BLOCKHEAD THEOLOGY
GENESIS 29:1-30
August 11, 2013
BIG IDEA: GOD ACCOMPLISHES HIS PURPOSES EVEN WITH BLOCKHEAD PEOPLE!
INTRODUCTION:
1. Erma Bombeck—I speak at college commencements, and I tell everyone I’m up there and they’re down there,
not because of my success, but my failures. Then I proceed to spin all of them off—a comedy album that sold
two copies in Beirut…a sitcom that lasted about as long as a donut in our house…a Broadway play that never
saw Broadway…book signings where I attracted to people: one wanted directions to the restroom and the other
who wanted to buy the desk.1
2. We love Erma because at some times in outr lives we all know how it feels to be a failure.
3. Jacob is one of my least favorite Bible characters—a most unsavory person. Sort of an anti-hero!
4. Ross—The story [in this 29th chapter] does not expressly make any theological points. There is no vision, no
oracle from God. Rather the narrative unfolds its theological lessons in a subtle way….it simply implies that
providence was at work in Jacob’s life.2
 This morning I hope to bring out this implied providence.
5. God’s educative dealings with Jacob afford a glowing example of His undiscouraged perseverance with an
unlovely character. Though there was little in Jacob to merit it, God lavished on him an unwearied but
uncompromising love. Through all the shady and despicable actions that debased his life, that love was
unabating, but never tolerated or condoned his sin.-- J. Oswald Sanders3
6. Here he is a fugitive from his brother’s wrath—Running back to his family roots. The last anyone from his
Palestinian home base had been there was 97 years before when Abraham’s servant showed up to get Rebekah
as a wife for Abraham’s son and Jacob’s father, Isaac.4 [For this chronology, see Unger’s Bible Dictionary entry
on “Jacob.”]
 Journey was 400-500 miles and probably took about 3 weeks.5
7. Idea of Blockheads:
 How am I a blockhead—let me count the ways!
8. Steve Brown—After a guest preacher appearance where Steve had pointed out that preachers are sinners, too, a
man in audience approached him and said, I’ve heard other pastors say they are sinners also, but you’re the
first one I really believed!
9. READ TEXT: Genesis 29:1-14 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern
peoples. 2 There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were
watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered
there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would
return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are
you from?" "We're from Haran," they replied. 5 He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?"
"Yes, we know him," they answered. 6 Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?" "Yes, he is," they said, "and here
comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." 7 "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks
to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture." 8 "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks
are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep." 9
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When
Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the
stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to
weep aloud. 12 He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and
told her father. 13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He
embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. 14 Then
Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month…
1
Andy Andrews, ed., “Erma Bombeck” in Storms of Perfection 2 (Nashville: Lightning Crown Publishers, 1994),
51.
2
Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessings (Garnd Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998, 1996), 497.
3
J. Oswald Chambers, Robust in faith (Chicago: Moody, 1965), 26-27.
4
John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson Reference and Electronic, 2005), 54.
5
John J. Davis, Paradise to Prison (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1975), 244.
1 6
BIG IDEA: GOD ACCOMPLISHES HIS PURPOSES EVEN WITH BLOCKHEAD PEOPLE!
So how does this work???
I.
GOD TOLERATES TESTING--Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "IF God will be with me
and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I
return safely to my father's house, THEN the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a
pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
A. There Are Two Kinds of God-Testing
1. Evil-Hearted Testing with Settled Unbelief
 Exodus 17:1-2, 7 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from
place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for
the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses
replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
7
And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because
they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
 Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah
[See also Matthew 4:5-7 and 1 Corinthians 10:9]
 Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of
the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He
will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will
not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the
Lord your God to the test.'"7
 1 Corinthians 10:9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-- and were killed by snakes.
2. Blockheaded Testing with Unsettled Immaturity
 Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test
me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven
and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
 Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good,
pleasing and perfect will

Isaiah 7:10-13 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether
in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the
6
Bible Knowledge Commentary, 46
ekpeirazo {ek-pi-rad'-zo} Meaning: 1) to prove, test, thoroughly 2) to put to proof God's character and power.
BibleWorks, Strong’s data.
7
2 
LORD to the test." 13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the
patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
SO WHERE DOES JACOB FIT?
Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "IF God will be with me and will watch over
me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return
safely to my father's house, THEN the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up
as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
1. The Optimistic View: Jacob vowed a vow—His words are not to be considered as implying a
doubt, far less as stating the condition or terms on which he would dedicate himself to God.
Let “if” be changed into “since,” and the language will appear a proper expression of
Jacob’s faith—an evidence of his having truly embraced the promise.— Jamieson, Fausset,
Brown8
 MacArthur—[I]t is best to translate the if (v. 20) as “since” and see Jacob’s vow and
offering as genuine worship based on confidence in God’s promise (vv. 13-15)
2. The Pessimistic View: Spiritually, he still had a long way to go, but he had made progress in
this encounter with God….But he made his promise conditional: If God would remain with
him, keep him in the way, and bring him safely home again, he would carry out his part of the
pledge.-- Wycliffe Commentary.9
 The Pessimistic View: “…and Jacob vowed a vow”—and forgot it. But God did not
forget. But all the time Jacob was in Padan Aram we search in vain for evidence of
prayer or piety. He was a confirmed materialist. Flocks and herds were paramount in his
thinking. He did not take to worshipping idols, but neither did he appear to worship God.
The experience at Bethel became only a dim memory.-- J. O. Sanders.10
 With Jacob there are no warm, muscular passages about his faith, contra…
 Abraham: Friend of God, Father of the faithful, Abraham believed God and it was
reckoned to him as righteousness
 Moses: Most humble man on the planet, God talked with him face to face as a man
talks with his friend. Watch him interceding with God to not destroy the stiff-necked
Israelites.
 David: The man after God’s own heart. The spiritual measuring stick for every
Israelite king that followed him as the king that followed God with a whole heart.
 Nothing like this with Jacob
 Even Abraham’s servant shined brighter 97 years earlier (Genesis 15:2 Eliezer
of Damascus):
 Genesis 24:12-14 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give
me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am
standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming
out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your
jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels
too'-- let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will
know that you have shown kindness to my master."
 Genesis 24:26-27 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27
saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not
abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has
led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
 Genesis 24:56 "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to
my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
B. There Are Two Pathways for God-Testers
1. The Pathway of Rejection—for hard-core rebels
8
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Ge
28:20). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
9
Wycliffe Bible Commentary, 32.
10
Sanders, 32.
3 
II.
Exodus 32:9-10 "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked
people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy
them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
 Hebrews 3:7-11 "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the
rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for
forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their
hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' 11 So I declared on oath in my
anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"
2. The Pathway of Perseverance
 Jacob’s life illustrates not so much the perseverance of the saints as the perseverance of God. But for
the latter, the former would be impossible.-- J. Oswald Sanders 11
 The NIV version of Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those
who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
 Here is the RBV [Revised Blockhead Version] version of Romans 8:28 And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who are blockheads…
 Testing was judging in the wilderness, but accommodated here. See how God proves himself to Jacob.
Note Jacob’s age here and that he should have already settled this question years ago. Remember—he
is 77 years old at this juncture! God graciously proves himself to blockheads
 Contrast immaturity vs. rebelliousness/presumption
GOD SALVAGES OUR BUMBLING EFFORTS--“Helping” God: 27:5-10. Mother Rebekah and son Jacob
have been trying to “help” God fulfill his plan—by the deceitful charade impersonating Esau. Esau is so angry
he vows to kill Jacob (27:41). That’s why Jacob is now fleeing to Paddan Aram. Through all of this bumbling,
unnecessary human drama of trying to “help God” accomplish his purposes, God is at work. God graciously
steers his purposes through our chaotic, bumbling efforts.
A. God Has a Plan
1. God had a plan for Jacob
 Genesis 25:23 The LORD said to [Rebekah], "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples
from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will
serve the younger."
 Romans 9:10-16 Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father
Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-- in order that God's
purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls-- she was told, "The older
will serve the younger." 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14 What then
shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore,
depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
 C. G. Moore—“[T]ake the four of them—father, mother, two brothers—will anything great and
blessed ever come out of them? No, not unless God steps in. And generally that is where God
starts, where there is no promise of anything. Into that home God went and laid His hand on
Jacob.”12
 Deuteronomy 7:6-9 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has
chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured
possession. 7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more
numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the
LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a
mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of
love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
 Deuteronomy 32:9-10 For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance. 10 In
a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he
guarded him as the apple of his eye,
2. God has a plan for us!
11
12
Sanders, 27.
Sanders, 28.
4 The Four Spiritual Laws--God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
 God’s plan for us is so effective, that when we get to the end of of days we will look back with
Isaiah and say, Isaiah 26:12 LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished
you have done for us.
B. God Has the Means
1. Sometimes we never see “Plan A”
 What would God have done if Jacob had not purchased the birthright from Esau?
 What would God have done if Rebekah and Jacob had not deceived Isaac?
2. But God Graciously has “Plan B” --Did God accomplish His plan for Jacob?
 Jacob is named in the company of his predecessors: Deuteronomy 1:8 See, I have given you
this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your
fathers-- to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- and to their descendants after them."
 National Israel is called The House of Jacob ten times in Isaiah plus a smattering in the other
prophets.
 The Lord identifies Himself as The God of Jacob fourteen times in the Psalms, e.g., Psalm
20:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. May the LORD answer you when you are in
distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. [see also Exodus 3:6, 2 Samuel 23:1 and
Isaiah 2:3]
 Jacob becomes a shorthand name for the entire nation of Israel—Not true of any other OT
great—not Abraham, Isaac, Moses, or David:
 Isaiah 41:8 "But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob…
 Isaiah 41:14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel…
 Jacob is tied to the land promise: Deuteronomy 30:20 For the LORD is your life, and he will
give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[10x in the Penteteuch]
 Jacob is tied to the covenant: 2 Kings 13:23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had
compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
 Jehovah God is called “The Pride of Jacob”--Amos 8:7 The LORD has sworn by the Pride of
Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done.
 Jacob shows up in Faith’s Hall of Fame--Hebrews 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying,
blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
And all this works for you and me as well- Psalm 103:10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
 …I’m drawn to a little phrase for losers at the core of the Book of Jonah: “Then the word of the
Lord came to Jonah the second time…” (Jonah 3:1). In some ways, that truth outdistances the
large fish as the most startling revelation in the entire book. God gave the prophet a second
chance.--Haddon Robinson
 Jacob is the Patron Saint of Blockheads!
PS: GOD LETS US TASTE CONSEQUENCES
 Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
 Rebekah never saw her favorite son again!
 Jacob is now a fugitive running for his life!


Jacob gets his come-uppance from Laban! Genesis 29:25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said
to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
Genesis 29:15-29 Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for
nothing? Tell me what your wages should be." 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was
Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and
beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger
daughter Rachel." 19 Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me."
20
So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for
her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her." 22 So
5 Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his
daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. 24 And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his
daughter as her maidservant. 25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this
you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?" 26 Laban replied, "It is
not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this daughter's
bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work." 28 And
Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29
Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.
 God's sense of humor.
 Jacob impersonates his brother and now Leah impersonates her sister.
 Don't feel too sorry for Leah--she played along Jacob means supplanted or trickster.
 Early onset Alzheimer's
 Jacob’s timeline:
 2006 BC—Birth
 1991 BC--Grandpa Abraham dies [Jacob is 15 years old]
 1929—Jacob flees to Haran [age 77 years]
 1922—Marries Leah and Rachel [age 84 years]
 Actually 1) veil, 2) heavy drinking, 3) darkness
 Prohibited later in Mosaic Law (Leviticus 18:18)
 Esau felt robbed and now Jacob feels robbed
 Jacob=supplanter or trickster
 In Laban … Jacob met his match and also his means of discipline. Jacob had deceived his own brother and
father, and now was deceived by his mother’s brother! Twenty years (31:38) of drudgery, affliction, and
deception lay ahead. Through Laban he received his own medicine of duplicity.—A. P. Ross.13
 Proverbs 26:27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
CONCLUSION:
1. A Humble Prayer for Blockheads--Lord our God, even as we come blundering into Thy presence in prayer,
we are haunted by memories of duties unperformed, promptings disobeyed, and beckonings ignored.
Opportunities to be kind knocked on the door of our hearts and went weeping away. We are ashamed, O Lord,
and tired of failure. If Thou art drawing close to us now, come nearer still, till selfishness is burned out within
us and our wills lose their weakness in union with thine own. Amen.—Peter Marshall
2. SANDERS—On five occasions He appeared to Jacob, and on each occasion He corrected some blunder of His
intransigent child, and gave him another opportunity to pass the test.14
3. SANDERS—[E]ven…failure can be a stepping stone to new victories. God wastes nothing, not even failure; it
can have important educative value….Had God dismissed Peter for his failure, there would have been no
Pentecostal preacher. God will turn the tables on the devil by lifting us from the scrapheap and creating a
wider and more fruitful ministry out of our very defeats. 15
4. C. S. Lewis—The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ,
that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval,
shall please God. To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not
merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a
weight of burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.16
The Amazing Story of David and Svea Flood
Swedish missionaries to the Belgian Congo, 1921
[Link to the story of David and Leah Flood--http://www.epm.org/blog/2008/Nov/9/aggie-hurst-a-story-of-eternalperspective]
13
Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (Ge 29:15–30). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
14
Sanders, 31
15
Sanders, 36.
16
C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (New York: Macmillan, 1949; repr., New York: Touchstone, 1996), 34.
6 Aggie: The Inspiring Story of a Girl without a Country
Aggie Hurst: A Story of Eternal Perspective
By Randy Alcorn
In 1921, missionaries David and Svea Flood went to the Belgian Congo. They and another young couple, the
Ericksons, felt led by God to take the gospel to a remote area called N’dolera.
Because the chief would not let them enter, their only contact was the young boy who sold them food. Svea led the
boy to Jesus.
Malaria struck and the Ericksons returned to the central mission station. The Floods remained near N'dolera alone.
Svea died within days of giving birth to a little girl.
David dug a crude grave, buried his young wife, gave baby Aina to the Ericksons and returned to Sweden, saying
God ruined his life.
Within eight months, both the Ericksons died. American missionaries adjusted “Aina” to "Aggie" and brought her to
the United States.
Years passed.
One day a Swedish religious magazine appeared in Aggie’s mailbox, unexpected. A photo inside shocked her—a
grave with a white cross marked “SVEA FLOOD.”
A college faculty member translated the article for Aggie: Missionaries came to N'dolera long ago...a white baby
was born... the young mother died... one little African boy was led to Christ...and the boy grew up and built a school
in the village. Gradually he won his students to Christ...the children led their parents to Christ...even the chief
7 became a Christian.
After years of bitterness, the old and ill David got a visit from Aggie. She recounted the article. She said, “Today
there are six hundred African people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life...”
David’s heart softened, and he returned to God. Weeks later, he met Him in eternity.
Aggie eventually met that African boy. He was superintendent of the national church in Zaire (former Belgian
Congo), representing 110,000 baptized believers.
All because of the sacrifice of David and Svea Flood. A sacrifice that at the time appeared to have been cruel and
pointless.
[You can read a longer version of the story, taken from Aggie Hurst's book, Aggie: The Inspiring Story of a Girl
without a Country, at the EPM website]17
Timothy G. Walton
Alderwood Community Church
August 11, 2013
17
http://www.epm.org/blog/2008/Nov/9/aggie-hurst-a-story-of-eternal-perspective. Accessed 080713.
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