Jacob

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0:00 Okay, this is our last week in Genesis. It's not the end of Genesis. Of course, there's more in Genesis. We could probably maybe we'll go back to it one day. But we saw a lot of week in Genesis because we're starting to have a... This Wednesday, that is that Wednesday. You guys, this Wednesday is that Wednesday. The team... Tuesday is our pancake dinner for stroke Tuesday. You guys, up here.

0:31 So we're going to make pancakes at 6.30 or 2.00 in up here. And then at 7 we'll have, well, commemorate us Wednesday together. We'll be happy and we'll kick off and length. Excuse me, not end. Right? And then we're going into the next area that the assigned church reading for the season of Genesis, we prepare for Easter. So that's why it's a lot to be in Genesis. We could keep going, but length is hollow. So we're going to look at the story of Jacob today.

1:01 And just a reminder here as we kind of wrap up our time in the book of Genesis, of what we have when we look at the story of the Genesis. Alright, then we'll just go from the original beginning of humanity and creation and time. It has the very beginning of all things. And remember that we get that story, the beginning of all things, because Moses, as he's wandering in the desert for 40 years, waiting for the ultimate generation to pass away.

1:38 He's meeting with God in the sense of meeting and talking to us and then speaks to other men face to face and getting not a chronological or scientific history of the world. But the gods view story of the beginning of the world in order that God could reveal to Moses and through Moses to God people and through God's people to all of us, the character of God, our God, the God of creation and life. And now we find the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and then also the name of the God of Christ in the church.

2:11 Not any generic God, not some universal, it's embodied God, but the universal, intimate God knows personally through the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of Christ in the church. And so two weeks ago we talked about Abraham and the defining characteristics of Abraham, that he's the person who left sides of him good things. That really the call for humanity is to relax and let God be God.

2:42 It is a God, it's not you, and God is good. And Abraham for all his false failures and therapies accepted that reality. If there was the God's not him, God is good, let God be good things. And then lastly we talked about Isaac and the thing that struck me about Isaac was how down into the weeds of life, God, that Isaac is the patriarch of our faith, that his name goes next to the name of God.

3:18 And we want to know who our God is, if the God of Isaac. And yet God is working through cultural norms that might be objectionable for us. God is down in the midst of the peculiarities and the nuances of the culturally specific life that Isaac lives. And that Isaac lives in one small space, that there's a whole world growing and evolving around and outside of him, that Isaac never has any air accident.

3:51 He's the only patriarch that never needs the pain in him. And yet the God of the universe is caught up infinitely in the detail of the device. And the reason that interesting is that that means that your life has the room for the God of the universe to be caught up in its details. It doesn't have to be from universal glory. It can be a very particular story.

4:23 And this is where I look at the story of Jacob, which comes into Isaac's and actually bigger story. I like, I got distracted reading the story. Like, if you start in like 20, well, even if you go like the 27 or even before that, if you go down into the 10th century, you go into the 10th century, 25, you think it's the new historic Jacob of Christ.

4:56 If you go and you think out, we're going to like get bored of that and hit the end. But you don't. And the big story in benefit crosses several chapters and it's really cool to tell. But the place that I thought we would start, and we'll take a couple of past parts of the story, and take a couple of chapters, chapter 32, if you want to look there with me.

5:27 And Jacob has just, I don't want to say that he puffled his uncle out of stuff. And I don't all the way understand because I'm not like a shepherd. I don't know about how the breeding work for ghosts and teeth. But there's some kind of system Jacob works out there. He ends up with all the ghosts and teeth.

5:57 And if you play by the letter of the law, he didn't keep labing at all. But if you play by the spirit of the law, he definitely bent things towards his favor. And he took labing through daughters, both of them, right? Lacyl and Leah, grandkids and the dogs of his herds and leave times in the night. And labing is not because the only thing we would do that is if you were left with him and didn't want to get into trouble.

6:29 Otherwise, he would like to leave him celebrate and leave him from the family off to a new place. And folks maven the hunts and gowns, craftsmen. They're making movies fast. He's got all the turds with him and all the families and service. And they go as nomadic people, you know, but they got to bring everything with him. So they can't be moving fast, but it takes like seven days for labing to track him down. And then they have this altercation and it's kind of like they kind of they reach in a great form kind of back and forth.

7:02 If you get most of the conversation. So by the time those are just riding in the bedroom, must have been still remembered pretty well. Like, because if you get most of the story back and forth and finally they arrest what they call like a heap, they wake up and then lay them each bring a big rock. And then they ask all the people from their camps to bring it off. And there's a heap of rocks and it's like, may this be the test and it's that you're ever talking again. Right. And they both say that. You won't ever cross me again.

7:33 Now, don't come go to come any closer to me to this people. And I won't come any closer to you to this people. All right. So he's part of what is father in law. And when he came to his father in law, maybe 15, maybe 20 years prior. He was escaping his brother. He had nothing. I mean, he was like, his brother was ready to kill him. Right. And so he took off. So he had already kind of taken the promise, the inheritance that the older brother would get.

8:09 Remember that story where he saw it out hunting in the field. He comes back and super hungry and he said that it's like maybe it's kind of red food and I guess no, it's really great. And he saw braids, his birthright inheritance for the red food, which is impuduous at least, but making arrogant and real jerk thing to do at most. But then he also gets dresses up like his brother and gets his elderly father to bless him instead of people.

8:40 Well, what's interesting is that all you need to do is completely that he's like, I'm going to kill Jacob. And Jacob takes off and then needs all the inheritance. Right. You can't take in her sister. And so he runs off to lay then with nothing. Now he's leaving. He's got a whole staff. Right. That's where we pick up the story of Jameson chapter 32. In verse 1, Joseph went on his way. He just left the heat that stones.

9:14 Joseph went on his way and the angels of God met him. It's toxic. They didn't kind of have his life, you guys, where they like. He's moving now with his husband, his brother, his father and his uncle at this point. I mean, really. And he's leading the people stone from offering his uncle and who meets him. So he says, hey, welcome. Right.

9:44 Remember the story where, um, I'm in a story where Jesus is fun folks that, um, will return and you'll sit on the judgment seat. And he will separate out the from the goats. Remember that? And it's uncomfortable because it, it talks about how there, there will be a judgment from Jesus or he will return. And some will go to weekly and nasty and nasty teeth and some will be welcomed into his rest.

10:18 And the way he decides that the medical Jesus for that judgment is the people go to one side and the goats will go to the other. And part of the reason I like that metaphor is you could keep us very different from the goats. Right. It's not as though Jesus is describing in his metaphor. I look at the teeth in the eye and I can tell whether it's a good or a bad. And I send it one way or the other. It's not like I call forth a bunch of witnesses to determine whether the teeth acted well in the past or not.

10:55 And Jesus says there are some folks who, part of who they are is my people. It's in your identity, not in their own form. It's to whom they belong, not what they have done. Once he has separated the sheep from the goats, then the sheep explain why that. We didn't know that we had done those things. He said, yeah, of course not. That's what my people do. Jacob has been a huck there all over, but in the end, Jacob is down.

11:27 So he hustles with his dad, he hustles with his brothers, he hustles with his uncle, he leaves, hustles with his uncle from the needle stone, and the angels of the Lord have been this fast. Welcome, Jacob. So, God. This should be so encouraging for you. I don't care what you've done. I don't care where you've been. I don't care who you've come.

11:58 Go get a gun. Welcome, right? God, wait. Leave your hustle. Leave your fight and your heat. Walk away. And when you do your heat. The angel. Welcome home. So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw, then he said, oh, I guess this is God's camp.

12:30 We'll stand here for the people. The decision. Jacob is the hustler, but not a gun. So he called the name of that place. Mahanami. And Jacob sent messages before him to Esau. He's going to Esau. The last time he left Esau was with nothing afraid for advice. If they had sent messages before him to Esau's brother in the land of Sier and the country of Eden, instructing them, thus he said to my Lord Esau, thus as your servant Jacob, I

13:04 have sojourned with Laven and stayed until now. I have often gone to Esau's male servants and female servants. I have sent them. I have sent them to tell my Lord in order that I may find savior in your sight. Jacob is really nervous about this. He got the blessing. He also, technically, was not the inheritance code. He was never talked to him. Esau stayed there in the camp and took care of everything that their father had. And so all the time that Jacob was hustling with the uncle, child, and the build-up, Esau

13:35 had sat on the wealth and multiplied it. Right? And so Jacob doesn't know what he's walking back into, but he's saying Esau's life. He's got more means now to just stop from Jacob's life. So he's playing it low. He's calling it Esau's Lord. And the blessing was returned to Jacob's saying, we came to your brother Esau and he is coming to meet you. And there are four of his men with him. If you see, the servants went away and said, Lord, you know, Lord, we want to come and we

14:07 got the things that were your servants. And they said, he's coming to you. And he's coming with 400 men. That's the news to get. Great. That's a lot of people, you know, like we came here by Jacob and Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he divided the people who were with him and the flocked and the heard and the candles into two things. Thinking if you saw some of the one thing and it passed it, then the other thing said

14:39 it's left real estate. Jacob was so afraid. He's like, okay, this is bad. He's putting the 400 dudes, like let's split up. Because if he comes to kill me, at least you guys can live and go do your thing. Like the gentleman named Jacob, he's afraid. And then Jacob said, oh God, my father, Abraham, and God, my father, Isaac, oh Lord, he said to me, return to your country and your kindred that I need you good.

15:11 I am not worthy of the leaps of all these deeds, of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown your servant, for it was only my staff I crossed this Jordan and not have become too careful. And I am worthy of the

16:11 He said, I am not worthy of the least of all these deeds, of steadfast love and faithfulness that you have shown me, for it was nothing. And here I come with all these things. And I am really afraid. But you said that you would take care of me.

16:42 I saw that I thought of Jesus and get sent me. But this kind of faith that has an honest appraisal of his own failure. The fear of the situation that he's in, and yet a bat on the goodness of God.

17:14 Guys, it's not intuitive, but this is the dream scenario for people who want. This is the spot you want to be here. You want to find yourself in a situation where you are overwhelmed at the goodness of God in the past. And let me tell you, all that takes, it doesn't take a lot of good things that haven't happened yet.

17:47 It takes an honest appraisal of what's already happened in your life. So you want to find yourself in a position where you recognize God has done more good things for you than you did. And you want to find yourself headed towards something that is larger than you can involve on your own. Moving into some mission, some opportunity, some relationship, some role, some calling.

18:23 You want to find yourself aware of that God has given you more than you deserve. And moving into more than you can handle. And doing it though you are afraid, doing it anyway because of the confidence that God has given you. This is the dream scenario. Jacob is afraid. And remember Jesus in the coming days, a prince did not want to do this. Was sure it would like there's got to be some other way, right?

18:55 The tradition tells us he sweat drops of blood. He was not like some serene dude floating above the stress of life. He didn't stress out sweating drops of blood and yet knowing that the God was good through it. I can't feel it. I feel fear and stress. I know it to be sure to watch because I'm a thief. That's why. That's it.

19:25 I hustle, hustle, hustle, then I realize God has been good through it all. And he has invited me into what's next. I go with him. Jacob is afraid. He said for way how old stuff that they might live in great details. He doesn't know what's going to be good. Okay.

19:55 But you said truly do you good and make your offering a sustained of the steam, which cannot be numbered for the multitude. So he stayed there that night. And from what he had with him, he took a present for his brother, he saw this is this present. From what he had with him, it was like what I left on the house. And when he was with him, he took a present for his brother himself.

20:26 200 feet, trying to imagine what this looks like walking in the hills of Gilad. Okay. Now imagine this is nighttime. He's arranging it. What he's going to do is he's going to send you gifts in front of him so that he saw with the 400 men that's coming towards Jacob. He probably cares for the night. He waits for the morning. He waits for the morning. Imagine the rolling notes of Gilad. Like this imagine is means that they're green and it's pretty.

20:58 It's a nice day. Kind of like it was today. And he saw this stuff with his 400 men and he's walking and he sees the coming across the hill, the gift one after the other. Okay. And so he sit here for threat present. 200 female goats and corny male goats. All right. Then 200 youth and 20 men. And then 30 milking perimals and their calves.

21:31 And then 40 cows and 10 both. Can you see the both? You'll see it down here in a minute. He entrust them to a herd them and keep them separate. And so he sends a herd of each of them. They're walking like an orgy. Right? Like in group. And they're hurting them and keeping them together. And the servant comes to perform and says these soft items to get for you from your brother's vehicle. Lord, he's done.

22:01 And then he moves off and then then the ghost. Right. And then the camel. And then the cows and the bulls. Right. Okay. So he's 200 youth for 30 milking perimals and their calves. 20,000 tendles, 20 female donkeys, 10 male donkeys. The easy headed over to a service. Every drove by itself. You're okay. And said to a servant, pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.

22:35 Put a space between a walk like an order. And he instructed the first when he saw my brother beat you and asked you to whom he belonged, where he's going. And those and who's are the ahead of you. Then you said, they belong to your servant Jacob. They are present. Send to my Lord. And moreover, he is violent. These are present from Jacob. He's coming behind us. And moreover, he is violent. He was instructed to second and the third and all who followed the road.

23:08 He said, say the same thing that you saw when he called it. You should say moreover, you're supposed to take a big behind us or he saw. And they have used him with the presence that goes ahead of you. And after an associate's face, perhaps he will accept me. So the first. He said, don't beat around the book. Tell him Jacob is afraid of his life. So he's sending it to front of you. Jacob, I'm reasonably went off to you and I'm hoping that he can visit all of it. Because I want you to see a thing.

23:39 God has called it into something and he is sure it will not work. These are all you can. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation like that? We are not persecuted in a traditional way. But when we follow God, we get the opportunity to move. To move things that are much larger than we can do. If we want.

24:15 This is a gift from a path of Jacob's stuff. He can find another place to be. He could find another place to be. He does not have to do this. But he discerned that God called him here. There's something about his dues Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

24:46 Where they get there like, look, I'm a hospital, I've been helping. But when God offers to give you something, boy, I take it. Whatever it takes. Okay. That's a night. Okay, he sent these people out. They're walking through the night so that when he saw this up, they see him roll through the road. And he's like, all right, now this is it. He goes by himself.

25:16 That's a night and he took him two rides, they are late to live in India, and his two female servants, and his 11 children, and crossed the border. And he took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else he has, and Jacob is off the line, so tonight by himself. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. And when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket and Jacob's hip was put out of joint, and he wrestled with himself.

25:49 Then he said, let me go for the day of broken, but Jacob said, I will not let you go until you black me. And he said to him, what's your name? He said, my name is Jacob. He said, no longer what you would call Jacob, but Israel. Isn't it interesting? People still debate what Israel means. Two names, two options that you hear most consistently, like Ruckle with God.

26:20 Let God be down. Just kind of go together. You can't figure out. For you have striven with God, and with men, and had forgiveness. And Jacob asked him, he's coming to your name. He says, why did they get off my name? And there he bumped him. So Jacob called the name of the place, Tanya Altein, for I had pink eyes, face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.

26:51 And the sun rose upon, and the top sent in a limping because of the sick. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the thin air of the top of my body. This is the famous Jacob story, right? But when you realize what's going on, he presses through the fear of his brother Jacob, even to the fear of like rustling in, leaning in, rustling with God. He says let me go, and Jacob likes no.

27:21 Why would Jacob tell God no? Because he knows and the leads to his core that this God will honor his promise. And this God has promised him I will be good to you. So he knows he can rustle, stir, scrub straight, confuse, beat up, pull upon, rustle with, resist the God as long as he stays in with the God, the God will give him good things.

27:54 As long as he doesn't get up and walk away. As long as he doesn't quit. I can't understand, I can't handle, I can't hang with the God who calls this. I go take all stuff on my own. No, but even rustling and breeze, what God gives me is better than what I can get from this day. I look like at the same time encouraging and indulging for me.

28:28 So if a carer in them often enough, breast-filled is coming up. Remember that time Jesus had the really confusing teaching and he's got a whole bunch of people and he said, it's something about my flesh and the blood and it's weird. How do people leave and Jesus in this moment of vulnerability with the 12 close friends

29:01 and disciples look to them and goes, are you going to leave me too? And the disciples say, hey, let's stay. Through Peter he speaks for the floor to whom shall we go? Use the words of his family. God has promised you not only significant and our confidence, not only love and purpose for fear, but God has promised you the life of the world to come. To whom shall we go?

29:32 Pass it in to the promise of them. Raise your expectation of the life you might be caught up in. Don't be stunned or appalled by the things that are daunting, by relationships that are challenging, by work that is confusing, by opportunities that seem too big or too far. Just kind of press in after the encouragement of God, empowered by the promise of God.

30:08 Allow yourself to believe that the promises of God for you might be real. And it is a kicker, jager, for all his hustle, bet on the promise of God. It was not a mere intellectual activity for him. He risked his life. He put his money on the loan. He said, I believe this thing to be real.

30:39 I'm going to ask you all. And it works out okay for Jacob. Worked out okay for the twelve. Worked out okay for the one and you get stunned me. It works out okay for you. This God, you've got to labor her mind with a bigger, you've got to create some of life, you've got to pray from the church.

31:15 And then that on hand. I pray that we do. Hey, good Lord, teach us how to get on you with the lives that we leave for this time. That we would take advantage of what he bought us on the prize. That we would experience the life of all of them to get us. In his name you pray, amen.