Come back to Genesis chapter
29. The stories of the Bible are not
just stories to amuse us, nor are they just history lessons
of ancient times. This story before us in chapter
29 is very instructive as all the stories in the scriptures
are full of spiritual insight, full of spiritual truth. In these next few verses, verses
1 through 14, we will see God's providence in guiding Jacob We will see something about this
rolling away the stone and moving the stone. I titled the message
Roll Away the Stone. So let's look at this. In verse 1, Then Jacob went on
his journey and came into the land of the people of the east. I want you to notice that word
went. Then Jacob went. You'll look
over in your margin. Lift up his feet. Now just before
this, just this same night, just before he woke up here this next
day, Jacob laid down a guilty man. He laid down a man on the
run, fleeing from his brother. And then God gave him these promises
that we looked at last week. God promised that he would be
with him. He promised Jacob that he would bring him again into
the promised land and he would fulfill and give to him the promises,
the blessings of Abraham. And so when Jacob woke up that
morning and went on his way, here's what this means. Jacob
rose up with a snap in his step. He went to bed guilty. He went
to bed feeling down and depressed. And the next day, boy, what a
day it can bring forth. The next day, after God had given
him these blessings, these promises, he woke up and he just took off
for that land with a snap in his step and joy in his heart. And this question came to me
as I was writing this, and I want you to seriously think of this.
Do the promises of God have this effect on you? Do they have this effect on you?
There is a promise back when I first heard the gospel that
really, really blessed me, and I mean stayed with me, and I
used it daily. He that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. That promise, it just kept me
going. It kept me going. In despair,
guilt, that one promise kept me going. He that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out. How do they affect you? And I
thought of this today. As I sat there writing these
notes, can you quote, can you quote any of the promises of
God? Can you quote them? If not, why not? How can we expect
to find and bring comfort out of the Scriptures, out of the
promises of God if we can't even remember them. Well, let's go on. Remember,
Jacob is fleeing from his brother whom he deceived. Had he and
his mother waited on God to fulfill his promises, he would be at
home and a servant would be going down there like Abraham sent
his servant for Isaac to find a bride. He could have just waited
on God. But our God is merciful. Our
God is merciful. While Jacob is on the run, God
reveals Himself to Jacob and blesses him and puts a song in
his heart and gives him covenant promises. Jacob, thou worm Jacob,
deceiver Jacob, and gives him covenant promises. Our sinfulness
will not disannul God's purpose. It will not do it. Now, let's
look here just for a few minutes at the providence. Of God, you
know, I know where the people say that and believe that the
providence of God is in the big things, you know, talk about
Katrina or some disaster or something like that, or some you were saved
from some disaster. But the providence of God is
in the details. The providence of God is in the
atoms floating in the air. You really stop and think when something happens, all the
little things that took place before all those things came
to pass. I was watching a program the
other day, I was fishing, and they were talking about the Allegheny
River, the great Allegheny River, and they showed the headwaters
of that. You could jump across The headwaters of that big Allegheny
River is not more than three feet wide. And a guy was standing
there, they were trout fishing, and he said, would you believe
this is the beginning of the Allegheny River? And if you and
I could see, if we were more in tune spiritually with the
scriptures, with Christ, if we could just see How all these
little minute things that goes on, that really unnoticed, all
come together that creates all these big things that we call
Providence. It's all Providence. It is. All right. Verse 2-5. And he looked, and behold a well
in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying
by it. For out of that well they watered
the flocks, and a great stone Remember that a great stone was
upon the whale's mouth, and through them were all the flocks gathered.
And they rolled the stone from the whale's mouth and watered
the sheep, and put the stone again upon the whale's mouth
in its place. And Jacob said to them, My brethren,
whence be ye? And they said, Of Herod are we.
And he said unto them, Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor? And
they said, Yeah, we know him. We know him. You see, he journeys
to get his wife and he comes to this well. And this well is
said to be the same well that the servant of Abraham came to
when he found his father's wife, Rebecca. Same well. And he didn't
have a map. They didn't give him a map. I
know they didn't. And the first men that he meets, They know
Laban. Yeah, we know Laban. The man
whom he's looking for. Yes, we know him. What are the
odds of walking through wilderness, no roadmaps, almost 480 miles,
coming to the same well and meeting men who know Laban real well? You know the providence of God
behind that? What about Joseph and his brethren
who took him and threw him in a pit? And here come these Ishmaelites.
Where are they going? To Egypt. Do you know the timing
that's in that? And then when he's there, then
Potiphar's wife makes a pass at him and he gets thrown in
prison. All those, all those, say Moses, floating in a little
basket down a river. And this maid finds him and tells
Pharaoh's daughter finds her anyway, and Moses is saved. And then guess who becomes his
nursing mother? His mother. Oh, the providence
of God in all that. I wish we could see. I wish we
could. And it would really, really, really Make a difference in the
way we handle things, if we could just see the hand of God in everything. Everything. And guess who shows
up? Jacob's talking to these men
about Laban. And guess who shows up? Rachel. That's what happened when Abraham
sent his servant and he came to this well. Well, guess who
showed up? Rebecca. She came to get water. There's something about this
well, isn't there? And this water. And he said unto
them, Is he well? Is Laban well? And they said,
He's well, and behold. What do you know? Give attention
to this. Rachel, his daughter, cometh
with the sheep. Here she came. I'm sure that all these others
that were there with the sheep were men. But she was the keeper
of the sheep. God made her the keeper of the
sheep. Moved her father to make her the keeper of the sheep.
And she takes them to the well. And guess who's there? Her husband,
Jacob. They all met at this well. And
they met at this well for one reason. To drink water. To drink.
The sheep are watered. All the sheep, they say, are
watered at this well. All the sheep are watered at
this well. And I thought, this is a beautiful, beautiful picture.
All the Lord's sheep are watered at the same well. Tonight, I
stand here and preach. We read the Scriptures down in
where Charlie's preaching, Wheelsburg, Lexington, and other places.
We're all watered at the same well tonight. All of us are. Where all the Lord's sheep gather
together in His name, there they are watered. at the same well. We are drinking of the same water
they're drinking of in Virginia tonight. But now there's a stone
problem. There's a stone problem here. Verse 7 through 8. And he said,
Jacob, speaking to these men, and he said, Lo, it is yet high
day. It's noon. Neither is it time
that the cattle should be gathered together, whether the sheep,
and go and feed them. Take them back to pasture. It's
not time to put them up. Water the sheep and take them
back out to pasture. And they said, we cannot until
all the flocks be gathered together, until they roll the stone from
the whale's mouth. Then we water the sheep. Jacob
asked him, why don't you go ahead and water the sheep and then
take them back to pasture and feed them? And their answer is
this, no, we're all going to wait for the others to arrive
and help remove the stone. And then we'll all water the
sheep together. Now, I've read different things on this. I believe
they were lazy. That's just stayed with me today
as I read this and I read other things. I believe they were lazy
shepherds. They were sitting around, I believe,
shooting the breeze. I think that's what they were
doing. They did not want to put forth any more effort than necessary
to move that stone. It was a great stone. Remember,
it's a great stone. Besides, if they wait on the
others to come, they can catch up on the latest news. Just hang
around, wait on them. When the sheep are all at the
well, they need to be watered. We never have everyone here present
at the same time, do we? I mean, there's a lot of people
here that's not here tonight for one reason or another. Are
we just going to go home or water the sheep? We're going to water
the sheep. When some of the sheep show up,
we're to water them. Water them. Take care of those
at hand. That's what he's telling me.
Take care of those at hand. And while this conversation is
going on, Jacob sees Rachel and it's love at first sight. Love at first sight. He was smitten. Bitten. And while he yet spake
with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept
them. And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter
of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's
brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the
well. Remember, that's a great stone. And these other men there,
they're like, this stone's too big. We've got to wait till the
others show up, and then we'll move the stone and we'll all
water the sheep. When Jacob sees Rachel, it's
amazing what an attractive woman to do isn't it? He gets the adrenaline
flowing. And he moves that stone by himself. By himself. And Jacob went near
and rolled the stone from the whale's mouth and it watered
the flock of Laban. His mother's brother, when he
saw Rachel, he by himself rolled the stone away. I thought of
that scripture over here in Hebrews chapter 1. Look over in Hebrews
chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1. In verse 3. who be in the brightness of His
glory, and to express the image of His person, and to uphold
all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself
purged our sins." By Himself He rolled that stone away. By Himself He removed that stone
and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. He rolled
the stone away and He watered her sheep. Jacob did not ask
for help. He didn't ask, come on man, help
me move this. No, he did it himself. He was
given the strength. At this time, Jacob was given
the strength and the power to roll that great stone away. It's amazing, amazing how strong
love is. Amazing. Look what our Lord did
for us. Because He loved us. He gave
Himself for us. In doing so, He rolled that stone
of sin away. Now this reminds me of another
stone that had to be rolled away before the sheep could drink.
Turn over to Mark 16. Here's another stone that had
to be rolled away so the sheep could drink. In Mark 16, look in verse 1. And
when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome had bought sweet spices that they might
come and anoint him, the Lord. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came into the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun. And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And when they looked, they saw
that the stone was rolled away. For it was very great. It was very great. In that grave
is the water of life. The water of life. However, if
the sheep are to drink of that water, If you and I are to drink
of that water of life, that stone must be removed. He must come
out of there. He must come out of that grave. Water must flow out of that grave,
out of that rock. If we are to be justified, if
we are to have fellowship with God, that stone has to be rolled
away and He's got to come out of there. He's the water of life. He's the water of life. He must
arise and come out of that grave. And who's able? Who is able to
remove that great stone? Who's able to do that? It says
in Matthew 28, 2. And behold, there was a great
earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon
it. God sent an angel. He says, you're
the angel of the Lord. We also know this, Christ himself
possessed the power. He possessed the power as God
to raise himself from the dead. Listen to this, John 10, 18.
No man taketh it from me, my life, no man taketh it from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of myself. Who can roll this
stone away? He can. He can. Our Lord, listen, our Lord came
into this world. He became bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh. He lived a perfect life of obedience. He suffered at the hands of justice.
He died on a cursed tree. He rose again, ascended on high.
Now He makes intercession for transgressors. And He sent His
Spirit to lead and guide His sheep. And to all truth, are
you thirsty? Drink! The stone has been rolled
away. He's risen. He's seated. He's real. He's real. Jesus Christ is real. Salvation
is real. Forgiveness is real. Justification
is real. Peace with God is real. And peace
in the heart is real. It's real. Come and drink of
the water of life freely. He rolled that stone away. Now
note what Jacob did after he removed the stone. He kissed
Rachel. Now you're going to say, now
that's a bit forward. That wasn't gentleman-like, was it? He kissed Rachel. He made his
love known to her in no uncertain terms. He made his love known
to her. I love this one. This was mine. This was my wife. I want her
to know and my affections for her. I can identify with Jacob here.
Vicki will probably shoot me for telling this. This is another
one I ought not tell. First time we dated, took her
out the first time. Of course, she was just quiet,
but we talked. I was smitten. I took her home
and she just said bye. No, it ain't going to get it. I stuck my foot in the door and
I gave her a kiss. And I can identify with Jacob. I can identify with Jacob. He
saw her and it says he kissed Rachel. He made his love known
unto her in no uncertain terms. In verse 11, Jacob kissed Rachel
and lifted up his voice and he wept. He rejoiced. He rejoiced
when Christ sees his bride. You know what he sees? He sees
a beautiful woman over there in the Song of Solomons, over
in chapter two, Song of Solomons. Chapter two. Let me see what verse. Listen here. Here's the Lord
speaking to His bride, His wife, in verse 10. My beloved spake
and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, my beautiful
one, and come away. She saw herself as black and
comely. He says she's fair and beautiful. You know, we see ourselves
as sinners, wretched sinners. He sees us. That's beautiful. He sees his wife as beautiful.
Through His comeliness. Through His comeliness, we're
beautiful. Listen in Isaiah 62, 5. For as
a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee.
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy
God rejoice over thee. Can you imagine God rejoicing
over you? And then notice here, this is
something interesting. Let me read verses 13 and 14. Well,
let me go back up here. And Jacob kissed Rachel and he
lifted up his voice and he wept. And Jacob told Rachel, verse
12, that he was her father's brother and that he was Rebekah's
son. And she ran and told her father. And it came to pass when Laban
heard the tidings of Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to
meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to
his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said
to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode within
the space of a month. Jacob, he kisses Rachel. Look, he removes the stone, waters
the sheep, kisses Rachel, and then he reveals who he is to
Rachel. And Jacob told Rachel he was
her father's brother. I'm your near kinsman. I'm your
near kinsman. Oh, it makes me think of Boaz,
doesn't it? This is the near kinsman. And
then he revealed that he came from his father's house. Well,
that's the promised land. He came from the promised land
to get her. That's why he came. He didn't
come to just do a family visit. He came to get Rachel. Get these names mixed up. He
came to get Rachel. Then he came with a covenant,
the blessings of God, the blessings of Abraham, the promises that
God gave him. He came with a covenant. Then
he kissed her, revealing his affections for her. And then
later on, as we go through this chapter, we'll see how hard he
had to work for her. She didn't just say, OK, let's
go. He works 14 years for her. Now let me turn back here a minute.
First of all, he worked seven years and then he got a taste
of his own medicine. He was deceived. But it says
in verse 20, And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they
seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had to her. They had just a few days. I'm
telling you what, it seems like it's been a long time, thousands
of years. And then when our Lord walked
this earth for what, 33 years? It was just a few days. His love for us was so overwhelming
that to him it was just a few days. But he had to work for it. And
of course, you know what happened. He was given Leah, which is this. He had to satisfy the law of
the firstborn. Laban said, it's just not right.
It's not the way we do things here. It's not our law. We can't
give the younger before we give the elder. He had to satisfy that situation,
as our Lord had to satisfy the law of God in order to have us. He had to satisfy God's law.
And then last of all, he marries her and takes her home. But I
tell you what, the journey home was not easy. We'll see this
as we go on through this. The journey home was not easy.
Then last of all, there's another stone that has
to be removed. Jacob removed that stone and
watered the sheep, removed it by himself. As our Lord removed
our sins, he removed the curse of the law. He removed all those
things. He came out of that grave and
ascended on high. That stone had been rolled away.
We have access to the water of life. Drink. But then there's
another stone over here in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36 and verse 26, A new
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you an heart of flesh. That stony heart that
you and I are born with, He has to remove. That stony heart has
to be taken out. How is that going to be done?
He says, I will do it. Who removed that stone? No shepherds. There are other shepherds. But
who removed that stone, Jacob? Who removed the stone of sin
and the curse of the law? Who removed that stone? Christ. Christ. The Lord Himself will
take away that stony heart. Not until this happens Can the
sheep drink of him? But when it happens, oh drink,
drink and drink deep. Drink and drink freely. Like
Jacob, he is the one who removes the stone.