SermonBetrayal and Incest
An all-creatures Bible Message

Betrayal and Incest
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
30 July 2017
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 29:1-30
Psalm 105:1-11
Matthew 19:4-6

Betrayal and incest are about what we find in Bible passages, but that doesn’t mean that they are in the heavenly will of God, for they are not; they are of the ways of this corrupt world.
 
Remember that Isaac married Rebekah a relative, and as we will see, her son, Jacob wants to marry his first cousin from the same family.
 
We also find it interesting that the Bible says we should not approach any woman who is a blood relative, but it excludes first cousins from the list of people, but a first cousin is still a blood relative, so we are left in a quandary about the exact meaning.
 
So, as we look at Genesis 29:1-30, let’s keep our eyes and minds open to recognize the betrayal and incest in this Biblical account.

1. Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east.
 
2. And he looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.

Just think about the fact that the sheep knew where the water was, and that they were thirsty, so having to wait for water was like a form of torture.

3. When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
 
4. And Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" And they said, "We are from Haran."
 
5. And he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him."

Laban is the brother of Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, which makes Laban’s children blood relatives.

6. And he said to them, "Is it well with him?" And they said, "It is well, and behold, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep."

Therefore, Rachel is Jacob’s first cousin, which we should keep in mind.

7. And he said, "Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them."
 
8. But they said, "We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep."
 
9. While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
 
10. And it came about, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went up, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

Note carefully that the writer three times emphasizes that Rachel is the daughter of Laban, Jacob’s mother’s brother, so that the readers will recognize that Jacob and Rachel are first cousins.
 
The writer seems to have understood that this intermarriage was not right in the eyes of God.

11. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept.
 
12. And Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

This tells us that they knew that they were blood relatives, and they didn’t seem to care, as far as having Rachel becoming the wife of Jacob.
 
To us it seems obvious that the writer understands the heavenly will of God more than the supposedly Godly people in this historical Biblical record, and the problem of failing to live in the heavenly will of God continues to haunt us to this very day.
 
Let’s think about it in terms of living in the heavenly will of God, which is also His creation intent; a state of being in which there was no pain or suffering or death, and the basis by which we were to all be living today.
 
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are not living this way, which results in the suffering and death of millions of humans and billions of animals every year.
 
With this understanding in mind, let’s return to our Biblical story.

13. So it came about, when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things.
 
14. And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him a month.
 
15. Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?"
 
16. Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
 
17. And Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face.

If you haven’t noticed it already, these girls are only being described by their physical appearances, and not who they really are in soul and spirit.
 
Women are not to be a man’s property based upon their looks; they are to be the living souls that God created them to be.
 
And don’t forget that God created the animals as living souls just as He did all of us.
 
This is a betrayal of the daughters of Laban from the way that God created them to be, in the same way that what happens to most animals is betrayal of who God created them to be.
 
Betrayal and incest can never be a part of God’s heavenly will.

18. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel."
 
19. And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man; stay with me."
 
20. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
 
21. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her."

Even though we are told that Jacob loved Rachel, she is still being referred to as an object of his lust instead of becoming soul mates.

22. And Laban gathered all the men of the place, and made a feast.
 
23. Now it came about in the evening that he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her.
 
24. Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

Laban is a contributing part of the betrayal and incest that is taking place; he is betraying his promise to Jacob, and he is betraying the women.
 
And we can’t help but think that if Jacob truly loved Rachel, he would have known that he was with Leah and not Rachel.

25. So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?"
 
26. But Laban said, "It is not the practice in our place, to marry off the younger before the first-born.

The hiding of this fact from Jacob in the beginning was all part of Laban’s ongoing betrayal of his covenant with Jacob.

27. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years."
 
28. And Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.
 
29. Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.

Not only is Laban promoting betrayal and incest, he is also promoting polygamy, for as we can see if we read on in the accounting of the life of Jacob, we see that Jacob has children by all four women, and these children become the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.

30. So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.
NASB

And this shows that Jacob has learned from Laban the lessons of betrayal and incest and polygamy.
 
We are not to live this way.
 
We are to live in the heavenly will of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
 
Note what Jesus said when He was questioned about marriage and divorce in Matthew 19:4-6…

4. And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 
 
5. and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh'? 
 
6. "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
NASB

Jesus tells us that the heavenly will of God says that the Two shall be one flesh; He did not say that the five shall become one flesh, which is the case with Jacob and the daughters and maids of Laban.
 
Let’s keep these things in mind as we look at Psalm 105:1-11…

1. Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
 
2. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonders.
 
3. Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

The heart of all who truly seek the Lord will be glad if they live in His heavenly will, and reject the corrupt ways of this world.

4. Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face continually.

If we truly seek to live in the heavenly will of God, then the Holy Spirit who indwells us will give us the strength to overcome the corrupt ways of this world, so that we can set examples for others to follow.
 
This is the way that the Lord wants us to live.

5. Remember His wonders which He has done,
His marvels, and the judgments uttered by His mouth,
 
6. O seed of Abraham, His servant,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

God may have chosen the sons of Jacob to lead the 12 tribes of Israel, but it was not that Jacob and his sons were truly righteous; it had more to do with His promise to make a nation of them.

7. He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
 
8. He has remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
 
9. The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac.
 
10. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
 
11. Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the portion of your inheritance,"
NASB

This is the promise that God made with them, but as we know from the history recorded in the Bible, they failed to follow God’s heavenly will.
 
Instead they compounded betrayal and incest with all the other corrupt ways of this world including killing one another, and mistreating and killing the non-human animals, which has continued to this very day.
 
We need to reject these worldly ways and become the peacemaking children of God that Jesus called us to be.
 
Amen.

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