THE CURE FOR THE COMMON SIN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it."

Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent.

Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period."

So he searched but could not find the household gods.

Genesis 31:17-35

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sin.

Once introduced by Adam and Eve, it has taken root in every man and woman ever since and there is no cure for it. Today, we all have it and will have it for as long as we live on this earth.

Now that would be enough bad news but there’s a couple more things to consider.

First, sin is a very progressive disease. If not treated and controlled, it can lead to horrific outcomes.

Consider Adam and Eve’s son, Cain. After bringing God less than his best and finding his brother Abel gain the Lord’s favor over him, he allowed jealousy and hatred to consume him to the point of murder. And from that point on, unchecked sin has led countless other to do as he did.

The other dangerous thing to remember about sin is that it’s highly contagious. Even if someone manages to go into remission, freed from the grip of transgression, they can always find themselves “catching sin" again, just as easily as being infected with the common cold.

With all this in mind, we turn to our scripture passage for today where we find Jacob, with his family and belongings in tow, setting out to return home from his time with Laban. Look again at those verses here:

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it."

Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent.

Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period."

So he searched but could not find the household gods. Vv.17-35

Here, we see two problems emerge from Jacob’s departure.

First, he failed to tell the devious, scheming Laban he was leaving and, second, Rachel decided to steal her father’s household idols. The combination of these two actions anger Laban who sets out to catch and confront Jacob about them.

The scriptures tell us that it took seven days for Laban to reach Jacob and his traveling group but we also read where God reached Laban first. This is amazing because we know that Laban was worshipping other gods, his idols stolen by Rachel, and yet he was confronted by the one true God, the One who had bestowed special blessings on him through Jacob.

What did the Lord say to Laban?

We reads where He warns Laban to "be careful" in what he said to Jacob for he was carrying out His command to return home and was not to be deterred.

Well, as Laban speaks to Jacob, we find him heeding the Lord’s command but he does inquire as to why Jacob left without telling him, saying:

"What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

Yes, you heard right.

Laban is accusing Jacob of being deceitful and stealing from him, two sins that Laban had already shown he was skilled at.

Maybe this has happened to you at one time or another.

You had someone do something to you that you had either first done to them or someone else, and yet you responded in such a way that indicated you had never committed the same wrong done against you. Unfortunately, we may have all been guilty of having a very short memory when it comes to the sins we have committed as we pass judgment on another.

Need an example?

Go to the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel and you will find the Pharisees hauling a woman they had found committing adultery into the temple courts where Jesus was. They told Jesus that the Mosaic law demanded that the woman be stoned to death and wanted Jesus’ take on it.

Do you remember what He said”

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” v.8

One by one, the men who gathered dropped their stones and not one was cast at the woman. In the end translation, none of them could say that they were any less of a sinner than the adulterous woman.

Too bad that Laban lived before Jesus because he didn’t have the chance to have that guidance. On the other hand, we don’t have that excuse.

Here’s another important point to make about Laban and his deceiving attitude. For we really didn't see it really come out until Jacob came on the scene, the same Jacob who had partnered with his mother Rebekah (Laban’s sister) to deceive Isaac into giving him Esau’s birthright.

Further, the Isaac that got deceived was the same Isaac who decided to deceive King Abimelech by telling him that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife, just as his father Abraham had done before him.

Now, fast forward back to our scripture passage for today and we see Rachel steal her father’s precious belongings and then lie about doing it. The daughter was now deceiving her father who was so good at deceiving others. She was also now the wife of a man (Jacob) who had deceived and now had become a deceiver herself.

Did I mention that sin can be contagious?

I think we can see where sinful behavior can be passed along from parent to child and even from husband to wife. Unfortunately, it’s still happening today and you might have seen it happen in your own life.

Maybe you have committed the same iniquities that you have had done to you by another. In regard to this, my parents used to share the well known saying, “Two wrongs don’t make a right” but I believe the Lord would say it differently:

"Don’t commit a wrong in the first place and you will live right."

You see, we can’t allow the way we behave in life to be tainted by inappropriate responses to the transgressions that others commit against us, for that’s when we get into trouble and fall into sin ourselves.

To avoid this, the only way we can keep sin at bay, and in doing so, keep from repeating the sins of the past, is to keep our eyes, our hearts, and our minds completely fixed on God the Father and Jesus, His Son, who He sent to die for us, bearing the sins we still commit so to bring us pardon, mercy, and grace. For when Christians completely surrender themselves to be Christ-like, then and only then can they find the cure for the all too common sin.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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