COVETOUSNESS: Lesson 3–Laban

Posted on by BETH

COVETOUSNESS: Lesson 3– Laban

Laban, “son of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram” and “brother of Rebekah” lived in the city of Nahor (Gen. 25:20). Appearing first when Abraham’s servant come to look for a wife for Isaac, he heard of the servant’s presence, saw the golden jewelry given to Rebekah, and eagerly invited Abraham’s servant into their home (Gen. 24:29-60). Laban’s eagerness to be hospitable (Gen. 24:31), coming immediately after he took inventory of the gifts given to his sister (Gen. 24:30), is commonly regarded as proof of the same covetousness that is his most obvious character trait throughout the remainder of his life.  Making himself equal to their father, Laban played an important role in the marriage arrangements of Isaac and Rebekah. The stubbornness and greed displayed during this occasion also appear to characterize Laban’s later dealings with Rebekah’s son, Jacob.

Approximately ninety years later, Jacob left home to escape death at the hand of his brother Esau (Gen. 27:43; 28:2). At the well of Haran he met Rachel, Laban’s daughter. Promising her to him in return for seven years of labor, he dealt with Jacob with deception and greed. He cunningly devised a plan to give his eldest daughter Leah to Jacob first and then forced him to work seven more years for Rachel. Seeing that the Lord abundantly blessed Jacob’s work, Laban persuaded him to stay longer than the original fourteen years agreed upon, but the wages he promised were changed ten times within the next six years (Gen. 29-30).

Because relationships between Laban and Jacob became tense (Gen. 31:2), Jacob quietly left with his wives, children, and possessions for which he had labored so long.  Hearing the news three days later, Laban pursued Jacob to get back what he considered to be his own (Gen. 31:30; 36, 43). Eventually, after being warned of God not to say anything good or bad to Jacob (Gen 31:24), Laban and Jacob parted on peaceful terms.  Together they heaped stones for an altar to serve as a mutual testimony that they would have no further dealings with one another. They called upon God as their witness that they would never pass beyond the stones to do harm to one another (Gen. 31:43-55).

 

QUESTIONS:  If a specific scripture reference is not provided for each question, give one that shows the best possible response.  Feel free to add more than one to prove the right answer.

1. How did Laban hear that the servant of Abraham had come searching for a wife for Isaac?

2. What was Laban’s reaction to the news?

3. How old was Isaac when he took Rebekah for his wife?

4. How many years was Rebekah barren?

5. How old was Jacob when he came to Laban’s house to find a wife?

6. What gives us the distinct impression that Laban was covetous from the beginning (Gen. 24:30-31)?

7. What verse in chapter 24 tells us that Laban had faith the Lord had sent Abraham’s servant to take his sister Rebekah for Isaac’s wife?

8. Another statement in Genesis 30:27 also shows that Laban had faith in the Lord’s work.  How did that “faith” affect his dealings with Jacob?

9. As Laban’s greed grew, how did it affect his relationship with Jacob and his daughters?

10. What reasons did Laban’s own daughters give for wanting to leave their father (Gen. 31:13-16)?

11. Why did Jacob feel the need to leave quietly without telling Laban he was going to his home?  Was he justified?

12. How did Rachel show that evil communication corrupted good morals (1 Cor 15:33; Gen. 31:19)?

13. Give two reasons why Laban chased after Jacob three days later (Gen. 31:33-34; 31:43).

14. What did God tell Laban in a dream before he went to accuse Jacob (Gen. 31:24-25)?  What would Laban’s covetousness have caused him to do to Jacob and thus even to his own daughters?

15. Through the knowledge of God we are given exceeding great and precious promises: that by these [promises] we “might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet. 1:3-4).  What is one of the major things we must escape before we can partake of the divine nature of God and inherit the promises?


COVETOUSNESS: LESSON 1–Eve Coveted the Forbidden Fruit

Posted on by BETH

COVETOUSNESS

Lesson 1

EVE COVETED THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Gen 2:15-18—And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Gen 2:21-24—And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 

We can easily see in these passages that Adam and Eve were given a specific job to do and that job, although a pleasant one, had restrictions.  Adam and Eve were to dress and keep the garden God had created.  They were given the freedom and the privilege of eating from any tree they chose—except for one.  The LORD showed it to them and very clearly gave the reason for not eating.

Gen 3:1-6—Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Appealing to Eve’s desire to be better and to her weakness in desiring a shortcut to get it, Satan subtly pointed out to Eve the advantages of disobeying the Creator of all to gain something for herself.  He turned her attention away from her responsibility to serve and obey her Creator to things that she could get.  Notice what Satan said would be the benefits and what Eve ultimately concluded.

• In direct contradiction to the LORD, Satan said, “You shall NOT surely die.” Using the same word with a different meaning, Satan turned Eve’s attention away from God’s statement that she would die spiritually in the day she sinned by disobeying His command.  Or, he could have simply contradicted God’s statement.  He could also have indicated that God meant physical death—that she would not die physically the day she ate of it.  In any case, Eve lacked faith and believed Satan’s word above God’s word.  Eve was thus deceived.  She no longer believed that she would die.

• Then Satan attributed an evil motive to the Lord by saying, “God knows you will become like gods, knowing good and evil.”

By this means, Satan subtly turned Eve’s attention to God’s wisdom with the hope she could get it by simply eating some fruit.  Every person wants to be wise, so Satan appealed to a natural desire in all men.  Satan’s words were at least partially correct.  Eve was not deceived by this statement for she did learn what good and evil was.  False teachers, like Satan, many times quote scripture and speak the truth, but only with the distinct intention of turning souls to their false doctrines.  We should not be deceived into believing that just because a teacher gives some parts of truth that everything he teaches is truth. Like Satan, false teachers may impart much good for they are Satan’s ministers and follow his pattern to tell enough truth to turn God’s children to evil.

Being a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), Satan first caused Eve to covet the ability to be as gods with the knowledge of good and evil.  In doing this, she appeared to forget the warning about death coming to her the day she ate.  Possibly Eve did not know what spiritual death was.  If she believed God spoke about physical death, she had to reject God’s truth and believe Satan’s lie.  In either case she was certainly deceived by Satan’s half truths and lies. Her response was consider her own personal desires and judgment rather than to trust her Creator.. 

• It was good for food.

• It was pleasant to the eyes.

• It was desired to make one wise.

Benevolent lady that she was, she shared the coveted fruit with her husband who obviously let her lead him into rejecting the command of God.  Thus, sin came into the world because Eve coveted wisdom, beauty and food.  Eve’s covetousness led to Adam’s and her spiritual death by sin (Rom 7:7-9).  We see the LORD’s view of what took place in the Garden of Eden through His words in 1 Timothy 2:13-15. “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

No mention is made of the incident after Genesis 3:24 until Paul, in defense of his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  Paul was concerned that the Corinthians had left the pathway (job they had been given to do) to follow after “another Jesus” and “another gospel.”

QUESTIONS:

1. What/who caused Eve to covet the forbidden fruit?  How was this brought about?

2. Was Eve exonerated because she was enticed and lied to (Gen. 3:16)?

3. What did the Lord do to punish Adam and Eve for their sin (Gen. 3:14-24)?

4. What happened to the young prophet who believed an old prophet’s lie (1 Kings 13:1-34)?  

5. What should the young prophet have said when the old prophet contradicted what God had told him?  What should Eve have said to Satan?

6. Notice Satan’s twist of the words “surely die” in Genesis 3:4.  Did Satan give Eve the right understanding of God’s promise of death (1 Tim. 2:14)?

7. Which kind of death was Paul speaking of in Romans 7:7-9?

8. Which kind of death came to Eve in the Garden of Eden and how do you know (Rom. 7:7-9; 8:2)?

9. Decisions bring consequences.  Tell what decision(s) Eve made and what the consequences were.

10. Research Question:  Study about two kinds of death spoken of in the scriptures.  Explain which one comes as the result of sin.  What is the “second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) ?”