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Speaker 1: And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel, the

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Speaker 1: daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban,

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Speaker 1: his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the

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Speaker 1: stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of

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Speaker 1: Laban for his mother's brother. Genesis twenty nine ten. My Lord,

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Speaker 1: as the Son greets me, and as I take in

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Speaker 1: the breath of life, I do so meditating on the

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Speaker 1: truths found in Genesis twenty eight one through twenty nine

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Speaker 1: twenty nine, I do so basking in the wonder of

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Speaker 1: your glory, because, like Jacob, I know that you have

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Speaker 1: a vision for my future. Thank you God that angels

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Speaker 1: are ascending and descending on my behalf, bringing blessings and

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Speaker 1: provision for my future. As I lay on the rock

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Speaker 1: of your word, I will be reminded of your faithfulness.

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Speaker 1: I will be reminded of your limitless love towards me.

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Speaker 1: Thank you that you are with me and that you

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Speaker 1: will never leave me no matter where I go. As

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Speaker 1: I begin to take territory in the land you've promised me,

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Speaker 1: I thank you that you're providing the perfect partner for me.

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Speaker 1: As I set my gaze on my promise, I will

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Speaker 1: not hesitate to put the necessary work in to lay

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Speaker 1: hold of my heart's desire like Jacob did with Rachel.

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Speaker 1: I declare that I will not stop until I've obtained

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Speaker 1: what you have ordained in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you

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Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your day. To learn

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Speaker 1: more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story, brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Bible in a Year dot com. Jacob

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Speaker 1: meets Rachel. Before this story, we learned about Jacob's trick

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Speaker 1: to rob his brother of his blessing. He deceived his

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Speaker 1: father into giving him his blessing instead of Esau. Esau's

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Speaker 1: rage boiled and he sought after the life of Jacob.

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Speaker 1: Rebecca told Jacob to go stay with her brother Leban

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Speaker 1: until it was safe to return. Now we will learn

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Speaker 1: about Jacob's vision of a ladder and his desire to

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Speaker 1: marry Leban's daughter Rachel. Inspired by the Book of Genesis. Hello,

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Speaker 1: I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. When we last saw Jacob in

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Speaker 1: our previous passage, he was running from Esau, fearing for

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Speaker 1: his life. Isaac and Rebecca send him to Rebecca's brother

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Speaker 1: Laban to wait out Esau's anger. Today we'll rejoin Jacob

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Speaker 1: on his way to his uncle's home. But before or

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Speaker 1: that will see what Esau is doing as he mourns

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Speaker 1: his losses and seeks to reclaim in some way of

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Speaker 1: blessing that he knew and felt was due to him.

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Speaker 1: As Jacob travels, we'll see him encountering God in a dream.

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Speaker 1: Notice the promises that God makes to Jacob there and

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Speaker 1: Jacob's response. Then, as he finally arrives in Laban's land,

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Speaker 1: Jacob encounters a woman with whom he'll fall madly and

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Speaker 1: deeply in love, and that love will lead him to

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Speaker 1: extraordinary links to ensure Rachel will be his wife. Notice

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Speaker 1: how Jacob and Laban begin a close relationship, a fact

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Speaker 1: that will seem peculiar in a future passage, But for now,

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Speaker 1: Jacob seems to have found the home and family that

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Speaker 1: he has lost. The theme of today's passage is really

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Speaker 1: that of promises, first, as the promise God gives to

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Speaker 1: Jacob as he meets him along the way in a dream.

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Speaker 1: These promises are profound and will shape the course of

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Speaker 1: history as the line of Abraham continues heading in the

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Speaker 1: ultimate promise the Messiah who will deliver the world from sin.

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Speaker 1: But we'll also see the promise of a wife, the

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Speaker 1: treasured prize for which Jacob will agree to work for

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Speaker 1: years on end. As you listen, notice the conviction in

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Speaker 1: Jacob's heart, the certainty about what he desires. Less Here

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Speaker 1: now the love story of Jacob and Rachel. Jacob desired

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Speaker 1: to be blessed by God, and he sought it out

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Speaker 1: from his father since he knew it would not come

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Speaker 1: to him through birthright. Jacob was one of the first

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Speaker 1: to pursue God's blessing. Instead of allowing it to be

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Speaker 1: given to him through birth, he chose God. Yet his

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Speaker 1: desire was at the expense of his brother Esau, and

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Speaker 1: fear for his life, Jacob fled to pet An Araham,

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Speaker 1: the land of Laban, Rebecca's brother. There he sought to

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Speaker 1: build a life for himself and hopefully find a wife,

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Speaker 1: since it was always his father's desire to marry from

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Speaker 1: the family of Laban. Sorrow plagued Esau's knights, and he

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Speaker 1: mourned the loss of his blessing and birthright. He had

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Speaker 1: not cherished his birthright before, and now that it was

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Speaker 1: given away, he was greatly disturbed. While Jacob was away,

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Speaker 1: Esaw also sought out another wife. His desire to reclaim

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Speaker 1: a blessing from God was muddied by rage and contempt.

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Speaker 1: In an effort to please his father, he went to

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Speaker 1: Isaac's half brother Ishmael and married his daughter, Mahalath. Esaw

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Speaker 1: began grasping for any sort of blessing he could. Jacob

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Speaker 1: was on his way to padan Eira. The eastern sun

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Speaker 1: was setting, and the lights scraped the top of the

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Speaker 1: plains before finally descending beneath the valley. The cool dark

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Speaker 1: of night replaced the sun, and Jacob found a secluded

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Speaker 1: place to lay his head. He took a stone and

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Speaker 1: put it under his head and lay beneath the stars.

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Speaker 1: Jacob counted the stars in the sky, mindful of God's

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Speaker 1: promise to his grandfather Abraham that his people would outnumber

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Speaker 1: the stars. The summer breeze hummed across the valley, and

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Speaker 1: Jacob drifted into a deep sleep. Jacob opened his eyes

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Speaker 1: to a dream. Set firmly in the earth was a

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Speaker 1: ladder that stretched all the way to the heavens. He

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Speaker 1: watched as the angels of God were ascending and descending

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Speaker 1: on the ladder. Jacob stood, watching as the heavenly hosts

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Speaker 1: of God moved gracefully to and fro. The Lord stood

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Speaker 1: above the ladder, setting his gaze towards Jacob. The gentle

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Speaker 1: yet terrifying voice of God bellowed across the earth, and

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Speaker 1: Jacob marveled as he listened to the Creator speak, I

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Speaker 1: am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac, your forefathers.

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Speaker 1: The land in which you rely your head will be

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Speaker 1: given to you and your offspring. They shall be like

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Speaker 1: all the dust of the earth, spread abroad and limitless.

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Speaker 1: Through them. Every family on earth shall be blessed. Jacob

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Speaker 1: marveled as he hung upon every word the Lord spoke.

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Speaker 1: I am with you, the Lord said, and I will

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Speaker 1: keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you

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Speaker 1: back here to this land. I will never leave you.

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Speaker 1: And Jacob awoke with a mixture of joy and terror.

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Speaker 1: Surely God is in this place, Jacob said to himself,

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Speaker 1: this is none other than the House of God, and

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Speaker 1: the gates of Heaven meet here. As the sun was

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Speaker 1: rising and the heat of day replaced the coolness of night,

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Speaker 1: Jacob took the stone that he had put under his

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Speaker 1: head and set it up for a pillar and poured

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Speaker 1: oil on the top of it, and he named that

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Speaker 1: place Bethel would be a special place Jacob would return to.

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Speaker 1: Jacob journeyed alone to Liban's land. When he arrived and

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Speaker 1: began to greet some of the men there, Rachel, Liban's daughter,

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Speaker 1: came with her father's sheep. Rachel was a sheep herdess

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Speaker 1: and beaming with a strong yet gentle beauty. Jacob watched

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Speaker 1: Rachel descend from the fields where she was working and

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Speaker 1: immediately began to weep. Though they had yet to meet,

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Speaker 1: Jacob knew that he had just gazed upon the woman

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Speaker 1: meant to be his wife. His love for her was immediate,

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Speaker 1: and he ran to her to give water to the flock.

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Speaker 1: As he helped her care for the sheep, their eyes met,

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Speaker 1: and Jacob, in a moment of unexpected passion, kissed her.

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Speaker 1: Jacob told Rachel who he was, and immediately she went

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Speaker 1: to go find her father. Laban ran to Jacob and

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Speaker 1: the two embraced a joyful mingling of souls began to

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Speaker 1: emanate from the higher family. Jacob was accepted into the

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Speaker 1: house of Laban, and the two became closer than father

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Speaker 1: and son. Jacob asked that he could serve under Laban

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Speaker 1: and his family. Laban was ecstatic and accepted Jacob's request.

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Speaker 1: Just because you are my kinsmen does not mean you

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Speaker 1: should work for free, Laban said, name your price for

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Speaker 1: working for me. Jacob knew that there was one thing

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Speaker 1: more precious than money or land. He knew the second

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Speaker 1: he laid eyes on her that Rachel was the one

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Speaker 1: he was supposed to marry. Allow me to work for

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Speaker 1: seven years under you so that I can marry your daughter,

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Speaker 1: Jacob asked. Laban agreed, and so began their friendship and

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Speaker 1: Jacob's diligent pursuit to work for his bride. Jacob loved

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Speaker 1: Rachel deeply, and their love for one another grew each year.

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Speaker 1: Jacob sought out a blessing from Isaac, his father. In reality,

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Speaker 1: it was God's blessing that Jacob wanted to claim, and

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Speaker 1: he was able to claim it, but his way of

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Speaker 1: securing the blessing was dishonest and deceitful. His motives were right,

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Speaker 1: but his methods were very wrong, so his victory seems hollow.

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Speaker 1: At this point, He's been blessed by Isaac, but now

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Speaker 1: his life is in danger. His own brother wants him dead,

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Speaker 1: so he flees, leaving his mother and his homeland far behind.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes when we achieved things, even though it's a good thing,

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Speaker 1: the way we get there can have lasting negative consequences.

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Speaker 1: That was the case for Rebecca and Jacob. They would

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Speaker 1: never see each other again, a mother and a son

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Speaker 1: now separated in life. But what to say of Esau.

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Speaker 1: He had not cared for the blessing until it was lost.

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Speaker 1: He didn't treasure it or value it, so he became careless.

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Speaker 1: When he lost God's blessing, he became bitter and in ray,

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Speaker 1: but he still craved his father's approval. Esau did what

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Speaker 1: he thought his father would want and married one of

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Speaker 1: Ishmael's daughters. He was desperate for any form of blessing

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Speaker 1: he could attain. How often we are like this, not

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Speaker 1: valuing the thing that is right in our reach until

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Speaker 1: it is no longer available, so we begin grasping at straws,

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Speaker 1: acting out of desperation, trying to make things right. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: it proves to be too little, too late, as in

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Speaker 1: the case of Esau. Next we heard of Jacob's dream

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Speaker 1: as he traveled to Layman's Land, God appears to him

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Speaker 1: and makes a covenant with Jacob, affirming that the line

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Speaker 1: of blessing will indeed pass through him and his offspring.

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Speaker 1: Genesis twenty eighth fourteen and fifteen records God's words, your

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Speaker 1: descendants will also be like the dust of the earth,

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Speaker 1: and you will spread out to the west and to

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Speaker 1: the east, and to the north and to the south.

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Speaker 1: And in you and in your descendants shall all the

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Speaker 1: families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with

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Speaker 1: you and will keep you wherever you go, and will

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Speaker 1: bring you back to this land. For I will not

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Speaker 1: leave you until I've done what I've promised you. With

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Speaker 1: each generation Abraham, Isaac, now Jacob, God is reminding them

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Speaker 1: that his blessing isn't only for them, but it is

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Speaker 1: for all the families of the earth. We need to

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Speaker 1: remember that the blessings that we receive from God not

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Speaker 1: only benefit us, but they are given for a larger purpose,

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Speaker 1: and that is to bless others. We are blessed to

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Speaker 1: be a blessing. This is certainly the case with this covenant,

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Speaker 1: as we see glimpses of Jesus the Messiah, coming through

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Speaker 1: a blessing for all the families of the world. Jacob

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Speaker 1: awakens and sets about building a monument a pillar to

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Speaker 1: mark this place where God spoke to him and made

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Speaker 1: his promises to Jacob. This place, named Bethel, will have

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Speaker 1: great importance as the house of God. Finally, Jacob arrives

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Speaker 1: in Laban's land and greets his family, and then he

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Speaker 1: first sees Rachel, Laban's beautiful daughter. Jacob cannot wait to

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Speaker 1: meet her and rushes to her. We can see here

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Speaker 1: that Jacob, though described as mild when he first came

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Speaker 1: into the world, is not a man without passion. He

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Speaker 1: even steals a kiss from Rachel, knowing this is the

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Speaker 1: woman for whom he would do anything. But it is

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Speaker 1: not only in Rachel that Jacob seems to find a home.

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Speaker 1: He feels, perhaps for the first time, like he is

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Speaker 1: accepted into a family. Rebecca his mother, loved him, but

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Speaker 1: he never enjoyed the approval of his father. Now Laban

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Speaker 1: is giving him that It's really a beautiful time. Jacob,

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Speaker 1: on account of his own actions, had to flee from

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Speaker 1: his own home, But God, just as he promised, does

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Speaker 1: not abandon Jacob, and even gives him a sense of

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Speaker 1: place among Laban's family, even when we go in the

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Speaker 1: wrong direction, God can bring us back to himself, because

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Speaker 1: where God doesn't rule, he overrules. And this is what

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Speaker 1: is happening with Jacob. In this closeness and connection, an

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Speaker 1: agreement is struck between Jacob and Laban. Laban wanting to

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Speaker 1: pay Jacob for his work, ask his wages, and Jacob,

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Speaker 1: setting his eyes on a prize greater than gold, says

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Speaker 1: he will work seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage.

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Speaker 1: You could say that Jacob was blinded by his desire

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Speaker 1: and entered into a deal that would cost him greatly.

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Speaker 1: You could also say that he knew the great value

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Speaker 1: of a mate, a wife in whom he could delight.

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Speaker 1: Both is true, and as we continue in our next

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Speaker 1: time together, we'll see what happens in this agreement. We'll

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Speaker 1: see what comes of this agreement between Laban and Jacob.

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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, thank you for the story that we have

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Speaker 1: just read and how we can see your hand guiding

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Speaker 1: Jacob and continuing to affirm and to keep your promises

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Speaker 1: as he rescues the family line of Abraham. Thank you, also, Lord,

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Speaker 1: for what this passage today teaches us about the purpose

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Speaker 1: of blessing and that we can see your heart for

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Speaker 1: the fatherless, the lonely, as you gave Jacob a family

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Speaker 1: who loved and welcomed him as he had never experienced before.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for welcoming us into your family through your son,

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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is in his name

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Speaker 1: that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.

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Speaker 1: Download the Prey dot com app, then make prayer a

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Speaker 1: priority in your life. If you enjoy this podcast, share

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Speaker 1: it with someone you love. By sharing this podcast, you

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Speaker 1: can make a difference in someone's life. And if you

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Speaker 1: want more resources on how to tap into God's power

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Speaker 1: for successful Christian living, be sure to visit Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: dot org. God bless you. This episode is sponsored by

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Speaker 1: Meta Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to

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Speaker 1: save money without sacrificing quality.