By Faith Isaac and Jacob
Notes
Transcript
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
Introduction:
We are continuing our series “By Faith” where we look at different people throughout the Bible who’s lives have been accounted for faith. Tdoay We are going to start off by looking at Isaac. His life isnt discussed too much in Scripture. We learn about Isaac in Genesis with him being the promised son from Abraham and Sarah in their old age. It was through Isaac that God would keep his seed until the day of Christ. Jacob - Joseph -
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 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.
23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; And the one people shall be stronger than the other people; And the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.
24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
The Hall of Faith records the way these men faced death more than life 11:20-22
These men all received the promises and believed them though they never possessed them 11:13
They believed the promises of God so much that even facing death they passed the promises on to their children
Notice that it has always been faith that pleases God 11:6, even in the Old Testament
There has never been another way to be saved and there never will be. It is always by faith
Facing death your faith will be tested more than ever
It is easy to talk about what you believe while all is going well
When death comes the false front falls
Though they defeated death by faith they were all very normal men
It is easy to think of Bible men as something more than we are but they were just men with the same frailties that we have
Their faith was at best imperfect
Both Isaac and Jacob were very up and down in their spiritual lives
It was not what they did that defeated death but their trusting what He did
Isaac blesses Jacob and Esau 11:20
Of these three men Isaac does the least of all of them
He probably has the weakest faith
God directly gave His promise to Isaac Genesis 26:3-4
Though he has God’s promise to protect him he doesn’t trust the promise Genesis 26:7
It is the pagan king that recognizes the sin because he listened to God Genesis 26:10
Isaac goes back home to the promised land because of pressure from others Genesis 26:22
God promises Isaac again Genesis 26:24-25
Isaac does not want to recognize God’s choosing of Jacob to be his heir but in the end through trickery gives him the blessing
Isaac had to be forced into doing what God wanted most of his life but he did it
How is your walk with God? Are you seeking Him or must you be pushed and pushed to find His will and do it?
Jacob blesses the sons of Joseph 11:21
Lived an up and down spiritual life
He bargains with God Genesis 28:20-21
Another time he wrestles with God all night Genesis 32:24-26
Jacob knew that he was not an Egyptian and even dead wanted to go back to his people Genesis 47:29
Jacob blesses his son Joseph and Joseph’s two sons Genesis 48
He knew that God had redeemed him and done a work in his life
He asks that this same God do a work in the lives of his grandchildren Genesis 48:15-16
Though Jacob has been a moody man, often complaining about his lot in life, he dies right
He calls the family in, he speaks to them and blesses them
He sees what he says as prayers and prophesy for his children
He finishes the blessings and pulls his feet into his bed and dies Genesis 49:33
What will you pass on to your children?
Will they believe you when you tell them spiritual things on your death bed?
Joseph gives orders about his bones 11:22
Though he lived his entire adult life in Egypt he knew he didn't belong there
He was able to turn down all that the great life offered to honor and follow God
Living among riches, power, and popularity Joseph was able to keep focused on who he was and what God’s plan was for his life I John 2:15-17
These things often choke out spiritual life Matthew 13:22
He reminds them that God will visit them, work a miracle and get them out of Egypt Genesis 50:24
Joseph makes it clear that God has a plan for Israel and though he was used to save them far greater things are ahead
He gave up all the pomp and circumstance that could have been his so that his bones could go to the promised land
Don't get too attached to this world. It is not our home. He is coming for us. He has promised us a home too John 14:3
Can you have things without them having you?
Can you enjoy all that God has given you to enjoy without losing touch with eternal reality?
Do you use what He has given you for His purposes without getting too attached and keeping it for yourself?