Let's turn to Genesis chapter 31. Now our God has given us the gospel because through the gospel he makes the mind of God known to us. He makes us to know God's gracious purpose for his people who desperately need his salvation. And he makes his mind known to us through the gospel because this is how God saves his people. I want to read something that Paul said in Romans chapter 10. And it speaks to the necessity of preaching the gospel. Romans 10 verse 13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now listen closely to what he says, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. So our God from the foundation of the world from the patriarchs, and even earlier than the patriarchs, our God has been proclaiming, preaching, declaring the gospel. You know, the promise that he made in the garden when Adam and Eve fell, God was preaching the Gospel, right there. He's declaring His Word to our ears. And with that understanding, you can go back to the first chapter of Genesis and see it's declaring the Gospel. The whole thing is declaring the Gospel of Christ to us, of our Redeemer. And so He preaches the Word, and when He preaches the Word, He speaks of the believers, kinsmen, Redeemer, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. And in this chapter here, in the beginning of this chapter 31, Genesis 31, we see how that the Lord reveals his gospel to Jacob, and then Jacob calls his wives, a picture of the church, And he proclaims the gospel to them. And that word is made effectual to them. And they see exactly what the Lord taught and showed Jacob. They confess, that's our hope too. What God has shown you, he's shown to us. He's taught us by that same word. So I've titled this message, Jacob Preached the Word. So the Lord makes clear to Jacob at this time. He's in Paddan Aram, which is basically Syria. He's been there for a long time. And he says, Jacob, it's time to go. It's time for you to leave. And when Jacob leaves Syria, when he leaves Laban's house, he's going to leave now with an understanding of God's provision for him. He's going to leave with an understanding of who his redeemer is. Jacob had been in servitude to his uncle Laban for 20 years. Now, 20 years. For each daughter's hand, he served Laban seven years. And then he tacked on another six years where God purposed to bless Jacob and ensure that Jacob would not leave Laban's house empty. having not done any provision for himself, and so it's time now, and the Lord's showing Jacob, he's teaching Jacob the gospel. We don't read a lot of, we don't read of anything, really. of the Lord of Jacob worshiping God. There's no altar there in Padan, Iran. The last he's seen of God that's recorded for us is in Bethel, when he was fleeing Esau's face and going to Laban's house to spend a little time there, perhaps find a wife there. And the first time that God is even brought up again is when Laban said, I have seen that God hath blessed me for your sake, which is a picture, a testimony that we, the church, is blessed for the sake of another. God's always declaring the gospel through the whole scripture there. And so I want to show you first, before we see Jacob preaching the word, The Lord does three things to prepare Jacob for his departure from Paddan Aram and to go home. First, he had a desire. The Lord had laid a desire on his heart while in Paddan Aram to go home. Look back in Genesis 30, verse 25. Some of this is review from last week, but it's good to see it. Verse 25, and it came to pass. when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, send me away, that I may go unto mine own place and to my country. Well, there's a picture of how the believer longs for home, longs for his heavenly inheritance when Christ is formed in us. When Christ is formed in the heart, we begin to desire to go to that inheritance. I want to go home. I want to go home. Second, circumstances began to change for Jacob. And these circumstances, these changes through these things, he began to know that things are very different between me and this world now. They don't look at me the same. They don't treat me the same anymore. And so the Lord was showing him how that he puts a divide between his people and the world. Look at Genesis 31 verse 1. And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. He heard the words. He understood. These fellows don't like me. They don't treat me the same anymore. And there's a spiritual lesson in that verse for God's people, and it's showing us the glory of Christ here. There's a picture of the gospel in this verse. When it says, It's speaking of Christ. Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's. They said, of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. And what it shows us is that men of flesh, men who are enemies of God, yet in darkness, yet trusting their flesh, we see who their father is. The Lord's making known to us that his people, their father is God. But those of the world, those remaining in darkness, those going the course of the world, are under the prince of the power of the air. Their father is the devil. Now, most people don't go around with that kind of confession. Very few people would say that the devil is their father. And yet, they're of the flesh. They're of Adam. And Adam yielded. to the devil. He yielded up his dominion to the devil, and so when men are left to themselves, their confidence is in this flesh. Their confidence is in the flesh. We see it in John chapter 8. We see the religion of the Jews, and you can turn there to John chapter 8. We'll come back to Genesis 31 in a moment, but John 8. These Jews were practicing the law of Moses, which spoke of and pointed to Christ. They boasted that Abraham was their father. In John 8, verse 40, our Lord, speaking to these Jews, verse 40, he tells them, but now ye seek to kill me. He's having trouble, just like Jacob was having trouble with Laban's sons. He said, Ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham. You see, God was blessing Jacob. He was making sure that Jacob would not go out of Laban's house empty, and he's blessing him, and that blessing of God was speaking volumes of truth to Laban's sons. They're looking at that saying, wait a minute, all the glory is going to this fella. He's getting all the glory, and we're getting nothing. Nothing. Well, same thing with the Jews. They're looking at Christ and saying, All the people are going after Him. Where's our glory? Where's our fame? You're making us look like fools. You're telling people that our words are false and that we don't know the truth. Verse 41, our Lord says to them, ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they unto him, we be not born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, if God were your Father, ye would love me. You'd rejoice in the glory that the Father gives me. You'd rejoice, for I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it." The rejoicing of Laban's sons was that of the flesh. They rejoiced in their father Laban. And they're looking at all this glory of God blessing Jacob. They didn't know the promises given to Abraham. They didn't believe the things that Abraham was taught of God, that through his seed, the promised seed would come, and that all nations will be blessed in him. And so they weren't rejoicing. in the Lord blessing Jacob, they were angry. They were angry at it. Now back in verse 2, Genesis 31-2, And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban. He saw his face, and behold, it was not toward him as before. And so the more God blessed Jacob, the more the world hated Jacob. They saw it and said, no, we don't go for this. Why is he getting all the glory? Why is he being blessed so richly? Where's our blessing? Where's our boast? And then this foreshadows the coming of Christ. This was the behavior of the Jews toward Christ because he was being blessed of God. Now, in Christ, we see how God blessed Jacob through He was blessing him because through him Christ would come. Look at Genesis 30 verse 43. And the man, this is the previous chapter, and the man increased exceedingly and had much cattle and maidservants and menservants and camels and asses. He was getting all those sheep, and he's going and trading them in and getting camels and asses for the long trip home, getting new fabric for his tents and blankets and pillows and all the things that the kids needed and his wives. And he's bringing all this provision. And they're looking at this stuff marching by every day. Jacob's going to town with the sheep and the wool. that was supposed to be our father's, but it was his, because it was ring-streaked and spotted and whatever the agreement was, and he's selling it and getting all these things, all these blessings, so he wouldn't go home empty. And they're seeing that, and they're saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's. Of that which was our father's hath he gotten this glory. And that's the truth of the gospel. When we declare that God is sovereign, God saves whom He wills, it's not by my works. It's not by my will. It's not because I've made a decision to follow Jesus and given my heart to Him. If I have any hope or need of Christ, it's because God has given that to me. It's His glory. And if you declare that God saves whom he wills, the flesh of man, yet remaining in darkness, will hate you and despise that word. Why are you giving God all the glory? Where's my glory? If you listen to someone, there's two confessions in the so-called church, right? One glorifies God, the other one glorifies the flesh. Man says, I did. I walked the aisle. I gave my heart to Jesus. I accepted the Lord. I let go and let God. I did all these things. Where's my glory? But the believer says, God has done this for me. God saved me. He had mercy on a vile, filthy, wretched sinner who was in darkness, bound in chains, shut up to the things of God, unbelieving, glorying of myself. And he destroyed all those works and brought me out of death and darkness into the light of Christ. The child of God boasts in Christ. Listen to Paul's boast. He didn't say what he did. He didn't glory in his works. He said, but of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according as it's written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. You don't ever hear Paul saying, I, except he's talking about his sin. I persecuted the church. Who shall save me from this body of death? I thank God for Jesus Christ, because he gives his children a heart and a boast in Christ. Not in what I've done, but in what he's done for me, for Christ's sake. All in Christ, all in him. And so the glory is in Christ. And that's what the Lord does. He makes his children to see that. And to see this third and final thing here, he makes us to know that this place is not our home. There's a difference. This world doesn't rejoice in my God. They don't rejoice in sovereign God. They're rejoicing in themselves. They want the glory and they don't like the glory going to God. And so they boast in man's free will. And if you tell a man who's boasting in his free will that your will is corrupt and defiled, you're in prison, and shut up to the things of God. You need God to deliver you from that will and bondage. They hate it. They hate it. And so the third thing, it makes us to know we're not of this place. And this place is not of us. There's a division here. Verse 3, and the Lord said unto Jacob, return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. So that's what the Lord showed Jacob. taught Jacob this truth. Now once the Lord had spoken this truth to Jacob and convinced him of his grace and showed him what he was doing, what he had purpose to do for him, and it's time for him now to get out of Paddan Aram. He's blessed him and he's sending him out of Syria there, out of the world. We're given now an example, an early example in God's Word where where a man stands forth and preaches, proclaims the gospel to the church. It's a type right here of Jacob standing up, calling his wives, and declaring to him all that God had showed to him and taught him of these things. So, verse 4, Genesis 31, verse 4. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock." So here's Jacob, a picture of a pastor faithfully communicating God's word to God's flock, to God's people. Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock. These two women coming together here. are a picture of you that are called out of darkness. That's the church. The church is a called people, a people assembled, a people gathered together to hear God's word. You're here today and we emphasize the preaching of the word because that's what we're to do. We're called to preach the word. That's how the Lord blesses you and instructs you and strengthens the new man and comforts you and delivers you from your troubles. And he speaks peace into your heart, that you are a daughter or a son of the Most High God, and that God is at peace with you for Christ's sake. That's a blessing. That's why we're gathered and assembled here. And so he called them together. Our Lord said, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. In the midst. just because that's what pleases our God, to bless you through the preaching of the word. So Jacob, as Jacob declares God's word to his wives, my prayer is that we hear the gospel and what he says, and how he's declaring to them what God has taught him, and he's declaring to them, and you'll see, they identify with it. They say, that's our confession too. That's what God has shown us through the preaching of the word. So verse five, he said unto them, I see your father's countenance. that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father hath been with me." He's declaring to them exactly what God had revealed to him, what God had showed him. He's saying, I can see here that God has put a division between me and this world. We're not one anymore in this world. Verse six, and ye know that with all my power, I've served your father. In other words, he's saying, I'm not trying to give any offense to anyone. I'm doing my best. I'm doing exactly what your father and I agreed would be the wages for me to stay on these six years here. We agreed on it. Your father agreed. He loved it. He said, yep, so be it. And that's what we're doing. And God is blessing me. But I'm not trying to give him any offense. When you declare what Christ has done for you to another, to your neighbor, your family member, a friend, whoever it is, when you tell them, you're not trying to offend them. But there are people who get offended. and will hate you for it, whether they show it on their face or not at that time. But you'll find something's wrong. They don't want to talk to me no more. And because you've told them the truth. And so there's a division there. And Laban changed toward Jacob. And Jacob's saying, I'm not trying to be offensive to you. I'm just trying to declare, share what Christ has done for me. What he's done for me, verse 7. And your father hath deceived me and changed my wages 10 times, but God. But God suffered him or allowed him not to hurt me. And so now he's beginning to declare the gracious works of God for his people. The enemy would destroy you. The enemy hates you. This world is not your friend. It has no love for you. You that are blessed of God, there's no love for you, and they would destroy you. But everything, every fiery dart of the enemy, every javelin he throws, everything he casts at you, every accusation he makes against you, sinner, vile, wretched, how can you call yourself a Christian? Everything he throws at you, Christ has made provision. Look unto me. Believe only. Trust me. Look to me. Look to Christ. That's what he's saying. Look to the Lord, whom the Father hath sent. He has put away all your sins. Trust him. Believe him. Don't look to this world. Don't try to find your kingdom here in this world. It's not going to happen if you're Christ's. He's going to keep you, and you're going to endure to the end. and he'll keep you, and he'll strip away those things, but he makes provision for all the attacks of the enemy. Wherever he comes around you, Christ is the one protecting you. Christ is the one providing. Sometimes he'll suffer you to feel it to a degree for your good. And he'll strip you more and more of the flesh and take off those grave clothes that are blinding you. And he'll strengthen you with the word, but he's going to keep you. And you're not going to fall away. You're his. And so that's what he's saying. He's saying, your father came at me every way he could, and yet God would not allow him to destroy me or to hurt me. He protected me. And so that's the gospel, brethren, that we preach. that there's nothing, you don't need anything more than the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Everything you need to stand before God's throne with holy God on the throne is given to you fully, freely, sovereignly in the Lord Jesus Christ. so that you don't stand before God's throne having some need that you forgot that you can't do because we can't provide any righteousness. Christ has provided everything for us. Trust him and believe him. He's done the whole thing. So we stand before God's throne faultless. Now, we're made to see this corruption of our own flesh, we're made to see the separation between us and God, and we're made to hear God's gracious word in Christ. So Jacob then, he continues this sermon to his wife, to his wives. He says, verse 8 and 9, if Laban said thus, the speckled shall be thy wages, then all the cattle bear speckled. And if he said thus, the ring strait shall be thy hire, then bear all the cattle ring strait. He was trying to take advantage of Jacob but God kept overcoming every attack. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father and given them to me." And there we see a picture of Christ's redemption. The Father has taken away that which was the devil's and given them to Christ. All that the Father chose and gave to Christ before the foundation of the world were taken from Him and given to Christ. It's His glory through His gracious redemption. Our Lord's redemption is made known to us now through the preaching of this gospel. And sinners, by that word, sinners who are bound in prison, who are shut up in darkness and shackled to the wall and can't set themselves free from Satan's bondage, are delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, what does he, let me see if I can find it in Isaiah 49, I think it is. Isaiah 49.9, that thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth to them that are in darkness, show yourself. That's Christ who says that. He opens the door. He loosens the shackles and says, come here, come into the light. I'm the one who saved you. And he reveals himself to us. He makes this, he takes away the darkness by shining forth the light of his glory in in our hearts. And so he makes it known to us through the preaching of the gospel of what he's done. And what he's saying here, he's describing in type to his wives that we have a savior. We have a deliverer. We have one who has redeemed us, who prevented your father from destroying me and letting me be empty and taking everything from me. We have a redeemer. And that's the one who I'm telling you, God has done everything for us so that your dad couldn't get one over. Everything he tried and twisted and turned and lied about and tried to destroy, God kept outsmarting him and providing it all. And you see, it wasn't Jacob saying, this is what I did, and then I did this, and then I did this, and I kept getting over on him. No, he kept boasting of God. He said, God did this. God shut your father down from doing what he would do. And so he's delivered us from the devil. And he's delivered us from the corrupt works of Adam in our own flesh. We would destroy ourselves if God left us to it. And we would bring ourselves to absolute utter ruin. Our Savior said, no man can enter into a strong man's house. And he's talking about the devil's house. No man can enter into that house and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. He's not talking about what you and I do. We're already in the house locked up. We're already prisoners and we cannot set ourselves free. He's talking about what Christ did as the Redeemer who went to the cross and saved his people from the devil's house. By his redemption, the strong man's bound and shut up and can't stop him. And he comes and just takes his people out as it pleases him in the day of his grace and mercy for them. He does. That's why it says, 1 John 3, 8, he that committeth sin is of the devil. That's us. We are of the devil. He that committed sin is of the devil. And we've got a problem. For this cause, for this cause, Christ was, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. He did that. He did that. And so our savior is the one who delivers us from the devil. Now let's see further what our Lord communicated to Jacob. Genesis 31 verse 10. And it came to pass at the time--" this is Jacob still preaching. "'It came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived that I lifted up mine eyes and saw in a dream. And behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled.'" Now look, he says, "'And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream.'" All right, we're going to come back to the angel of God. "'Spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob, And I said, here am I. And he said, lift up now thine eyes, and see all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled. For I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, that one who appeared to you when you were fleeing from the face of your brother, who's going to destroy you. that God who appeared to you, then, and was with you all this time, where thou anointed the pillar, and where thou vowedst to vow unto me, now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred." And so he's laying there a foundation of our kinsman redeemer. He's saying, this is the angel who's been watching over us, who's been taking care of me all this time. and providing for me, and that's what a kinsman does. The near kinsman redeemer appears for his relative, he's the close relative who's able, and what he does is he delivers us. If we've sold ourselves into slavery, which we did in Adam, it's Christ who redeems us and purchases us and brings us back. It's him that delivers us and frees us. It's Christ who is our avenger and revenger. He takes vengeance on our enemies. He destroys them. Everything we need, the kinsman redeemer provides. And that's what Jacob is seeing, this angel of the Lord This one is the Redeemer. He's the one watching over us and providing for us. Now look look over at Genesis 48 because I want you to see this on the angel here. Why I'm saying he's talking about the kinsman Redeemer. Genesis 48 in verse 15 and 16. This is Jacob describing our God and Savior. And Jacob blessed Joseph. This is now at the end of Jacob's life. He blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The angel which redeemed me from all evil blessed the last." And so what he's saying, that language there, he's saying, the one who did this whole thing in delivering me from my brother Esau who wanted to kill me and bringing me to Laban and gave me He gave me you two as my wives, and these children here, it's this God who's redeeming. He's the one who's providing for me. He's the one who's taken your father's cattle and given them to me because your father was doing wrong. He's the one who's blessed me. Time and time and time and time again. It's this angel. He's my Redeemer. And it's the same God whom you, this day by His grace and power, believe and have all your hope in. It's in Christ. That's by your Redeemer. His salvation worked in your hearts for you that believe this day. God did that. He gave you that faith. And so this word was preached by Jacob to Rachel and Leah for their understanding, for their comfort, and for their faith. Because faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10, 17. And this is the outcome here that we find with these women who are a type of the church, they picture you that believe. These women are hearing the same word you hear, what is it, like some almost 6,000 years later, 5,000 years later, 4,000, something like that? Like it's about 4,000 years later and we're hearing the same word here. First, they confess Jacob's confession. Look at verse 14. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? As I declare what we are in Adam, you that hear, who hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, you that have the Spirit of God, say, yes, that's my confession. God has shown me that I'm a sinner, that I have no inheritance here in this world. They saw exactly what Jacob was saying. They understood. And then they confess, I see the enmity of my father of this world also. Verse 15, are we not counted of him strangers? For he hath sold us and hath quite devoured also our money. That's an understanding of what we are in Adam. Adam sold us for nothing. When he bit the forbidden fruit, he sold all his seed in him for nothing. We got nothing out of it except corruption and death and misery and sadness and darkness. And then finally, we see God's redeeming work. Verse 16, for all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. Do it. That's the church's confession. We rejoice, we see what God has done for us in Christ, and it's all for the praise and glory of his name. And so God provided for Jacob, they understood that God provided for Jacob, they understood that he's our kinsman, redeemer, and so it pictures what the spirit does for us to this day. Now that God saves us in Christ, and blesses us for his sake, and he's our inheritance. And we're fine with this world getting no glory and him getting all the glory and praise. The psalmist said, hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house. And so they confessed what the church says today. Whatsoever God has said to you, do it. We're happy in that. And that's the fruit of faith. That's the obedience to God's Word. And so there, brethren, is a beautiful picture of how our God saves His people and blesses His people through the preaching of the Word. these things to his pastor in his heart, and then the pastor comes and preaches this very word to the gathered, called, assembled church. And they say that, yes, that's what God has shown me to. That's my confession of my hope. He's my redeemer, amen.