs. Good; Joy vs. Pain
- God may be using this to Balance us as part of the process
5 And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.
6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
- God may be using this as a humbling situation as part of the process
8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Transliteration: Elohim Phonetic Spelling: (el-o-heem’) Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
The God whom I do not know personally as Yahweh
- God may be using this process so that we can come to know Him more intimately/personally
ELOHIM to EL SHADDAI to YAHWEH
My Mommas God to a Mighty God to My God
10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
EL
Transliteration: el Phonetic Spelling: (ale) Definition: God of all gods/All Mighty
| Name | Definition | Scripture |
| El Tsaddik | All Righteous God | Isa 45:21 |
| El Shaddai | All Sufficient God | Gen 17:1, 28:3, 35:11, 43:14, 48:3, 49:25, Ex 6:3, Nm 24:6, Ruth 1:20 Ps 22:10, 68:15, 91:1, Ezek 1:24, 10:5, 23:21 |
| El Elyon | The Most High God | Gen 14:20, Ps 9:2, |
| El Roi (roh-ee) | The God who Sees | Gen 16:13 |
12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
God never says that Jacob did anything wrong even though Laban did him wrong
- God could be using this as an opportunity for us to practice purity as part of the process
13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
- God may be desiring that this thing improves our prayer life as part of the process
14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?
15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him {Uncle Laban} not that he fled.
- God may teaching us how to better use privacy power as part of the process
Everybody should know everything about us
21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
- God may be trying to reveal that He has us covered under His protection as part of the process
25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
Protection against false accusations
27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
Protection against manipulative people
28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
Lower case “g”
Transliteration: Elohim Phonetic Spelling: (el-o-heem’) Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Still Elohim because it denotes a basic name for God or a god that we do not relate with daily
- God could be using this process to reveal the difference between Him and what we’ve been putting before Him
31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
- God may be using this process to reveal what you don’t know about people you put on a pedestal
Rachel is a Thief
33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images.
Rachel is a Liar
36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
- God could be using this process to teach us the importance of being patient
39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. ***42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
49 And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
Regardless of how bad Laban treated him Jacob still was willing to forgive
- God may be using this process to teach us the importance of being peaceful people
50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee:
52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
Chapter 32
1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Name Edom means Red
They are the descendants of Esau
Play on Red Color and Anger face and pictures of the devil
- God could be using this process to help us own our part of the problem (100% of your 20%)
4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
- God may be using this process to teach us just how unworthy we really are of His blessings
11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Its during moments of privacy that God moves us most along the process
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Name Israel has usually been believed to mean ‘Struggle’
Judaic Belief seems to be contructed around the idea of Process:
Here is the essence of Judaism: We do believe that goodness prevails, but the happy ending is not our focus. Our focus is the struggle to get there. Regardless of the result, the struggle itself is holy. If you strive for goodness, you’re in, even before you get there. If you’re trying to be better, even if you fall sometimes, you’re on the path. It’s all about the struggle. www.chabod.org
Because the name Israel is made of the Combination (sara), meaning to become rigid/unbreakable from the retention of liquidity, and (El) meaning God the BSV is:
One who will Never Break Away from God because He’s become spiritually strong through struggle
- God could be using this process to perfect us in some area of ministry (CR: Ps 138:8; Rm 8:28)
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
ELOHIM
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3 And he {Jacob} passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Only God sets the time that ends process and begins progress
- God may be using this process to set us free from stressors (i.e, guilt, unforgiveness & envy)
5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20 And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.
El-el-ohe – Israel means The ‘Mighty God of Israel’ or ‘My God’
Process ends when the mission of God is completed so that another process can begin
- This process may be Gods method of giving us a personal encounter with Him that will change our lives forever
Chapter 34
1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.
2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.
3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.
6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.
7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in[a] Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade[b] in it, and acquire property in it.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask.
12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”
13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor.
14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.
15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.
16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.
17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”
18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.
19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.
20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city.
21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.
22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are.
23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”
24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.
26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where[c] their sister had been defiled.
28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.
29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
ILLUSTRATION:
FOR FURTHER STUDY:
CONCLUSION:
PRAYER LIST:
QUESTIONS?
HOMEWORK: Learn first 6 names of the 12 sons of Jacob