It Is Time To Move On Series

IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON

Genesis 30:25-26 (NIV) "25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

INTRODUCTION:

This might be the time for you to move on with your life and leave the past behind.

This might be the time for you to be forward looking and make a decision to advance further.

Many people are still stuck up with the past failures and mistakes they made.

They have difficulty moving on.

Sad to say, they lack the boldness and the resolve to achieve their dreams.

Are you one of them?

That is what we are going to talk about today.

It is time to move on.

We will study the highlights of Genesis 30.

This chapter is actually divided into three parts.

The first part is all about the growing family of Jacob with children being born from Rachel, Leah and their maidservants.

This is how the twelve tribes of Israel came about.

Remember that there are twelve tribes of Israel.

Out of Leah came four sons:

Reuben means "see, a son."

Simeon - means "hearing."

Levi - means "joined, or attached."

And Judah means "Yahweh be praised."

Then, out of Bilhah (Rachel's servant) were born Dan - means "judge"

Napthali - means "My wrestling"

Then, out of Zilpah, (Leah's maidservant) weer born Gad - means "troop, invader or good fortune."

Then, Asher - means "happy"

There were two more sons born of Leah:

Issachar - means "Man of fire"

and Zebulun - means "dwelling"

Then, finally, Rachel had two sons:

Joseph - means "Increaser" and the youngest, Benjamin means "Son of the right hand."

The reason why the servants were involved in the child bearing is found in verse 3.

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children from Jacob, she became jealous and said:

“Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”

She wanted to build a family by her own efforts.

She cannot wait for God to give her children of her own, so she had to solve her own problem by creating more problems.

That is human nature.

The second part of this chapter is his request to his father in law to move on so that he could go back to his own homeland.

He realized that it is time for him to cut his dependency from Laban and to start his own life.

It took him a long time but finally, he wanted to move forward.

He made some final planning and preparations so that he could get as much livestock as possible from Laban.

The last part of the chapter is a fitting conclusion of the chapter regarding the man who was abundantly blessed by God.

In assessing his properties, he discovered that he own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

This is a picture of the man who began owning nothing when he went to a place he has never been before.

He started as a slave and worked hard himself until he had tremendous properties of his own greater than his master.

This is what God will do to people who fulfill God's purpose and destiny for their lives.

All your dreams can be achieved when God is there.

And so, there are three lessons that we are going to learn from this chapter:

1. In relation to his growing family, he discovered that there is a root of bitterness and envy that is also being manifested.

2. In relation to his future, he resolved that it is time to make a decision to go home.

3. In relation to his possession, he observed how abundantly God has blessed him so far.

Everyday, we also learn important lessons about life and we make our decision based on what we have observed about ourselves and our circumstances.

Sometimes, we are so overwhelmed with sin that we do not move forward in faith.

However, to those who move on can achieve their dreams and fulfill their destiny.

And so, where are you at this time?

Let us learn from the life of Jacob.

THE STAGES OF LIFE

1. THE DISCOVERY: THE ROOT OF ENVY IS PRESENT IN THE FAMILY

Genesis 30:1 (NIV) "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die."

The first thing we can notice in the life of Jacob is that his family is growing.