• GOOD MORNING
• Our study of AGENCY continues with the narrative of JACOB and how he conducted himself
• The interrelational dynamics between Jacob-Laban-Rachel-Leah were never in a healthy place and because of that each of them acted in unrighteous ways
• Genesis 30
• Their rivalry would set the stage for further rivalry in the different Israelite tribes
• Oftentimes our own insecurity/sin/unrighteousness is projected onto others which negatively affects relationship. We see this happen with Leah/Rachel
• Blame shifting keeps us from bearing our own weight or the weight of the lesson that God is trying to teach us
• God would eventually answer Rachel’s prayer and through that Joseph comes into the world
• How might this type of hostile and insecure environment affect a person?
• We are called to maintain a godly character by adhering to wisdom, remembering the character of God and honoring it with our own lives and treating others in a way that is consistent with that same character
• Genesis 30: 27
• Genesis 31: 22-31
• Laban doesn’t worship the same god as Jacob does and this influences his own thoughts and actions differently. He’s proved this from the outset when Jacob came into his life
• Do we allow facts/truth be fact and truth? Or do your false ideas, narratives and insecurities dictate how you live?

QUESTIONS:

1. IN WHAT WAYS HAVE YOU STRUGGLED WITH DECEPTION/LIES?
2. HAVE YOU MADE AMENDS IN THE RELATIONSHIPS WHERE DECEPTION WAS FOUNDATIONAL?
3. DOES DRAMA WITHIN YOUR OWN FAMILY NEGATIVELY AFFECT HOW YOU SERVE GOD?