Family Ties

[0:00] Genesis 25, we had left off with Rebekah being brought back by the unnamed servant, back to Isaac. Abraham's kind of towards the end of his life. Remember, Sarah has passed away.

[0:11] She went off the scene, went to her reward at the beginning of chapter 23. Abraham was 137. Real easy to figure Isaac's age.

[0:22] He's just, you know, Abraham had him at 100. So whatever Abraham is, you just subtract 100. So Isaac was 37 at that point. We know, verse 20. Yes, there it is, when he took Rebekah. There we go.

[0:37] So he was 40. So you have three years between when Sarah dies and Abraham sends the servant to go get Rebekah. So Isaac is 40 at that time. Abraham, 140.

[0:49] So 25 is going to finish up with the life of Abraham. It's going to kind of give a quick recap. If you wanted to kind of look at like a brief outline, what it would be. There's two big chunks. Verses 1 through 19 is kind of Abraham's family.

[1:00] And then verses 20 through 34 starts Isaac's family. And then there's breakdowns within that. Within Abraham's family, you have Abraham's descendants and his death. And then very briefly in there, after talking about Abraham's death, you'll have verse 11 just kind of says where Isaac's dwelling, where he's living.

[1:17] And we'll get back to Isaac. But he runs to the scripture runs through Ishmael first. We get finished with that. And then it jumps into Isaac's family. We get a picture at the end of the chapter. The last half is kind of like a picture of Isaac's home, Isaac and Rebekah, and what's happening with their children.

[1:32] Verse 1 of chapter 25. Sarah's died at 137. So Abraham's going to live 38 more years, we're going to find out. He's going to live until he's 175. And he's not idle during that time.

[1:45] In verse 1, it says, So I'm not going to go through.

[2:00] There's all what the names mean. There's a few names we're going to point out. We're going to move pretty quickly through this. So I'll throw them up there as we talk about it. So his wife, Kuchira, means incense.

[2:10] It's going to later say that she's his concubine. He's going to use that wordage. So that would just be not his primary wife, like a secondary wife, essentially, he's taken here. And he has six sons, six more kids.

[2:21] The ones to note, the main one there is Midian, whose name means strife. He will be, from Midian will come Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Also, Midian will join with Balak, the king of Moab, who will then go to Balaam and say, let's go curse Israel.

[2:41] So that is who Midian is, will become an enemy of Israel at some point. So these are his sons, his six sons. And then it says, it gives us two sons and kind of their lineage.

[2:54] And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asherim and Letushim and Lemuem. And that's the sons of Midian, Ephah and Ephur and Hanak and Adida and Eldah.

[3:08] All these were the children of Keturah. So there's kind of the breakdown with their names. Jokshan's sons, Sheba and Dedan. And then Dedan has these three sons who become a people in that area.

[3:21] And then Midian, the sons of Midian. And it's just interesting there that Hanak, that's the same Hebrew name for Enoch, which means dedicated. So those are their names.

[3:34] Again, Midian would become an enemy of Israel. And in fact, as we go through this and we see all of these children of Abraham, he has a lot of children, a lot of sons.

[3:46] But there's only one through whom the covenant goes through, through who the promise will go through. Which puts it into context today in the world where you have the Abraham Accords and you have the children of Abraham.

[3:58] And then you have Jesus in the New Testament who says to the Jews, don't boast because you say Abraham is your father. God can raise up out of these rocks children unto Abraham. But also there's behind that, well, Abraham had many children, but there's only one child of promise and only one of the covenant came through.

[4:15] So it doesn't do you any good to boast that you're a son of Abraham. You know, are you a son of the promise of the son of Abraham? And so Abraham now turns around after having all these other children and does what?

[4:30] In verse 5 it says, And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac, because Isaac was the son of promise. If you remember back in Genesis 17, Abraham pleads with the Lord and says, Lord, what about Ishmael, that Ishmael may live before you?

[4:42] And the Lord says, As for Ishmael, I've heard you. Behold, I've blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. We're going to see that.

[4:53] He's going to have twelve sons. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this time of the next year. It's interesting, isn't it? We say, oh, children of Abraham.

[5:05] Well, what's the material point here in Abraham's lineage? Are you a child of Sarah? Sarah, right? And eventually, Paul's going to kind of dovetail off that and say, there's the children of Hagar, and then there's the children of the promise.

[5:19] But Abraham did not make the covenant, and he had no right to change it. No matter how many children he had, even if he had a son that he said, I like you better than Isaac, he didn't have any right to change the covenant. He didn't make it. God did. His part was only to carry it out according to God's word.

[5:32] The other thing to note is Isaac, it will be 20 years after he's married, before he has children. So dad, 137-year-old dad, is married and having sons.

[5:47] And here's Isaac and Rebecca with no children. Son, there's your brother. Say hi. He's having all these children at this time. It's kind of insane when you think of the overlap here.

[6:04] Verse 6. But unto the sons of the concubines, there it puts it plural, but it actually would be singular, and it's referring to Kachira, which Abraham had. Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac, his son, while he yet lived eastward unto the east country.

[6:18] So he sends out all the rest of the kids as they get older, and he sends them out. He says, you're not going to mar the promise with Isaac. How interesting that Abraham's having more children. Isaac is the son of promise through what?

[6:30] Through which all of the blessing will come when God says, look at the stars and count them. That's how many descendants you will have. And through Isaac will the promise be. Isaac's not having any kids. Abraham's like churning out more children, and Isaac's having none.

[6:43] So here we have 2.0 of, God, how are you going to fulfill your promise when there's no children? But he's not going to allow these sons to mar Isaac's inheritance.

[6:57] So he sends them out. Verse 7, And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived. 103 scored 15. 160 plus 15, 175. Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

[7:13] When we get down to Ishmael's death, it's going to say, and Ishmael gave up the ghost and died and was gathered to his people. But it doesn't have what's in between there, those three other things. And died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years.

[7:25] That's three different ways to say the guy was really old, right? He died, good old age, an old man, and full of years. Now where it says he gave up the ghost, that just means already died. But I think it also means more of natural causes.

[7:37] That it wasn't like he was killed. Like that he got to a point where he just, his body gave up the ghost and he died. And when it says he was gathered to his people, it was a dishonor to be left, not buried.

[7:48] To not have burial rites. And so that shows that he was honorably gathered to his people. But in between there, we see with Abraham that he had a good old age. He was an old man and full of years.

[8:00] For Abraham, he was ready. He was prepared. I think we see that a living faith prepared Abraham for death. When we live by faith, we will be prepared to die.

[8:11] We don't have to be afraid to die as we live by faith. Oh death, where's your sting? Oh grave, where's your victory? The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. The strength, thanks be to God, who always gives us the victory.

[8:25] Death has no fear in it anymore. As long as we live by faith. If we don't, we're probably going to be pretty afraid. As many people who would be in the faith, born again, we say they're believers, but have not lived a life of faith and get to that point and it's fear.

[8:41] But then you know, you've heard many stories. I mean, we've had friends that you hear the stories of like the look on their face as they're taken into heaven and as they give up the ghost and the joy that's there.

[8:52] Hebrews tells us in 1038 that we are also to live by faith. As we live by faith, it prepares us for the things that are to come. Not just death, but other things. So Abraham died at 175.

[9:04] How old does that make Isaac? Remember, subtract 100. 75. Ishmael would be 88 years old because he's 13 years removed from Isaac. But the other interesting thing is the twins, Jacob and Esau, they're 15 years old.

[9:18] They had an overlap with Grandpa Abraham. Can you imagine these two twins at six, seven years old? You know, your 160 some year old grandfather who just had a son.

[9:29] Come here, boys. Let me tell you about the time, you know, that I went out and God said, look at the stars. Let me tell you about the time that I fell asleep. And then God made this lamp pass between in this covenant.

[9:42] And he told me your son. I mean, that your dad was going to be the son. Didn't you want to kill my dad once, Grandpa? Yeah, I didn't want to, but God told me to kill him. But I didn't. That's good. So it was 15 years.

[9:54] What influence did that have on Jacob? But that's why that was really neat to realize those ages. And then in verse 9, And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.

[10:05] So at this point, there's no contention between Isaac and Ishmael. Things are good. In the field of Ephron, the son of Zoar, the Hittite, which is before Mamre, the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth.

[10:16] We looked at that when Sarah passed away. So we're not going to go back through what all of that is. But Abraham purchased that field. And what son would have been passed on to? Who else was buried there?

[10:28] Sarah, Abraham, and then Isaac. Not Ishmael. Not Jokshan and Midan and Midian and Ishbak. Isaac. The land that Abraham purchased before there was any Jews there or anybody else but the Canaanites.

[10:44] He purchased it legally and he passed it on through one son, through Isaac. And it is still there today. There's still a cave somewhere over there. And in it, probably not the bones, they're probably long deteriorated, is the dust of Abraham and Sarah.

[10:59] It's still there today. And one of those days, that dust is going to come back in the resurrection. And from that land, it's going to be Abraham. Passed on through the Jews.

[11:13] And Abraham was buried there and his wife Sarah. And they are still there to this day. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham. Here's verse 11. Kind of sticks it in there before we run through Ishmael. We're going to look at this real quick. Where does Isaac live?

[11:24] That God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt by the well Lahorai. If you remember, that's the well that means, I mean like, birch Lahorai, or the well of the living one seeing me.

[11:36] And that's where Hagar names it that. If you remember, with Ishmael, when God provides that. And if you remember back in Genesis 24, when Rebekah's brought to Isaac, it says, And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahorai, for he dwelt in the south country.

[11:52] So he loved this place. This is where he dwelt. He dwelt in the presence of the well of the living one seeing me. And I think he gives a picture of Isaac. What is it like to dwell at Lahorai? It's in God's presence, isn't it?

[12:05] It's the well of the living one seeing me. He's there. His presence is there. It's in God's sight because he sees us. He's the well of the living one seeing me. God's blessing. And God blessed his son Isaac in God's life, right?

[12:18] We dwell in God's life. Why? Because it's a source of water, of living water. This is where Isaac lived. This is where he's making his home with Rebekah right now. It's a good place.

[12:29] Isaac and Rebekah, their home life is amazing to start with. And it rapidly will deteriorate. And we'll look at that. But right now, this is where he's dwelling. And then moving on into verse 12, we're now going to pick up the sons of Ishmael and run through his generation pretty quickly.

[12:44] And I'm going to put up there, there are all his sons and bros and stuff. The 12 princes. Now, these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bear unto Abraham.

[12:59] And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebojoth, and Kedar, and Abdel, and Mibzam, and Mishmah, and Dumah, and Massah, and Hadar, and Timah, and Jetur, Nefesh, and Kedmah.

[13:16] These are the sons of Ishmael. These are their names by their towns, by their castles. 12 princes according to their nations. And it's not like castles like we think of Anglo-Saxon castles.

[13:27] Like in the Middle East are these men. Love of the drawbridge. It's just their towns and their strongholds. 12 princes according to their nations and according to God's word that he promised to Abraham.

[13:40] They're from them. The two to know, kind of, you see Jetur and Naphish with an asterisk next to them. They come back in 1 Chronicles chapter 1 when it's running through the different tribes of Israel, the sons of Israel, and then where they end up.

[13:58] In verse 18 of chapter 5, speaking of the sons of Reuben, it says, The sons of Reuben and the Gittites and half the tribe of Manasseh of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword and shoot with bow and skillful in war, were 440,703 score that went out to the war.

[14:18] And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur and Naphish and Nodab. Those are two of Ishmael's children, of his sons.

[14:29] In verse 17, these are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years. And he gave up the ghost and died and was gathered to his people, as we saw there with Abraham.

[14:42] And they dwelt, his people, from Havilah unto shore, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria. And he died in the presence of all his brethren. Well, guys, you know where that is. Havilah unto shore, before Egypt, that goes by the way of Assyria, right?

[14:55] No? Me neither. There they go. There's Egypt. They call it Sinai Peninsula. No, Sinai's not there.

[15:07] Way down. And I was reading one of the commentaries I was reading that told about one of the names. And it was talking about, this is possibly a tribe in Yemen. And today, Ishmael is still mocking Isaac, isn't he?

[15:23] Anyway, you know, I never put up the title for my message. Sorry. Family Ties. Do you recognize that logo?

[15:35] How many ever watched Family Ties? I was like a little, little kid, but I remember reruns of it. And that was the actual logo for it. I thought that was funny. But yes, Family Ties. Ties that bind us.

[15:46] So then, those were the generations of Ishmael. And those were his sons. And today, they still exist as a people.

[16:00] And interesting how, okay, you think, well, Ishmael, he was kind of a creep, right? Towards Isaac. And he was of the flesh. He was born, you know, out of a lack of faith. But what about Keturah and her sons?

[16:11] I mean, Paul says that if your spouse dies, you are free to marry again. And Abraham does. He didn't do anything wrong. What about all those sons? Well, it's not about the fact that it was Ishmael and against Isaac, whoever.

[16:23] It was about the fact that there is one son of promise. And that was it. And the whole world, whoever it is, is going to be against the son of promise. Because the enemy recognizes who the covenant comes through.

[16:37] So, continuing on in verse 19. Now we jump back to Isaac. And we're going to stay with Isaac now. We've cleaned up Abraham's genealogy, taking care of his sons.

[16:48] So, he had six, seven, eight sons. Ishmael, Isaac, and then the six boys. But it's through Isaac that the blessing and the covenant comes. And these are the generations of Isaac. Abraham's son. Abraham begat Isaac.

[17:00] And Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to wife. The daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian. Of Paddan Aram, the sister to Laban, the Syrian. And in that verse, we have a bunch of names.

[17:11] Remember, Isaac means laughter. Rebekah means ensnarer. Bethuel, man of God. And it says both Bethuel and Laban, which means white. That they're from Paddan Aram.

[17:25] The Syrian of Paddan Aram. So, Bethuel and Laban are exalted from the field. And I just, I don't know. Sometimes I think I read too deeply into names. But, I mean, the name is the meaning.

[17:36] The name so often, the meaning is the nature in Scripture. And it just speaks to me of like Bethuel, a man of God. There was a semblance there, sure, of a relationship with God or being a man of God.

[17:48] But they're both living in this field. They're living in the world. The field represents the world in Scripture. And they're both Syrians. They're both exalted in their own minds. Right? Ugh. This pride.

[17:59] You see what Laban and that white just makes me think of Jesus saying to the Pharisees, you whitewash sepulchers. You know, you think you're something, but you're not. But Rebecca's name, ensnarer.

[18:09] Hey. Yeah. Quite a name. And it's going to, that nature is going to play out later in chapter 27 when she and Jacob make their plans.

[18:23] And then, so he's 20 years, I mean, he's 40 years old when he takes Rebecca. And then this interesting verse in verse 21 says, And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren.

[18:35] And the Lord was entreated of him. And Rebecca, his wife, conceived. And the children struggled together within her. And she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.

[18:46] I was going to tell us down in verse 26 that Isaac was three score years old when she bared them. The twins, the boys that she's going to have. So that's 60.

[18:57] He's married at 40. He doesn't have kids till 60. And here it says, Isaac went entreated for the Lord. How long? The word entreated means to plead in prayer or to supplicate.

[19:08] So it's not just an asking. It's a continual pleading. Entreating the Lord. Lord, please. Please. How long had Isaac been pleading in prayer for Rebecca? 20 years?

[19:19] That's a long. Could have been. As he sees a dad having kids in Keturah and Rebecca going, here we go again. It's me. Just like Sarah couldn't have kids.

[19:30] Here you, you know, God wants to do the what? And he keeps picking people like this. Remember, the Lord always, what? Constrains before he delivers. Why? Well, it's a principle.

[19:41] Because if you have to have a, if you want a savior, you need to be saved. If you don't need to be saved from anything. Jesus says, I didn't come to call the righteous to repentance. The sick don't need a doctor.

[19:52] I mean, they do need a doctor. The sick do. The whole don't need a doctor. Today, in today's world, if you're sick, you might not want a doctor either. Depending on your doctor.

[20:02] Anyway, it says, the Lord was entreated for him. He entreated the Lord for his wife, and the Lord heard his prayer. The Lord was supplicated in response to Isaac's faith. What did Isaac's faith look like?

[20:14] I think we can see, again, this, I think their home is beautiful right now. They're living in God's presence, the well of Lahori. And here we see Isaac. What does he do? He goes and he entreats for his wife.

[20:25] And then what does Rebecca do once she conceives? It says that she goes and she seeks the Lord, to inquire of the Lord. So Isaac's faith, what did he do in this situation?

[20:37] He took an impossible situation to God, didn't he? He said, I don't know what to do with this. He went to God. He knew God was the solution to the problem. Many times, we take an impossible situation to God, and we go look for another solution.

[20:50] Oh, Lord, would you please help me? I'm going to go out and try and figure a way to do this. He waited upon God 20 years for an answer. And this is the key.

[21:01] He believed God could do again what he'd done once before. He said, Rebecca, I am a result of a man and woman who prayed for years to have a child. God can do this.

[21:12] And God has promised that through me and through my line, through us, and you're the wife he gave me, that he is going to make a great nation. Well, yeah, but your dad's having all these other kids. God didn't give a promise to them.

[21:22] God can do this because he's done it once before. And Isaac was entreated. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord was entreated of him.

[21:34] That's just fantastic. God is entreated of us, too, because God considers it a treat to answer our prayers. He loves to answer prayer. He doesn't withhold. And if it seems like he's withholding for 20 years or for Abraham and Sarah all that time, it's because he has a plan and a perfect timing for that plan.

[21:52] Then Rebecca, how does she respond? And Rebecca, his wife, conceived. And what happens? The children struggled within her.

[22:04] And she said, if it be so, why am I thus? It literally means, if everything's okay, why is this happening? Like, is this normal? Kachira. Like, you've had all these sons. What?

[22:14] She's like, that hasn't happened to me before. Something's going on weird with you, honey. And she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in your womb.

[22:25] In two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels. The one people shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger. So Rebecca's faith. Rebecca trusted God to explain what she could not.

[22:39] She's like, I don't know what's going on. I can't explain this. I'm going to go and ask a doctor. No, she went to the Lord. She said, what's going on within me? I'm going to inquire of the Lord. She did not seek answers from other sources.

[22:52] That kind of goes along with that. She knew she needed to ask. Man, is that key or what? How often do we not ask the Lord? And then when we do and he answers, it's almost like, why have I not asked before?

[23:03] Just waited and assumed. She knew she needed to ask. She expected and received an answer. She was also, key here, satisfied with God's answer.

[23:14] Well, that doesn't make any sense. What are you talking about? Two nations within me? And she witnessed God's word fulfilled. This is the home dwelling in the presence by the well of Lahorai.

[23:27] These are the two people that God has brought together. It's amazing the faith they have. Both of them to turn to the Lord. A home that inquires of the Lord will be a home that believes God's word.

[23:39] A home that believes God to do the impossible will be a home that walks by faith. And a home that accepts God's answers will be a home that sees God's promise fulfilled.

[23:49] So when we inquire of the Lord, we then believe God's word. When we believe God to do the impossible, we end up walking by faith. And when we accept God's answer, we then get the privilege of seeing his promise fulfilled.

[24:04] And the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. Two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels. The one shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger. What seemed like a problem was actually prophetic.

[24:16] It's like, this is a huge problem. No, no, no, no. This is prophetic. What's happening in our world today? Seems like there's a lot of problems. It's all prophetic. The Lord is all over it.

[24:30] But it says he's, the Lord specifically spoke this word to her. They said they shall be separated from your bowels. What is separated? Separated means divided or set apart. Okay, well, yeah, you separate something that was close.

[24:41] It is now separate. It's been divided. It's set apart. It's removed from something else. First Peter two, verse nine says, but you are chosen generation. A royal priesthood, a holy, a separated, divided nation.

[24:55] You are set apart. A peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. God has separated us out from the world, but unto God for a purpose.

[25:07] That we might show forth his praises. If we're not separated from the world, they're not going to see that God's called us out of darkness and into marvelous light. As God separates us out.

[25:18] That's what holiness is. It's just to be set apart. So separated from this world and unto God. Jacob, Israel, right? Because he's going to be Israel. The man and the nation was alone right from the beginning.

[25:30] But what appeared a social problem was actually a holy solution. So Jacob was set apart right from the beginning. Divided from everybody. He doesn't get along with anyone. He doesn't get along with his family.

[25:41] He goes to Laban. Things aren't going to go well from there. He has all these sons. Ah, they have problems with their nations around them. But what seemed like a problem, a social problem, is a holy solution.

[25:51] The nation and people group of the Jews in Israel today exists, yes, partly because they've been pushed and separated out from every other people group in the world.

[26:03] And now while part of that is absolute wickedness on the part of the enemy with anti-Semitism and to try and attack them, God has used it as a holy solution to keep them separate from other nations of the world that they've not intermarried with.

[26:17] Jesus tells us this about being separated in John 15. He says, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own.

[26:29] But because you're not of the world, then that's not any choice we can make. I can't choose to be of the world. Once I'm in Christ, I can't choose anything otherwise. I'm not of the world any longer. Because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

[26:43] Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant's not greater than his Lord. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they kept my sayings, they will keep yours also. So when it seems like we're being separated or marginalized, that maybe it's a social problem, maybe I need to figure out how to get along with people, it could be God's holy solution to keep us pure and to keep us separated.

[27:04] Verse 24. Back to Genesis. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Ah, this isn't some spiritual thing.

[27:15] This is just naturally explained. Yes, it is naturally explained. But natural explanation does not negate spiritual revelation, does it? Something can be naturally explained, but if God has given spiritual revelation about it, the fact that there's a natural face to it doesn't in any way undo the revelation that God has given.

[27:34] And the first came out red all over like a hairy garment. Oh, poor guy. They called his name Esau. Esau. That name doesn't mean red. Edom later on.

[27:44] We'll see. That means red. Esau means hairy. Whoa, this is my son, Harry. Why'd you name him that? See? I mean, if you want to see... Now, when they named people in Genesis, did it have to do with who they were?

[27:57] It sure did. They named them according to character traits and characteristics. And after that came his brother out and his hand took hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob or ensnarer like his mother or heel catcher.

[28:13] And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was 60 years old when she bare them. And the boys grew. And Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field.

[28:25] And Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. And it begins the separation between the two of them. Growth divides. You see that in your life, right? In your kids' lives. How many of you are still BFFs with like your sixth grade BFF?

[28:40] How many of you still talk to people from your high school on a regular basis? Age divides. Growth divides. It's normal. It's what happens. I've seen it with my kids as they grow.

[28:51] Watching their different friend circles that they were so tight with at one age. Now as everybody starts to solidify in who they're going to be as adults. It's like, well, wait a minute.

[29:01] I'm not going that way. Why are you going? Now this is the way I'm going. Well, I'm going this way. And especially as we grow in the Lord, growth divides. If you choose to walk according to the word and you walk in a holy life, you're going to lose people.

[29:17] They're going to lose you. They're going to be like, you don't want to do what? We always do this. No, I don't live that way. I can't do that. Growth divides. And so you see these two young men growing up.

[29:29] We don't have their ages here. But Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. So Esau means hairy, right? And he was cunning.

[29:40] What's that mean? He was cunning, a cunning hunter, knowledgeable. He knew about this. He took time to understand what this was, right? But he was what? Of the field, of the ground.

[29:51] Esau was not content where God had placed him. He was a man who wanted to know what was going on out there. And he had his focus everywhere else but where God had placed him. Nothing wrong with hunting at all or being about the field.

[30:04] But this is describing his character and who he was. Proverbs tells us in chapter 7, verses 10 through 12, says, Behold, there met him, talking about the young wayward man, a woman with the attire of a harlot and subtle of heart.

[30:17] She is loud and stubborn. Her feet abide not in her house. Now is she without, now in the streets, and lies in wait at every corner. Does that mean you shouldn't go out grocery shopping or go to the store or do fun things, ladies?

[30:28] Not at all. It's just the word, key word there is abide. She's not willing to abide where God has placed her. She's discontent. And I think this is Esau. Esau was a man of the world who used his knowledge to satisfy the desires of the flesh and the appetite.

[30:44] We're going to see. Jacob. Jacob means, like we said, heel holder or supplanter. Jacob, it says, was a plain man. Ooh, poor Rebecca, I just got a plain man.

[30:55] Well, that word plain, everywhere else in Scripture, it's translated upright. So where it says Jacob, that Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents.

[31:07] Psalm 37, 37 says, Mark the perfect man and behold the upright. That's the same word there, plain. Mark the perfect man, behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.

[31:18] So Jacob was an upright man who chose to what? To abide, to dwell among the tents. He was an abiding man. So what do we see about Isaac and Rebecca's home? Isaac and Rebecca's home at one time was characterized by Isaac entreating and Rebecca inquiring of the Lord.

[31:38] Beautiful picture. What happens that by Genesis 27, they end up so fractured? By the time we get to Genesis 27, Rebecca's going behind Isaac's back. I'm still trying to think of what the Lord wants to do when we get to Genesis 27.

[31:53] We're going to go through the whole, you know, go through it, but we won't go through the whole chapter at once. But there's so much there on family interaction and then marriages, like Rebecca and Isaac, the way they interact, the way they're interacting with their children.

[32:04] There's a lot there. But how do they go from this beautiful picture of Isaac and Rebecca dwelling by this well and treating the Lord to this place where they're so fractured?

[32:15] Well, I think we see two different things. We're going to see one of them right now. In verse 28, And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob.

[32:29] Favoritism has divided many a family. And here we have favoritism. This is my definition for favoritism. This is what I think it is, like within the confines of relationships.

[32:40] Disproportionately displaying one's preference and bias towards another, whether that preference is earned or not. So you're disproportionately displaying to someone your preference and your bias towards them, that you prefer them, whether it's deserved or earned or not.

[33:00] And that becomes, in a home that's extremely destructive to do that, to prefer one child. This is my favorite kid. It doesn't matter what they do. They always get away with everything. You don't have to come out and say it. You know, they got a little t-shirt that says mom's favorite, right?

[33:13] You can show it by how you treat them and how you act towards them. Another thing we see here with Isaac, Isaac unfortunately gravitates towards appetite, the things of the flesh.

[33:24] We're going to see as we move through his life. It's a character flaw and a weakness there. Isaac loved Esau because he was an upright man? No, because he ate of his venison, because he satisfied the senses.

[33:36] The other thing I think is, is if you turn real quick to the end of chapter 26, and look at verse 34, the last two verses. It says, Esau was 40 years old when he took to wife Judith, the daughter of Biri, the Hittite, and Bishamath, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite.

[33:58] These Canaanite women, what's the verse 35 say? They were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. That word there literally means bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and Rebekah.

[34:12] Proverbs 17, 25 says, A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her that bear him. So I think those two things, favoritism and bitterness, divide, began to break down this family.

[34:25] What do we see Abraham did? Who did he cast out? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for she shall not be heir with my son. And the Lord says, Yes, do that. He sent away all the other sons that he would not mar Isaac's inheritance.

[34:38] What do we see eventually Isaac choose to do? Jacob, you go. I'm keeping Esau. Scripture says, Cast out the scorner and the strife ceases. Well, instead of recognizing the one that needed to go and the one that needed to stay, Isaac chooses the opposite.

[34:53] So it begins, I think, to divide his home, unfortunately. Continuing on in verse 29, And Jacob sawed pottage. Yummy. Sawed pottage for dinner tonight, kids.

[35:06] Just means he boiled something, some stew. And Esau came from the field, and he was faint, literally weary. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint.

[35:18] Therefore was his name called Edom, or Red. It must have galled him every time. Like, hey, here comes Red. He said, traded away his whole future for some red stew.

[35:31] His name was called Red. And Jacob said, Sell, or literally betroth me this day, your birthright, the right of the firstborn. And Esau said, Behold, I'm at the point to die.

[35:43] And what profit shall this birthright do to me? I understand exactly where he's at. When I come home after work, I am ready to die if I don't get dinner. I can't wait. It's my favorite part of the day. He was ready to die.

[35:55] I'm starving. What profit will this birthright do to me? There's a key to his character. And Jacob said, Swear to me this day. And he swore unto him. And he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

[36:07] Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. Ugh, what a trade. And he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

[36:18] Jacob, I'm sure, was told, I'm sure Isaac was too, by Rebekah, when God spoke to her. And I'm sure she went right to Isaac and said, God told me, I've got two nations in my womb.

[36:30] The younger's gonna serve the older. We don't ever see Isaac acknowledging that as something that needs to be realized. I'm sure she must have told Jacob this too.

[36:41] Because it says she loved Jacob the best. She chose him. So Jacob, I think, at this point, he's trying to bring about God's will. I can do this. But it's not until chapter 28, not until 28, with his vision that the Lord brings him, that I think he understands then what it's about.

[37:04] Right now in his mind, it's still, I need the right of the firstborn. That's what I need. Where what in reality is, is it's the covenant, God's blessing, which is spiritual. Nothing he does can ever change the fact he's secondborn.

[37:15] He can't change that, no matter how hard he fights against that. And I think that's what he's doing here, trying so hard to make this happen. But Esau's a picture of the flesh. He's ruled by his appetites and desires instant gratification, no matter the cost.

[37:30] What value is this birthright to me? I need my appetite satisfied. Now I'm hungry. I'm gonna die. John 6, 63 says, the spirit, it is the spirit that quickens.

[37:43] The flesh profits nothing. So Esau does not understand where true value is. And here we have Jacob, desperate to bring about what he thinks is the fulfillment of God's promise.

[37:55] However, he's unable at this point to do anything other, I'm sorry, to see anything other than a natural fulfillment to God's promise. He's trying to bring it about, but all he can see is this natural fulfillment that I have to somehow become the firstborn.

[38:07] So God's promises cannot be obtained through the world's means and methods. Sell it to me, Esau. And God does not need any help, does he, from us to fulfill his word.

[38:21] So real quick, Esau as a picture of the flesh. The flesh is ruled by appetite. The flesh desires instant fulfillment. We saw that in verse 30 with Esau.

[38:32] The flesh always overreacts. I'm gonna die. And the flesh does not recognize where true value lies. As we continue on, we're gonna see through the rest of the end of the chapter here in verse 33, the flesh has no vision for the future either.

[38:49] He says, swear unto me this day and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. He had no idea what he was doing. Right now is what I need to focus on. Well, wait, what about the future? That was something that only could be realized in the future, Esau.

[39:03] The flesh has far-reaching consequences. I don't think Esau had any idea at this point the consequences of what he was doing until he's crying tears at Isaac's feet because he realized he's blown up.

[39:15] And the flesh is filled with foolish regrets. And there we see at the end of the chapter where he says, Esau despised his birthright. Proverbs 19.16 says, he that keeps the commandment keeps his own soul, but he that despises his ways shall die.

[39:35] And there we see Esau despised the birthright. So as we kind of wrap this up, what did we see from Jacob and Esau?

[39:46] Well, Jacob did not trust God to fulfill his promise in his own way and in his own timing, in God's own way, in God's own timing. Jacob wouldn't trust God to do that. This picture we're given. We're not going to see, like I said, we're not going to see these two again until chapter 27.

[39:59] It's interesting that the scripture doesn't go give us Isaac's, you know, home life later and give us his life here with Abimelech, which is what we're going to see next week. But it gives us a picture of the home first before zooming out.

[40:13] And so we saw that Jacob would not trust God to fulfill his promises. And Esau, he wouldn't recognize or value what he'd been given by God. God had given him much, okay? So you don't have the promise like Jacob will have that was given to Abraham, but you've been given much.

[40:28] But both of them failing in that. It's kind of a downer, right, to leave it. So I was thinking, I was thinking of Jacob and yet despite his failings, despite the fact that all through his life we're going to see him attempting in his own strength to bring about God's will until at the end of his days, what does Hebrews 11 say?

[40:49] That by faith, Jacob did what? Israel did what? That he married Rebecca? That he had all these kids? That he leaned on his staff at his death and prophesied, right?

[41:00] At that point, he recognized that God is the one. Even when God brings a vision to him at the end of 28, he's still like, okay, Lord, I'll make a deal with you.

[41:14] But God's grace, God's grace is all over Jacob. God never left and never took his blessing off of him. And I think that's very instructive today with what's going on with Jacob today, with Israel.

[41:26] In Jeremiah 31, 2, long after Jacob's off the scene, after his children have gone down into Egypt for bondage for hundreds of years, after they come out and they're in the promised land and then the kings are set up and the kings fail and they're being taken into captivity and Jeremiah's writing is they're about to go to Babylon.

[41:42] And he writes this, he says, thus says the Lord, the Lord is speaking this to his people, the people which were left of the sword, those that were left from judgment, found grace in the wilderness. They shouldn't have been in the wilderness.

[41:53] They're supposed to be in the promised land at that point. But what did they find? Grace, the remnant. God has a remnant. They found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, Jacob, when I went to cause him to rest.

[42:06] God had a plan for Jacob and for Israel that Jacob's swindling, his failures, wasn't going to undo. In Romans 11, Paul tells us, he says, I say then, has God cast away his people?

[42:20] Well, a lot of the church today would say yes. And Paul says, God forbid, for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people, which he foreknew.

[42:31] Paul is using the logic that have I been cast away because I am of Israel? No, I have not. And the church doesn't negate that. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

[42:46] Paul was saying that at that time. He's saying there is currently an election and a remnant according to the election of grace. We can say the same thing. Has God cast away Israel? No, he's not. There is still a remnant today according to the election of grace.

[43:02] And again, as Jeremiah said, that the people that were left found grace. I wasn't sure exactly how it was going to end, but I have a bunch of scripture from Isaiah. Isaiah talks a lot about Israel and about God's grace.

[43:16] And I'm just going to read through these and hear God's heart. And as Paul said, God hasn't cast away Israel because of his grace. He would then say, in fact, we stand in grace because of Israel.

[43:29] God hasn't rejected them. We've been grafted in because of Israel's rejection that we, the wild branch, can be grafted into the vine. But he says, but make no mistake, there will be a day where the natural branch is going to be grafted back into the vine.

[43:41] If we fit this well in Christ, what is a national belief of Israel going to look like in the millennium in Christ?

[43:52] When the natural branch is back in the vine drawing from the Messiah, what's that going to look like if we, the unnatural branch, fit this well? Right? God didn't cast away Israel, so he's not going to cast away us.

[44:05] That's the promise we have. So as I read these, just sit and listen and just close your eyes and hear God's heart for Israel and for us as his spiritual Israel.

[44:15] For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob and will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land and the strangers shall be joined with them and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

[44:28] Oh, but thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend. Fear not, thou worm, Jacob, and you men of Israel, I will help you, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

[44:43] But now thus says the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine.

[44:55] Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant. I have formed thee. Thou art my servant, O Israel. Thou shall not be forgotten of me. Sing, O you heavens, for the Lord has done it.

[45:05] Shout, you lower parts of the earth. Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree therein. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and glorified him and glorified himself in Israel.

[45:18] And the Redeemer shall come to Zion and unto them that turn from transgression. And Lord, we thank you that you have come to Zion, Lord.

[45:29] And all those that have turned from transgression in Jacob and out of Jacob have found the Redeemer. And Lord, we thank you this morning that despite all our own efforts, Lord, to bring about what we think we need to do to bring about your promises, times I don't recognize the value of what you've given me, Lord.

[45:48] Thank you for your grace, Lord, that supersedes all of that. And Lord, as we sit before you now and just end with this song, Lord, just let your grace minister to us, pray.

[46:00] Those areas, Lord, that we struggle with, may we be like Isaac and Rebecca, that we would entreat, that we would inquire, and then we'd be willing to leave it in your hands, Lord, and trust you to bring about your outcome and your time.

[46:13] Whether it's 20 years, whether it's two years, whether it's tomorrow, we trust you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.