Isaac and Rebekah Take the Torch

Transcription

1 Isaac and Rebekah Take the Torch I. Introduction and review [Gen. 25:19-34] A. Isaac s prayer for a child 1. How did he learn to pray? 2. The same way he learned to meditate on God s Word 3. First Principle: God desires us to prayer for the supply of our needs and for His blessings, even though He has already promised to send them 4. Second Principle: The fervent prayer of a righteous man will accomplish much B. Who advised Isaac to pray for a son? 1. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born 2. He was 175 when Isaac died 3. He was 140 when Isaac married Rebekah 4. He was 160 when Rebekah gave birth to Jacob and Esau 5. Do you think the couple spoke with Abraham about this topic while they were waiting for a child? 6. Why does God make us wait? a. Sometimes He makes us wait to deepen our insight into what we really need; b. Sometimes He makes us wait to broaden our appreciation for His answers; and Page 1 of 7

2 c. Sometimes He makes us wait to allow us to mature so that we can use His gifts more wisely than we would have II. Rebekah s Prayer 25:22 A. Did we ever hear of Sarah praying? B. It appears to me that Rebekah may have been closer to the Lord than Sarah was III. Why did God choose Jacob over Esau? A. Did God choose that way? 1. Consider 25:23 2. And Mal. 1:2-3 a. Hating as in one hating his enemy 3. And Romans 9:8-13 B. God chose Jacob over Esau because of what He saw 1. Consider first Rom. 8: Salvation involves three steps: a. justification b. sanctification, and c. glorification 3. So what did God see? a. In Jacob, He saw a man who would be a man of faith, a man whose name one day would be Israel b. In Esau, He saw a man who was immoral and godless (1) Heb. 12:15-16 C. Third Principle: God is sovereign, but He is not capricious and always has a Page 2 of 7

3 reason for what He does. Here, He foreknew that the younger son would be qualified spiritually and morally to transmit the seed and the covenant promises, whereas He also knew that the older would not be so qualified. IV. Consider the description of Jacob [25:27] A.... a peaceful man living in tents. 1. Living can be translated dwelling 2. There is a contrast here a. Jacob stayed at home and worked the family business b. He learned animal husbandry from his father which helped him a great deal later in his life c. He learned to farm also d. Esau and his outdoors man motif may have been preferred by some e. But Esau was gone for extended times, sleeping out in the open 3. But more important is the word translated peaceful a. It also seems to be related to us as a contrasting value to Esau b. That is true, but it is not that Jacob was peaceful and Esau was warlike c. Various translations: (1) KJV Genesis 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. (2) NAS Genesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a Page 3 of 7

4 peaceful man, living in tents. (3) NAU Genesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. (4) NIV Genesis 25:27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. (5) NKJ Genesis 25:27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. d. This word is ~T' tam {tawm} (1) Meaning: 1) perfect, complete (2) Origin: ~m;t' tamam Meaning: to be complete or finished (3) many times when this word is used it carries the concept of spiritually mature and/or undefiled e. Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." 4. Jacob had learned God s promises from his mother and his father 5. He was the one God would use 6. And he knew that God had said that it was he and not Esau that would Page 4 of 7

5 carry on the promises given to Abraham and to Isaac 7. Fourth Principle: Growing in favor with God is much more important than seeking to please the world B. And yet Jacob took advantage of Esau in obtaining the birthright 1. Was that wrong of him to do 2. Yes and no 3. He did nothing wrong as to between he and Esau, but He didn t trust God to take care of it, instead he determined that he would help God in accomplishing His will. 5. This was like David saying, as Saul sat in the front of the cave, God has delivered him into my hands so that I could kill him, and become king as God had promised 6. Fifth Principle: Jacob had a natural tendency to be a jacob, that is a supplanter or con man. God spends a great part of Jacob s life removing the Jacob and turning him into Israel V. Considerations of Esau A. Esau is man who was placed into a potential position of leadership and yet he had no vision 1. You have heard the old saying, his eyes were bigger than his stomach 2. For Esau we can say that his stomach was much more important than his vision 3. Esau appeared to be the natural leader: a. He was the first born son Page 5 of 7

6 b. He was at home out in the field c. He was a skillful hunter, skills that would transfer readily to military operations d. He was strong and resourceful, and rugged 4. But he only lived in the present a. He depended solely on his own strength and resources, instead of God s b. He repeatedly failed to see the clear picture of the future c. Esau then succumbed to the kind of temptations that entice leaders today 5. There are six characteristics of Esau s nearsightedness that we should be weary of cropping up in our own lives: a. Esau focused solely on the hear and now, convinced that tomorrow would take care of itself b. Esau relied on his natural strengths and position in the family, rather than in God s plan c. Esau s nearsightedness caused him to give up the ultimate to get the immediate d. Esau learning that he was favored by his father, may have thought that Isaac s favor would bail him out of any poor decision that he might make e. Esau s limited vision caused him to marry a Hittite, a choice which grieved his parents greatly Page 6 of 7

7 VI. Isaac is Tested [Genesis 26] A. The Famine [26:1-6] f. Esau s clouded vision blinded him to the deception of Jacob 1. In Abraham s day there was a famine in the land 2. In response to that famine and without consulting God, Abraham decided to sojourn on Egypt 3. It was a compromise of his faith 4. God had promised this land to Abraham and he was suppose to trust God and stay in it 5. Now a famine comes again, what will Isaac do? 6. Isaac moves to Gerar 7. This is a jumping off point to go to Egypt 8. God intervenes in order to preventing him from making the same mistake that his father had made Page 7 of 7