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And he said to Laban,
“What is this you have done to me?”
Genesis 29:25
Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Jacob practiced in deceit and trickery. Both Esau and Isaac had experienced Jacob’s ways of deception, which it seems he might have gotten from his mother’s side of the family.
Jacob had served his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, for seven years for his beloved Rachel. The day of the wedding had finally arrived, and a huge ceremony was taking place. The dancing and food and, of course, the wine were in abundance. The time had come for Jacob to go into his bride, and he did, but when he awoke the next morning it was not Rachel beside him, but her sister, Leah.
If you look back just through the past twenty-eight chapters of Genesis, you can see time after time where drunkenness has led to huge, life-altering issues.
In Genesis 9:20–27, Noah’s drunkenness leads to his uncovering his nakedness in his tent, and his son Ham sees and ridicules him before Shem and Japheth, and he and his descendants are cursed for it.
In Genesis 19:30–38, the daughters ofLot make their father drunk and they allow him to go into them in order to get pregnant.Lot was so drunk that he did not realize he was going into his daughters. Jacob was so intoxicated that he did not realize that he was not consummating his marriage with the woman he had loved enough to work seven years to have.
Is there any wonder why Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise”? Can you even imagine the humiliation that flooded these men of Scripture?
Perhaps you have experienced it yourself. Perhaps you have been the victim of someone else’s drunken state. I have experienced both. I know the humiliation well. I know the consequences well.
My friend, do not miss the fact that these men’s drunkenness did not affect only themselves. We do not live to ourselves. Our choices in life affect others. One of the biggest lies whispered to us by Satan is “you’re only hurting yourself.”
Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time,
because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish,
but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine,
for that is dissipation,
but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:15–18
Oh Father,
The life of Jacob is such a reminder that we reap what we sow. Oh Father, help me not to sow to my own flesh and reap corruption, but to sow to the Spirit so that from the Spirit I may reap eternal life (Galatians 6:8). Forgive me for the times I have been a stumbling block. My Father in heaven, forgive me for the bad seed I have sown. Kill it before it has opportunity to spread and defile and dishonor Your glorious name. Help me, Father, to keep my way pure by keeping it according to Your Word (Psalm 119:9). Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips and do not incline my heart to any evil thing and do not let my head refuse the reprove of the righteous (Psalm 141:3–5). Oh Father, might I never forget that I am always setting an example. Might I remember always that my choices affect those around me.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.