The Idol Of Romantic Love - Part 1

Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ and now Jacob law Rachel this is romantic level since he love the way you know not well knowing a personality, he's in love with her for joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor will go for now is once again he shows us how God's word means human longing for romantic love knows no but it might surprise you to know that the contemporary culture that we live in has taken romantic love to unprecedented heights in being alive, the musical company a man falls in love with a woman, and he sings that she will need me too much know me too well. Give me support for being alive.

She will make me alive. Obviously one of the most popular series of movies ever made for young people's twilight for movies have been released the fifth is on its way. The theme of each and every one of these movies is the same as romantic love is a love triangle Bella sort of the girl next-door is in love with Edward and Jacob and Edward and Jacob are in love with her. It is a wonderful romantic time.

You might be thinking what so unusual but what Edward the one she loves the most is a vampire and Jacob, the one she also loves is a werewolf, but when you want one of those movies that is unmistakable right upfront for everyone to see his romantic love. They love each other so much that they are willing to compromise any principle that they are willing to risk their own lives.

They are willing to betray almost any allegiance. In fact, I guess you could say that Bella and Edward and Jacob are slaves to the love that they feel for each other. I would say is the love that represents an idol that this is an idol made through romantic love, but it's not entirely a new idea. Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 29 Genesis chapter 29.

We are in a series that I call American idols and we often think of idol as a stoner word or you know something like that very pagan very primitive but it's not and I was something that you place in your heart and exact position were God should be in your heart and idols are almost always good things there is no better illustration. The nap in the idol of romantic love. You see the background for this is also kind of interesting. Going to pick up the story with a character named Jacob who has his name changed eventually to Israel and his 12 sons become the 12 tribes. But I want to understand something Jacob is the grandson of Abraham. Last week we saw this great test of whether Abraham had made Isaac his son and idol were not in Abraham pass the test. Isaac, the son of Abraham and the father of Jacob, was told by God in Genesis 2523 that he and his wife were going to have twins and that the elder will serve the younger.

Now God told him that directly but you know what it did make any difference to Isaac see Esau was the elder Jacob was the younger Isaac loved Esau more than he loved Jacob and boy because of that. Rebecca decides that she would protect Jacob and so you have some of the overprotective mom. Esau was a man's man. Jacob was a mommy's boy. But what happened because of that terrible mistake that Isaac made Esau grew up spoiled prideful willful and impulsive. Jacob grew up cynical, bitter, and most of all, conniving, and so as you know the story, Esau's gave his birthright up to his younger brother for what we would say just a bowl of porridge. Just something to eat, but Jacob decided to deceive his father. He deceived his father Isaac and made his father Isaac think that he was Esau in order that he could get the blessing of his father.

When Esau find out about it being a man's man that he is he Bob and I will kill Jacob and he could do it and so Jacob takes off and goes on the run, not just anywhere. By the way, he decides he's going to head back to the land of his grandfather Abraham and that's where we pick up the story in chapter 29 he is on his way.

Hundreds and hundreds of miles from the land of Canaan, where the story began in verse one of chapter 29 Jacob went on his journey and he came to the land of the sons of the East and eliminates all well on the field and behold three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it for from that. Well, he says, though one of the flocks, and now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. Don't forget that it becomes a point later in the story. By the way they put a stone on the well for a few reasons but one so you can fall in. They didn't build up the walls around the well, like we do in later times there was just flat to the ground and so the idea was a little also to protect the water from any kind of contaminants they put a big stone on top of it. Well, verse four Jacob said to them, my brothers where you from Mason we are from her run and he said to them, do you know Laban, the son of née Horton. They said we know him now this is interesting.

By the way, this is quite a well this is the exact well the servant of Isaac went and retrieved Rebecca and so now we find Jacob there and he said to them as well with him and they said it as well. And here is Rachel's daughter coming with the sheep.

He said, behold, still high day. It's not time for the livestock to be gathered water the sheep and copastor them, but they said we cannot enter the flocks of gathered and they roll no notice and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well. Then we want to the sheep and why was still speaking with them. Rachel came with her father. She she was a separatist and it came about when Jacob, Saul, Rachel, the daughter of Laban's mother's brother, it's his cousin a sit in the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother that Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban's mother's brother.

What we know about that stone is big and what was the pronoun they use when a citizen and be moved away.

They notice when Jacob stood he's impressing the lady says watch this. You know what what I can do I just move that I imagine is back hurt for days and no buddies. I got a moment when we sort of get the ideas. This goes on why then Jacob kissed Rachel just probably on the cheek. The way you greeted men and women and he lifted up his voice and he wet those two possible reasons that he's doing this one could be that he is finally fine family. He is completely disenfranchised. He is completely on his own.

He's finally find a place where maybe someone will take a minute he belongs in us like the case or it just could be just because he saw Rachel the image of, could of been selected so cartoons you know like the wolf sees a beautiful woman in the cartoon his eyes tomorrow like that that type of thing that's good be what happened to him. Here he was just like wow well. Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of the father and that he was Rebecca's son and she ran toward her father and so it came about and went Laban heard the news of Jacob, his own sister son that he ran to meet him. He embraced and kissed him, and he brought into his house and then he related to Laban all these things. And Laban said them shortly.

He said your bone on my bone in my flesh. He stayed with him for a month and that's the background to the story. The story of something that becomes not a happy ending story.

The story is filled with the lawful lot of pain and I believe it's all because of the power of romantic love. When you let it become the idol of your life and I believe that's exactly what Jacob does, then Laban said to Jacob, because you are my relative.

Should you therefore certainly for nothing.

He just tell me what would your wages be now you can see he's getting favored here. It's as clear as could be your family and I know you work for me. Would you like a waitress to be now Laban had two daughters. The name of the owner was Leah the name of the younger was Rachel and Leah's eyes were weak but Rachel was beautiful form face not understand something here. There's a very difficult Hebrew word that an adverse week. It's very hard work. It can mean week. It can mean a lot of different things that has different nuances of meaning, but I don't think it means she didn't see well because if that was the case it was going to be made. The writer would've said Moses would've wrote book Leah didn't see too well.

Her eyes were weak but Rachel had 2020 vision. Okay that's not the contrast is made. He says lately is either week, but Rachel was beautiful form face commentators are all over the place was with Leah. Well, most likely, it means that there were something extremely unattractive about arise. One commentator thought maybe her eyes were bulging another one said maybe she was cross eyed, certainly possible that idea and so here's the older sister and the younger sister who is just beautiful informant face, and now Jacob loved Rachel this is romantic love, all the way, this is twilight kind of love. He loved her.

By the way, how will you know her. Not well he's not interested in knowing a personality, he's in love with her. Now Jacob loved Rachel so he said I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.

Now please understand, that's not as crazy as it sounds.

It sounds in our culture like what we got in their culture. The diary that was usually paid for a girl in this culture would've been about 30 shekels now 30 shekels to us. Doesn't seem like what does that necessarily mean well will put it this way, a shepherd in this culture, the average wages would've been 10 shekels a year.

If you want to put that into dollars, a shepherd in those days made about $800 a year in today's wages $800 a year in unit whereby room and board to drop the sheep the whole time.

But notice, then what that means. He the going rate was three years wages for shepherd without Laban saying anything he says. I work seven years for what I tell you that's right he loves her. You see he really loves her well. The watch he said. Laban said it's better that I give it to you than to give you another man stay with me all right deal done SSO Jacob serve seven years for Rachel and here's a key and they seem like but a few days because he loved her. Are you sure Bill that this is an idle SAM I'm sure is to make his life tragically. Why well he serve seven years and how fast the day go by. Just like that, why because he loved her and me ask you something. How much do you think Jacob love God.

You see, we see the servant of God at this time was he got servant that he just loved to serve God in his own father at the end of his life. Look them right in the eyes and say are you really my son Esau had been Jacob live right in his father's eyes and say yes. He lied this, he love God sees you willing to serve God. No, God doesn't have first place in his life. But Rachel surely does by the weather is a point about romantic love in a true time went by so fast. Black and just remember when I was a teenager I was dating my wife at the time I spent an evening with her. It just went on was gone. It was over. But then my mother would say some like were gonna go visit your aunt for evening you should come in doing me meet your cousins and talk. It was like a week for an evening to go by what that's like when you're in love.

You can talk your boyfriend or girlfriend on the phone the whole evening goes by when your parents want to talk to you for five minutes. You see, that's what romantic love does.

It's a tremendously powerful thing certainly was powerful to him so powerful that he says one of the most unusual things I've ever read in the Bible in verse 21 then Jacob said to Laban, give me my wife for my time is completed, that I may go into her. Could you imagine could you imagine any son-in-law saying that to us, but his future father-in-law. If you have a daughter would you like the sun want to say that you just imagine what he just said you see you know why you said that he's in love and love from Laban gathered all the men of the place and he made a feast. It's time there weddings were different than ours. It had a legal aspect, by the way, the legal aspect for the wedding was real clear when they made the deal that was they were legally married. That's why the betrothal. Your legally married. The deal was made. The diary was spent seven years wages soon as they agreed on that.

It was finished and by the way, that wasn't to make Laban a rich man.

Normally, the money taken for a daughter that has married is put in a trust, and if that man divorces her over that man dies, she has some money to help her get bio that's what the diary was for so the legal part was done.

Now it's the idea of the celebration. There was a wedding feast called all the relatives and friends come to the feast, and at that wedding feast at the night of the wedding feast. There is a consummation of the marriage.

That's what were talking about here.

Well, it came about the evening that he took his daughter Leah, and he brought her to him and Jacob went into her. The old switcheroo. That's exactly what happens here and you're wondering how in the world could this happen when one knowing Jacob's character. There's a very good chance he was inebriated and not much good comes out of that, and secondly, when a bride is presented at one of the somatic weddings. She is heavily built.

This is like a brighter veil built today were you can see right you don't see anything you see it on the anything any other thing is is no electricity, no lights when they go into the honeymoon tent is pitch black and so consequently you have this man going and going through this thing now. What's interesting about it is verse 25. So it came about in the morning, that behold it was Leah Henney said the Laban. One is that since you have done to me was it not for Rachel that I serve you. Why then have you deceived me. Isn't that ironic everything that goes around comes around. It amazing that when he was the second born use deception get the firstborn's blessing. Now Laban gives him the firstborn when he thought he was getting a second born, he doesn't get it. Laban said it's not our practice to marry off the younger before the firstborn, that's true. By the way, that will probably tell you something else about Leah. She's not married. She that may tell you something about her parents why she wasn't married and had me had happened her to no young men at quarter well. He then says Laban then says the Jacob complete the week of this one and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve me for another seven years and so Jacob did so and completed her week any game daughter Rachel is his wife what he means by the week idea.

Theirs were still in the wedding feast and in the wedding feast you need to go through the rest of this feast and then you need to serve me for seven more years and you have Rachel and he did it. No sacrifice to to make to greater notice he almost has the behavior of an addict I would do anything in the situation.

That's what happens when you make romantic love the idol of your life. You see it has a tremendous power and tremendous control and it takes the place that God should take Ernest Becker and he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book the denial of death, and he explains the various ways that secular people in the American culture of dealt with the loss of belief in God. How you deal with the loss of belief in God.

What you live for. He said now that we think that we are here by accident and not made for any purpose. How do we instill a sense of significance in our lives. One of the main ways. It is what I call apocalyptic romance. We look to sex and romance to give us the transcendence and a sense of meeting.

We used to get from faith in God, always exactly right. You see is exactly right. You see, what happens is if I find that person, it's going to do something for me. You see it's got built into it a tremendous amount of immaturity. But it's also got a tremendous draw to it. Why do you think in high school when you're fighting the hormones and lacking any kind of maturity.

Why is the quarterback so cute. Why why why is the head cheerleader see why because of I'm with them I name somebody they fulfill the vacuum in my life. You see, that's what happens in this kind of blinded romantic love and that's exactly what happens, the Jacob and I have the millions of people in the culture in which we live. I mean after all. Years ago a song was written, you're nobody till somebody loves you really where we get that is that scriptural, you're nobody till somebody loves you.

Many of us grew up just feeling that yearning for that and women romantic love comes into our life.

We can make it an idol in a heartbeat effect when we find that one person we often believe everything wrong with me is going to be made and I find that person from knowing nobody can do that inevitably slows pastoral on the radio ministry of fellowship in the if you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you dislike of the sum of the method one more time.

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