Gen #17 Gen 25
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Northside Church
Gen #17 Gen 25
Jamey Mills
2\4\24
Ill…
Made some of the best soup I’ve ever made… so good… I had a bunch left and I was going to bring it and share it with as many of you as I could… but I woke up early… and yada yada… my stomach hurts and I have this much left.
Then I had this idea… we are moving toward building a church which is expensive…
I have this one bowl of amazing soup that someone could enjoy while listening to sermon that no doubt will be awesome…
It's’ good soup. Really good… what's it worth to you? Let's start the bidding at $1dollar.
My name is Jamey. I'm the lead pastor here at Northside… It’s good to be with you guys. We are 17 weeks deep into our study on Genesis called Bringing Chaos to Order…
We’ve been reminded time and time again just how important Genesis is… Understanding Genesis well will play a huge role in your
Understanding if who and how big God is
How he works and relates to people
They way you are designed
The eternal nature and deity of Jesus
And… you see God in really clear ways… showing… and even giving real life examples as to who Jesus is and what faith looks like.
We see what happens when we… choose sin over what God has; in essence saying… I know what’s best for me and you… even over what God says.
You haven’t been engaging in our daily reading… as your pastor I couldn’t encourage you enough to do it. In the bulletin… on One Click… on the website. We are going to figure out a way for you to sign up and get them texted/emailed to you every morning… It’s that important.
Abraham’s wife sarah is dead… Isaac now has a wife…
At the ripe age of about 140 Abraham decides its time to settle down and have 6 more sons with his wife Keturah.
It talks about how Isaac had given everything he had to Isaac and how before he died he gave gifts to his other sons and sent them East, away from Isaac as to not get in the way of what God is doing.
Sort of protecting the covenant that God had made with him. He’s already seen how brutal this can be… and this would make 8 sons with three different women… sounds like a recipe for good ol’ family feud.
Gen 25:7-9 (NLT)
Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
7 Abraham lived for 175 years, 8 and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
Keturah’s sons didn’t come back… but Isaac was there… and surprisingly we see Ishmael here (after being sent away in what felt like shame and hurt). They buried Abraham right next to his wife Sarah.
Abraham experienced 100 years of following God
… with all kinds of good days and bad days… successes and failures.
Maybe I am alone in this, but even though Abraham made some really really dumb mistakes… Polygomy, lying, leaving his wife out to dry a time or two… even today, at least to me it feels tangible. Abraham… and his death… the world lost something special that day.
And if we were to start to look at the things that God promised Abraham with fresh eyes today, what do you think we’ll see?
Bless him (12:2)
To bless all peoples (12:3)
Promised land (12:7)
Issac through Sarah (15:4)
Old age (15:15)
Father of Nations (17:5,16)
Father of Kings (17:6,16)
This passing on of truth and Covenant from generation to generation (17:7)
Without fail… God did it all.
God did EVERYTHING that He promised He would do.
He’s not the kind of God who doesn’t keep His promises. Who abandons you ½ way. Who is idle and not at work.
And my question is…
How does knowing that God did everything He promised to and for Abraham change the way you think/believe about God?
They way you think and believe about God?
How does it change the way you see Him and apply what He says to your life today?
You’re not a fool to put your faith in Him.
There is not just reason, but wisdom… in trusting God and His faithfulness… not only his ability, but His track record in doing what it is he says He will do.
Does that move the needle for you one way or the other? Does it excite you? Does it scare you? Does it register? It should inspire confidence in God.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
- Jim Elliot
2 Tim 1… this is how Paul says it…
I know… I KNOW who I believe in! And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is able to guard what it is that I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return…
Paul is saying… I have seen the goodness of God… I have seen the faithfulness of God… and so my faith, my confidence is not misplaced when I lean hard into what He said He would do.
He also said this…
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
When we apply that to our own faith journey… we realize that this work God is and has been doing… He won’t abandon me 1\2 way. Praise God I am not who I once was… but Thank God He is not finished yet.
There is more… more for you to know about Him… More for you to grow in Him…
More for you to surrender to Him, and in learning to be led by Him… More… in the ways we draw near to Him…
What would Abraham say based on his experience…
It was not easy… sometimes it was painful… but my God… is faithful. He did it. I didn't always see it in the moment… but it is undeniable.
My God is faithful.
Do you believe that? Do you lean into and trust God like that?
Praise God for Abraham. Not only do I see God’s faithfulness but I see His power to change a life. I see His incredible patience. I see His gentleness… and in Abraham I learn… that God of all creation… the author of life… is at work even now… and He can love me too. and I hope that God gives you the ears to hear that with all the power it carries. It is a truth that can and should change your life.
100 years and God was completely faithful. He did what He said He would do… completely.
You can trust Him. He is able. He will deliver and He will deliver you.
It said that Abraham blessed His son Isaac… in the OT the blessing of a father in this way… was HUGE. meaningful… powerful… the passing on of the torch or the batoon in a way… deep value/respect in family and in family legacy that is missing in our culture.
Vs 12 goes on to give an account for Ishmael’s descendants. He had 12 sons and just like it said in Gen 17:20 they became 12 princes… don't think Egland… but princes of their own encampments… Tent cities…
Gen 25:17-18 (NLT)
Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.
17 Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18 Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.
Just like God said in Gen 16:2 they were marked by violence and open hostility. TO THIS DAY… if we are interested in acknowledging facts regardless of how our culture tells us to feel… Ishmael’s descendants still are.
Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations… more than 436 MILLION of them today.
Settled near Mecca… around 600 ad… Mohammad was born, a descendant of Ishmael… Islam was born.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims have been feuding ever since…
@ three things…
Land - Promised Land who is the rightful heir
Lineage - Isaac or Ishmael
Lord - Jesus or Allah
Vsd 19 starts an account of Issac and his family…
He was 40 when he got married to Rebekah…
Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.
21 Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?”
Barren… who does this sound like?
Abe and Sarah waited for 25 years for Isaac and in that process… they tried to sort of force God’s hand when Abraham, upon Sarah’s advice, married her servant…
Polygamy… trust issues…
And we see the same kind of thing here happening to Isaac and Rebekah…
Rebekah is barren… and they’ve waited for 20 years…
The way that we see this waiting… for a child… It seems like there is something we are supposed to get here… that
God is training them and us to look, watch and wait faithfully
Instead of trying to force God’s hand… they waited. Instead of trying to make a way, it says Isaac prayed… he sought God in ways his dad fell short… and isn’t that the prayer of every parent…
God hears him and answers his prayer. Rebekah becomes pregnant with twins… right out of the gate… even in the womb… these brothers are at each other.
So what does Rebekah do? She prays.
What a cool picture of parents that are actively seeking the Lord in life and for their children.
God tells her that the two sons within her will become two nations that from the beginning will be rivals… that the older would serve the younger.
Just like God said, the time came and she gave birth to twins…
The first one came out and was bright red and covered with hair… literally it says it looked like he was wearing a fur coat. Terrifying
The named Him Esau (word play with being hairy)
And the second one came out clutching Esau’s heel, so they named him
The name Jacob can mean supplanter/deceiver
It’s really interesting… that in the cases where Genesis has zoomed in on brothers so far… it's always dysfunctional… I do think there is something to that… but that's for another time. You see it in Cain/Abel, Isaac/Ishmael and now Jacob/Esau
And there is something incredibly powerful here for us.
These kids who had the same parents, same home, same food, same opportunities… but they turned out totally different.
And what I think we learn is that
There are no guarantees when it comes to raising your kids and training them up in the way that they should go.
But by God’s design… they have to chose if for themselves.
Our job is to set the example… look for opportunities… have conversations… learn to trust God’s leadership in us and in them knowing that sometimes it will involve pain.
Sometimes we tend to take pain away… rescue our kids and forget that sometimes natural consequences… and the pain they bring can be the most formative and even the greatest teacher.
Our job is to make them thirsty… to plant that seed and water it… and… acknowledge and make room for God and His role.
For some of us whose kids are far from God… this should be both a comfort and a commissioning… Never give up. Never stop praying.
The truth is, neither of these guys are great.
Genesis 25: 27- 28 (NLT)
As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau became a “man of the field”… a skillful hunter and outdoorsman. Killing things and punching people
Jacob was a “man of the tent”… quiet… more of an indoorsman cooking and cleaning
It says Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob… Do we see a problem here?
Favoritism is rough
It’s a great way to leave scars on kids and to allow conflict into your home.
E running to dad and J running to mom… kids begin to run and rule the family.
I wouldn’t say we raised our kids with favoritism, but I do think the way we chose to “team up” probably felt that way to our kids at times.
Gen 25:29-34 NLT
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
“All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
Neither one of these guys are great guys…
You’ll see more from Jacob but even here… taking advantage of this situation to take something of great value…
Esau… seems a little dramatic… but he was an unbelieving polygamist… Gen 26 says that he and his wives made life miserable for Isaac and his parents… Heb 12:16 talks about him as sexually immoral, profane, unholy, and careless about God…
Historically this battle gets crazy
Jacob becomes Israel
Esau… the Edomites
Herod was an Edomite
Fast Forward 2000 years… King Herod in an attempt to eradicate Jesus, who he believed was coming… ordered all the first born sons of Israel to be killed. Herod… was an Edomite.
How many things like that do we need to see in Genesis before we say… I’m in. This is just crazy.
Esau… is foolish. He comes in, overly dramatic… I want soup… Jacob is scheming… wants Esau's birthright which was massive…
Esau in an incredibly telling moment… does something mind blowingly foolish… what good is that to me… now. With this is says…
Esau despised his birthright
… and showed contempt for this covenant that God had with his family.
He treated this incredible position of honor, favor, and blessing… the ability to draw near to God, to discover and recover all that God designed and destined him to be and to take hold with both hands all that God has for Him…
And we see just how loosely he held it… His response was literally… what good is that to me now?
Really? The blessing and inheritance of your father is worthless to you now? The favor of your father… is worth nothing to you now? You’d sell if off for cheap and momentary things?
And as I wrestled with that and even got angry with it I came to realize something that I haven't been able to let go of….
I am Easu and I think you might be too.
Like Esau… it feels like we care so little for what it means to be made in His image… to be holders of His truth… this position of favor as His child, to be heirs by His grace…the target of Salvation…
We hold these things of mind blowing importance and value with the same loose grip that Esau did.
Part of choosing Jesus… Part of worship is seeing, valuing, and applying God’s plan and design in your life… learning into it with great faith… because of who He is and because of His track record. Trusting… that even if it's hard at the moment… it w
part of worship is understanding… seeing God’s plan and design… his favor and love over you…
Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT)
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
Romans 1:28–31 (NLT)
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
that we end up trading it for things that are of such little value.
Trading God’s design… His favor… His blessing… and our inheritance in Him for what?
Things that will not last… that rob us life, fullness and freedom… that keep us from taking hold of all that HE is and has with both hands… FOR WHAT?
Things that will never last… that rob me of God’s blessing and that frankly… don’t even matter…
Momentary pleasure that upends generational blessing…
We do this… choosing alcohol… lust… comfort… an image that we create…
This is a warning about choosing momentary pleasure over God’s blessing and design.
This failure to grab ahold of Him and all that He is and has with both hands…
This place where he could grab with both hands
Short term pleasure that robs of long term, even eternal blessing.