Jacob's Family Part 5

This morning I want to conclude with you part 5 of Jacob's family by covering the remaining sons Yes, I promise you I will finish them this morning and it all tells us about what God does in light of Romans 8 28 for we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called According to his purpose God has a marvelous plan and we have seen that plan unfold in the boys of Jacob we have seen that plan unfold in the names given to those boys Rachel and Leah would name their boys Not even knowing what they were doing specifically except they were naming them in light of what they were Specifically going through at the time as they struggled for the affection of Jacob as they struggled in their relationship with one another And as they struggled in their relationship with the Lord not knowing that every name would show us God's marvelous plan of Redemption, let me briefly Review for you the first names that we have already Covered the first son born to Jacob was of course to Leah His name was Reuben which means see a son and we saw with that name Prefigures for us the person of redemption for it would be the son that would be given that would be the individual Who would redeem man?

So Reuben would prefigure the person of redemption the second son named Simeon means to hear or hearing that prefigures for us the preaching of Redemption for faith cometh by hearing hearing by the Word of God How shall they hear without a preacher the third son born to Jacob through Leah was?

Levi his name means to be joined to or to be attached and that prefigures for us the peace of Redemption because we are alienated from God when we are born again We are joined to we are attached to God Therefore we are at peace with God and while Leia Longed for Jacob to be attached to her and he never was We can be joined to the God of the universe through his son Jesus Christ the fourth son Judah his name means praise and that was the praise of Redemption why because when a person is born again There is nothing but praise on their lips for the work of God It would be through this son Judah that the Messiah would come It was no accident that she would name the fourth son Judah His name would mean praise and man praises God for the work of salvation in his life But Leah had realized that she needed to trust her God and amidst all that was happening in her family She learned finally to praise her God Rachel on the outside seeing these four boys born to Leah Gave her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob that she might be able to bring sons into the world and the first son That Bilhah would bring into the world would be the son Dan which means misjudged or Judgment and that prefigures for us the pardon of Redemption we are justified through our Lord Jesus Christ Romans 5 1.

He is the one who clears the guilty He is the one who acquits the sinner. He is the one who pardons the soul It is the judge of the universe who has declared us Not guilty because he has taken upon himself the sins of the world And we saw where Dan would prefigure the pardon of redemption and then we looked at naftali whose name means to wrestle and that was the pathway of Redemption how man violently struggles to get into the kingdom of heaven and that all throughout his life as a believer He wrestles not against flesh and blood But against the rulers of this dark world against the principalities of darkness That's who he wrestles against and therefore needs to take on the armor of God And that's what naftali would signify as we studied his life And then we came to the first son born through Zilpah who was the handmaid of Leah She saw what Rachel was doing and after all she had had four boys But had ceased to give birth to any more boys Thinking that if Rachel could give her handmaid to Jacob Leah could do the same and so she gave Zilpah to Jacob and she bore a son by the name of dad and that was the pleasure in Redemption for his name means good fortune and the fortune that we receive is a pleasure that we receive as Christians By becoming the children of God heirs of God joint heirs with Christ And that leads us to son number eight Which is Asher who was the second son born through the handmaid Zilpah Leah's servant His name means happy and this is what we call the provision of the redeemed the provision of The redeemed the meaning prefigures the great joy that salvation brings to the redeemed What is it God provides for us when we are redeemed he provides for us his Joy, remember the angel came and said to the shepherds.

I bring you good news of Great joy. The good news is the gospel and the gospel is that which brings great Joy, the provision of the redeemed is the joy that God gives them because his life is now Their life remember Galatians 5 22 says that the fruit of the Spirit is love What's the second one joy peace, but joy is the fruit of the Spirit turn with me If you would to first Peter chapter 1 in verse number 8 first Peter 1 verse number 8 though You have not seen him.

You love him and though you do not see him now, but believe in him you greatly rejoice with joy Inexpressible and full of glory or in other words energized by Divine glory speaking of those people who go through trials and go through difficulties He says even though, you know, you believe in God and even though you don't see God You know, he exists and you rejoice with joy. That is Inexpressible what does Peter tell us Peter tells us at the very outset of his epistle that there's something Characteristic about the believer that no matter what he goes through no matter how difficult his situation.

There is a joy that is Energized by the divine glory of God that wells up within him and causes him to rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory Because of the character of God in his life that helps us understand the character of the true believer that he knows that God is at work in his life and it Causes him to well up with the joy as Peter says that is inexpressible Nobody can take your joy away from you. Why because God gives you his joy God provides for us Joy his joy, that's why John in his epistle the first John says what I have written these things that you may have joy the provision of the redeemed is the provision of full joy in the life of That individual Wow, what an amazing thing Listen, some of you gonna say well, you know, I don't have much joy And I say, okay, I understand that.

Let me tell you why you don't have much joy Turn me to Psalm 51 and I'll explain to you David had sinned against the Lord by committing adultery with a young maiden by the name of Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah and Having confessed his sin He wanted God to create in him a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within him But I want you to notice what he says in verse number 12 restore to me the joy of thy salvation David King David had lost his joy.

He had lost his joy because of a sin whenever we don't experience the joy that God promises to give us and has Instilled within us because he has given us a spirit one of the reasons We don't experience fullness of joy is because of the sin in our lives We think that that sins gonna bring us joy that that sins gonna bring us pleasure I'm sure David when he had his affair with Bathsheba thought that this would be a very pleasurable journey a very joyous Experience in it was for about 20 minutes But after that it all went downhill fast and he was in the depths of despair He asked the Lord.

Is there someone confess sin? Is there some sin? I'm harboring in my life That's causing me or robbing me of my joy with you Lord Tell me what it is that I might confess it experience your great joy over in Psalm 35 verse number 9 It says this my soul shall rejoice in the Lord. It shall exult in his salvation not only does there need to be a confession of my sin, but there needs to be a Preoccupation with my Savior our joy is in the Lord. Our joy is not in our spouse Did you get that one? Our joy is in the Lord not in the gift underneath the tree Our joy is in the Lord not in my new job My joy is to be in the Lord The reason we don't experience joy in our lives is not only the fact that we have unconfessed sin in our lives But we are preoccupied with someone other than the Lord Jesus Christ We become preoccupied with my job.

We become preoccupied with the task at hand we've become preoccupied with some other individual, but we are not preoccupied with the person of Jesus Christ our Lord and He is our joy Rejoice in the Lord So there needs to be a confession of my sin. There needs to be a preoccupation with my Savior and Thirdly he who said to 12 the right of Hebrew says therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us Let's lay aside every encumbrance in the sin Which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that I said before us Fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith who for the joy said before him endured the cross Despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God for consider him who has endured such hostility by Sinners Against himself so that you may not grow weary and lose heart Now listen carefully the right of Hebrew says that our eyes are to be fixed on The author the perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him remember Jesus said I'm going to give you my joy and that joy in you is going to be made full So now the writer of Hebrews comes back and says there was a joy in Jesus that caused him to endure the cross What was that thing that kept him going?

Well, some will say that at the right hand of God there are pleasures forevermore Psalm 16 11 and that's true and God the Son upon his resurrection and ascension Would sit down at the right hand of God the Father and experience those pleasures forevermore. That is true But it goes beyond that because there was a joy set before him that caused him to endure the cross To keep on keeping on when no one else would in what was the joy? What was it that kept him going? Through the Via Dolorosa that kept him going that he would hang on the tree and die for the sins of man What was the joy set before him?

I'm glad you asked that question. I'm gonna tell it to you I'm gonna read it to you. Listen to the joy that was set before him for who is our hope or Joy or crown of exaltation Is it not even you in the presence of the Lord Jesus at his coming? for you are our glory and our Joy, that was Paul speaking to those at Bethlehem like what was the joy that Jesus had? That caused him to endure the cross The joy are you ready for this? Where was the souls? That would be redeemed through the life that he gave That was his joy.

That was it The joy set before him why because the crown of joy the crown of rejoicing that the believer receives is the crown attributed to the individual whose life is Consumed with the preaching and teaching of the Word of God so that souls are saved and that those souls Grow in their walk with God. That's the crown of joy. That's the crown of rejoicing and Jesus himself Had the joy set before him the joy of knowing that the bride Would be redeemed That the bridegroom would be married to this bride.

That was his joy it was the people of God that kept him going and When you are robbed of your joy when you feel like there is no joy in your life It's either number one because there is or there needs to be a confession of sin or there needs to be a preoccupation With your Savior or there needs to be a proclamation of the scriptures that will restore Your joy you see Christ had one mission in mind What was the mission to redeem the world he came to seek and to save that which was lost What is our mission in life?

better job bigger family Slimmer waistline, you know, what do we come up with our mission in life Christ's mission was to redeem the world That was a joy that was set before him. It's so Paul would say you are our crown of joy You are our crown of exaltation. You are it You're what we long for you're what we hope for you are our joy By because they were doing what God had called them to do whenever you do what God's calls you to do. Guess what? You have joy inexpressible and full of glory. And so joy is the provision of The redeemed We got to go on.

I wish I could spend some more time on that But if I did I wouldn't finish and the Tate ministry would shoot me on my way out. Oh The next one it's a car. Remember it's a car His name used to hire remember the story behind that one But the bar the bottom line was is that Ruben the oldest son had found the mandrakes in the field and mandrakes were that that That fruit what was to provide for you? Fertility if you ate them you'd become fertile you'd have children and Ruben knowing that his mother Leah Hadn't born any children for a while and that she had to use her her handmaid Zilpah to go into Jacob in order to have Children say hey mom.

I got some mandrakes here. They are man. This is so great. You can become fertile again That was the superstition of the day and Rachel said listen Give me your mandrakes and I'll give you the man for tonight Leah said done deal you're the mandrakes and she went she met Jacob on his way in from the field Jacob guess what? I have hired you for this evening You are my man for tonight come lie with me if she had a child his name It's a car which means to hire This is so good. This is so good. Why because she bought his services Right.

She purchased Jacob's services Name that boy is a car listen to what I'm going to say. It's a car prefigures for us the position of the redeemed how when Jesus Christ Died on Calvary. What did he do? He purchased a people for himself out of the slave market of sin And now what we become the servants of God? Jacob became the servant of Leah. She bought him. She bought his services What Jesus Christ did was buy us back from the slave market of sin And now we become the servants of God fulfilling his duty fulfilling his services that is our position our position in Christ is that we become a Servant people we become the people who serve our God what a tremendous position to be in we are his slaves Leah then would have another son.

His name was Zebulon Zebulon's name means to dwell or dwelling Leah's ultimate prayer was that somehow Jacob would now dwell with her he did not but that was her prayer So she named her son Zebulon six boys Six boys they have to or he has to finally see that that that that I'm the fertile one Rachel hasn't had any children through her own womb, but I have any now He will dwell with me, but he didn't we've studied that in great detail But this name prefigures for us the promise of the redeemed What is the promise of the redeemed the promise of the redeemed is that in my father's house are many dwelling places But we're not so I would not have told you I go and prepare a place for you that where I am There you may be Also, the promise of the redeemed is what a dwelling place with God himself That's the promise Paul would close the fourth chapter of first Thessalonians by saying so shall we ever be with?

The Lord one day you will Joseph is son number 11 Joseph Finally Rachel had a son God Remembered Rachel remember what it says?

Oh, let me read to you then God remembered Rachel Gave he to her and opened her womb So she conceded and bore son and said God has taken away my reproach She named him Joseph saying my may the Lord give me another son Joseph his name has two meanings take away my reproach and to add So therefore his name will prefigure for us two things in the plan of redemption The first is the purification of the redeemed and second is the progression of the redeemed The purification of the redeemed is the fact that he has taken away my reproach.

God has taken away my stigma God has taken away that thing that has made me the laughingstock of Jewish families God has given me a son. He's opened my womb. Our Lord. Jesus Christ has taken away all of our reproach He's taken away all of our sin Psalm 103 tells us that he has separated our sins as far as the east is from the west and he remembers them No more. That's the purification of the redeemed. We are made holy in his sight We are made pure in his sight because we've been washed in the blood of the land He has taken away my reproach that aspect of my life that one sin that keeps me out of heaven the sin of unbelief He has taken it away.

It made me a believer in him and thus he has cleansed me from my sin number two the progression of the redeemed and God will add to me another son Take away and to add to add his progression of the redeemed first Peter chapter 2 verse number 24 It tells us very clearly these words and he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross that we might die to sin And live to righteousness that we might live his life It speaks of the progression of the redeemed the progression of the redeemed is the life where God adds to that life those qualities of God-likeness that makes that redeemed person look like God and Joseph in the Old Testament was the one character above all other characters that exemplified the life of God and Then comes Benjamin We didn't see him in our study of Genesis 29 just as 30 because he's not born till later and that is Genesis 35 But he also was part of the plan of salvation as prefigured in the Old Testament Let me read that account to you in Genesis 35 verse number 16 Since then they journeyed from Bethel and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor came about when she was in severe labor Midwife said to her do not fear for now.

You have another son Remember God will add to me another son. She said now she's having that other son Also, remember she said to Jacob give me children or I what I die She will die here in Genesis 35 came about as her soul was departing for she died that she named him Ben O'Neill but his father called him Ben. I mean Ben O'Neill son of my sorrow Ben humming son of my Right hand both of those names given to Benjamin one that would stick with him for his life The one that Rachel gave him both prefigure for us something else about the plan of salvation and Ben O'Neill prefigures for us price of Redemption son of my sorrow Isaiah 53 says he's called what the man of sorrows acquainted with grief The Prophet Isaiah could have identified him as any other man But he identified him as the man of sorrow because that's what he was It says over in Matthew 26 38.

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful Even unto death the son of sorrow took upon himself the sin of the world Thus when he bore our sins on the cross he suffered the sorrows that went with him But Jacob said no Rachel. No Rachel. He will not be called Ben O'Neill. He will be called Ben Humming which means son of my right hand this prefigures for us the power of redemption the power of Redemption as Seen in the resurrection of Christ and his triumphant return to heaven to sit down at the right hand of God the Father The Bible says and he was 12 to he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God Also, the truth of Christ is also prefigured in the fact that Benjamin coming out of the womb of a dying Rachel to be the right Hand of his father Jacob proved once again that the resurrection of the Savior was powerful enough to destroy both sin Satan and the fear of death Because he was a son of his God's right hand power of redemption is all seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and His entrance back into glory when he sat down at the right hand of God the Father And Paul would pray these words over in Ephesians chapter 1 verse number 18 We said this I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know What is the hope of his calling?

What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the States and what is the surpassing greatness of his power? Toward us who believe these are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might She brought about in Christ when he raised her from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion in every name that is named not only in this age But also in the one to come Paul's prayer for those in Ephesus Is that somehow they would experience the power of the resurrection of God?

It was seen in the fact of these boys 12 boys that God would use to birth a nation a nation that he said he loved a Nation that would birth the Messiah a nation that still today survives Because of God and God does all things According to his plan of purposes and I hope that this study of these boys has been an eye-opener to you But the Bible says that I have not seen nor ear heard Nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him as we read the scriptures We were able to see how God orchestrates the events of life to bring about his great purposes Let's pray