I've entitled this message, The Twelve Sons of Jacob. I've never preached on this before
and I hope I have some help in doing so. When the high priest
went into the Holy of Holies once a year, not without blood, he had a breastplate over his heart with the name
of the 12 sons of Jacob written. He also had on his shoulder the
12 sons of Jacob written, six on each shoulder. They were near
to his heart, the place of his love. He carried them. on his shoulders. Throughout the Old Testament,
God's people are called the House of Jacob. God is called by the name the
God of Jacob more than any other title in the scripture. A lot
of significance to that. The God of Jacob. Jacob himself is mentioned almost
twice more than Abraham and who knows how much more than Isaac. If you look at the book of Genesis,
there are 14 chapters dedicated to Abraham. There are two or
three chapters with Isaac and there are 25 chapters with the
life of this man, Jacob. God refers to his people as Jacob. In Psalm 24, 6, we read these words, these are
the generations of those who seek thy face, O Jacob. Christ is called Jacob. This speaks of the union between
Christ and His Jacobs. In Malachi chapter 3, verse 6,
we read, I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. God said two times, once in the
Old Testament, once in the New, Jacob have I loved And you know
that wouldn't mean a whole lot unless we read the rest of that
verse Esau have I hated God's love for Jacob Now the sons of Jacob represent
the church the people of God every believer and their names
actually tell us what a believer is. And I hope by the end of
this message, you and I will know what a believer is, what
a Christian is, what a saint is. Now the story of their birth,
is bizarre. I've thought about entitling
this message, The Birth Wars, because that is pretty much what
is going on. You can't help but feeling sorry
for Leah, verse 31 of chapter 29, and when the Lord saw that
Leah was hated. Now remember, Leah was the older
sister of Rachel. Rachel was beautiful. Leah was
not, and you remember the story of what took place last week
if you were here. Well, Leah conceived, verse 32,
and bare a son. She called his name Reuben. My
marginal reading says, see a son, behold a son. For she said, surely the Lord
hath looked upon my affliction, now therefore my husband will
love me. I feel sorry for her, don't you? She was doing everything
she could to gain her husband's affection. And she conceived
again and bear son and said, because the Lord had heard that
I was hated. He had therefore given me this
son also. And she called his name, Simeon
hearing. And she conceived again and bear
son and said, now this time, will my husband be joined unto
me? Because I born him three sons, therefore was his name
called Levi, joined. And she conceived again and bear
a son. And she said, now will I praise
the Lord. Therefore she called his name
Judah and left bearing. She quit having children. He
has four kids now all by Leah. Well, Rachel saw that she bared
Jacob, no children. Rachel envied her sister. You
put yourself in her place. She was barren. Her sister was
having all the children. And as a matter of fact, she
got the high honor of having Judah. That's the line Christ
came through, but she envied her sister, Leah, you know, whatever
situation somebody is in, the other person has it better. And
that's how she felt it. That's the way she felt about
things. And she said to Jacob, give me children or else I die.
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel. And he said,
am I in God's stead? Who is withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
He's saying, the Lord's the reason you don't have a child. What
are you getting mad at me for? What are you expecting something
out of me? And she said, behold, my maid, Billa. Now that's the
same thing that Sarah did with Hagar, remember? Same thing. Was it right? No. Did they do
it? Yes. Behold, my maid, Billah, go in
unto her, and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also
have children by her. And she gave him, Billah, her
handmaid, to wife, and Jacob went in unto her, and Billah
conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged
me. and hath heard my voice and given me a son, therefore called
she his name Dan, or Judgment. And Billa, Rachel's maid, conceived
again and bared Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, with great
wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali. She thought, I'm up on her now.
Well, when Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah,
her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife and Zilpah, Leah's maid,
bear Jacob a son. And Leah said, a troop cometh.
And she called his name Gad. And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bear
Jacob a second son. And Leah said, happy am I, for
the daughters will call me blessed. And she called his name Asher. So here we have four from Leah,
two each from the Handmaids. Verse 14 and Reuben went into
the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. Anybody know what mandrakes are?
They're called love apples. It was an aphrodisiac. So they
thought. They thought this is what is,
she thought this is going to enable me to have more children. And that's what mandrakes were.
Now, did they have that effect? Probably not, but they believe
they did. And Reuben went into the days
of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought them
in to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, give
me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto
her, is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? Or
wouldst thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said,
therefore, he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. Isn't that bizarre? I mean, you
read stories like this, and I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, let's go on
reading. And Jacob came out of the field
in the evening, I guess he'd been working all day, and Leah
went out to meet him and said, thou must come in unto me, for
surely I've hired thee with my son, the Mandrakes. Can you imagine
that? And he lay with her that night,
and God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bare Jacob,
the fifth son. And Leah said, God has given
me my hire because I've given my maiden to my husband. And
she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again and
bear Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God have endued
me with a good dowry. Now will my husband dwell with
me because I born him six sons. And she called his name Zebulun,
a dwelling place. And afterwards she bear a daughter
and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel. And
God hearkened to her and opened her womb. She prayed about this. She asked
the Lord for this. And the Lord answered her. The
Lord answers prayer. He is called, O thou that hearest
prayer. She prayed about this. It grieved
her in her heart and the Lord answered her prayer. And she conceived and bear a
son and said, God has taken away my reproach. And she called his
name, Joseph. Added, that's what his name means,
added. And said, the Lord shall add
to me another son. And some years later, she has
another son by the name of Benjamin. And you will remember the blatant
favoritism that Jacob has to the two sons of Rachel, much
more above the other 10 sons. Now, these 12 boys, these 12 men,
are the men that were written on the breastplate of the great
high priest. And they were held up by his
shoulders. And listen to what the scripture
says, God says of Jacob, God hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel. Now God sees things as they really
are. I want me and you to understand
that because we don't see things that way. It's impossible for
us to see things that way. But that is how God sees, and
how God sees is as it is. Oh, the gospel that makes this
so. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ makes it to where God who can see, oh, nothing gets
past Him. He has not beheld iniquity in
Jacob, nor seen perverseness in Israel. Through the names
of these 12 sons of Jacob, we can learn something about what
a believer is. Now, Reuben, we feel sorry for
Leah at this time, but now she has a son. God hearkened to her. God had mercy on her. And she
named that son Reuben. And his name means behold a son. See a son. And my dear friends, this is
what a believer is. He's someone who beholds the son. He sees
the son. Listen to the scripture from
John chapter five, verse 40. The Lord said, this is the will
of him that seeth me, that everyone that seeth the son and believeth
on him hath everlasting life. Now, here's what comes first,
seeing Him. And I'm not talking about a physical
sight. You find out, you see, you perceive who He is. Now, that's what faith is. Faith is seeing who He is. You can't trust a Christ if you
don't know who He is. You can't believe on a Christ
that you don't know who he is. Faith begins right here. It's
seeing who he is. Like the thief. I think the thief
is the most glorious illustration of this. When he went to that
cross first, he didn't know who he was. He had no idea who Christ
was. He was cursing with his body.
But all of a sudden, by the revelation of God, he knew who Jesus Christ
was. That's why I said, Lord, remember
me. He knew who he was. And I guarantee
you this, if you know who he is, you will call on his name.
If you know who he is, you will trust him. Behold, a son see
a son. If I see who he is, I will trust
him. That's what a believer is. He's
someone who sees the son. You know, there are multitudes in Lexington,
Kentucky right now who are very religious, but they have no idea
about this thing of beholding the glory of the Son. They see
no beauty in Him, they see no perfection in Him, but a believer
does. We see that He is all our salvation
and we trust Him. Now, the second boy's name is
Simeon. His name means Hearing. You don't see with your eyes,
you see with your ears. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the Word of God. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not heard? Be swift to hear, slow to speak. You see, you can't hear while
you're talking. You cannot hear while you're
talking. The only way you can hear is if you're hearing. You
know what? Faith cometh by hearing, what
we're doing right now. Sitting there listening to what's
being said from God's Word. His name means hearing. Keep
thy foot when thou goest into the house of God and be more
ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools. Incline your
ear and come to me. Hear and your soul shall live. And I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. A believer
is one who sees with their ears." Hearing the gospel. And you know, hearing is about
the most passive thing you do. Yes, you think about it and so
on, but you just sit there and listen to what is said. That's
not words, is it? That's just sitting there listening,
hearing. He that hath ears to hear. How
many times did the Lord say that? He that hath ears to hear. Do
you have ears to hear? If you do, he gave them to you.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Now, the third son's
name was Levi. And you'll notice that she said,
now will my husband be joined to me? What Levi means is joined. Joined. The two become one flesh. And this is what every believer
is, joined to Christ. Eternally united to Christ, one
with him. So that what he does, I do. It's more than what he does is
credited to my account. What he does, I do. Now that's part of the great
mystery of the gospel. You remember when the Lord said
to John the Baptist, thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. When Jesus Christ kept God's
holy law, there's a whole lot of other people who did as well.
I fulfilled all righteousness when he did. Hebrews 2.11 says,
both he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all
of one. For the witch calls, he's not
ashamed to call them brethren. He looks at me and he's not ashamed
to own me as his brother because I'm one with him. I think maybe
one of the clearest illustrations of this is found in Hebrews chapter
7. Now, the very message, the heart
and soul of the gospel is what he did, I did. When he kept the
law, I kept the law. When he died, I died with him. I was judged with him. When he
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. As he's
right now seated in heaven, the scripture says we're seated together
with him. Now look here in Hebrews chapter
seven. Verse nine, and as I may so say,
Levi also, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. Now Levi wasn't born. It does not say when, this is
when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. It doesn't say that Abraham's
tithe paying is credited to Levi's account, does it? Remember, every
word is exact in scripture. God says it just as it, he would
have it said. It says, Levi paid tithes. When his great grandfather did
it. for he was yet in the loins of
his father when Melchizedek met him." Now, union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's my hope. Really, this
is... In some respects, this is the
biggest truth in Scripture, that I'm united to Him, that God views
me, and God sees things as they are, as having kept the law,
because I'm united to the Lord Jesus Christ. He, one with Him. And the vine and the branches. The Lord said, I'm the vine,
you're the branches. I love this, the same stem. that's
in the vine goes through the branches with no connecting point. This is talking about the eternal
union of Jesus Christ with his people. Just believe. It's what the Bible
teaches. Just believe, united to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And Judah, the Lord came through
Judah and his name means praise. Jacob said at the end when he's
talking about his boys, you know, he wasn't he wasn't deceived
concerning his boys He said all kinds of horrible things about
him there in chapter 49 and 50 when he's talking about his 12
boys They were sinners. They were they were in many respects
They were very bad people and you can read the scripture gives
this history of these men these men but Jacob says to Judah thou
art he whom thy brethren shall praise." And my dear friends,
that's what we're doing right now, isn't it? We are praising
the Lord Jesus Christ. He gets all the glory and salvation
and we love it that way. Oh, we love the lion of the tribe
of Judah who came up to the throne and the scripture says he took
the book. He didn't ask for it. He took
it as the father's Oh, what praise goes to Judah, and we're praising
him right now. Paul put it this way, God forbid
that I should glory, that I should have confidence in, that I should
rest in, that I should have hope in anything, save the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me. and I unto the world. So Leah quits bearing at that
time. And that's when Rachel has her
handmaids go in unto Jacob. And the first one's name was
Dan. You can read about that in Genesis
30 verses one through six. His name means judge or judgment. And what this is speaking of
is the absolute justice of our salvation. Now what do I mean
by that? I want to show you two scriptures.
Turn to John chapter 5. While you're turning there, Revelation
19.8 says, Unto her was granted fine linen, clean and white. This is the righteousness of
the saints. It doesn't say the righteousness
of Christ imputed to the saints, although it is, it says this
is the personal righteousness of the saints. The righteousness
of Jesus Christ is my personal righteousness and the justice
of God demands my salvation. The law of God demands my salvation. Now look here in Luke or John
chapter 5. Verse 27, and he hath given him authority
to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. Marvel
not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that
are in the graves shall hear his voice. This is talking about
the final resurrection. And shall come forth. Now look at this statement. They
that have Christ's righteousness imputed to them under resurrection
of life. Doesn't say that, does it? They that have done good. They that have done good. Under the resurrection of life.
And they that have done evil. Under the resurrection of damnation. If Christ is my righteousness. I have done good and will be
rewarded accordingly. 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 10. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things
done in his body, things in body, according to that he has done,
whether it be good or bad. Now, this is used by religious
people who don't understand the gospel to teach what they call
the beam of judgment. This is a judgment after the
judgment. First, you have the great white throne judgment.
And after that, you have the judgment where you're going to
receive what you've done in your body, whether it's good or bad.
I mean, some are going to have big mansions and drive Cadillacs
and some are going to be living in the slums. You're going to
receive according to what you've done. You're going to be rewarded
according to your works. That's evil. I don't know what
else to call it. That's evil. The righteousness
of Christ is mine so much that what I've done in my body is
good. And the very justice and law
and judgment of God demands the salvation of everybody Christ
died for. Now, that's good. That's good. The judgment of God. And then
the next son that she has is Naphtali. You can read about
him in Genesis 37 and eight. And his name means wrestling.
Wrestling. Now this person who is justified
before God wrestles. And that's talking about the
wrestle always happening between the old and the new nature. It is nonstop. It is continual. It will not cease until we die
and put down this old nature. You can read about it in Romans
chapter seven. Every believer has two separate natures. And you really can't determine,
well, that was done by the good, the holy, it's not like that. We talked about this last Wednesday
night, but it's very much like hot water and cold water coming
out of the same faucet. Different, different, but they
come out of the same consciousness of a man. So there's a wrestling
going on. And listen to this scripture
from Song of Solomon, chapter six, verse 13. What will you
see when you see the Shulamite? Now the Shulamite is the bride,
the one Christ rejoiced over and said, you've ravished me
with one of your eyes. You're all fair, my love. There's
no spot in thee. What will you see when you see
the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
armies. That's in the Song of Solomon.
Speaking of Christ's relationship with his church, even then, you
see a company of two armies. To deny two separate natures
in a believer, for one thing, if you do that, you're saying
you got your own nature. You got the nature you're born with.
That's trouble. That's trouble, because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. And if you deny two separate
natures, you deny what total depravity is. It says the flesh
is totally evil and cannot be improved. It can't be made good.
You have to have a new nature that was not there before. That's
what the new birth is. It's a new nature. But every
believer has this struggle. with two natures. But I think
this is really glorious. The next person that's mentioned
is God, and His name means to overcome. You may have a battle
going on, but I know who's going to win. Greater is He that's
in you. then he that is in the world. And what is the victory? This
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world? But he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. This is the victory. I hate it
when I hear preachers, or not only preachers, I've heard other
people, I'm living a defeated Christian life. There ain't no
such thing. Not if you're a believer. You're victorious in Christ Jesus.
You're more than conquerors through him that loved you. Gad, the
victor. Asher, his name means happy. Happy. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his refuge. Happy is he. And this happiness
doesn't mean giddy. You might be in a situation of
great sorrow for who knows what reason. There are so many reasons.
But even in the midst of sorrow, we know this, and we know that
all things work together. for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose. I love what Paul
said to Agrippa when he's there in those chains, standing before
that heathen king. He says, I think myself happy,
oh Agrippa. Long as God's on the throne,
I have every reason to be happy, to know something of the joy
and the peace of believing. There's joy in a believer's life.
Somebody said to me once, I got joy in my life. And I thought,
well, why do you got to tell me? But there is joy in the believer's
life. Happy is he that has the God
of Jacob for his refuge. Ishikar means recompense or reward. That's after she bought him for
the mandrakes. And she said, I've now got my
recompense or my reward. To every believer, Christ says,
I am thy exceeding great reward. What a reward. And it's a just
reward. We've already seen that. It's
a just reward because of justification. I AM THY EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD."
THE VERY RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD DEMANDS OUR SALVATION. THEN ZEBULA,
THE TENTH. HIS NAME MEANS A DWELLING PLACE. A DWELLING PLACE. DIDN'T THE
LORD SAY, In my Father's house are many mansions. And the word
is literally dwelling places. We think of big, you know, how
many square feet and stuff when we think of a mansion. That doesn't
have anything to do with it. In my Father's house are many
dwelling places. And what is the dwelling place
of the believer? It's to abide in Christ. Now what does that
mean? That means at all times, there's
only one place I wanna be found in Christ. AT ALL TIMES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE DO I EVER
WANT TO BE VIEWED INDEPENDENTLY OF JESUS CHRIST. I WANT ALL GOD
TO SEE IS JESUS CHRIST. AND THERE'S A CONSCIOUS DESIRE
TO WANT TO STAY THERE. I DON'T WANT TO BE, I DON'T WANT
TO BE JUDGED IN ANY WAY. IF THOU SHOULDST MARK INIQUITIES,
O LORD, WHO SHOULD STAND? I simply want to be found in
Christ so that when God looks at me, He sees His Son. And that
is all He sees. And every believer has a strong
desire for that. Like Paul said, oh, that I may
win Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Joseph means added. The Lord
added to the church daily, such as should be saved. If you're, by his grace, a saved
individual, you know why? The Lord added you to the church.
And I love the way it says, such as should be saved. You see,
everybody that Christ died for should be saved because he paid
for their sins. They have no sin. And additions. Now I realize the universal church
doesn't get bigger, doesn't get smaller. It's got the names of
God's elect in the Lamb's Book of Life, but don't we love in
this life to see additions, the Lord adding to the church daily,
such as should be said. Benjamin, the last man, he means
son of my right hand. son of my right hand." We started
with, see a son, remember that? Behold a son, see a son, and
we end up with the son at the right hand of the father and
all that means. My hope of salvation right now
is that he is seated at the right hand of the father, having completed
salvation, seated ruling and reigning in the place of all
authority. He's seated at the right hand
of the Father. That's good hope, isn't it? So the 12 sons of Jacob, sinful
men without doubt, but behold a son. Hearing, joined to. Praise, judgment, wrestling,
overcome. happy, recompense, dwelling place,
adding, the son of the right hand, the gospel. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
gospel of thy son. How we thank you for giving us eyes to see your son,
ears to hear your gospel. Lord, how we thank you for eternal
union with Christ. How we thank you for him who
is to be praised. Lord, how we thank you for his
representing all your people, even now at your right hand.
And Lord, we look forward to his return when he comes. in glory, where every eye will
see Him. And Lord, until that time comes,
we ask that You would enable us to walk with Him by faith,
to rest in Him, to trust Him, to love Him supremely and completely,
oh, that we might be found in Him. As we face this coming week,
we ask that You would keep us. We ask for the salvation of those
you bring us into contact with that we might be able to preach
the gospel. We pray for our children that you would reveal yourself
to them. Thank you for Christ. In his
name we pray. Amen.