‘JACOB’S HEARTACHE’
Genesis 35:1-7, 14
There’s an Ozark story about a hound sitting in a country store and howling as hounds do. In comes a stranger who says to the storekeeper, "What’s the matter with the dog?" "He’s sitting on a cocklebur." "Why doesn’t he get off?" "He’d rather holler." (He wasn’t too concerned)
Many today are concerned about such things as foreign policy, military policy, and economic policy. But we as Christians had better be concerned about home policy.
The American family is in trouble today. In some places, there are more divorces than there marriages a year. Children and teenagers are wild and ungodly because of no leadership in the home. The alcoholic
Wife is more common place everyday. Adultery and fornication are common place. The family god is pleasure, and its goal is money and possessions. Its altar is the TV, and the Bible has been replaced by the newspaper, prayer by the telephone, and faith by the credit card. The chief delight is not Jesus but self.
Dr. Jerry Vines said, the situation is desperate, but not hopeless, for the house can become a home, and the man, the woman, and the child can become a family. The key is getting back to God.
I-NOTICE JACOB’S PROBLEM: 35:1A
And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
God speaks to Jacob, calling him back to Bethel. The whole Shechem incident is a result of Jacob going to Shechem instead of to Bethel, where he was supposed to be. We often end up in much difficulty, and bring much difficulty to those around us, because we are not where God has told us to be.
Genesis 34 does not mention God once, and is one of the most sordid chapters in Israel’s history. Genesis 35 mentions God over and over again, more than ten times, plus 11 more times in names such as Bethel and Israel.
A-JACOB HAD A DIRECTING PROLEM IN HIS FAMILY: 34:1-2
And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Jacob chose the place he would live for all the wrong reasons. He wanted to be close to the city (Genesis 33:18), though the city was ungodly. God had called him to Bethel! Jacob’s poor choice of a place to live left his family open to ungodly influence.
Jacob had not only allowed his daughter to go into this godless place but he didn’t know Rachel had stolen idols from her father’s house and taught their worship to their children.
Jacob should have been directing his family in the right direction toward God but he had failed to this.
A judge in a certain southern city was about to sentence a young man to prison. At that time, the father stood up and cried out, “Sentence me Judge, I have been busy all my life making money, it is not my son’s fault, it is my fault.”
It is time that fathers be what God has called them to be in the home and that is the leader, the director.
I visited a ranch for homeless boys several years ago. While I was there, a young boy begin crying aloud. I found out the reason was that he crying was that he had no father. Well there are many boys who are living in a home with fathers, but yet in reality, they have no father. Because the fathers have nothing to do with their responsibility as a parent.
Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.
One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.
God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination.
B-JACOB HAD A DISCIPLINE PROBLEM IN HIS FAMILY: 34:25-30
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
His children had gotten out of hand for they had killed the entire male population of the city of Shechem in retaliations of the rape of their sister.
Disciple in our day is neglected but we can see that it needs to be practice. Proverbs 13:24
Owne Wister, an old college friend of Theodore Roosevelt, was visiting him at the White House. Roosevelt’s daughter Alice kept running in and out of the room until Wister finally asked if there wasn’t something Roosevelt could do to control her.
"Well," said the President, "I can do one of two things. I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both."
In 1978, Thomas Hansen of Boulder Colorado, sued his parents for $350,000 on grounds of "malpractice of parenting." Mom and Dad had botched his upbringing so badly, he charged in his suit, that he would need years of costly psychiatric treatment.
There are two extremes to disciple, one is child abuse and the other is total laxness.
Over 50,000 kids are abused in USA every year. I read where a little boy was scaled to death by hot water because he wan”t potted trained. I also heard about a father who made his son eat tobacco because he talked back to him.
On the other hand some do nothing, such is the case I experienced in a café several years ago. A boy refused to eat the food on his plate. He took the plate and threw it on the floor and told his daddy to shut up. The dad just picked it up and laughed.
The cry of every parent should be the cry of the parents of Samson in the book of Judges. “Teach us what we shall do unto the child that should be born. “
Dr. R.G. Lee in one of his books tells about a tragedy that took place on a Kansas farm many years ago.
The parents had left the gate open and their only child had wandered out during the night. Four days later, they found her dead in a wheat field. At the funeral, the mother cried out, “We left the gate open, We left the gate open”.
It is my prayer that you and I won’t leave the gate open on love and disciple in the home.
C-JACOB HAD A DEVOTION PROLEM IN HIS FAMILY:
As you read chapter 34, Rachel is not mentioned. Someone had said, maybe the spark in their marriage had gone.
Notice had it was in the beginning in Genesis 29:11-“And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.” 18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
A young man said to his father at breakfast one morning, "Dad, I’m going to get married."
"How do you know you’re ready to get married?" asked the father. "Are you in love?"
"I sure am," said the son. "How do you know you’re in love?" asked the father.
"Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night, her dog bit me and I didn’t feel the pain until I got home."
There should be love not only between husband and wives but between the whole family.
A father saw his two kids fussing. He asked them why were they fussing? They replied, we are not fussing, we are only playing “mamma and daddy”.
Who can ever forget Winston Churchill’s immortal words: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills." It sounds exactly like our family vacation.
A recent survey on marital violence reports that approximately one in every seven American couples has used some form of physical abuse during an argument within the past year.
D-JACOB HAD A DISOBEDIENCE PROLEM IN HIS FAMILY: 34:17, 20
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. 20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.
He build his altar last which should have been done first.
Jacob had promised to go back to Bethel but he hadn’t gone back in 30 years. That is a long time to miss Church.
A boy talking to his father said, Is God dead? The father replied, why no son, He is not dead. The son said, well I don’t hear you talk to him anymore or go to His house.
Celeste Sibley, one-time columnist for the Atlanta (GA) Constitution, took her three children to a diner for breakfast one morning. It was crowded and they had to take separate seats at the counter. Eight-year-old Mary was seated at the far end of the counter and when her food was served she called down to her mother in a loud voice, "Mother, don’t people say grace in this place?" A hush came over the entire diner and before Mrs. Sibley could figure out what to say, the counterman said, "Yes, we do, sister. You say it." All the people at the counter bowed their heads. Mary bowed her head and in a clear voice said, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food."
II-NOTICE JACOB’S PURSUIT: 35:3
3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
It is interesting to note when he took over the leadership of the family, they followed him. Jacob’s family only got right with God after Jacob himself did. This again shows us the tremendous leadership role men have within the family. A man who is resisting God will see the same effect in his children. A man who gets right with God will see the effect in his family, also.
A-THERE WAS A CASTING-AWAY THAT TOOK PLACE: 34:4A
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
One of the greatest needs in the Church is for some to put away strange gods. And not only put their sins away but forsake them for good.
I read a story about a farmer whose mule had died. He told his son to bury him when he got in from school . The next day, the dogs have dug the mule up and it caused quite a stink. The Father got his son by the collar and said, son bury him deep this time, not shallow.
Many Church members do the same thing,they come to altar and bury their sins, but bury them too shallow so that they can get at them again.
But some never cast away their sins because their heart has never been change.
Onetime there was two brothers. One was an outstanding citizen and the other was a convict. The convict brother killed a man, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. His brother who was well respected went to his friend the governor and pleaded for a pardon for his brother. Since the governor respected the murderer’s brother he issued the pardon and gave to his friend. The brother went to the prison and visited with his sibling.
He asked him, "What would you do if you were to escape or get released?" His brother replied from his cell, "First, I would kill the judge, then I’d murder the chief witness against me."
Upon hearing this his brother ended the conversation, walked out of the prison with the pardon in his pocket and gave it back to the governor.
You see his brother hadn’t repented. He hadn’t had a change of heart.
B-THERE WAS A CLEASING THAT TOOK PLACE: 34:2B
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Isabella of Spain bragged that she had had only two baths in her life--one when she was born, and the other when she married Ferdinand. They gave her a third when she died.
Lady asked Billy Sunday: "Why do you keep having revivals when it doesn’t last?" He asked her, "Why do you keep taking baths?"
Its alright to have spring cleaning around your house but spiritually, you can’t wait that long.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could clean your dirty socks by putting them in a drawer with a clean pair? Life would be a lot simpler if clean rubbed off! Imagine the time you would save, no longer having to do the laundry. Your water bill would decrease significantly, and you would pocket some extra money because you wouldn’t have to buy all those detergents!
But clean doesn’t rub off; dirt does. Clean things are soiled when they come into contact with dirty things. That is why the Israelites had to avoid coming into contact with unclean things. How about you? Are you careful to avoid unclean things on television, in print and in what you listen to?
A few rears ago, Time magazine reported that India had plans to release "carnivorous soft-shell turtles" into the Ganges, to clean up pollution created by the dumping of human carcasses into their sacred river.
Sin pollutes and leaves the refuge of dead human life, it pollutes everything it touches. We don’t have any carnivorous turtles to release into the sacred rivers of life because we don’t need any. not that they would do any good anyway. God has an environmental protection policy that works just fine: He is able to cleanse all that is in the world with the precious blood of the Lamb.
C-THERE WAS A CHANGING THAT TOOK PLACE: 34:2A
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
He cared how they looked. The world doesn’t care much about dress and being modest but God does.
An evangelist tells the story of his visiting with the pastor at the home of a wealthy cattleman during the revival. He bragged on how he took care of his cattle, hired the best vets and gave them the very best food. At supper, the horn blew and his girl came running down the stairs to meet her date dressed in hot shorts and a skimpy halter. The father was embarrassed and said, you can’t do anything with kids these days can you? (It seems he careth more for his cattle than he did for his daughter.)
III-NOTICE JACOB’S PEACE: 34:5
5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
Many parents spend thousands of dollars on their children to bring them peace and protection, but you cannot buy happiness with things. The greatest way to give you children peace and protection is to be right with God.
A-HE FOUND THE PRESENCE OF GOD: 35:9
9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
Notice the word “again”. He had the joy of that when he first believed. There was no sin between him and God.
The trouble with some today is that they can miss Church and the presence of God for a long length of time and it doesn’t seem to brother them. In fact, some get saved and you never see them again.
Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven’t had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized and confirmed them," he replied. "I haven’t seen them since."
If you don’t go to God’s house, why should He go to yours?
B-HE FOUND THE POWER OF GOD: 35:10
10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
When Jacob finally arrives at the place God had told him to go, Jacob immediately finds great blessing. God appears to him, God blesses him, and God calls him by his new name (Israel). The reminder of the new name was important, because Jacob had been acting like Jacob instead of Israel.
The story is told by Leo Dobratz of San Jose, California, that he was able to stop the birds from stealing his fruit by taking tin cans and tying them to the limbs of the fruit trees. The reflection off the lids, swinging in the breeze, not only frightened the birds and saved his fruit, but it frightened the birds so bad that they got under conviction and brought back the fruit that they had stolen the year before.
Now that’s a tall story if I ever heard one, but it does describe the change in behavior that really does take place in the heart of a sinner when he/she places their faith in the Lord Jesus!
C-HE FOUND THE PURPOSE OF GOD: 35:11-14
11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
While he was away he forgotten the purpose of God. Now he recommits himself by pouring out the drink offering in verse 14. He pours it all on the altar, not holding back, giving him all.
Sign on door: "Gone out of business. Didn’t know what our business was." There are Christians like that, don’t know what their purpose in life is.
A rich man was determined to give his mother a birthday present that would outshine all others. He read of a bird that had a vocabulary of 4000 words, could speak in numerous languages and sing 3 operatic arias. He immediately bought the bird for $50,000 and had it delivered to his mother. The next day he phoned to see if she had received the bird. "What did you think of the bird?" he asked.
She replied, "It was delicious."
More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent." (Billy Sunday.)
It looks like this is going to be a career year for Giant’s slugger Barry Bonds, who already has
39 homers. If you had a career year, spiritually speaking, what might that look like? Setting your sights on a specific goal isn’t a bad idea for a baseball player or for a follower of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION: Some of you today, need to do like Jacob and his family, come to Bethel and find the presence of God.
A young man went away from home to start in business. He was wild and reckless and had repeatedly called upon his father to bail him out of trouble. After several years of depravity, he returned home, to find his aged parents in the most desperate circumstances. The old farm had been sold to pay the debts he had contracted, and by hard labor his father was eking out a scanty living. Then there were on the faces of both father and mother deep lines, which told a tale of what they had suffered. The sight opened the young man’s eyes and brought him to repentance. "I never realized the enormity of my sin till I saw something of what it had cost," he said. Thus has the blood of Christ spoken to the world of the awfulness of sin. Men, looking upon it, see the cost of their disobedience and are brought to repentance.
In Ephesians, Paul tells us the husband is to love his wife, the wife is submit to her husband and children are to obey their parents. But before he tells us these command, he tell us we are able to do it in the power of Holy Spirit.
