The God of Jacob
May 9, 2021 2021-05-09 Brandi-Michelle Rhodes Genesis 25:19-34A Mother's Day sermon continuing the series on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, turning to Genesis 25:19-34 and the story of Rebecca's twins Esau and Jacob, including Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of stew.
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Well, good morning. I'm not been. Happy Mother's Day everybody. Oh, I get to take this off. So, that's cool. Happy Mother's Day. Love it, your guys are here. I feel excited that I get to preach on Mother's Day, you know. It's not any pressure at all. The last few weeks we're continuing in the Easter season
and we've been talking recently about Abraham and Isaac. Today we're going to talk about Jacob and we've been mentioning how the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is also our God and what that actually means for us. Ben started us out with Abraham and reminded us that this covenant, this promise, was made to Abraham who was part of the lower wrong of society, the Hukkuri people. There was no real reason
that God chose Abraham except that he wanted to, except that he loved Abraham and decided that this is where he was going to start, this new promise, this covenant of his people. And then we found out from Aaron he was talking about Isaac and how Sarah thought it was pretty funny. In fact, Steven laughed when she was told that she would have a child at the age of 90, which is even for back then, pretty old, actually.
So, she laughed about it and Isaac was actually named Laughter and she tried to manipulate the situation at first when the Lord came to her and gave Hagar her servant to Abraham thinking this is the way that the Lord wanted to accomplish this, but God in fact did it and wanted to do it through Sarah. And Isaac is a reminder to us about the faithfulness of God and how the Lord continued this covenant. We only lost Isaac.
He was about to be sacrificed and then in the nick of time, on the perfect time the Lord brought a lamb and Isaac's place and God remembered the covenant. He reminded Abraham of the covenant and he continued that faithfulness through Isaac's life. And Isaac who married Rebecca is now kind of moving forward and Isaac is 40 years old and Rebecca
is 20 years old when they get married. I think it's kind of interesting because we lose some of those numbers and scriptures, but Rebecca was actually barren for 20 years and it's not until she's 40. So, I turned 40 this year so I'm like, if I was pregnant, I mean, I already had three kids. It's kind of interesting to be pregnant again at age 40. My mom's mom was 40 when she had my mom. So, I think about that in what that means to be pregnant at 40. And
after being parent for 20 years, Isaac actually goes to God and out of his love for his wife, praise the Lord and the Lord opens her womb. And that's when we are going to start our story today, this, for children. So, if you want to turn with me to Genesis 25 and we're going to go to verses 19 through 34. Just so you guys know, I am
reading this morning from the message. I love how the message brings to life scripture and it kind of tells it in a story format and I think as we're reading about the Lord and this is a story and so I think it's really beautifully written in the scripture as taken from the Greek. Alright, so we're in Genesis 25, 19 through 34. It says, this is the family tree of Isaac, son of Abraham.
Abraham had Isaac. Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca, daughter of the school, the Airmen of Patton Arom. She was the sister of Laban, the Airmen. Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. Got answered his prayer and Rebecca became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, if this is the way it's going to be, why go on living? A little dramatic there, Rebecca. She went to God to find out what was going on.
And God told her, two nations are in your womb, two people butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other and the older will serve the younger. So already the children are fighting and they don't even, they haven't even exited into the world. And they're already arguing. Alright, so when the time of birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish as if nuggly, wrapped in a hairy blanket. They named him Esau, hairy. So funny, can you picture that in your brain
like this, hairy kid? His brother followed his fifth clutch, tight to Esau's heel. They named him Jacob, heel. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. The boys grew up. Esau became an expert hunter and outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man, preferring life indoors among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he loved his game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field starved. Esau said to Jacob, give me some of that red stew
I'm starved. That's how he came to be called, eat him, red. Jacob said, make me a trade. My stew for your rights is first form. Esau said, I'm starving. What good is a birthright if I'm dead? Jacob said, first, swear to me. And he did it. On oath, Esau traded the way it's right since the first form. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That's how Esau shrugged off his first form.
There's a lot that transpires in this story. Genesis gives us a lot more detail than some of the book's survival, but there's a lot that kind of happens. They have been born. For whatever reason, we don't really know why. Rebecca prefers Jacob. You're not supposed to have favorites as kids, and I don't think we do, but I feel like there might have been some kind of connection, maybe between Rebecca and Jacob. The script is called
Rebecca's stunningly beautiful when Isis met her. And I imagine considering he wasn't hairy, like Esau, and wasn't covered like Chewbacca. Maybe he was inside more. I'm picturing Rebecca cooking a lot, and obviously he knew how to cook. Maybe there was some kind of connection that the two of them have. And for whatever reason, Rebecca favored Jacob while
Esau was favored by Isis. And then we have the story that we learn more about the character of who Jacob is. And it's interesting because Esau seems to shirk this first born birthright so easily. And there's so many different things that we can learn about all of this whole passage of scripture, but I think that it's noteworthy to see how easily Esau
just gave it away. He just, we were hungry. We do a lot of things when we're hungry. You know we say silly things when we're hungry. But Jacob knew the weight of this first right. The birthright is different than a blessing. We're going to talk about that in a little bit, but the birthright was the inheritance of the first born. So it was not mandatory that you give it to the first born, but that was the right of the first born that Esau just gave away.
So Jacob tricked him, and we're going to find out a little bit more about his trickery in the next part. Let's read Genesis 27. I'm going to read this a lot. Okay, so you can follow along or you can pretend like it's story time and just listen. When Isaac had become an old man and was nearly blind, he called his eldest son. Esau said, my son. Yes, father?
I'm an old man, he said. I might die any day now. Do me a favor. Get your quiver of arrows and your bow and go out in the country and hunt me some games. Then fix me a hearty meal, the kind that you know I like and bring it to me so that I can eat and give you my personal blessing before I die. Rebecca was eavesdropping as Isaac spoke to his son, Esau. As soon as Esau had gone off to the country to hunt gain for his father, Rebecca spoke to her son, Jacob. I just overheard your father talking with your brother, Esau. He said, bring me some gain and
fix me a hearty meal so that I can eat and bless you with God's blessing before I die. Now my son, listen to me. Do what I tell you. Go to the flock and get me two young goats. Pick the bed. I'll prepare them into a hearty meal, the kind your father loves. Then you'll take it to your father, he'll eat and bless you before he dies. But mother, Jacob said, my brother Esau is a hairy man and I have smooth skin. What happens if my father touches me? He'll think I'm playing games with him. I'll bring down a curse on myself
instead of a blessing. If it comes to that, said the mother, I'll take the curse on myself. Now just do what I say. Go and get the goats. So he went and got them and brought them to his mother and she cooked the hearty meal, the kind his father loved so much. Rebecca took the dress up clothes of her older stud Esau and put them on her younger son, Jacob. She took the goat skin and covered his hands and the smooth nape his neck and she placed the hearty meal she had fixed. In fresh bread she baked into the hands of her son Jacob. He went to his father and said, my father.
Yes? He said. Which son are you? Jacob answered his father, I'm your first foreign son Esau. I did what you told me. Come now. Sit up and eat my games. You can give me your personal blessing. As it said, so soon how did you get it so quickly? Because your God cleared the way for me. As it said, come close son. Let me touch you. Are you really my son Esau? So Jacob moved close to his father Isaac.
Isaac felt him and said, the voice is Jacob's voice but the hands of the hands of Esau. He didn't recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau. But as he was about to bless him he pressured him. You're sure you are my son Esau? Yes I am. Isaac said, bring me food so I can eat of my son's game and give you my blessing. Jacob brought it to him and he ate. He also brought him wine and he drank. Then Isaac said, come close son and kiss me.
He came close and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes. Finally he blessed him. And this was the blessing. The smell of my son is like the smell of the open country blessed by God. May God give you of heaven's dew and earth's bounty of the brain and wine. May people serve you and nations honor you. You will master your brothers and your mother's sons will honor you. Those who curse you will be cursed. Those who bless you will be blessed.
And then right after Isaac had blessed Jacob and Jacob had left Esau showed up from the hunt. He also had to prepare to hardy meal. He came to his father and said, let my father get up in eat of your son's game. But he may give his personal blessing. His father Isaac said, and who are you? I'm your son, your first son born Esau. Isaac started a tremble, shaking violently. He said, then who hunted game and brought it to me? I finished the meal just now before you walked in and
I blessed him. He blessed for good. Esau hearing his father's words saw violently and most bitterly and cried to his father. My father, can't you also bless me? He said, came here falsely and took your blessing. Esau said, not for nothing that he was named Jacob the heel. Twice now he's tricked me. First he took my birthright and now he's taking my blessing. He begged, haven't you kept back anything for me, any blessing for me? Isaac answered Esau.
I've made him your master and all his brothers his servants and lavished strain and wine on him. I've given it all away. What's left for you my son? But don't you just have one blessing for me father? Oh bless me my father, bless me. Esau sobbed inconsolably. Isaac said to him, you'll live far from earth down east. Remote from heaven's dew. You'll live by your sword, hands and mouth, and you'll serve your brother but when you can't take it anymore you'll break loose and run free.
That is hard. That is rough because even I can, I feel, you feel like the angst in Esau. Like he knows now like the significance of the blessing. Maybe he jerks off his birthright but the blessing was significant because it was not only continued on the inheritance but it also was not only ! I feel like the angst in Esau. He knows now the significance of the blessing. Maybe he jerks off his birthright but the blessing was significant because it was not only continued on the inheritance but it also spoke into
the life that he would live. A lot of times these blessings were prophetic and it was in this instant. Isaac is speaking this prophecy over who would receive the blessing and what Jacob would now have and Esau is so distraught. I feel so bad for him because it just seems so wrong and so deceptive. And I'm picturing
what is taking place because Rebecca encouraged it and led her son to this deception and I can picture making the meal and putting the clothes on like it's some sort of a dress up outfit and then giving it to her husband, him giving it to his father, this blessing is coming and she's seeing her son Esau. Wherever he is making his own meal, getting prepared and right as
Jacob leaves, here comes his brothers. Here comes her other son who maybe it wasn't, she didn't have as much of a connection but she loved him clearly, right? That was her son. But for whatever reason the girl saw fit for Jacob to receive this blessing but he did it in such a manipulative and deceptive way. I don't know if you have ever been deceived or somebody has taken something that wasn't
rightfully yours but I feel like this is kind of the ultimate deception and as a result he saw it's so angry that he is going to kill his brother. So he's plotting this in his mind and Rebecca hears this, she does not want to lose her husband and one of her sons so she says to Isaac look I don't want our son
Jacob to marry one of these hit tight women, Esau by the way, had already married two of the women from Can who were a thorn in Rebecca's side maybe that even gave some credence as to why she wanted Jacob to have that lineage with this covenant. So Isaac says you're right and he sends them off, there we go with Jacob back to Rebecca's brother, Laban, in the land of Huron to get away from Esau who is so
angry he wants to kill him and then his story continues. As he's on the way to Huron to meet, to be with Laban, he stops in a place and he lays down and he takes a rock as a pillow and he sleeps on it and he has this dream Jacob does. He has this dream of these angels ascending and descending from heaven coming back and forth and then God speaks to him and he tells him
that he's made and he says I am going to bless the land that you're on and I'm going to make your people multiply and you are going to be the same father that was the father of Abraham and Isaac is I'm going to be your father, I'm going to be your God and your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and Jacob wakes up and he realizes like the Lord is in this place and he sets up a pillow and calls it special and then he moves on and he goes
to Laban's house and on the way there he stops by a well and he sees these shepherds there and the shepherds are all kind of hanging out with their and he is asking it's midday why aren't you here, why aren't you in the fields and they say well we're waiting for all the people because we have to have everyone here to move this big stone off of the top of the well and he asks oh
okay well have you heard of Laban and they know him and he asked if he's well and he says yes and they said actually there's his daughter coming along the way and she's coming with her sheep because she's also a shepherd as many women were back then and Rachel is in the distance and Jacob sees her and I'm just picturing this like papa moment where he like drinks the thing of spinach and all of a sudden he's got all these muscles and he just like moves the stone
off the top of the well and he does it by himself where before they had to have all the shepherds there just to move it and he is so excited to know that this is this is Laban's daughter she is beautiful and he is just instantly smitten with her who is also his cousin but you know that's okay back then so anyway that happens and if he goes to Laban and Laban embraces him and says yes you can stay
with me about a month goes by and Laban says I don't want you to work for free what can I give you and Jacob says how about if I work for you for seven years to have Rachel's hand in marriage and Laban's like yeah that sounds like a good deal and scripture says that as Jacob worked those seven years it felt like it was just a few days because he loves Rachel so much
and I think about that with my kids how like right now I have a 10 and an 8 and a 4 year old and they're some long days but it's come by so quickly like I look at their age and I can see why scripture says this because it has been so fast right? the girl is so fast and I feel like he was so in love with Rachel that working seven years was not a big deal it felt like a few days so marriage is seven years has happened
and we're calling everything into account and Laban says it's time for the wedding he throws this big piece and um the wedding night happens the next morning it is not Rachel who he has consummated the marriage with it is Leah and that's a shocker um for I think a lot of people I'm actually really interested in this story because I'm curious like did Rachel know did he like locker in a room one night
like did obviously he had to Laban had to confer this with Leah and make it okay but for whatever reason like there is um this happens and he wakes up and he's and Jacob is shocked um and I think that this is a good time to point out uh the deception that is trickling in this family that is just has gone
over and over and over and and just now like the deceiver has been deceived right with Jacob and it doesn't just start though with Jacob it actually started back with Abraham and Sarah do you remember when we talked about how Abraham tried to pass Sarah off as his sister to King of Bimalex and the same thing happens with Rebecca and Isaac to probably the same King of Bimalex saying the same thing this is my sister um and then here we have Rebecca
who is uh deceived her husband who has had her child also deceived her husband who who Jacob who has tricked his brother out of his birthright who has deceived his father who has gone to Laban Rebecca's brother who was also deceiving him like do you see the pattern that has happened in this family lineage um and it is reminding me of this as I was reading this scripture it reminded me of this note that I have
on my director and it says you will repeat what you don't repair and it is a reminder to me that this kept happening because of a lack of repairing the brokenness that was happening in their family like you will repeat what you don't repair the only thing is that God is still in all of it and despite all of the brokenness and the
deception like the Lord is still carrying out his covenant he's still carrying out the love he's still he is his plan is not thwarted because of what they have done God still is faithful to them so in those moments when you feel like uh you see something and maybe you know your family lineage or something in your children that you're like me oh wish that wasn't me that I'd stand
or I just said I wouldn't be like that but I'm like that there's the opportunity there there's the opportunity to repair it there's opportunity to have faith in the Lord that God is bigger than all of that that God is still working through all of it the deception is strong in this family but God is bigger than all of it okay we're going to move on what happens next with Jacob
after he is with he's with Leah and then Laban says okay I'll give you Rachel for another seven years so that's what happens after the honeymoon week with Leah he gives them Rachel and he has to work another seven years and this family continues to multiply right God continues to bless him God has made faithful to his promise everything that
Jacob touches just continues to thrive there's some like interesting talks about and some interesting like cheap mating practices that are happening with it doesn't matter whatever happens God is with Jacob and after some time 11 children later and a lot of animals and servants and Laban changes his demeanor towards Jacob and Jacob is visited by the Lord and says
it's time for you to go back so he gathers up everything gathers up his family his servants his cattle his sheep and he's ready and I think that after 20 years of being in her on he's ready to go back except for one thing Esau he's still there right Esau is still there and he
can't help but think what is happening with my brother after all this time like will he still be angry with me will he be fearful of me Jacob is full of fear just full of angst and so he says okay what I'm going to do is I'm going to separate all of what I have I'm going to separate all of my animals and the servants and we're just going to like kill him with kindness right so we're just going to send all these animals
and as a gift to Esau and maybe soften it up maybe he'll forgive me for that it's in this point that I feel like Adam has this change of heart right before he leaves and I actually really want to read it it's Genesis 32 and it's verses 9 and 10 it says and then Jacob prayed God my father Abraham God my father Isaac
God who told me go back to your parents homeland and I'll treat you well I don't deserve all the love and loyalty you've shown me when I left here and crossed the Jordan I only had the clothes on my back and now look at me to camp this is significant because God right here the God of Jacob is the significance for the God of us because God is redeeming him he's redeeming his story
he's sending him back to the land that he promised him and I feel like that is true to Jacob is for us the God of redemption verses 21 through 30 of chapter 32 says so his gifts went before him while he settled down for the night in the camp but during the night he got up and took his two wives his two maid servants and his 11 children across the four to the Chabach he got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions but Jacob stayed behind by himself and a man wrestled
with him until daybreak when the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled he deliberately threw Jacob's tip out of joint the man said let me go it's daybreak Jacob said I'm not letting you go so you bless me the man said what's your name he answered Jacob the man said but no longer your name is no longer Jacob from now on it's Israel God wrestler you've wrestled with God and you've come through and you've got some what's your name the man said why do you want to know my name
and then right then and there he blessed him Jacob named the place to kneel God's face because he said I saw God thanks to face and lived to tell the story God wrestled Jacob God redeemed Jacob he changed his name he changed his story he redeemed all that had been broken all of the lives the deception
he is now on this new journey back to the promise that the Lord started from the beginning with Abraham that continued through the facefulness of Isaac and now is being redeemed through Jacob and there is such a repentant heart and Jacob there's such an acknowledgement by Jacob of who God is and he wrestles with the Lord and I think that it's so interesting because there are times
in our lives there are seasons in our lives where things just aren't settled you know there are times I don't know if you've ever like had to go back to somewhere that you didn't just had a hard moment there you know maybe it was like high school maybe it was some time in your life that you just you remember it and it's just it eats at you it is difficult and I feel like this is like the dark night of the soul for Jacob
he's wrestling with the Lord and the Lord is blessing him through it and he sees at that time the significance of the blessing right because God is blessing and he won't even leave until God has blessed him and he does he changes him he changes his story in chapter 33 it says Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men he divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maid servants
he put the maid servants out in front Leah and her children next and Rachel and Joseph last he led the way and as he approached his brother bow seven times honoring his brother that Esau ran up and embraced him held in tight and kissed him and they both wept you know this is so beautiful
the story of redemption can you pick it up like his brothers said they're so mad at each other they're so angry they want to hurt each other and after all this time they have brought together the God is receiving Jacob that God is loving Jacob that God loved Esau he still made Esau multiply
Esau was still blessed he still had tons of people and servants and he even you know Jacob was giving all these gifts and Esau was like I don't need all this I'm good I'm you know flying high here but none of it mattered because there was this story of these two brothers that loved each other and it didn't end the same way for Cain and Abel right it ended this way for Jacob and Esau this beautiful
reconciliation this beautiful story of redemption and God wants to do that for us he wants to redeem us he wants to redeem our story he wants to redeem the broken places in our lives and this I'm going to end with the last thing that I think is interesting because in the New Testament there's a story of a certain woman by a certain well
that Jesus walks through and it's in Samaria and this American woman comes and Jesus meets her by the well and she says this is Jacob's well you you want water from Jacob's well this is in the land that Jacob gave Joseph his favorite son in that same place that God says I know you I know your story and he redeems it all again
I love that that's so beautiful it's like a complete picture you know God's still showing that even through Jesus like he's redeeming that story he's redeeming her and he redeems us I found her to categorize this God of Abraham and I feel like for us that that is a reminder that God is the God of promise and the God of Isaac is the God of faithfulness and the God of Jacob is the God of redemption
and I think that's what he wants to do for us and here's the other like cool thing that I was reading the story I love these couples Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca and Rachel and Jacob and there's one thing that keeps flowing through each of their story despite the manipulation and everything that they're trying to make this covenant happen and it is love
they love each other like scripture said they're not often a scripture that is talking about especially in the Old Testament it's mostly like he was the son of so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and
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