Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the book of Genesis, Genesis 35. The Lord was pleased to appear, according
to Genesis 35, 9, unto Jacob again, after Jacob had come out
of Pandanabrium, the place of his uncle. father-in-law. It's been about 30 years since
the Lord had appeared to him the first time when the Lord
gave Jacob the vision of the ladder that reached from earth
unto heaven. And over these 30 years, Jacob
has struggled much according to the Lord's will. Now the Lord's
pleased to meet with him again. In meeting with him again, the
Lord, verse 10, assured him. Oh, how we need assurance. We're
just so prone to forget. We're so prone to doubt. We're
just so fearful. We're needy. We're just little
kids that just can't seem to keep our attention spanned. like
it should be. And the Lord assured him, verse
10, he said, your name is Jacob. Thy name shall not be called
any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called his
name Israel. The Lord gave assuredness to
Jacob, your name is Israel. Now you think about the assuredness
that God's people need from the Lord. His people that hear His
voice, that know Him and He knows them. They follow Him. They hear His word in the scriptures. They hear His word, His voice
in their heart. They know Him. They know Him. and they desire to follow after
him. But they need the assurance once
again. Your name is Israel. Oh, I tell
you what, I don't feel like Israel. A prince with God. Feel like
Paul the Apostle, old wretched man that I am. That's what I
say. That's what I say. But oh, the
mercy of almighty God. Scripture says in verse 15, Jacob,
after the Lord met with him, he called the name of the place
where God spake with him Bethel, Bethel, the house of God, place
where God reveals himself. The house of God is the place
where the Lord assembles His people. The Lord's people is His house.
Know you not that Christ dwelleth in you? Christ in you, the hope
of glory, the house of God is Bethel. Bethel is that place
where the Lord has promised to meet with his people together,
be with them where two or three are gathered together. Oh, the
blessing of public assembly. I don't, I really don't think
this side of glory will ever know, will ever truly know the
blessing and the benefit of public worship, public worship. Being in that place where Christ
is preached, Christ is exalted, Lord's people are comforted,
fed, Bethel. As I've said before, not the
wood and bricks and stones. I appreciate this building. I
love this building. I love this building. I think
the thing that just impresses me so much when I think about
this building is the and blood and sweat and tears that went
into building it. And the time and effort that
was given. And all those that have gone
on now to be with the Lord that were instrumental in putting
this together, the work that went into this. But this is not
the house of God. This is the house of God right
here. This is Bethel right here. This is the house of the Lord
where God meets with his people. So Jacob now is getting ready
to leave the place that he named Bethel. The scripture says in
verse 16, and they journeyed from Bethel. Now he's going toward
a place, the scripture says, he journeyed from Bethel and
there was but a little way to come to Ephrath. He was leaving
that place, that Bethel. But though he was leaving that
Bethel and going to a place called Ephrath, he left that earthly
spot. But like all God's sheep, none
of God's sheep ever leave spiritual Bethel. God's people are kept
by the power of God. The Lord has promised He's not
going to leave them or forsake them. And though they struggle
with the flesh, this is the thought concerning leaving the Lord,
leaving the house of God, leaving where God's people meet, leaving
it. And I'm not talking about leaving it and going somewhere
else. I'm not talking about that. I know that that happens at times. But I'm talking about leaving
it, just leaving it, forsaking it, going away. God's people, when that temptation
would ever cross their paths, and I'm sure that there's the
fiery darts of Satan, God's adversary, people's adversary, God's people,
I'm tired, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do that,
and this, that, and the other. But here's the heart of God's
people. Where are we going to go? That's what Peter asked the
Lord. To whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life. Where are you going to go? Where
are you going to go except where God's pleased to meet? Meet with
His people. Where are you going to go? I
don't want to go somewhere else. I want to be there. The Lord
has given his people a heart to be together. That's what they
want. David said, Psalm 84, 10, for
a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be
a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents
of wickedness. God's people. want to be with
God's people. They want to be where the Lord
is. They want to be where he's magnified. So I want us to look
at this little passage, 16 to 20. And in these verses, there's
going to be a severe trial that we want to look at right at the
beginning. And in looking at this trial,
which is going to be Jacob's beloved Rachel. She's going to
die. She's going to die in childbirth. But in that trial, we're going
to learn two things. We're going to learn the frailty
of our flesh. Secondly, we're going to behold
the glory of the Lord's finished work and the redemption and salvation
of His people. Now, let's read this passage
of Scripture. And they've journeyed from Bethel.
And there was but a little way to come to Ephrath. And Rachel
travailed, and she had hard labor. And it came to pass, when she
was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, fear not, thou
shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul
was in departing, for she died, that she called his name Benoni. Her father called him Benjamin,
and Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which
is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her
grave, that is, the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day,
until the day of this writing, until Moses penned those words.
That pillar was there. Now here's the first thing I
see. Rachel, and there's always pictures,
there's always types, there's always a picture of the glory
of God. You know these scriptures are
concerning the Lord Jesus, you know that. The Lord said that,
the two on the road to Emmaus. But here I was looking at this
passage today and days before, and I see Rachel as a picture
of all men, but especially here a picture of God's elect, found
out of the mass of all humanity. And the scripture says, and I
see this as Rachel, as I looked at this, and I'll tell you where
I'm coming from. I woke up early this morning thinking on this
passage of scripture. And in verse 16, there was a
There's a phrase in there that just went through my mind over
and over and over again this morning, early, early. I get
up early, but it was earlier than I get up. This is it, verse
16. And there was but a little way
to come to Ephrath. It was but a little way to come
to Ephrath. They're on their way, they're
leaving Bethel. They're going to a place called Ephrath. Now, if you look in verse 19,
it says, latter part, Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, Bethlehem,
house of bread. Now, as they were leaving Bethel,
and I'm looking at Rachel here so you'll understand, I know
by nature No man, no woman by nature, until Almighty God does
something for them in regenerating grace, no man, no woman by nature
desires to come to the Lord. Come to the Lord. They don't
desire that. So I'm looking at Rachel here
as a picture of God's sheep regenerated by the grace of God. with a desire
to come to the Lord. He that cometh to me. He that
cometh to me. Now I'm looking at her as a picture
of a regenerated saint, knows God, loves God. Here's Rachel. And the scripture says they're
leaving Bethel and they're journeying from Bethel. And there was but
a little way to come to Ephrath. It was just a little way. Ephrath
is Bethlehem. They're going to Bethlehem. But it was just a little path. And I looked at this up, I looked
this up so many ways and find out what these words meant. And
it talks about, it was just a little bit of earth is what it's talking
about. Most writers think it was less than a mile. It just
wasn't far. It was just a little way. to the house of bread. But she couldn't make it. She
couldn't make it. Why? Well, I tell you ultimately
why. Because of sin. She couldn't
do it. She couldn't make it. The scripture
says in verse 16, they journeyed from Bethel and there was but
a little way to come to Ephrat, to come to Bethlehem, to come
to the house of bread. And Rachel travailed. And she
had hard labor. Hard labor. Why did she have
hard labor? She was going to have a baby.
Why? Why was there hard labor? Well, it was because of sin in
the garden. You know what happened? When
Adam ate of the fruit that was forbidden of God, God told the
woman, you're gonna be saved in childbirth. Sorrow, travail. But there's a reason for this,
and we'll see it. We'll see it in a minute. The scripture sets forth unto
the woman he, the Lord said, I will greatly multiply. thy
sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, he shall rule
over thee. So Rachel's inability to come and travel the path from
Bethel, from place to Ephrath, was not merely a historical note. She couldn't make it because
of sin, because of her frailty because of her need, because
of her inability. It was a picture. Here is a picture.
When I read that this morning, and they journeyed from Bethel,
and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath. It was just
a little way to get to the house of bread. Rachel travailed and she had
hard labor. It made me think of this. It
was just a little bit. It was just a little bit of traveling.
to get to him. But the Lord said in John 15,
five, I am the vine and you're the branches. He that abideth
in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. But
listen to this, for without me, you can do nothing, nothing. I want to worship God tonight.
I want to worship God. I want to hear from the Lord.
I want to mean what I'm saying. I want to mean this. I'm getting
older, getting old. Dying is more real to me now
than it has been before. I think about it more. The reality,
our brother D. Parks, the Lord took brother
D. Parks, 45 years old. The Lord took brother Bert, 64
years old. I'll be 74 in October. Dying is real to me. I wanna
worship. She was going, she wanted to
go to Ephrath. They were going to Ephrath. They
were going to the house of bread. They were going to Bethlehem.
That place where years, years later, our Lord's gonna be born.
I'm gonna mention that in a minute. This is where our Lord came into
this world. This is where the Lord was pleased that he who
is made flesh would come into this world, and he's gonna come
into this place right here, the house of bread, the place of God's
honor, the place of God's beauty, the place of God's power, the
place of God's mercy and compassion to sinners. And Rachel wanted
to go there, but she couldn't make it. Why? Sin, frailty. Without him, we can do nothing. This is what I see. When I see
that it was but a little way. I heard this truth proclaimed.
If we were to come to the very portal of heaven, and all we
had to do was take the last step, we'd be in hell. Just a little. Just a little. But the scripture
says she travailed. Why? Because of sin. It was just
a little distance, but sin had dominated here. Sin grabbed hold
of her. She's in hard labor. And it came
to pass, in verse 17, that when she was in hard labor, this is
the only two places that hard labor is ever mentioned. These
two verses right here, all the scriptures. She was in hard labor. I don't know anything about that.
You ladies that own children, you do. You know something about
it. Men don't know anything about that. All I know is what I know, and
I don't know nothing about it. It's probably something that
most men wouldn't want to do. She's in hard labor. That the
midwife said unto her, fear not. Thou shalt have this son also. Now, Young's literal translation
declares the words that were just spoken to be this. Fear
not, for this also is a son for thee. So it's probable. And based on what is just getting
ready to be said after this, it's probable that Rachel's son
was born because she was getting ready to die. The scripture says
in verse 18, it came to pass as her soul was in departing
for she died, that she called his name Benoni, but his father
called him Benjamin. Now she, she was in a state,
her soul was departing. You know how wonderful it is
that the Spirit of God would teach us something about dying
in the faith? This body is going to cease to
operate, but the soul is going to depart and still be in existence. often wondered about this. Do
we ever really lose consciousness? I don't think so. I mean, we
appear, you know, to others, we're looking like, they look
at me and say, he's unconscious. He didn't know anything. But
the soul that departed to be absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord and aware of it, aware of it. I've heard different instances. I've witnessed some things. of believers that die, and dying,
and I'm just convinced. I'm convinced that there's something
that they know, they see. She was dying. Her soul was in
departing. It came to pass as her soul was
in departing. She's dying here. She's dying. She's in a state of getting ready
to leave this world. Her soul is, for she died. and
being in hard labor because of sin. This is all part
of that first point. This is what I see, the neediness
of all of us. We're frail creatures, couldn't
make just a little difference, just a little difference, less
than a mile, less than a mile from where they were in Bethel
to Bethlehem. And she couldn't do it. She couldn't
make it. I mean, she was in hard labor. And she wasn't going nowhere. I ain't leaving. I ain't walking.
I can't walk. And in her hard labor, she has
a son. And because of the travail that
she was experiencing, I'm convinced of this, she called his name
Benoni, son of Mysore. Jacob, his father, called him
Benjamin, the son of my right hand. God's people, they struggle in this world because
of sin, because of sin. This is our lot in this world. Here is a picture, Rachel is
a picture of every regenerated sinner, I believe. This is what
I'm saying, a picture of her. He has a desire to be where the
Lord is, but we realize unless God Almighty helps us, I can't
do it. Like I said, I wanna be here,
I wanna worship. I can't worship unless the Lord gives me the
ability to worship. I can't drum it up. I mean, I
can make it appear as though to you that I am. I can make
it look good to you. I can put on a good front. But I'm gonna tell you something
right here. Unless God gives me a heart. He said, without
me, you can do nothing. You can do nothing. I want to
pray. I want to pray. Without me, you
can do nothing. I want to be found faithful. I want to walk faithful. Without
me, you can do nothing. I wonder if I'd ever get a hold
of that word, nothing, and realize what's really being said. You
can do nothing. You can do nothing. That's what
she could do. I'll tell you what she could
do. She could hurt. She was hurting. She was hurting. But I'll tell you the second
thing I see. I see the frailty of our flesh. Here's the second
thing I see. In light of the sufferings of
Rachel, I see Rachel now as a picture of that which our Lord suffered. We behold, in this second point,
the confidence of those who see themselves as needy. I mean,
she was needy. She was in hard labor and she
couldn't change it. She's getting ready to have a
son, a baby, and she's hurting. She's feeling the pains of childbirth
and feeling them to the point to where she's gonna die, she's
gonna die. She's gonna die giving birth
to this son. And when that son was born, she
named him the son of my sorrow. This is what it was. And Jacob said, no, no, his name's
gonna be Benjamin, son of my right hand. needy, frail, dying creatures
need one who has borne their guilt, borne their sorrows, carried
their griefs, was made like unto his brethren. There was one who came from heaven,
made flesh, that he might, according to the everlasting covenant of
God's grace. Live far and die far. A people of God's choosing. And he was born in the very place
that Rachel was trying to go to. He was born in a place called
Bethlehem, but according to verse 19, Ephrath, the name of the
city that they were going to, that is Bethlehem. Micah 5,2 says, but thou Bethlehem
Ephrata, same word, Ephrata, Ephrath, Ephrata. Though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
he come forth unto me, that is, unto the father. that is to be
ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been of old, from
everlasting. Rachel, suffering in hard labor,
gave her son the name Benoni, son of Mysorro. Benjamin said,
no, his name is Benjamin, I mean, Jacob said, no, his name is Benjamin,
son of the right hand. These two names, we see the glory
of our precious savior. Before he went to the cross,
born in this world, and before he went to Calvary,
turn with me to Luke 22, Luke 22. Before he went to Calvary, he
suffered. She was in hard labor. Hard labor. I want us to read in Luke 22,
verse 39 to 44. I'm going to just admit to you,
I don't know. I don't know. I cannot express the depth of
his sufferings. I don't know. I can read about
them. We can rehearse some, but we
don't know. Nobody knows, but God himself,
what he suffered. She was in hard labor. I don't
know, I don't know, I can't even explain that. But listen to what
Luke 22, 39, 44 says. Luke 22, 39. And he came out
and went as he would want to do, as he would want to the Mount
of Olives. and his disciples also followed
him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, pray that
ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father,
if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him." Now, I want to read that 44th verse,
but before I do, I thought to myself, this is God Almighty, who has humbled himself and made
himself of no reputation. took upon himself the form of
sinful flesh, he who knew no sin. And he suffered, he suffered on Calvary's tree, I know this.
He suffered bearing the weight of the guilt of his people. He bore their sins in his own
body. And he suffered, knowingly suffered, what those sins were
due. He knew. Forsaken of his father. He who
had eternally been in the presence of him, his father. And he knew what was due and
he bore it and he bore it willingly and bore it to the point to where
it was needful that an angel from heaven was sent to strengthen him. having humbled himself and submitted
himself, submitted himself, submitted himself to the weight, to the
weight of our guilt, bearing it all, I can't even stand myself. I can't even stand what I do
think. And to think that he bore all
of the guilt, all of the weight, all the shame, Have you ever realized, got a hold of something
that you did or said, and you think, why did I say that? I'm
ashamed, I'm ashamed of myself. Boy, the shame, he knew the shame
of it. And an angel from heaven came
down to strengthen him. I don't even know what to say. I don't know how to say it. Strengthen
him. And being in agony. Being in agony. Again, there's
another word I can't even enter into. I know what the word means.
I can read black letters on white paper and I understand something
of agony, but I don't understand that word. being in agony. He prayed more
earnestly. And his sweat was as it were
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Hard labor. Hard labor. Here he was. Here was Rachel.
She was in hard labor. But a picture type of him who
was truly the son of my sorrow, to bear all the guilt. Turn with
me to Lamentations 1. Lamentations 1, here was a verse
of scripture that just jumped out at me. Lamentations, right
after Jeremiah. Jeremiah, Lamentations 1. Lamentations 1.11 is what I'm
gonna read, This is what, last part. Here's the, these words, this
book right here is first person, this is the Lord speaking, this
is God speaking. The Lord Jesus speaking. In all
of his humility, in all of his suffering, in his hard labor,
verse 11, Lamentations 1. And her people sigh, they seek
bread, they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve
the soul. See, O Lord, and consider, For
I am become vile. This passage right here, for
I am become vile, I could just, I could take that verse of scripture
and almost lay it right on top of 2 Corinthians 5, 21. For he
hath made him sin, who knew no sin. He had made him sin for
us, who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God. He said, I am become vile. I was born that way. I was born like that. But he
was made he who knew no sin. I am become vile. And in becoming vile, He was in hard labor, suffering,
suffering, suffering. Why? That's what I deserved. That's what you deserve. Isaiah
53, Isaiah 53. These scriptures that we, I'll
just speak for myself, but I read too lightly, too lightly. Isaiah
53, verse two, he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground. He had no form, no comeliness. And when we see him, there's
no beauty that we should desire him. I don't, I don't know. Nobody
knows what the Lord looked like. Based on that scripture right
there, if you'd have seen him, he wouldn't have appeared as,
you know, these marvelous pictures that you see the people have
so blasphemously drawn, stuff like you said, that's what he
looks like, and this, that, and the other. The scripture, this is what scripture
says about his appearance. He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we see him, there's no beauty that we should desire. There was nothing, according
to this scripture, about the Lord that would cause anybody
to say, wow, look at him. There was nothing about him that
would cause anybody to desire him. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it
were, our faces from him and he was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken
smitten of God and afflicted. I cannot even imagine what verse
4 truly, I can't, again, I can't perceive the depth of it. He's
borne our griefs. Boy, we sure read that quickly. Carried our sorrows. Yet we esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes were healed. He truly was a man of sorrows,
a man of sorrows. That name that was given him
by the name that was given her son, Benoni, was truly a picture
in time of our precious savior. But Jacob said, no, no. His name's Benjamin, Benjamin. Son of the right hand. He suffered,
he suffered. Turn with me now. Hebrews 10,
Hebrews 10. He suffered, bore our guilt,
carried our sorrows, hard labor, hard labor, acquainted with sin,
acquainted with grief. But the scripture says, Hebrews
10, 12, Hebrews 10, 12. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. Why? God accepted it. God accepted
it. Come up here. Look at Hebrews
12, 2. Hebrews 12, 2. Looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, has sat
down on the right hand of the throne of God. The Lord of glory. What's his name? His name is
the man of sorrows. And in my right hand, he who
bore the guilt of his people, offered himself one time for
sin by one sacrifice for sin. The work of God was finished. His sacrifice was accepted, the
sins of his people pardoned, his people sanctified by his
blood, and he sat down. He sat down in the place of honor,
the place of power, the place of glory, for the glory of God
and for the good, eternal good of his people. Back in Genesis,
and I'll wrap this up. Genesis 35, let's look at the
last two verses. Genesis 35, 19 and 20, and Rachel
died. It was buried in the way to Ephrath,
which is Bethlehem, and Jacob set a pillar upon her grave.
That's the pillar of Rachel's grave until this day. In these
last two verses for this evening, I want us just to behold in closing
the respect that was given unto to Rachel, the wife, the beloved
wife of Jacob. A pillar was set upon her grave
for a memorial. There was a memorial set there.
This is where she died. This is where the Lord took her.
This is where she died in the faith until the day of of those
scriptures, but for the spiritual Jacobs who have been everlastingly
loved and chosen of God in Christ, those redeemed by His blood and
called by His Spirit. I want you to hear what the Spirit
of God has to say concerning the memorial that we have. Hosea,
If you want to turn to Hosea, oh, let's see, Hosea, Daniel,
Daniel and Hosea. Hosea chapter 12, Hosea 12, a
memorial, a pillar was put, a place of remembrance, pillar. Hosea 12, three to five, talking
about Jacob now. Jacob is a picture of all God's
elect. He took his brother by the heel
in the womb and by his strength. He had power with God. He had
power over the angel and prevailed. And I'll tell you this, he had
power by the grace of God to believe. To believe, he had power
by faith. He prevailed, he wept, made supplication
unto him. He, that is the Lord, found him
in Bethel. There he spake with us. When he was talking to Jacob,
when the Lord was talking to Jacob and assured him, your name's
Jacob, your name's not gonna be Jacob, your name's gonna be
Israel. He called him Israel. The scripture says when he found
him in Bethel, there he spake with us. All the Jacobs, spiritual
Jacobs, who are the spiritual Israels. And look at this, even
the Lord God of hosts, The Lord, Jehovah, is his memorial. When Rachel died, Jacob, who
loved her, Jacob, her husband, loved her. He put this memorial built, put
a pillar there. That's where she died. Marked
it. You know what the scripture says
for God's people? God is their memorial. That memorial
there at Jacob's, at Rachel's grave, it was there until the
time of that. I heard where one writer said
even in the time of Samuel, it was a mention made of it, but
been a long time, been a long time. It was a pillar that I'm
sure by now, I don't know this for a fact, but I'm sure by now
it's just back to the dust. It was there, but we have a memorial. And our memorial is Jehovah. I am that I am. And you know
what? Our memorial has said, I'm never
leaving you. I'm not gonna leave you. I'll
never, I'll never forsake you. And that's a comfort to me. I
know that we're Jacob's by nature. And by the grace of God, he's
made us in Christ to be an Israel, a prince with God. And he's promised
us, this is my word. This is my memorial to you. I'm
with you. I am with you. I pray God bless.