Jacob's First Seven Years in Haran

JACOB’S FIRST SEVEN YEARS IN HARAN

An Exposition of Genesis 29:1-30

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: September 10, 2023

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Back in Genesis 27-28, Isaac and Rebekah sent their son Jacob on a five-hundred mile journey from Beersheba in southern Canaan to Haran. Genesis 28:10 says, “Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.” If we assume that Jacob was able to travel about 25 miles per day, then it would have taken him 20 days to complete the journey. The purpose of Jacob’s journey was twofold: first, to flee from his brother Esau who wanted to kill him (Genesis 27:41-45); and second, to find a wife from among his relatives (Genesis 27:46-28:2).

Indeed, Jacob’s extended family lived in Haran. Jacob’s grandfather Abraham had moved from Haran (Genesis 12:4) about 160 years earlier. Abraham’s brother Nahor remained in Haran: Nahor and his wife Milcah had several children, including Bethuel. Bethuel fathered Rebekah and Laban. Through God’s providential guidance, Rebekah had moved from Haran to Canaan 97 years earlier in order to be married to Isaac. Meanwhile, Rebekah’s brother Laban remained in Haran, and Laban had two daughters. This forms the backdrop to Isaac’s charge to Jacob, “Arise, go to Paddan-aram [the region where Haran was located] to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.” (Genesis 28:2) Thus Jacob was instructed to marry one of his female cousins.

Early in Jacob’s journey to Haran, he had a remarkable encounter with the Lord in the city of Luz. Jacob memorialized this encounter by naming the place Bethel, which means ‘House of God’. After responding to God’s grace with acts of worship and dedication, Jacob resumed his journey northward to Haran.

With this brief background in view, we come now to this morning’s text.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹ Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. ² As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, ³ and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” ⁶ He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” ⁷ He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.¹⁰ Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, ¹⁴ and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” ²² So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. ²³ But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.²⁴ (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ²⁵ And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”²⁶ Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” ²⁸ Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years. (Genesis 29:1-30)

WALKING THROUGH THE TEXT

Let’s start by getting a clear big picture view of how this passage unfolds, and we will consider a couple of practical lessons along the way. Then after we have done that, we’ll ponder a significant application of our passage.

Jacob arrives in the land near Haran (v. 1)

First, Jacob arrives in the land near Haran. “[The] land of the people of the east” evidently is or at least includes the region of Paddan-aram in which the town of Haran was located, and from the context of Chapter 29 we know that the town of Haran is nearby.

Jacob meets his cousin Rachel (v. 2-12)

Second, Jacob meets his cousin Rachel. The setting is “a well in the field”. In the ancient world, wells were especially important for the sustenance of human beings and animals. In our modern world, the phrase ‘watering hole’ has a completely different connotation. But in the ancient world, community wells were literal watering holes where people gathered to obtain life-giving and life-sustaining water for the sake of daily survival and to fulfill daily chores. And whether planned or unplanned, people met each other there. Abraham’s servant met Isaac’s future wife Rebekah “by the well of water” outside the city of Nahor (Genesis 24:11). When “Moses fled from Pharaoh” and relocated to Midian, “he sat down by a well” and there he encountered Jethro’s seven daughters (Exodus 2:15-16), one of whom became his wife. Our Lord Jesus Christ, wearied from his journey from Judea to Galilee, sat beside a well in Sychar, where he met the Samaritan woman who “came to draw water” (John 4:3-7). Wells were places of rest and nourishment upon which people depended and where people met, where relationships leading to marriage were struck, and where the Savior taught a thirsty soul about living water that refreshes the heart forever.

Here in Genesis 29, the custom was for the large “stone on the well’s mouth” to be removed “when all the flocks were gathered there”, so that all the sheep from all the flocks could be watered at the same time (v. 2-3). At the moment, Jacob was less interested in sheep and more interested in finding his Uncle Laban. So he inquired of the shepherds to learn where they were from and if they knew “Laban the son of Nahor” and, if they did know Laban, if they also knew how Laban was doing (v. 4-6). Of course, Laban was the direct son of Bethuel who was the direct son of Nahor – which means that Laban was Nahor’s grandson. But Jacob’s reference to Laban as “the son of Nahor” shows us that sometimes the word “son” is used in a more general way to refer to a male descendant. In any case, these shepherds were from Haran, they knew Laban, and they knew that it was well with Laban.

As it happened, Laban’s daughter Rachel was a shepherdess who was making her way to the well so that her father’s sheep could be watered with all the other sheep. Jacob had never met Rachel before, but the shepherds alerted him to the fact that Rachel was approaching: “see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” (v. 6)

While Jacob was still speaking with the shepherds, he expressed his disagreement with the way they managed their sheep-watering schedule (v. 7), but they replied by simply affirming their intention to abide by their customary practice (v. 8). There is no need for us to analyze their disagreement. What we do need to understand is that once Rachel showed up on the scene, Jacob gave his full attention to Rachel. Remember Jacob’s situation: he had left home and had been on the road by himself for about three weeks, maybe longer; he must have been very tired and quite eager to find rest in his Uncle Laban’s house. Rachel didn’t merely represent a marriage prospect; she was a point of contact with Jacob’s extended family – an extended family that he had never met, and yet an extended family with whom he had come to live.

As we come to verses 9-12, the other shepherds fade into the background, and Jacob becomes focused on his cousin Rachel and the sheep under her care. Whatever the other shepherds might have been doing for their flocks, Jacob took the initiative to “[roll] the stone from the well’s mouth and [water] the flock of Laban” (v. 10). Jacob’s first act toward his cousin Rachel was an act of service.

“Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.” (v. 11) Jacob was overwhelmed and overjoyed to be in the presence of extended family. Jacob informed Rachel that her father Laban was his relative, “and that he was Rebekah’s son” (v. 12) – presumably Rachel knew that Rebekah was her father’s brother. With this surprising turn of events at the well in the field, Rachel cannot wait to tell her father the good news: “and she ran and told her father.” Apparently Laban’s sheep remained with Jacob while Rachel ran to her father’s house.

The meeting of Jacob and Rachel (discussed above), and the meeting of Jacob and Laban (discussed below), reminds me of Proverbs 25:25, which says, “Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”

Jacob meets his Uncle Laban (v. 13-14)

Third, Jacob meets his Uncle Laban. Rachel had run to her father (in v. 12), and now – after “Laban heard the good news about Jacob” – Laban runs to meet Jacob (v. 13). After a warm embrace, Laban brought his nephew Jacob to his house. Next, “Jacob told Laban all these things” – what “all these things” are isn’t specified, but I assume it had to do with getting Laban caught up on the many things that concerned his sister Rebekah and her life with Isaac down in Canaan, and how it is that Jacob came to make the journey to Haran. After all, the whole passage emphasizes family relationships: the phrase “Laban his mother’s brother” occurs three times in verse 10, the phrase “her father’s kinsman” occurs in verse 12, the phrase “Rebekah’s son” also occurs in verse 12, and the phrase “Jacob, his sister’s son” occurs in verse 13. So the passage pulsates with the joyful reality of family relationships. In light of all this, Laban fittingly tells Jacob, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” (v. 14) Adam had spoken with such poetic exuberance upon receiving his wife: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). Now Laban speaks with similar exuberance upon discovering a practical relationship with his nephew, his sister’s son, his father’s grandson. After Jacob entered his uncle’s house, “he stayed with him a month” (v. 14).

Jacob makes a marriage contract (v. 15-20)

Fourth, Jacob makes a marriage contract. Specifically, Jacob makes a marriage contract with Laban to marry Laban’s daughter Rachel.

The contract emerges in a discussion about the terms of Jacob’s service to Laban. During his first month with Laban, Jacob must have been helping out on Laban’s farm. Laban was providing Jacob with room and board, but beyond this basic level of maintenance Jacob was not earning any compensation for his work on Laban’s farm. Laban recognized that he ought to compensate Laban for his work: “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” (v. 15) As it turns out, Jacob didn’t want money or possessions. Instead, he wanted to marry Laban’s daughter Rachel.

As a matter of fact, “Laban had two daughters.” (v. 16) Laban’s oldest daughter was Leah, who was weak in the eyes. Laban’s youngest daughter was Rachel, who was “beautiful in form and appearance” (v. 17). Jacob’s affection was firmly fixed on the younger of the two: “Jacob loved Rachel.” So, Jacob took advantage of the opportunity to name his wages by asking Laban for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Jacob promised, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” (v. 18) Laban agreed to the proposal: “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” (v. 19) Thus Jacob obligated himself to serve Laban for seven years in exchange for the promise of receiving Rachel at the end of those seven years, and Jacob fulfilled his obligation (v. 20).

A few days

It is interesting to note the phrase “a few days” in Genesis 27:44 and in Genesis 29:20. In Genesis 27:44, Rebekah told Jacob to stay with Laban a few days (some English translations might say a while, but the basic meaning of the Hebrew phrase is a few days). Literally, Jacob did not stay with Laban a few days. But Jacob’s first seven years with Laban “seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her [Rachel].” (Genesis 29:20) There is a simple lesson here for us: in the most kind providence of God, difficult and prolonged outward circumstances can be soothed and sweetened by God’s gracious provisions. The Lord has a well-stocked arsenal of gracious provisions, and what He gives you in specific circumstance may differ from what He gives others in their circumstances.

Though Joseph was sold into slavery, the Lord was with Joseph and prospered him in numerous ways. The Lord did likewise for Daniel when he was exiled to Babylon. The apostle Paul testified,

“For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn – fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you” (2 Corinthians 7:5-7).

Every believer is able to draw strength from God’s great love, revealed by Christ at Calvary and made real in our experience through the Holy Spirit: “we rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

The first verse of the hymn “Day by day, and with each passing moment” communicates a vital truth:

“Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.”[1]

In perfect wisdom, our heavenly Father lovingly gives to us a mingling of trials, pain, and toil (on the one hand) with pleasure, peace, and rest (on the other hand). It is not for you or me to determine the apportionment that we receive. We trust in our “Father’s wise bestowment”, and therefore have “no cause for worry or for fear”. Jacob had seven years of service in a foreign land, separated from father and mother and alienated from his brother. But he had a roof over his head, a place at Uncle Laban’s table, and the love of Rachel in his heart. Since these seven years “seemed to him but a few days”, we must conclude that these seven years were not characterized by angst, impatience, or sorrow (for it is such attitudes that make the days seem long). Jacob invested himself in his daily tasks, and he did so with a bounce in his step and joy in his heart, in view of the wonderful prospect of marriage that was set before him.

Jacob is bamboozled on his wedding night (v. 21-26)

Fifth, Jacob is bamboozled on his wedding night. Bamboozled is a fun word that means cheated, but it is not fun to be bamboozled. After completing his seven years of service, Jacob told Laban that it was time for him to make good on his promise: “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” (v. 21) Laban proceeded to arrange for a great wedding feast (v. 22). Jacob was thrilled to be on the cusp of consummating his marriage to Rachel, but as it turns out Laban had a trick up his sleeve: “But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.” (v. 23)

Sometimes sinners get a taste of their own medicine! Was it not Jacob who, seven years earlier, disguised himself as his brother Esau in order to receive the blessing that his father intended to give Esau? Rebekah had engineered that plan, and now we learn that her brother Laban was no slouch in the ‘scheme to deceive’ department. Now Leah is presented to Jacob incognito – under the cover of nighttime darkness and certainly under the cover of a veil – Leah is presented to Jacob as if she is her sister Rachel in order to receive the seal of the marriage covenant that Jacob intended to make with Rachel. Isaac’s blessing upon Jacob could not be undone, and now Jacob’s consummated marriage to Leah could not be undone. Talk about a serious bummer – a bummer that Jacob didn’t discover until the light of the morning shone into the tent: “And in the morning, behold, it was Leah!” (v. 25) Yikes!

Jacob registered his disapproval: “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” (v. 25) Laban appeals to his nation’s custom: “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.” Jacob might have replied, ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner!’ But if Jacob had a tender conscience, he might have heard his conscience say to his heart, ‘Jacob, you know a thing or two about firstborn and younger sibling dynamics! What Laban did to you is not substantially different than what you did to your father. You deceived your father and obtained his blessing dishonorably. Now Laban has deceived you and drew you into marriage with Leah dishonorably. Perhaps you should respond with a little humility.’ I have no idea if Jacob ever had such a line of thought, but I say these things not for Jacob’s benefit but for your benefit. Don’t be surprised when the ways in which you sin against others show up at your own front door, and at such times humbly recognize that you don’t have the moral high ground. Let the bitter taste of your own medicine induce you to repentance, and in that repentance learn to forgive the Labans who bamboozle you.

Jacob marries Rachel (v. 27-30)

Sixth, Jacob marries Rachel. Let’s unpack this a bit.

To Jacob’s relief, polygyny was a real option. Polygyny is a precise word that refers to a situation in which a man has more than one wife. Although polygyny is inconsistent with God’s original design for monogamous marriage, God permitted polygyny in the Old Testament. Someday I may speak at length about polygyny, but for now I simply call your attention to the fact that God permitted it in the Old Testament. Once the Law was set forth, a man was not allowed to marry two sisters (see Leviticus 18:18). But since the Law was not yet given, that particular restriction didn’t apply to Jacob’s situation.

Whether Laban or Jacob had given any serious reflection to the moral status of polygyny, I do not know. They may have simply been following the customs of the day. Be that as it may, in verse 27 Laban proposes this course of action: “Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

Laban is not going to let Jacob get two wives for the price of one. Jacob worked seven years for Wife Number 1, and he is going to have to work another seven years for Wife Number 2. However, he will get to marry Wife Number 2 at the beginning of those seven years, and won’t have to wait seven years to marry Rachel. So, Jacob completed the weeklong celebration of his marriage to Leah (v. 28), and then he was immediately able to get married to Rachel: “Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife…. So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah”.

Thus in the course of about eight days, Jacob obtained two wives. Each wife had her own maidservant: Laban gave Zilpah to be maidservant to Leah (v. 24), and Laban gave Bilhah to be maidservant to Rachel (v. 29). Once married to Rachel, Jacob proceeded to render another seven years of service to Laban (v. 30). All this sets the stage for the very colorful childbearing competition that takes place during these seven years, which we will examine next week.

APPLICATION: WALK WITH GOD IN THE ORDINARY

I have already woven a couple of practical lessons into this sermon. But there is one particular application that I want to focus on as we conclude our study of this passage.

Did you notice that the Lord is not mentioned a single time in Genesis 29:1-30? There is no mention of the Lord revealing His will to Jacob, no mention of Jacob praying to the Lord, no mention of Jacob or of anyone else speaking in the name of the Lord. When you compare this passage to Jacob’s extraordinary encounter with the Lord in Bethel in the previous passage (in Genesis 28:10-22), this passage about Jacob’s first seven years in Haran seems unremarkable, commonplace, ordinary. A man goes on a journey to spend time with his extended family, meets the woman he wants to marry, and works hard on his uncle’s farm in order to turn that desire for marriage into reality. He gets bamboozled in the process, and that adds an unexpected complication to his life, but he still gets the girl he had pledged to marry. This is the stuff of ordinary life: extended family relations, hard work, unexpected difficulties, and marriage. Jacob lived in the ordinary, and so do you and I.

We make a great mistake when we think that our walk with God is supposed to be characterized by continual mountaintop experiences, such as the experience that Jacob had at Bethel or that Peter, James, and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. Mountaintop experiences are only supposed to  be exceptional and occasional, whereas we are called to live faithfully each day in the valleys and plains of ordinary life.

Where is the Lord in Genesis 29:1-30? Though He is not mentioned in the passage itself, we know that the Lord is with Jacob every step of the way as Jacob navigates the first seven years of his life in Haran. How do we know this? We know this because the Lord made a promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:15, saying, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” When Jacob arrives by the well in the field, when Jacob enters his uncle’s house, when Jacob works in his uncle’s fields and tends his uncles flocks, when Jacob enters into the covenant of marriage – in all this, the Lord is not afar off, but the Lord is with Jacob to bless him, preserve him, and provide for all his needs.

Some people think that if they are going to walk with God, then they have to get super-spiritual, they have to somehow escape ordinary life and be drawn into a constant stream of mystical or monastic or excessively religious pursuits. As a corrective to such pious nonsense, I would like to encourage you to see Jacob as an ordinary man who was living in accordance with God’s design:

• Jacob “obeyed his father and his mother” (Genesis 28:7) by going to visit Laban;
• in keeping with Genesis 2:24, Jacob left “his father and his mother” in order to claim a bride;
• in keeping with God’s design for men to work the earth (Genesis 2:15, 3:17-19), Jacob was an industrious worker – not a priest in a temple, but a worker in the field;
• in keeping with Genesis 2:18-24, Jacob rightly recognized the value of a wife, as indicated in his willingness to devote seven years of income to acquire Rachel – while this certainly reflects cultural expectations concerning a bride price paid to the bride’s family, it also reflects deeper truth: “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10); and “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD” (Proverbs 18:22); moreover Jacob didn’t resent the cost of acquiring a wife, but fulfilled his seven-year commitment with joy;
• finally, even after the great disappointment of being deceived into marrying the wrong sister and having his hand forced to work an additional seven years, he stayed the course.

One of the most popular errors that gains traction among religiously-minded people is that they ought to be hyper-religious and reject the ordinary gifts of marriage and hard work. The New Testament is clear, however, that marriage is to “be held in honor among all” (Hebrews 13:4). And as for work, we are to shun idleness and pursue productive labor: “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12) Don’t chase some ethereal spiritual life. Get down to business. Do your work with integrity and grace. Prepare for marriage or, if you are already married, demonstrate practical love for your spouse.

The Lord works through these ordinary activities to accomplish His kingdom purposes in our lives. In Jacob’s case, the Lord was working through Jacob’s ordinary activities of work and marriage in order to fulfill His promise that Jacob’s “offspring shall be like the dust of the earth” (Genesis 28:14), for marriage must come first. In our case, the Lord is working through our ordinary activities in order to display His glory through the saltiness of our lives. Peter writes: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12) After that, Peter gives practical instruction to Christians in their responsibilities as citizens (1 Peter 2:13-17), as bondservants (1 Peter 2:18-25), as wives (1 Peter 3:1-6) or husbands (1 Peter 3:7), and as members of the church who have obligations to one another and who must graciously endure evil and suffering (1 Peter 3:8-17).

Now do I mean that if you simply get married and work hard, you will be walking with God? Of course not! Unbelievers also get married and work hard, and they are not walking with God. What I do mean is that if God has called you and laid hold of you by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, the spheres in which He calls you to follow Him are the ordinary spheres of extended family, hard work, unexpected trials, and marriage. Don’t despise these spheres. Don’t resent the mundane. As Paul Tripp has memorably said, “You live your life in the utterly mundane. And if God doesn’t rule your mundane, he doesn’t rule you, because that’s where you live.”[2] This is true. We live in the mundane. But the Lord is with us in the mundane. His promise to be with Jacob and preserve Jacob wherever Jacob goes, is indeed the same commitment that He has to each and every one of His redeemed people, as Hebrews 13:5 extends the Lord’s promise to every believer: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

So let Genesis 29:1-30 encourage you to be grounded – to be grounded in the ordinary gifts that the Lord has given to us for our good. Knowing this promise that the Lord will never leave you, knowing that the Lord is with you, knowing that the Lord will never forsake you but will be faithful to fulfill all of the promises that He has made to His people – knowing this, don’t chase after elusive super-spiritual experiences. Instead, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and be diligent in all of your relationships and responsibilities. As you do that, trust the Lord that He is sanctifying your life, building your house, and incorporating your labors into His big picture plan, for His glory and for your good.

ENDNOTES

[1] From the hymn “Day by day, and with each passing moment” by Lina Sandell (translated by A. L. Skoog)

[2] Paul Tripp, “Getting To The Heart Of Your Words”. Available online: https://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/getting-to-the-heart-of-your-words

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Assohoto, Barnabe and Samuel Ngewa, “Genesis.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Zondervan Edition (first edition published in 2006).

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.

Steinmann, Andrew E. Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019.