Genesis chapter 29, continuing in the larger section, the story of Isaac, but specifically we're in the life of Jacob. I know that may sound confusing, but in the book of Genesis, there are these statements. These are the generations of, and this one is still under Isaac, but it's concerning his family, specifically Jacob getting a wife. In accordance with his parents' instructions to go to Haran to see his uncle Laban, and from thence to find him a wife.
So beginning in Genesis 29 at verse one,
Scripture Reading: Genesis 29:1–30
So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. And he looked and saw a well in the field. And behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks.
A large stone was on the well's mouth. Now all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth. And Jacob said to them, My brethren, where are you from? And they said, We are from Haran.
Then he said to them, Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. So he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well.
And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep. Then he said, look, it is still high day. It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go and feed them.
But they said, we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth. Then we water the sheep. Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father. Then it came to pass when Laban heard the report about Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house.
So he told Laban all these things. And
Laban's Character Revealed
Laban said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him for a month. Then Laban said to Jacob, because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?
Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.
And Laban said, it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me. So
Seven Years of Faithful Service
Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go into her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.
Laban's Deception: Behold, It Was Leah
Now it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and he went into her. And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as maid. So it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me?
Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me? And Laban said, It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve me, or serve with me, still another seven years.
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter, Rachel, as wife also. And Laban gave his maid, Billa, to his daughter, Rachel, as a maid. Then Jacob also went into Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah.
And he served with Laban still another seven years. Amen.
Introduction
Well, this is the marriages, plural, of Jacob. And then the following section, beginning in verse 31, all the way to chapter 30 at verse 24, are the descendants or the sons or the children of Jacob by both his wives and their maids. So we'll look at that, the Lord willing, next Wednesday night. But tonight I want to notice first Jacob's arrival at Haran in verses 1 to 8.
Secondly, the meeting with Rachel in verses 9 to 14. And then finally, the marriages to Leah and Rachel in verses 15 to 30. Now, as we have seen in this particular book of the Bible, we have slowed way down in terms of family dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and the like. You start off with creation, and then you've got fall, and then you've got Babel, and you've got Noah, you've got all these sorts of things. going on, and now we sort of focus in on and hone in on the particular family from whence Messiah is going to come.
Remember God makes a promise to Abraham, it's confirmed through Isaac, and now here to Jacob that through their seed the salvation of the world will take place. We know that seed, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. So as we move through this particular narrative tonight, it's tough at times to get a lot of practical lessons out of some of these narratives. We're probably going to end a bit early tonight, simply because I know that it's wrong to lie and we don't need to repeat that.
We shouldn't ever be like a layman and offer the wrong daughter to somebody that's coming for her hand in marriage. So there's some obvious things that one doesn't do, but I think the overarching thing that I want to sort of focus on by way of application is God's providence. God's providence is obvious throughout these narratives. The way that he works in the midst of family dynamics, they're not altogether lovely.
They're not altogether decent and orderly, and nevertheless, God brings to pass his perfect will in the midst of these crooked situations.
Jacob's Arrival at Haran
But note first this arrival at Haran we see in verse 1. So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. So he has arrived at his destination. He was told to go to Paddan Aram or Haran and there to go to Laban's house.
He sees this well. This well was for the watering of the flocks, and if you notice there, there were three flocks present in verse 2. Now verse 3 says, now all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth. Now the significant sort of thing in this brief section of scripture is that Jacob alone rolls the stone off of the mouth of the well.
Probably the flocks all waited until all were present and then the men collectively would roll that stone away from the mouth of the well. But Jacob does it all on his own. I don't know how Jacob was built. I don't know what kind of things he ate.
But he was certainly a strong young man. I mean, when we read the narrative, we see that he was more of the homebody. He was more of a mama's boy. And Esau was a man of the field.
He was the mighty hunter. He was the one that pleased his father well. But certainly Jacob had some grit and determination. if at least, the least of it was to sort of impress Rachel, this bride-to-be. But that's an interesting thing in this particular section, that it's
Jacob's Strength at the Well
Jacob alone that does roll this stone away. It must have been a very heavy stone for these flocks to all stand by and wait till all the others were there. Now there may have been an arrangement that they wouldn't move the stone until all the flocks were present, so that nobody would be shorted from the water. You kind of get the idea that they were rolling the stone away.
That's what the text says. And they would roll the stone from the well's mouth. So there was at least two and probably more men involved in this activity of rolling away the stone. So then Jacob initiates this conversation to try to figure out where Laban is and how Laban is doing.
He calls them, my brethren, in verse 4, where are you from? They said, we are from Haran. Then he said to them, do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, we know him.
So this is the point. of his travels. This was the point of his journey. This is why he came out east, was to find his uncle Laban, and from thence to take a wife. And then they said, he is well, and look, verse 6, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.
Then he said, look, it is still high day. It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go and feed them. Now here's where they say, verse 8, we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth.
Then we water the sheep. So it does seem to be that there was some sort of an agreement that you wouldn't just move that stone until all the flocks were present. But the text does seem to indicate it took a plurality of men. to move this stone. Verse 9 tells us, while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brothers. This was a great act of strength, pretty interesting feat really that I think it's probably the case we can read right through that and sort of not ponder the implications that it would have taken a great deal of strength for one man to move this stone that had been moved by several previously. Now
The Meeting with Rachel
that brings us to his meeting with Rachel.
The Kiss and Tears of Joy
In verse 11 it says he kissed her. Probably not a romantic kiss, a familial kiss. A kiss that is appropriate between cousins. He kissed her and then he lifted up his voice and he wept.
The weeping here was not grief or sorrow or sadness. It was a weeping for joy. He had arrived at his destination. He had arrived with his people.
He was now in the place that his father and mother had sent him. Remember, they were displeased with Esau's choice of brides. He chose from the the Hethites or the Hittites, and that really grieved his parents. And so they wanted, when Esau wanted to kill Jacob, Rebekah said, why don't you go to Laban to obviously avoid Esau's sort of intent to kill you, but also to find a woman, a wife that we will approve of.
So this is a time of rejoicing. Now, I should tell you that in chapter 24, there is that account where Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. And commentators and sermonizers have sort of drawn a contrast between that servant in chapter 24 and Jacob here in chapter 29. That servant prayed, and Jacob doesn't pray.
So Jacob's intentions aren't great. That servant was a man of purpose and obedience to his master, whereas Jacob was basically running for his life. I don't know that the author intends us to draw that contrast. I think when Jacob rejoices here, he's rejoicing in the Lord.
He's met with God at Bethel in chapter 28. The Lord has said, I'm going to be with you. The Lord has said, I'm going to bless you. The Lord has said, I'm going to provide for you.
So I don't know that we need to draw this conclusion that the servant of Abraham was really good and pious and Jacob himself wasn't really good and pious. Now, again, Jacob isn't the most sympathetic character in the Bible. He does some pretty dastardly deeds. But we'll see tonight in God's providence, there is this irony that happens or obtains in the life of Jacob.
The one who had deceived his father becomes deceived by his father-in-law. And behold, it was Leah. So God in his providence has a way to sort of correct things and balance things and teach lessons that he needs to teach, but I don't think that Jacob should be viewed here in any less of a light than that servant of Abraham. Now certainly you might disagree, I'm just not compelled by the text to make that contrast.
At any rate, we see this meeting with Rachel. She is a shepherdess. Jacob rolls the stone away. The kiss is probably not romantic, but familial.
The tears were tears of joy. Now notice what Rachel does according to verse 12. Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father.
And now Laban gets wind of this and Laban invites Jacob to come and stay at his house. And verse 14 is intriguing. Laban said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. Well, if that's how he treats his bone and his flesh, I'd hate to see how he treats his enemies because he's really not cool with reference to Jacob.
Jacob has to spend 14 years in basically indentured servitude unto this man Laban. Remember that Laban is a man who quite likes costly items. Go back to chapter 24. This is not a stretch.
When we see what the text says concerning Laban, we kind of get an idea about him so that now in Genesis 29, we're kind of working with some more information. But if you remember, when the servant comes to Rebekah's house, verse 29 in chapter 24 says, now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, And Laban ran out to the man by the well. So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrist, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah saying, thus the man spoke to me, that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well, and he said, Come in, O blessed of the Lord.
Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." Next is conspicuous, he sees the jewels, he sees the accouterments, he sees the goods. This man, this servant of Abraham comes with 10 camels loaded down with stuff. Laban's no dummy, he sees what's happening and he's willing to give food to those camels.
He's willing to give an audience to this servant. He's willing to hand over Rebekah as soon as he can possibly do it, because if you look at verse 52, it came to pass when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
Now, go back to Genesis 29, Jacob shows up. He doesn't have ten camels full of stuff. He doesn't have all of these jewels and all of this loot. What Jacob does have is his own sweat and his own hard work.
So for Laban, that's good enough. If Laban doesn't get bracelets and nose rings and all that sort of thing, he's going to get some cheap slavery in his own home. And notice in verses 13 and 14, he told, verse 13, it came to pass when Laban heard the report about Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things.
And Laban said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him for a month. So that's the initial month of dwelling time with Laban. And
The Marriages to Leah and Rachel
now we move into the marriages to Leah and Rachel. Now, verse 15, Laban says to Jacob, because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be? So again, he realizes that there's got to be some quid pro quo involved in this relationship.
Laban isn't in this for love and fresh air, and Laban wants to know what is it that Jacob is after. So verse 16, Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
Now this whole idea that her eyes were delicate, commentators are somewhat bewitched on the meaning of the word. It could mean delicate or weak, as the margin reads, and it could indicate something about the fact that she wasn't very attractive. Conversely, some say it was her eyes that was the only thing attractive about her, that this is a positive statement in this particular passage. But the contrast is obvious whichever way we go with reference to defining the character of her eyes.
It tells us about Leah, verse 17. All it says is Leah's eyes were delicate. Either it's a bad thing or it's a good thing. But in contrast, Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
So it couldn't be any starker in terms of the contrast between these two women. And then verse 18 tells us that Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. Now this is consistent with the payment of a bride price. You see this.
A man coming to court a woman would provide some sort of monetary gift. That's what happens there in Genesis 24. when the servant of Abraham comes with all of those camels. He provides that price so he can secure the family's blessing and thus, in that instance, marry Rebekah. Well, here he wants to do that with reference to Rachel.
He doesn't have goods. He doesn't have camels laden with stuff. He has his own sweat. He has his own service.
So he says, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. And Laban said, it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me. I love verse 20.
I remember reading this early as a Christian thinking, it's kind of how it should be in terms of our service to the Lord. It says, so Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. The service that we render unto God, it's negligible. It's not the case that, boy, what a long and tedious life this is.
No, it's a delight because we love the Lord. And that's the same sort of thing that we have in this particular instance. He served the seven years for Rachel. They seemed only a few days to him. because of the love he had for her.
I mean, this is a long time, isn't it? Seven years. We read through texts, and I don't think we ever stop to ponder what this is. We know that he loved her.
We know that he has sexual desires for her, because he wants to sort of move on that, according to verse 21. And yet, for those seven years, he faithfully serves Laban. He faithfully treats this woman. And now the time has come for fulfillment, or for fruition.
And that's what we find in this wedding here. Notice in verse 21. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. It's a good request of Jacob.
He's fulfilled his terms. He has satisfied his part of the agreement. He now wants Laban to deliver. And then Laban gathers together all the men of the place and made a feast.
This is a wedding feast. Now a wedding feast in these times lasted about a week. It was not like what we do where it's a couple hours on a Saturday and then you come back in another couple hours or whatever. It was a seven day feast.
You know, a time of great celebration, a time of great joy, a time of great rejoicing in the things of God Almighty. So that's the scene according to verse 22. Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah, his daughter, and brought her to Jacob, and he went into her.
Now we might be sort of curious, how could that have happened? Well, he would have veiled her, and he would have brought her to him in the hours of darkness. There wouldn't be lights and candles and all that sort of thing. It was an honest mistake on the part of Jacob.
He really did not know better. Laban does, however, and this is fraud and deception and the instigation of sexual sin on the part of Laban with reference to his daughter. It's a terrible thing that he does in this instance. He takes his daughter Leah and brings her to Jacob and the agreement was is that Jacob would work seven years not for Leah but for Rachel.
And so when the mourning comes, according to the parenthetical note in verse 24 and then in verse 29 about Laban giving his daughters these maids, that will come up when we get to the sons of Jacob. Those maids are going to be instrumental in helping Jacob be fruitful and multiply. When we get to the next chapter, there's a lot going on in that particular chapter that I do not doubt for a moment puzzles most 21st century Christian readers, because Jacob has two wives and two wives' maids, and it's from thence that he begins to be fruitful and multiply. So that's why these parenthetical notes in 24 and 29 about Laban giving these girls maids.
That was a common gift at the particular time, a woman to attend upon the daughter. But in verse 25, it came to pass in the morning that behold, it was Leah. Now imagine Jacob's surprise. Imagine Jacob's shock.
Imagine that scenario for a moment. I can't really conceive of this. It came to pass in the morning that behold, it was Leah. OK, Isaac.
Get it out. And then he said to Laban, what is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?
Again, we can't miss the irony and we can't miss sort of the reversal that has transpired.
Poetic Justice in Providence
John Gill said, though Laban is not to be justified in the action, yet here appears in Providence a righteous retaliation of Jacob. He beguiled his own father, pretending he was his brother Esau. And now his father-in-law beguiles him, giving him blear-eyed Leah instead of beautiful Rachel. Robert Alter says the whole story of the switched brides is a meeting out of poetic justice to Jacob. the deceiver deceived, deprived by darkness of the sense of sight as his father is by blindness, relying, like his father, on the misleading sense of touch." So it really is poetic justice.
It really is retaliation in terms of God's providence. Now having said that, It's not vindictive on the part of God, God's not just trying to get people, but God is showing something to Jacob in this particular instance that does comment on Jacob's previous escapade with his own father and with his own brother. So when he says at the end of verse 25, why then have you deceived me? I hear the incredulity in his mouth, but I wonder where that was when he was deceiving his own father and working off the back of his brother ultimately.
And then notice the explanation in verses 26 and 27. Laban said, it must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the firstborn. Even if that was a custom, justice comes first, right? If that was a custom in the country, he should have made that clear on the front end.
He should have told Jacob that before the first seven years. He should have been honest and said, Jacob, that's not the way we roll in our country. If you want things to go that way, you have to first take my daughter Leah. But he doesn't do that.
Now he invokes the customary cultural practice. Now he invokes it after the seven years of service has been rendered and Jacob has gone into Leah. So it must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the firstborn. Sailhammer says Jacob was able to exchange the younger for the older, whereas Laban reversed the trick and exchanged the older for the younger.
So Jacob really is getting his medicine sort of doled out to him by this man Laban. Now in verse 27, when it says fulfill her week, that probably means continue on, enjoy the celebration, don't ruin her week. In other words, Leah is married now too. Leah is engaged in this process as well, and you're supposed to fulfill her week, and then I will give you Rachel, and then you start another seven years.
Laban is really not a good father-in-law, brethren. He's not one I would want to call my father-in-law. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one, Rachel, also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years. So this is the means by which Jacob is going to enter into another seven years of labor for Rachel.
It really is a tough thing for him. Remember when Rebecca tells Jacob to go, she says you'll be gone a few days. He's actually gone a total of 20 years from his homeland of Canaan while he's with Laban in this particular setting in Haran. Verse 28 tells us, then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week, so he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.
And Laban gave his wife, Billa, to his daughter, I'm sorry, gave his maid, Billa, to his daughter, Rachel, as a maid. Then Jacob also went into Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban still another seven years. So he loved her more than Leah. That's something else that is reminiscent of their family dynamic.
Remember, in terms of Jacob and Esau, Jacob was favored by his mother, Rebecca. Esau was favored by his father, Isaac. There was this disparity, there was this incongruity, there was this sort of disjunction in the family unit. And the same thing is happening in this instance.
And when we get to him having his sons, there's a lot of tension and a lot of issues involved in this scenario. It is less than optimum, and it's seriously marred in terms of a legitimate sort of family structure from whence God is going to bring his Messiah. Now, all that to say,
Application
two things by way of application. First of all, let's not be labans. Laban's not a good fellow. He was obviously fond of money, according to chapter 24, and he was all for his bone and his flesh basically being his slave for a period of 14 years.
I mean, all of that in verse 14, surely you are my bone and my flesh. I'd like to think that we treat our bone and our flesh, and I'd like to think we'd even treat our enemies with a little bit more respect than what he shows to Jacob in this particular instance. It really is not cool at all. And as well, he engaged in fraud.
He promoted sexual sin. Now, at this point, Leviticus had not been written, but in Leviticus 18.18, there is this prohibition. nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive. So you see, he's violating some crucial things that will come out later in redemptive history. Now, did he know all this?
Should he have known all this? Even if he didn't know all this, he shouldn't have done what he did. It was deceptive, it was fraudulent, and it was just not a good thing to do. But in terms of the providence of God, secondly, When we look at the sort of situation that God works with, Ralph Davis has commented,
Providence Through Unsavory Circumstances
God is not like a doctor that uses sterilized instruments. This world is not filled with sterilized instruments. This world is filled with messiness. This world is filled with dysfunctionality.
This world is filled with labens. This world is filled with a lot of crooked stuff. And when it comes to, specifically, sexual ethics, there are three times in the book of Genesis that God works in the midst of a crooked and perverse situation to bring about good. Remember in Genesis chapter 19, Lot and his daughters.
If there were no Lot and his daughters and his relationship with them, there would be no Moabites. If there were no Moabites, there would be no Ruth. If there was no Ruth, humanly speaking, there would be no Jesus Christ. So on the surface, horrific thing, Lot and his incestuous relationship with his daughters there in Genesis 19, God moves in the midst of a crooked situation and brings about the Moabites.
So that Ruth will ultimately come and from her will ultimately come Messiah. In Genesis chapter 38, we'll sort of save this one for last. Genesis 38, there's a man by the name of Judah. And Judah has some pretty disastrous sons, and they basically leave a daughter, Tamar, as a widow.
And Tamar basically uses deception to have Judah lay with her, to impregnate her. Now again, this is terrible, it's horrible, but you know what Tamar does? She keeps the messianic line alive. If it was up to Judah, it would have stopped.
So based on what Tamar does, and I'm not saying, go thou and do likewise. operate, sometimes it's going to be in very unsavory situations. The same thing obtains in this particular situation. It's Leah that gives birth to Judah. It's Judah that gives birth to David.
It's David that gives birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. So behold it was Leah, as bad as that was for Jacob on his wedding morning, and as bad as that reflects upon Laban in terms of the worst father-in-law of the year, this was God's plan and purpose to bring about the Messiah. So you see, he works through unsavory details to bring about his good, to bring about his purpose. The Old Testament is filled with those sorts of things.
The Old Testament is littered with those sorts of things. If God didn't work through unsavory and crooked and perverse situations, he would never work, because that's all we've given him to work with. We're not sterile, we're not polished, we mess up, our families look like this, and if good's gonna come, it has to be from sovereign grace, and not from the ingenuity or the wisdom or the perceived goodness of men. John Gill says the marrying of two sisters was forbidden by the law of Moses, Leviticus 18, 18.
And polygamy was not allowed of in after times. And yet both were disposed with in times preceding. And there seems to be an overruling providence in this affair, which oftentimes brings good out of evil, since the Messiah was to spring from Leah and not Rachel. So behold, it was Leah.
As much of a shock as that was to Jacob, that is music to the soul of sinners who need the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God it was Leah because from Leah comes Judah, David, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, hopefully we will not be labans and hopefully we will stand amazed at the glorious providence of God who works in and through and by and with some miserable conditions to bring about his glory and to bring about the salvation of his people. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for this section of Scripture, and we thank you for your amazing providence. We know, God, that you are working all things according to your plan and your purpose, and this gives us great encouragement. And God, even in light of a federal election that perhaps didn't go the way we would have liked, We know that the King's heart is in your hand. We know that Christ is the ruler over the kings of the earth.
We know that you possess absolute, unrivaled sovereignty over all things. And we want to find great comfort and encouragement in that. And I pray that you would just continue to steady and stabilize our souls and help us, God, to just muse upon and delight in your sovereign providence. We ask that you would go with us now.
We pray that you would bless our local church, that you would strengthen each and every one of your people in this body, and that you would cause us to bring glory and praise and honor unto you. And we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.