Notes: LESSONS FROM A GREAT LOVE STORY

Genesis 29:14-30

Introduction: 

• Jacob had fallen in love with girl by the name of Rachel. 
• Rachel was a beautiful girl in every way and Jacob loved her. 
• He agreed to work for her for 7 years. 
• These seven years passed quickly because he was so in love. 
• On the night he was to be married he was deceived by his father-in-law, Laban, and was given her sister Leah instead. Leah had beautiful eyes. 
• He was devastated. 
• He agreed to work for another seven years in order to get Rachel, the one he loved. 
• After a further seven years he finally saw his dreams fulfilled and he got to marry the girl of his dreams, Rachel. 
• Leah was able to have children and she had many children. 
• Rachel was unable to have children, but eventually God blessed and she had two children, Joseph and Benjamin. 
• It was during the birth of Benjamin that Rachel died. 
• God used this family and out of their line eventually Jesus would be born. 
• Through this complicated family God blessed the entire world and Jesus was born from the decedents of one of the sons, Judah, and through Jesus Christ salvation became available to all.

LESSONS FOR THIS GREAT LOVE STORY: 

1. ALL GOOD THINGS ARE WORTH THE WAIT AND THE WORK.

• We live in a world in which everyone wants instant gratification.
• We want things now, we don't want to wait.
• We live in a world in which people are not patient.
• If it's not working, we will just abandon it and try something else.
• But the truth is that all good things require patience and hard work.
• If we apply patience and hard work to any situation, long enough, we are almost guaranteed to see success.
• We give up too soon, we throw in the towel too quickly.
• Everything that is really worth something in life requires patience and hard work.
• This applies to our careers, but also to our relationship and especially our marriages.
• Jacob worked 14 years to get the women of his dreams.
• It was worth the wait because He loved her.
• His dreams were fulfilled and he saw the fruit of his patience and hard work.
  
  

2. YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU HAVE SOWN, SO SOW WELL!

• In a strange twist of fate Jacob reaped what he had sown.
• The principle of sowing and reaping is one of the unshakable principles in God's word and in life.The wheel turns, and what goes around comes around and we reap what we have sown.
• Years before this love story Jacob had deceived his own father and got his brother's inheritance through trickery.
• Now years later he was tricked and did not get what was due to him.
• If there is anything in life that I have seen over and over again in people's lives is that you reap what you have sown.
• So sow well.
• We all want to reap a good harvest and be successful, if it is in our marriage or in any other sphere of life.
• One of the lessons we can learn is to do unto others what we would have them do unto us - this is the golden rule.
• Let us sow well, so that we can reap a great and a wonderful harvest.
  
  

3. NOT EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN.

• Sometimes we think that everything will go according to plan.
• Often we have a picture in our heads of how things should work out.
• I have discovered that in most cases things don't go according to plan.
• Jacob loved Rachel and had worked 14 years for her and yet she could not have children. Leah on the other hand, the one he had not truly loved, was able to produce many children for Jacob.
• Why is the question we all want to ask when things don't go according to the plans we had.
• Often from our perspective it doesn't make sense and we can get frustrated and even angry.
• The best advice I can give you is to live one day at a time and make the best of what that day presents.
• God will work things out in the end.
  
  

4. THE GOOD THINGS AND THE BAD THINGS ARE ALL PART OF LIFE.

• Life is not just made up of good things.
• Everything does not just run smoothly.
• But God remains good and God remains faithful.
• The good and the bad are all part of the rich fabric of life.
• Ultimately we are not in control, God is in control and He sees things from a different and an eternal perspective, so embrace every season.
• Rachel dies a tragic death during childbirth, but not before a miracle happens and she produces two sons.
• Joseph, who went on to save the nation, through a strange twist of good and bad that ended him up in a power position in the then known world and saved his nation.
• And Benjamin who was loved by his father and called the 'son of his right hand.'
  
  

5. AS WE TRUST IN GOD, HE WILL BRING ABOUT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME.

• The end result of this complicated love story comes the greatest story of all.
• Out of the line and linage of this family came the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
• If we will be patient and work hard...
• If we will sow well...
• If we will rest in His plan and not get discoursed when our own plans don't work out as we had planned...
• If we will trust that He has the ultimate plan and that He uses the good and the bad and works them all out for our good...
• Then we will see His hand in our lives.
• We will see His plans and purposes prevail and we will fit into His ultimate plan which is always the best thing we could have ever hoped for.
• In His perfect time He will bring forth something beautiful.
• So let us do these things and place our hand in His hand to lead and guide us each step of the way.
• If Jacob could look back today, I am sure he would be amazed at what God had done.
• We too can expect the same. For God has promised never to leave us or forsake us and He has promised to work things out.
• Philippians 1:6 'I am certain that God, Who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished.'

By: Andrew W Roebert
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