WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 It's amazing how the readers fit the characters so well. 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:15.759 And I think most of us know what it's like to watch someone else get ahead of you in life, get ahead of us in life. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:21.080 And we wonder to ourselves, what do they have that I don't have? 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:24.519 Or why not me? Why them? 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:31.259 Maybe someone gets a promotion ahead of you, even though that person doesn't seem to be any more deserving than you are. 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:36.579 Maybe someone marries the handsome man or the beautiful girl that you have been daydreaming about. 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:45.820 Maybe someone gets an expensive new gadget or car, clothes you could only wish for just because they happen to be born into a richer family. 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:50.480 Now in all of these situations, we wonder why them, why not me? 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:55.119 And in Genesis 25 to 28, we find a similar scenario, right? 00:00:55.519 --> 00:01:00.019 So here, there's an intense struggle for supremacy between two twins. 00:01:00.519 --> 00:01:02.759 One is chosen, the other is not. 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:06.399 One is blessed, the other is not. 00:01:07.039 --> 00:01:10.099 And then we wonder the whole time, why him? 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.939 Because they're both scoundrels, right? 00:01:13.939 --> 00:01:22.079 And the answer to that question lies in the truth that God saves sinful people according to his sovereign grace. 00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:27.480 Now, I'm going to unpack that through the portraits of the three main characters in this narrative. 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.340 First, we're going to look at Esau, the despiser. 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:34.439 And second, we're going to look at Isaac, the dim-sided. 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:38.140 And then third, we're going to look at Jacob, the deceiver. 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:44.519 And first, to begin with Esau, the despiser in chapter 25, verses 19 to 34. 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:50.680 When Rebekah finally conceives, it seems it took 20 years, verse 22, it says, 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:55.299 the children, multiple, plural, children struggle together within her. 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:56.980 That's a very violent word. 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.140 It's used in other places in the Bible to refer to the crushing of heads. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:01.920 For example, Judges 9, 53. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:08.580 So these kids are struggling violently, all the flipping and the pushing and jostling for space within the womb. 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:10.140 They're already struggling violently. 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:16.020 And so she knows, it's her first pregnancy, but she knows enough that this is not what it's supposed to be like. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:21.340 So she goes and consults the Lord, and the Lord reveals this to her and to Isaac in verse 23. 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:25.719 Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided. 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:28.199 The one shall be stronger than the other. 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:30.639 The older shall serve the younger. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.399 Now, this will be what we'll see. 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:38.599 And then when they are born, the firstborn is named Esau because his body was covered with red hair. 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:41.979 The alternate name for Esau is Edom, E-D-O-M. 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:43.819 That's what he's also known as the country. 00:02:43.899 --> 00:02:45.479 The nation he found is known as Edom. 00:02:46.119 --> 00:02:47.799 And so he's reddish. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.979 And the second son is named Jacob because he came out holding his older brother's heel. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.939 He's the heel grabber. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:03:05.319 And this hints at the future events because grabbing someone's heel is a figurative way of deceiving someone in this culture, in this language. 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:09.539 So it's kind of similar to our expression of pulling someone's leg. 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:15.039 That probably originated from someone pulling the person's leg from behind so that they trip and fall. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:16.439 So it came to mean to trick. 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:19.359 So he's a leg puller. 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:20.400 He's a deceiver. 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:21.439 He's a heel grabber. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:22.500 That's who he is. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:32.680 Now, verses 27 to 28 tell us that when the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents. 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:37.180 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game. 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.680 But Rebecca loved Jacob. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.219 So to summarize, Esau was an outdoorsman. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:43.300 Jacob was an indoorsman. 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:48.680 Esau, you know, liked to hunt, to be in the field with the father, probably, presumably. 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:50.360 And Jacob was a homebody. 00:03:50.620 --> 00:03:52.599 He probably spent most of his time with his mom. 00:03:53.480 --> 00:03:57.960 Now, and Genesis 4.20, it likens dwelling in tents. 00:03:58.060 --> 00:03:59.879 It connects that to tending livestock. 00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:08.760 So it probably means that Jacob's profession was that he's tender of livestock, which is the same as his father's profession, Isaac and Abraham. 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:13.919 And in this, there's a comparison between, you know, Cain and Abel earlier. 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.379 Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a worker of the ground. 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:21.000 And here he was a man of the ground. 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:23.500 And here Esau describes as a man of the field. 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:26.980 And Jacob seemingly is a keeper of livestock. 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:34.980 Now, the fact that their different preferences divided the family is seen clearly in verse 28. 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:39.780 It says, Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:45.280 So we're not told why Rebekah loved Jacob more, but clearly it seems that she spent more time with him. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:50.100 But we are told explicitly why Isaac loved Esau more. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:52.840 And it's because he ate of his game. 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:58.560 That seems to be, at least strikes me as a pretty trivial reason to favor one son over another. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:01.920 And so this reveals that Isaac is a gourmand, basically. 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:08.139 He loves food, especially food freshly prepared from Esau's hunting exploits. 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:12.920 So Isaac is a man, and this is just painting a picture of someone who is driven by his appetite. 00:05:13.340 --> 00:05:17.199 And it turns out that he has that in common with his oldest son, Esau. 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:19.120 And we see this in verse 30. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:21.379 Esau returns from the field exhausted. 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.620 He says, let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted. 00:05:24.819 --> 00:05:25.759 Jacob's cooking stew. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.680 And the red stew, another play on his name, reddish. 00:05:29.099 --> 00:05:32.319 But Jacob is curt and very calculating in his response. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:33.539 He's so direct. 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:35.939 Sell me your birthright now. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:41.079 And the fact that Jacob is ready with that response shows that he's been premeditating. 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:49.839 He's been waiting to exploit his older brother and to grab onto him at a moment of weakness so that he can get his birthright. 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:54.000 And a birthright, the firstborn's birthright, it was large. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:58.339 As a firstborn, you're entitled to the double portion of the father's inheritance. 00:05:59.180 --> 00:06:02.519 And so that's the claim to be the firstborn. 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:04.879 That's what Jacob is vying for here. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:09.660 And he's been competing with him since his birth, grabbing his brother's heel. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.060 He's doing the same thing here. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:20.439 And Esau, he should have become indignant, and he should have rebuked his younger brother for his grasping attempt. 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:23.899 But instead, his response is melodramatic and pathetic. 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.000 He says, I'm about to die. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.519 Of what use is a birthright to me? 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:29.459 Quite dramatic. 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:35.680 But Jacob is a shrewd businessman, and he wants Esau to sign on the dotted line, or the equivalent. 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:37.620 He says, swear to me now. 00:06:38.159 --> 00:06:40.540 And so Esau does sell his birthright. 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:43.700 And then the exchange we see in verse 34 is shocking. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:48.560 Because at first you thought, you know, reddish stew, it's probably some kind of meat, right? 00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:49.879 A meaty dish. 00:06:50.140 --> 00:06:52.040 But instead, this is what you find in verse 34. 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.700 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. 00:06:56.460 --> 00:06:59.720 And he ate and drank and rose and went his way. 00:07:00.460 --> 00:07:03.680 Thus Esau despised his birthright. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:06.180 So it's not even a meaty stew, right? 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.540 It's cheap lentil stew. 00:07:09.340 --> 00:07:12.060 And Esau sells his birthright to Jacob. 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.439 And Jacob gives Esau bread and lentil stew. 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:17.740 It's a very uneven exchange. 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:23.460 Imagine giving up your inheritance, maybe a car and a house, right, for a bowl of soup. 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:25.060 That's what's going on. 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:29.860 And so narrator tells us how foolish this is. 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:33.759 Because he tells us about Isaac's great exceeding wealth in chapter 26. 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.579 That's all the stuff that Esau is giving up here. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:43.879 Now, and the reason why it seems to be that like Isaac, his father, Esau is a sensual man. 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:45.939 He's driven by his appetite. 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:47.740 So he seems to be condemning that. 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:51.220 And this is not to say enjoying food is bad, right? 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.939 The Bible is overwhelmingly positive about food. 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:57.240 Like you see Jesus feasting all the time throughout the Bible. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:00.180 But it does condemn gluttony, right? 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:05.100 And Philippians 3.19, it condemns those whose God is their belly. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:11.399 Romans 16.18 likewise denounces people who do not serve Christ but their own appetites. 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:13.519 That's another translation for the same word, belly. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:19.339 Which is, and so while gluttony and drunkenness therefore are always often tied together. 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:21.560 And it refers to any kind of bodily appetite. 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:24.919 Hunger, thirst, sexual drive, right? 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:27.919 And this is together condemned throughout scripture. 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:30.719 It's whenever those appetites, their normal desires. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:32.299 But when they become inordinate. 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:35.659 When they become so large that they begin to control our life. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.579 And it begins to compete with our affection for God. 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:39.860 To compete for our time. 00:08:40.079 --> 00:08:40.879 Our resources. 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:42.059 The way we live. 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:42.620 Our lifestyle. 00:08:42.819 --> 00:08:45.439 Then it becomes gluttony. 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:46.559 It becomes sinful. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.139 It becomes idolatrous. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:50.439 It could be any number of things, right? 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:51.979 Things that are not necessarily bad and honestly. 00:08:52.099 --> 00:08:53.479 It could be Red Bull, right? 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:54.199 It could be Coke. 00:08:55.019 --> 00:08:55.759 It could be tobacco. 00:08:56.339 --> 00:08:56.819 Sex. 00:08:57.319 --> 00:08:57.739 Marijuana. 00:08:58.379 --> 00:08:58.659 Beer. 00:08:59.319 --> 00:08:59.639 Wine. 00:09:00.199 --> 00:09:00.539 Etc. 00:09:00.599 --> 00:09:03.319 It could be just these chemical responses in your body. 00:09:03.439 --> 00:09:03.859 Dopamine. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:04.899 Nicotine. 00:09:05.619 --> 00:09:06.179 Endorphins. 00:09:06.819 --> 00:09:07.379 Adrenaline. 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:11.719 Whatever the physical or biochemical craving may be. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:13.899 If the desire becomes inordinate. 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:16.199 Then it begins to control us. 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:17.320 Then we become gluttonous. 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:24.900 Now, but being gluttonous is not just about being overly desirous of our bodily appetites. 00:09:25.040 --> 00:09:28.120 But it's also being overly particular in our appetites. 00:09:28.560 --> 00:09:31.740 The Bible warns us repeatedly about being overly concerned about food. 00:09:32.020 --> 00:09:36.740 So Paul tells the Corinthians church who are too concerned about food and what types of food they should eat. 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:38.120 In 1 Corinthians 8.8. 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:40.220 Food will not commend us to God. 00:09:40.220 --> 00:09:42.220 And in Romans 14.17. 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:46.220 Paul tells us not to offend another believer's conscience for the sake of food. 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:46.480 He says, 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:52.820 The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:56.779 Similar thing, 1 Corinthians 6.13 tells us, 00:09:57.100 --> 00:09:59.620 Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food. 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:03.379 And God will destroy both one and the other. 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:10.340 So what it's saying is that when we're overly concerned about our bodily appetites, satisfying them about food or whatever it may be, 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:17.100 it's a sign of worldliness, of overly being concerned about the things of this world and not being heavenly minded. 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:22.519 C.S. Lewis, as usual, has a very helpful illustration about this in his book, Screwtape Letters. 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:30.000 In the book, the Screwtape, a senior devil advises the junior devil, Wormwood, about using gluttony to tempt people. 00:10:30.040 --> 00:10:30.740 And he says this. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:36.639 He distinguishes gluttony of delicacy from gluttony of access. 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:41.980 And then he cites as an example of this persnickety old woman who is given to gluttony of delicacy. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:42.700 He says this. 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:48.520 This woman is always turning from what has been offered her to say with a demure little sigh and a smile, 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:54.920 Oh, please, please, all I want is a cup of tea, weak but not too weak, and the teeniest, weeniest bit of really crisp toast. 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:56.840 And then Screwtape explains, 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:02.220 You see, because what she wants is smaller and less costly than what has been said before her, 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:07.040 she never recognizes as gluttony her determination to get what she wants. 00:11:07.540 --> 00:11:09.400 However troublesome it may be to others. 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:15.559 At the very moment of indulging her appetite, she believes that she is practicing temperance, 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:20.319 being overly particular about our appetite. 00:11:20.959 --> 00:11:26.959 So whether it's as a health guru or as a connoisseur of fine dining, 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:30.939 if we're overly concerned about our bodily appetite satisfyingly, 00:11:30.959 --> 00:11:34.399 if our life is consumed and preoccupied with those things, 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:36.699 it reflects an ungodly concern. 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:42.160 Now, not only is Esau guilty of this, we see this, 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:44.540 we see later that Isaac fits this description. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:46.680 He's also a sensuous and pleasure-seeking man. 00:11:47.160 --> 00:11:51.700 Because it's not only does Isaac favor Esau just because he eats of his game, 00:11:52.040 --> 00:11:56.840 he says that he seems to offer his blessing on the condition of eating that game. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.900 He tells him to bring this game, and then I will bless you. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.580 And he says repeatedly he's craving delicious food. 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:06.320 Six times it says he's craving delicious food. 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:11.780 And then it says three times he wants the food specifically prepared, such as he loves. 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:16.240 And this is all the more remarkable because the word delicious food is actually a very rare word. 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:18.840 It only occurs one other time in the entire Old Testament. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:27.000 And that's in Proverbs 23 where it speaks of how delicacies or delicious food can be used to ensnare people. 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:28.400 It can be deceptive food. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:35.600 So now, like his father Isaac is sensuous given to this. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:39.519 And now if you're following with me up to this point, you're probably saying to yourself, 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:41.779 well, come on, like gluttony, really? 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:43.659 Like is that really so bad? 00:12:44.459 --> 00:12:47.059 But I want to ask you, look at what happens, 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:54.879 the power that it wields on Isaac's life and on Esau's life so that they're driven to these things. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:13:00.740 And Pastor John Piper writes loosely about this in his book, A Hunger for God. 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:01.320 He argues, 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:07.120 The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:15.120 It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven but endless nibbling at the table of the world. 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:20.460 The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:26.440 And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil but for the simple pleasures of earth. 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:34.960 For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable. 00:13:36.420 --> 00:13:39.660 Do you guys see the insidiousness of gluttony, of the sin? 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:45.300 Because it's because it seems so innocent, because it seems so simple, just pleasures, 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:50.279 the things that God has given us, when they begin to grow inordinate, when they begin to control our lives, 00:13:50.579 --> 00:13:52.599 it's almost, we don't recognize it. 00:13:52.859 --> 00:13:53.599 It takes over. 00:13:53.699 --> 00:13:55.939 So we have to look at it and take stock of our lives. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.979 If we examine our lives, if we look at our spending habits, if we look at the way we spend our time, 00:14:00.339 --> 00:14:04.959 if we look at what orders our life, what's the constraining center of our life, 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.419 if it's something other than God, that means our life is disordered, 00:14:08.459 --> 00:14:11.899 and it will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction and idolatry. 00:14:11.899 --> 00:14:15.340 And that's why fasting is a helpful discipline, right? 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:16.459 We do this every month. 00:14:16.579 --> 00:14:18.819 Three days of prayer and fasting, we'll be doing it this week. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:24.139 A lot of you can participate in that, because not only is it great in assisting with prayer, 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:28.519 it's a great discipline for reining in our appetites, our bodily appetites. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:29.519 They're all connected. 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:34.100 People from, you know, John Calvin to Thomas Kemp has all noted the impact, 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.960 the effectiveness of fasting and reining in the fleshly appetites. 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:38.980 As one recent writer puts it, 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:43.159 our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks. 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:46.320 Fasting helps keep them in their proper channels. 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:53.159 Now, so then when we come to face these desires, these bodily appetites, 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:58.940 when we are tempted to choose those things and to live for those things over living for God, 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:01.920 then we have to remind ourselves that's just lentil stew, 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.059 just a bowl of soup. 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:10.379 And we are trading away the eternal delights of being with the Lord and focusing on Him and pursuing Him. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:15.720 The warning from Hebrews 12, 15 to 17 is appropriate. 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:19.720 He's a seed to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:23.399 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:26.399 who sold his birthright for a single meal. 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:29.620 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.939 he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, 00:15:32.939 --> 00:15:35.399 though he sought it with tears. 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:42.360 Sin always grows, and Jesus warned us about the effect of the cares of this world, 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.840 the riches choking out our plants, the gospel seed that's planted in us. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.360 So we need to be wary of the sin. 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:53.199 In this Esau's example, Esau the despiser is helpful. 00:15:54.439 --> 00:15:59.000 Then in chapter 26, we take a brief break from the story of Jacob and Esau, 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:02.399 and we get a glimpse into the life of Isaac, the dim-sided. 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:08.919 And this account of Isaac in Genesis 26 very closely follows the career of Abraham. 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:13.480 It almost reads exactly the same way that Abraham's journey takes place. 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:18.939 So, for example, compare chapter 26 here about Isaac to chapter 20 and 21 about Abraham. 00:16:19.459 --> 00:16:23.899 They both try to pass off their wife as their sister for the sake of self-preservation. 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:27.960 They both engage in a dispute about wells, 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:30.240 who has access to these wells with the Philistines. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:34.500 They both encounter Abimelech, the king of Gerar and ruler of Philistines, 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:36.180 and Fickel, the commander of his army. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.759 And to both of the patriarchs, Abimelech acknowledges, 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:43.139 the Lord has been with you, right? 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.259 And then so they seek a treaty, a covenant, 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.120 to make sure that there's good will between them for the future. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.899 And then in both of them also, they name a well Beersheba, 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.560 or Sheba, which Beersheba just means well of the oath. 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:01.739 And like Abraham before him, Isaac also expresses his faith to God 00:17:01.739 --> 00:17:03.879 and gratefulness to God by building an altar. 00:17:03.979 --> 00:17:05.500 And why are there all these parallels? 00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:11.500 These parallels are there to show us that God's promise to Abraham is continuing through Isaac. 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:15.759 So Isaac is heir to all of these blessings and covenant promises that God made to him. 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:19.220 And so then, because there's all these parallels, 00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:23.700 the one notable departure at the end of this chapter is really jarring. 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:25.759 And that's the narrator's intention. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.480 Because if you look at verse 34 to 35, it says, 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:35.080 When Esau was 40 years old, he took Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, to be his wife, 00:17:35.340 --> 00:17:37.680 and Basemath, the daughter of Elah the Hittite. 00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:41.100 And they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:44.059 Note the age at which this happens. 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.580 Esau was 40 years old when he took these foreign wives. 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:57.199 Isaac was 40 years old when Abraham sent his servant out to find a wife from among his own kindred for Isaac 00:17:57.199 --> 00:18:02.879 so that they could preserve the faith, so that they would not be led astray by foreign wives who worshipped foreign gods. 00:18:03.659 --> 00:18:05.759 And so this is a very marked difference, 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:10.220 and it's intentionally placed here to highlight the difference between Abraham and Isaac. 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:16.220 So Isaac follows in his footsteps, except when it comes to this. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:20.680 And it seems that he never even confronted Esau about it when he married these two. 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:25.839 And it's shocking, right, that Abraham was so concerned that Isaac wouldn't even marry one woman from Canaan. 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.120 And Esau goes and marries two of them. 00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:33.720 And it seems that Isaac hasn't even confronted Esau about it. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.559 Because later, when Rebekah brings this issue up, 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:38.200 Esau says he first learned. 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:42.340 He learns at that point that Isaac was displeased by his foreign wives. 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:45.180 So it seems maybe they had a really good relationship, 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.039 or Isaac didn't want to bother with confronting him about it. 00:18:48.120 --> 00:18:52.420 It seems Isaac was passive and derelict in his duty to lead him. 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:58.340 And so this unfavorable description of Isaac continues in chapter 27, verse 1. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:18:58.799 It says, 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:03.779 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, right? 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:07.220 So the health of the eyes is indicative of general health throughout Scripture. 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:10.720 So it describes Moses' health in Deuteronomy 34, 7. 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:12.779 It says his eyes were undimmed. 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:16.640 So here, the fact that Isaac's eyes are dim is not a good sign. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.380 It's not a good sign of blessing. 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.299 It may be also an indication, a metaphor perhaps, 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:25.779 for his spiritual deterioration of loss of vision for him, 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:27.319 not just physically but spiritually. 00:19:28.100 --> 00:19:31.240 And you see this more clearly as he begins to speak to Esau. 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:34.140 He called Esau, his older son, and said to him, 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:34.819 My son. 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.359 And he answered, Here I am. 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:38.099 He said, Behold, I am old. 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:39.839 I do not know the day of my death. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:42.400 Now then take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.339 and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.920 And prepare for me delicious food such as I love. 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:48.559 And bring it to me so that I may eat, 00:19:48.620 --> 00:19:51.299 that my soul may bless you before I die. 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:53.099 Now in order to understand this, 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:55.720 we have to recognize that this scene is a type scene, 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:59.480 meaning that it's a scene that is often used 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:01.160 throughout ancient Near Eastern literature. 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:03.380 It's a deathbed blessing scene. 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:06.059 And when the writers of the Bible, Old Testament, 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:07.180 they use a type scene, 00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:09.819 they were inviting a comparison and contrast 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:12.039 between the conventional things that happen 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:13.019 and what happens here 00:20:13.019 --> 00:20:14.839 in order to make some important points. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:17.160 And while it has similarities, 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:19.539 there's some really important deviations 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:20.799 from the conventional way 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:24.600 which a patriarch blessed on his deathbed. 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:27.779 First, the great man usually knows 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:29.219 exactly when he's about to die. 00:20:29.899 --> 00:20:31.659 But Isaac has no idea. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:33.480 He says, I don't know when I'm gonna die. 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:34.779 So that's again, maybe a hint 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:36.299 that he's losing sight, 00:20:36.379 --> 00:20:38.039 he's losing grasp spiritually. 00:20:38.699 --> 00:20:41.480 Second, usually in a deathbed blessing type scene, 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:44.740 the patriarch calls all of his sons to bless them 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:46.659 and has blessings for each of them. 00:20:46.659 --> 00:20:50.740 But here Isaac calls just his older son Esau. 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:54.720 So he is intentionally flaunting God's will 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:56.440 even though God had predicted, 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:59.200 he said the older will serve the younger, 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:02.359 essentially saying that Jacob will inherit 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:03.339 the rights to the firstborn. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:05.660 But here he flaunts the will of God, 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:06.660 the revealed will of God. 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:10.120 And he overlooks the fact that Esau 00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:11.400 has married this foreign woman. 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:14.019 And then he totally ignores Jacob 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:16.299 and wants to bless Esau alone. 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:18.440 And then third, this whole thing 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.259 about asking Esau to hunt game, 00:21:20.360 --> 00:21:22.000 that's totally foreign to this type scene. 00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:24.779 So it shows again, once again, his sensuality. 00:21:25.340 --> 00:21:26.600 And this is a great example 00:21:26.600 --> 00:21:29.740 and a good warning to parents in the room, right? 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:31.680 I mean, look at what happens 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:33.500 throughout the story, right? 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:35.840 Abraham passes his wife off as his sister. 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:37.900 Isaac does the exact same thing. 00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:39.820 And here Isaac deceives 00:21:39.820 --> 00:21:41.519 for the sake of self-advancement. 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:43.180 Jacob, his son, deceives 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:45.140 for the sake of self-advancement, right? 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:46.640 Isaac is a sensuous man 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.520 and he for a bowl of soup, 00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:50.660 he will bless his son, 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:51.440 the wrong son, 00:21:51.540 --> 00:21:53.100 the son he did not intend to bless. 00:21:53.540 --> 00:21:54.380 And the same way, 00:21:54.540 --> 00:21:56.420 Esau gives away his birthright 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:58.400 for a bowl of soup, right? 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:00.020 So this, again, happens. 00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:03.520 There's a lot of influence 00:22:03.520 --> 00:22:05.280 that parents have over their children 00:22:05.280 --> 00:22:06.259 and we see that clearly. 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:08.780 And it's our responsibility as parents 00:22:08.780 --> 00:22:10.540 to make sure that we speak the truth 00:22:10.540 --> 00:22:11.420 and love to our children, 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:13.600 to discipline them when necessary, right? 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.740 And to bring them up 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:17.279 and to address sin in their lives. 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:19.939 And this doesn't just apply to parents, 00:22:19.939 --> 00:22:21.079 but to all of us 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:22.859 because we are the family of God, 00:22:22.959 --> 00:22:24.339 to every member of the church. 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:25.980 And it's our responsibility, 00:22:26.199 --> 00:22:26.899 it's the responsibility 00:22:26.899 --> 00:22:28.779 of more mature believers in the church 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:29.980 to confront sin 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:31.099 in the lives of those 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:31.939 who are less mature, 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:34.079 those who are straying away from God. 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:36.439 And in our context, 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:37.439 we avoid this. 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:38.480 We're scared of this 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:39.519 because we're worried that, 00:22:39.719 --> 00:22:40.359 oh, they're going to think 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:41.119 we're judgmental. 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:43.479 We're afraid that this is going to 00:22:43.479 --> 00:22:44.699 bring attention to us 00:22:44.699 --> 00:22:45.879 and of course, we're not perfect 00:22:45.879 --> 00:22:48.059 and I don't want the spotlight on me, right? 00:22:48.399 --> 00:22:49.159 So that's our attitude 00:22:49.159 --> 00:22:50.439 and we don't talk about sin. 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:52.579 But James 5, 19 to 20 says, 00:22:52.679 --> 00:22:53.739 if anyone among you 00:22:53.739 --> 00:22:54.959 wanders from the truth 00:22:54.959 --> 00:22:56.659 and someone brings him back, 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:57.799 let him know that 00:22:57.799 --> 00:22:59.279 whoever brings back a sinner 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:00.039 from his wandering 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:02.819 will save his soul from death 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.879 and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:23:06.459 --> 00:23:06.539 Right? 00:23:07.399 --> 00:23:10.219 We're saving a soul from death 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:11.960 when we recover a sinner 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:13.920 from the path of sin. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:15.620 So then when we say to ourselves, 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.620 oh, we can't delude ourselves 00:23:17.620 --> 00:23:18.880 into thinking we're being polite 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:20.640 when we refuse to address sin 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:21.779 in each other's lives. 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:22.740 We're not being polite. 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:24.460 We're being positively unloving. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:27.019 We're not being careful. 00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:29.440 We're being uncaring about these people. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:31.440 Of course, we have to exercise 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.600 love and humility. 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:35.680 We need to first examine our own sins 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:37.660 and be ready to confront our own sins 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:38.940 when we approach other believers. 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:40.720 We need to come in love. 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:43.900 We need to come not for the sake of judging 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:45.120 and for condemning, 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:46.220 but for the sake of love 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:47.360 so that we can grow together. 00:23:47.620 --> 00:23:49.559 We need to come with wisdom, right? 00:23:49.600 --> 00:23:51.080 Not bringing everything all at once, 00:23:51.140 --> 00:23:52.519 but we do it one at a time 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:54.259 and we find the right time 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:55.360 and opportunity for it. 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:57.240 And we make sure to take into account 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:58.539 that person's good things, 00:23:58.840 --> 00:24:00.200 the things that that person does well, 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:02.140 and perhaps the difficult circumstances 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:03.559 that may mitigate the sins 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:04.299 that they have committed. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:06.680 So we do all of these things, 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:08.240 yes, to make sure we do it wisely, 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:10.480 but we still have to do it. 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:12.120 We are called as a church, 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:13.160 as the family of God. 00:24:13.320 --> 00:24:15.220 We're responsible for each other. 00:24:17.140 --> 00:24:19.680 Now, even though Isaac, 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.060 so that's Isaac the dim-sided, 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:23.539 and even though Isaac intended 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:24.720 to bless Esau only, 00:24:25.080 --> 00:24:27.779 Rebecca, who was very shrewd 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:28.420 and industrious, 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:29.740 as we've found out before, 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:31.660 is not about to be outmaneuvered. 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:33.920 And so she intervenes on behalf 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:35.300 of her favorite son, Jacob, 00:24:35.300 --> 00:24:37.040 and now we turn to the final point, 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:38.120 Jacob the deceiver. 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:41.019 Read verses five to six with me. 00:24:41.100 --> 00:24:41.180 It says, 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:42.680 Now Rebecca was listening 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:45.300 when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:47.080 So when Esau went to the field 00:24:47.080 --> 00:24:48.380 to hunt for a game and bring it, 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:50.820 Rebecca said to her son, Jacob. 00:24:51.540 --> 00:24:53.540 Notice how Esau is described 00:24:53.540 --> 00:24:55.800 as his son, right? 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:59.300 And Jacob is described as her son, right? 00:24:59.299 --> 00:25:01.200 This highlights the alienation, 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:03.139 the rift within the family. 00:25:03.379 --> 00:25:05.480 Isaac is behaving as if Esau 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:06.460 is his only son, 00:25:06.899 --> 00:25:08.379 and Rebecca is behaving 00:25:08.379 --> 00:25:11.319 as if Jacob is her only son. 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:14.359 And so she comes up with this ruse 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:17.139 to have Jacob act like Esau 00:25:17.139 --> 00:25:18.259 to go in his place 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:19.460 and intercept the blessing 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.440 that's about to fall 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:22.500 on the older sibling. 00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:25.759 And when Jacob goes to deceive Isaac, 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:28.579 Isaac asks a series of questions. 00:25:28.579 --> 00:25:29.799 This is really dramatic 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:30.839 and fun to read 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:33.000 with just this rising tension. 00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:34.419 And with each question, 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.599 he ends with the probing word, 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:37.559 my son, 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:39.339 as if he's wondering 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:40.539 if this is really his son, 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:41.419 the son that he loves. 00:25:41.819 --> 00:25:42.419 So first, he said, 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.220 Who are you, my son? 00:25:44.639 --> 00:25:44.980 And second, 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.500 How is it that you have found 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:47.939 it so quickly, my son? 00:25:48.419 --> 00:25:49.619 Third, and please come near 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:51.659 that I may feel you, my son. 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:53.639 And then it almost seems like 00:25:53.639 --> 00:25:55.279 he's about to be discovered, right? 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:56.619 He's just, 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:58.619 he recognizes that 00:25:58.619 --> 00:25:59.799 this is Jacob's voice, 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:01.639 but he has Esau's hands. 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:04.240 And so Isaac doesn't quite recognize it. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.200 And when he smells the clothes of Esau 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:07.279 that Jacob had put on, 00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:09.500 he does bless Jacob 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:11.240 instead of Esau. 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:12.660 And oh, 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:14.559 when Esau comes back, 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.899 it's such a sad, 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:17.319 sad and poignant, 00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:18.519 that paragraph. 00:26:19.139 --> 00:26:20.899 It's with so much emotion. 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:22.399 And you can't help but feel for him, 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:22.660 right? 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:24.040 He just cries out. 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:25.380 This is a real person. 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:27.120 He lost his birthright. 00:26:27.360 --> 00:26:28.660 Now he loses his blessing. 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.640 And so he yells out, 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:32.440 he cries out, 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:32.700 he says, 00:26:32.820 --> 00:26:34.640 Oh, isn't he rightly named Jacob? 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:35.980 For he has cheated me 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:37.620 these two times. 00:26:37.620 --> 00:26:39.820 The word cheat is a pawn on Jacob's name. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:41.680 It looks like the name Jacob, 00:26:41.840 --> 00:26:43.380 spelled like the name Jacob. 00:26:44.300 --> 00:26:45.500 And he emphasized that 00:26:45.500 --> 00:26:46.759 he took it from him twice. 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.180 He took away my birthright. 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:50.480 And now he has taken away my blessing. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:51.000 Jacob, 00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:52.200 the deceiver, 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:52.680 right? 00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:54.259 He's a cheater. 00:26:54.900 --> 00:26:56.180 And he is a taker. 00:26:58.460 --> 00:27:00.680 And because Isaac was not 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.599 blessing his sons conventionally, 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.960 but was intending only to bless Esau, 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:06.559 now there's nothing left 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:08.759 when Jacob takes Esau's blessing 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:09.640 for Esau. 00:27:09.860 --> 00:27:10.779 And his blessing 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:11.920 almost reads like a curse, 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:12.240 right? 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:13.599 So there's nothing left for him. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:18.259 And unsurprisingly, 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.619 Esau holds a grudge 00:27:19.619 --> 00:27:21.279 and like Cain, 00:27:21.459 --> 00:27:22.579 wants to kill his brother. 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:24.659 And so Rebecca intervenes again 00:27:24.659 --> 00:27:25.759 to send him off 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.399 so that he could find a wife. 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:28.559 And it seems like 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:29.759 because this narrative 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:30.679 begins and ends 00:27:30.679 --> 00:27:31.439 with the story 00:27:31.439 --> 00:27:33.219 about Esau's foreign wives, 00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:34.439 that seems to be 00:27:34.439 --> 00:27:35.559 the main human reason 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:36.179 that is given 00:27:36.179 --> 00:27:39.359 for Esau's being disinherited. 00:27:40.139 --> 00:27:40.379 And now, 00:27:40.479 --> 00:27:41.619 so Jacob gets sent out 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:42.559 so that he can find 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:43.319 a proper wife, 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:44.359 a wife that can help him 00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:44.859 to serve 00:27:44.859 --> 00:27:45.679 and to continue 00:27:45.679 --> 00:27:47.719 the promises of God. 00:27:47.939 --> 00:27:49.339 And as Isaac blesses him, 00:27:49.379 --> 00:27:50.639 he says in verses 3 to 4 00:27:50.639 --> 00:27:52.259 of chapter 28, 00:27:52.639 --> 00:27:54.079 God Almighty bless you 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:55.000 and make you fruitful 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.119 and multiply you 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:57.000 that you may become 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.139 a company of souls 00:27:58.139 --> 00:27:59.759 and give the blessing 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:00.819 of Abraham to you 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:02.099 and to your offspring with you 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:03.519 that you may take possession 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:04.199 of the land 00:28:04.199 --> 00:28:05.000 of your sojournings 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:07.199 that God gave to Abraham. 00:28:08.399 --> 00:28:08.879 Now, 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:10.339 you probably recognize 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.319 a lot of the words here 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:13.099 because it's almost verbatim, 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:13.519 right, 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:15.419 like what the blessings 00:28:15.419 --> 00:28:16.779 that God had given to Abraham. 00:28:17.419 --> 00:28:18.719 And so this is highlighting 00:28:18.719 --> 00:28:19.099 the fact that 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:20.119 what the blessing 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:21.039 that Jacob received 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:23.339 earlier from Isaac, 00:28:23.679 --> 00:28:24.879 the blessing that he finagled 00:28:24.879 --> 00:28:25.599 to get, right, 00:28:25.639 --> 00:28:27.099 that's not the blessing 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:27.639 of Abraham. 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:29.179 This is the blessing 00:28:29.179 --> 00:28:29.699 of Abraham. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:30.939 He's, you know, 00:28:31.719 --> 00:28:32.779 acting frantically, 00:28:32.919 --> 00:28:33.779 trying to get everything 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:34.539 and acquire everything 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:35.659 so that he could advance himself. 00:28:35.939 --> 00:28:37.000 But this blessing, 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:38.119 the amazing covenant 00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:39.119 of God with Abraham, 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:40.019 comes to him, 00:28:40.159 --> 00:28:41.199 right, 00:28:41.319 --> 00:28:42.119 he doesn't have to, 00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:42.659 he's not the, 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.740 he doesn't have to deceive 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:45.319 in order to get it. 00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:47.119 And then when God 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:47.839 appears to him, 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.819 he confirms these promises 00:28:49.819 --> 00:28:51.740 in chapter 28, 00:28:51.819 --> 00:28:53.579 verses 13 to 15. 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:56.279 And so this brings us back 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:57.720 to the question we asked. 00:28:57.919 --> 00:28:58.539 This cheating, 00:28:58.839 --> 00:28:59.740 swindling fellow 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:01.460 is the designator 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:03.639 of Abraham's promises. 00:29:04.379 --> 00:29:04.939 Why? 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:10.440 What makes Jacob so much better 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:11.240 and more deserving 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:11.820 than Esau? 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:14.240 Yeah, Esau despised 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:15.039 his birthright, 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:15.779 but Jacob, 00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:17.860 he deceived his own father 00:29:17.860 --> 00:29:18.720 and defrauded 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:19.820 his own brother. 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:21.019 What makes him 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:22.039 so special? 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:23.620 And the answer 00:29:23.620 --> 00:29:24.299 to the question, 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:25.259 as I said in the beginning, 00:29:25.320 --> 00:29:26.680 is God saves 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:27.980 sinful people 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:29.000 according to 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:30.860 his sovereign grace. 00:29:31.439 --> 00:29:32.419 In Romans 9, 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:33.479 Paul answers 00:29:33.479 --> 00:29:34.019 a quandary 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:34.679 that faced 00:29:34.679 --> 00:29:36.019 first century Christians 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:37.179 because he asks, 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:38.659 why did so many 00:29:38.659 --> 00:29:39.379 of the Jews, 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:40.859 God's chosen people, 00:29:41.199 --> 00:29:42.419 reject the Messiah 00:29:42.419 --> 00:29:42.919 he sent, 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:43.579 Jesus Christ? 00:29:43.659 --> 00:29:44.419 Why don't they believe 00:29:44.419 --> 00:29:44.839 in Jesus? 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:46.579 Did God's promise 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:48.079 to God's people, 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:48.619 Israel, 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:49.099 fail? 00:29:49.639 --> 00:29:50.579 And Paul answers 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:51.059 this question 00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:51.740 by saying this. 00:29:51.779 --> 00:29:52.039 He says, 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:53.159 no, it has not failed 00:29:53.159 --> 00:29:54.679 for not all 00:29:54.679 --> 00:29:55.419 who are descended 00:29:55.419 --> 00:29:56.079 from Israel 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:57.199 belong to Israel 00:29:57.199 --> 00:29:58.159 and not all 00:29:58.159 --> 00:29:59.259 are children of Abraham 00:29:59.259 --> 00:29:59.859 because they are 00:29:59.859 --> 00:30:00.619 his offspring. 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:01.779 But through Isaac 00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:02.659 shall your offspring 00:30:02.659 --> 00:30:03.240 be named. 00:30:03.699 --> 00:30:04.500 This means that 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:05.339 it is not the children 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:05.979 of the flesh 00:30:05.979 --> 00:30:06.619 who are the children 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:06.959 of God, 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:07.439 but the children 00:30:07.439 --> 00:30:08.219 of the promise 00:30:08.219 --> 00:30:09.019 are counted 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:10.099 as offspring. 00:30:10.219 --> 00:30:10.740 You guys following 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:11.339 his argument? 00:30:11.979 --> 00:30:12.799 He's saying basically, 00:30:12.919 --> 00:30:13.259 you know what, 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:13.939 it's Abraham 00:30:13.939 --> 00:30:15.639 had more than one son, 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:17.240 but only Isaac 00:30:17.240 --> 00:30:17.959 is the offspring 00:30:17.959 --> 00:30:18.459 through whom 00:30:18.459 --> 00:30:18.979 his promise 00:30:18.979 --> 00:30:19.959 is fulfilled. 00:30:20.419 --> 00:30:21.319 So that shows us 00:30:21.319 --> 00:30:22.579 that this promise 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:23.399 is given not 00:30:23.399 --> 00:30:24.859 to the fleshly descendants, 00:30:25.399 --> 00:30:26.619 the biological descendants, 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:27.539 but to the spiritual 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:28.679 descendants of Abraham. 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:30.019 And so then Paul's 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:30.579 argument is, 00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:32.079 it's not the ethnic Jews 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:33.259 who are the exclusive 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:34.359 heirs to God's promise, 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:35.500 but it's all those 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:36.779 who have faith in Jesus, 00:30:36.939 --> 00:30:37.799 who believe in him, 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:40.259 are heirs to the Abrahamic promise. 00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:42.399 And he uses then 00:30:42.399 --> 00:30:43.740 the example of Jacob 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:44.220 and Esau 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:45.059 to prove his point 00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:46.439 in chapter 9 of Romans 00:30:46.439 --> 00:30:47.460 verses 10 to 16. 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:47.799 He says, 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:49.500 When Rebekah had conceived 00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:50.720 children by one man, 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:51.839 our forefather Isaac, 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:53.639 though they were not yet born 00:30:53.639 --> 00:30:55.399 and had done nothing, 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:56.599 either good or bad, 00:30:56.819 --> 00:30:58.419 in order that God's purpose 00:30:58.419 --> 00:30:59.940 of election might continue, 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:01.419 not because of works, 00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:02.339 but because of him 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:02.980 who calls, 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:03.960 she was told, 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:05.319 the older will serve 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:05.859 the younger. 00:31:06.419 --> 00:31:07.180 As it is written, 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:08.180 Jacob I loved, 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:09.159 but Esau I hated. 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:10.980 What shall we say then? 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:12.200 Is there injustice 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:13.019 on God's part? 00:31:13.019 --> 00:31:14.500 By no means, 00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:15.519 for he says to Moses, 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.519 I will have mercy 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:17.500 on whom I have mercy, 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:18.839 and I will have compassion 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:20.279 on whom I have compassion. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:21.660 So then it depends 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:23.160 not on human will 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:24.039 or exertion, 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:25.059 but on God 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:26.859 who has mercy. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:29.359 To put it simply, 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:33.299 why did God choose Jacob? 00:31:33.639 --> 00:31:35.019 Not because Jacob 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:36.180 was more deserving, 00:31:36.879 --> 00:31:38.339 but because of his 00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:39.319 sovereign grace, 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:40.700 because he chose 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:41.599 to show grace 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:42.480 to Jacob 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:44.000 in his sovereign wisdom 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.019 and will. 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:46.700 Just as it is 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:48.000 the donor's prerogative 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.960 to choose which charity 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:51.360 he gives his money to, 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:52.599 he gives his wealth away to, 00:31:52.940 --> 00:31:54.339 it's God's prerogative 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:54.839 to choose 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:56.900 who he gives his grace to. 00:31:57.720 --> 00:31:58.500 And we wonder, 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:00.180 why doesn't just God 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:01.880 make this a free-for-all? 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:03.099 Make every man, 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:04.220 every woman compete 00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:05.400 for his grace, 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:05.960 his gift. 00:32:06.500 --> 00:32:08.440 So may the best man win, 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:09.339 may the best woman win, 00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:10.500 whoever obeys the best, 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:11.900 whoever believes the most, 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:13.100 whoever does the most 00:32:13.100 --> 00:32:13.920 good things on earth, 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:15.280 why doesn't he make them, 00:32:15.340 --> 00:32:16.080 why doesn't he give them 00:32:16.080 --> 00:32:16.600 good gifts? 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.900 And this is the reason, 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:18.320 he says, 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:19.140 because, 00:32:19.380 --> 00:32:20.860 so that it depends not 00:32:20.860 --> 00:32:22.000 on human will 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.000 or exertion, 00:32:23.120 --> 00:32:24.019 but on God 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:25.400 who has mercy. 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:28.720 Because if the grace of God 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:29.620 is a wage 00:32:29.620 --> 00:32:30.320 that we earn 00:32:30.320 --> 00:32:31.380 through our efforts, 00:32:31.580 --> 00:32:32.740 then who gets the credit 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:33.800 and who gets the glory? 00:32:34.120 --> 00:32:34.640 The worker. 00:32:35.280 --> 00:32:36.000 He earned it. 00:32:36.060 --> 00:32:36.519 It's his, 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:37.220 rightfully his. 00:32:37.280 --> 00:32:38.200 He gets all the glory. 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:39.519 But if God gives 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:40.620 his grace freely, 00:32:41.019 --> 00:32:41.720 if he gives, 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.759 not because it's earned, 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.140 but he gives it as a gift, 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:45.460 then who gets the glory? 00:32:46.019 --> 00:32:46.680 God does, 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:48.519 because it's his generosity 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:49.340 that's highlighted, 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:51.180 not our industriousness, 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:52.380 not our obedience, 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:53.819 not our good deeds, 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:55.920 not our incredible intelligence. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:01.240 That's the reason 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:02.279 why God saves 00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:03.200 sinful people 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:04.720 according to 00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:06.240 his sovereign grace. 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:07.519 And how did God 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:08.500 carry out that plan? 00:33:08.620 --> 00:33:10.500 How did God save people? 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:12.480 He did it through 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:14.579 Abraham and Isaac 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:15.519 and Jacob. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:16.200 He did it through 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:17.140 David and Solomon. 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:17.900 He did it through 00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:19.420 Joseph and Mary. 00:33:19.579 --> 00:33:21.019 Through these sinful people, 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:23.140 the sinless son of man, 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:24.000 Jesus Christ, 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:24.819 was born. 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:25.880 He was son of man 00:33:25.880 --> 00:33:26.960 and son of God. 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:28.299 And he is uniquely 00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:29.140 able to save us 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:29.859 because he says 00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:30.920 in John 1.51, 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:31.720 he alludes 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:32.799 to this dream 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:33.480 that Jacob had 00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:34.299 above the ladder 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:35.220 of the angels 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:35.960 going up and down 00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:36.259 the ladder 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:37.039 connecting heaven 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:37.440 to earth. 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:38.319 And he says 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:39.120 this about himself, 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:39.799 truly, truly, 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:40.740 I say to you, 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:41.819 you will see 00:33:41.819 --> 00:33:42.700 heaven opened 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:43.579 and the angels 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:44.620 of God ascending 00:33:44.620 --> 00:33:45.559 and descending 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:47.579 on the son of man. 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:48.120 That's him. 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:48.640 That's Jesus. 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:49.600 He's the son of man. 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.819 What he's saying 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:51.400 then is this, 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:52.519 I am the ladder 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:53.259 that connects 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:54.360 heaven to earth. 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:55.960 I am Bethel, 00:33:56.019 --> 00:33:56.860 the house of God 00:33:56.860 --> 00:33:57.319 through which 00:33:57.319 --> 00:33:57.940 you can come 00:33:57.940 --> 00:33:58.680 to know God 00:33:58.680 --> 00:33:59.940 and to worship God. 00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:01.220 And why is Jesus 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:01.960 able to do that? 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.740 Because he is 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:03.559 the son of man 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:04.500 so he can represent 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:05.099 humanity 00:34:05.099 --> 00:34:05.900 and he's also 00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:06.720 the son of God 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:07.539 so he can represent 00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:08.480 God. 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:09.659 And because of that 00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:10.679 he can die 00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:11.579 for our sins 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:13.139 as his atoning sacrifice 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:14.420 and lift sinners 00:34:14.420 --> 00:34:15.019 of earth 00:34:15.019 --> 00:34:15.800 to heaven 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:16.659 through his death 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:17.539 and resurrection. 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:18.559 That's what Jesus 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:18.860 does. 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.679 That's how he saves 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:21.519 us 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:22.460 by his sovereign 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:23.239 grace. 00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:25.400 If you're 00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:26.219 not yet 00:34:26.219 --> 00:34:27.119 a follower of Jesus, 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:27.880 if this is new 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:28.300 to you, 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:28.699 right, 00:34:29.019 --> 00:34:30.659 then you have 00:34:30.659 --> 00:34:31.440 probably at some point 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:31.780 in your life 00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:32.380 looked around 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.000 at Christians 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:33.800 and said to yourself, 00:34:34.200 --> 00:34:34.880 who do they think 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:35.300 they are? 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:36.039 They think they're 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:36.559 so much better 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:36.840 than me. 00:34:36.900 --> 00:34:37.320 They think they're 00:34:37.320 --> 00:34:37.740 going to heaven 00:34:37.740 --> 00:34:38.180 and I'm going 00:34:38.180 --> 00:34:38.599 to hell. 00:34:39.740 --> 00:34:40.539 But I'm here 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:40.980 to tell you 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:42.800 that we don't 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:43.460 think that we're 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:44.119 so much better 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:44.480 than you. 00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:45.579 We really don't. 00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:46.820 We believe 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:47.559 that we're saved 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:48.260 not because we 00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:48.720 deserve it 00:34:48.720 --> 00:34:49.180 or because we're 00:34:49.180 --> 00:34:49.760 better than anyone 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:50.440 else but because 00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:51.119 of God's 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:52.220 sovereign grace. 00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:53.539 We believe 00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:54.140 that he gets 00:34:54.140 --> 00:34:54.760 all the credit 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:55.440 not us. 00:34:57.680 --> 00:34:58.180 And this is 00:34:58.180 --> 00:34:58.619 what it means 00:34:58.619 --> 00:34:59.200 to be chosen 00:34:59.200 --> 00:34:59.480 by God. 00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:00.860 This is how 00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:01.300 you can know 00:35:01.300 --> 00:35:01.579 that you're 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:02.220 chosen by God. 00:35:02.219 --> 00:35:03.919 humble yourself. 00:35:04.419 --> 00:35:05.019 Acknowledge your 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:05.619 need and your 00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:06.919 sinfulness and say 00:35:06.919 --> 00:35:08.159 I need Jesus, 00:35:08.359 --> 00:35:08.899 his atoning 00:35:08.899 --> 00:35:10.000 sacrifice so that 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:10.619 I can be 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:11.759 cleansed, so that 00:35:11.759 --> 00:35:12.519 I can be lifted 00:35:12.519 --> 00:35:13.119 up to the 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:13.859 presence of God. 00:35:14.359 --> 00:35:14.980 That's what it is 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:15.339 and when you 00:35:15.339 --> 00:35:15.899 believe that, 00:35:15.959 --> 00:35:16.379 when you cling 00:35:16.379 --> 00:35:16.819 to Christ, 00:35:16.899 --> 00:35:17.279 that means you're 00:35:17.279 --> 00:35:17.839 part of his 00:35:17.839 --> 00:35:18.539 chosen people. 00:35:19.959 --> 00:35:20.639 And if you're 00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:21.319 already a Christian 00:35:21.319 --> 00:35:21.959 then the gospel 00:35:21.959 --> 00:35:22.679 should be a source 00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:23.519 of great peace 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:24.099 and assurance 00:35:24.099 --> 00:35:25.500 for us. 00:35:26.679 --> 00:35:27.480 Maybe you're a 00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:28.299 little bit like 00:35:28.299 --> 00:35:29.099 Jacob, the 00:35:29.099 --> 00:35:29.500 deceiver. 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:31.300 I can identify 00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:31.760 with Jacob 00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:32.239 probably more 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:32.739 than any other 00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:33.519 character in this 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:34.059 story. 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:35.699 Maybe your life 00:35:35.699 --> 00:35:36.300 is wracked by 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:37.300 fear and anxiety. 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:37.900 You're always 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:39.039 plotting and 00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:39.539 planning, 00:35:40.099 --> 00:35:40.960 worrying and 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:41.920 stressing and 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:42.599 running around 00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:43.340 and getting things 00:35:43.340 --> 00:35:43.579 done. 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:45.039 Maybe you're 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:45.539 always thinking 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:46.280 about, you know, 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:46.980 worried about 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:47.760 saying the right 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:48.880 things and doing 00:35:48.880 --> 00:35:49.599 the right things 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:50.960 because if you 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:51.659 don't, you think 00:35:51.659 --> 00:35:52.400 that everything's 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:53.320 going to be ruined. 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:54.179 It's going to be 00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:54.960 messed up. 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:58.720 Maybe you're so 00:35:58.720 --> 00:35:59.220 fearful of 00:35:59.220 --> 00:35:59.860 messing things up 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:00.300 that you're 00:36:00.300 --> 00:36:01.240 paralyzed, you're 00:36:01.240 --> 00:36:02.019 indecisive. 00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:03.199 Or maybe you 00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:03.720 have messed 00:36:03.720 --> 00:36:04.380 things up and 00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:04.980 then now you're 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:05.980 taking a sledgehammer 00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:07.139 to yourself with 00:36:07.139 --> 00:36:09.159 guilt, condemnation. 00:36:11.940 --> 00:36:12.800 Jacob's story 00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:13.519 teaches us that 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:14.220 no matter how 00:36:14.220 --> 00:36:15.019 frantically you 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:15.599 try to control 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:16.460 every aspect of 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:17.360 your life, you 00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:18.019 are not the 00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:18.659 master of your 00:36:18.659 --> 00:36:19.159 own fate. 00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:20.340 The Lord 00:36:20.340 --> 00:36:20.720 is. 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:25.000 And like 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:25.939 Abraham and 00:36:25.939 --> 00:36:26.519 Isaac and 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:27.119 Jacob, we 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:28.819 will fail and 00:36:28.819 --> 00:36:30.259 we will fall. 00:36:30.579 --> 00:36:31.439 But through it 00:36:31.439 --> 00:36:31.859 all, if you 00:36:31.859 --> 00:36:32.459 have entrusted 00:36:32.459 --> 00:36:33.239 your life to 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:33.939 God, you can 00:36:33.939 --> 00:36:35.519 know that God's 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:36.799 good plan for 00:36:36.799 --> 00:36:37.419 you, his 00:36:37.419 --> 00:36:38.319 sovereign will 00:36:38.319 --> 00:36:39.399 will prevail. 00:36:41.179 --> 00:36:42.019 No human 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:43.179 weakness can 00:36:43.179 --> 00:36:44.659 thwart the will 00:36:44.659 --> 00:36:45.579 of the sovereign 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:46.019 God. 00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:49.179 So then, rest 00:36:49.179 --> 00:36:49.959 in Jesus if 00:36:49.959 --> 00:36:50.199 you're a 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:50.419 Christian. 00:36:50.420 --> 00:36:51.019 I ask you. 00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:52.000 Rest in him. 00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:52.880 Entrust yourself 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:53.300 to him. 00:36:53.579 --> 00:36:54.280 Because God 00:36:54.280 --> 00:36:55.200 saves sinful 00:36:55.200 --> 00:36:56.360 people according 00:36:56.360 --> 00:36:56.740 to his 00:36:56.740 --> 00:36:57.340 sovereign grace. 00:36:57.720 --> 00:36:58.180 Let's pray 00:36:58.180 --> 00:36:58.519 together. 00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:08.559 God, we're so 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:10.800 grateful that 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:11.820 you have made 00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:13.200 salvation up to 00:37:13.200 --> 00:37:14.039 you and your 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:14.860 grace and not 00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:16.200 up to us and 00:37:16.200 --> 00:37:16.880 our works. 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:21.960 stranger to 00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:22.960 here. 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.200 Because if your 00:37:24.200 --> 00:37:24.639 course of 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:25.300 justice had 00:37:25.300 --> 00:37:27.579 its way, we 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:28.720 should not know 00:37:28.720 --> 00:37:29.240 salvation. 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:34.039 No one can 00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:34.559 save themselves. 00:37:35.280 --> 00:37:36.099 No one is good 00:37:36.099 --> 00:37:36.400 enough. 00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:38.180 So we thank you 00:37:38.180 --> 00:37:38.920 for your grace. 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:41.019 We thank you for 00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:42.960 your mercy, that 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:43.599 you have saved 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:44.240 us and that it 00:37:44.240 --> 00:37:45.320 does not depend 00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:46.139 an iota on 00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:54.799 our will or exertion, but on your grace and mercy. We give you all the praise. Help us to live in 00:37:54.799 --> 00:38:01.420 light of that, and may that truth free us. Help us to live in your grace and in faith in your 00:38:01.420 --> 00:38:07.159 sovereignty, not in guilt, condemnation, and a frantic attempt to control our lives and our 00:38:07.159 --> 00:38:12.559 environment and our surroundings. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.