(HOF) Bible study #1 Isaac and Jacob

Good morning now I've been in your seats before and I know how exhausted you probably are so let's stand up stretch a little bit and then we can sit back down and jump in the Gods word this morning.

Go ahead open your Bibles to Hebrews 11:20-21

Will be towards the back of your Bibles:

The book of Hebrews is considered to be possibly a sermon that was transcribed, and sent to all the churches as a latter.

The audience is the Hebrew people, the Jews

And Hebrews 11 is all about faith we see in verse one the opening statement for the rest of the chapter

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

What does that mean?

What does faith look like practically?

what do people put faith in?

what is our faith in as Christian’s

With that in mind, let's go ahead and read a text for this morning

scripture

Hebrews 11:20–21 (ESV)

20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

Now let’s go to our God in prayer:

Do you, Lord we seek you and we ask you to bring clarity of mind clarity of understanding and clarity in our lives. We ask that you would lead our discussion our conversation and our lesson this morning. God I asked if you would like to lead a different direction than I have currently planned that you would do so that you would move and that you would speakThrough myself and through all of us collectively we ask for your blessing for your peace and for your guidance amen.

Who is someone in your life that you know has faith?

Intro:

Morning, I quickly want to set the stage of the people in this passage

Then I want to focus, and on the faith and the blessing

Q: Looking at our passage today who are the characters? The people that The author is referring to?

A: Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and Joseph's sons

Isaac:

Isaac was the son who Abraham and Sarah had in their old age Just as God had promised.

the father of Jacob and Esau

Isaac was also the sun who laid down as a sacrifice to obey his father Abraham.

And when Abraham went to sacrifice him, God told him to stop and said that he would provide

Isaac at 40 years old married his wife, Rebekah, and she conceived two sons

Genesis 25:21–27 ESV

21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

Jacob:

Jacob was the second born of Isaac

Jacob is described as a “Man of tents”

what do you think that means?

Jacob means: “He who supplants; Holder of the heel.”

The name can also mean to overreach Jacob it was born, grabbing the heel of his brother, and Jacob lived as a man who supplanted himself into his brothers blessing into his brothers place

Esau:

Esau was the first born of Isaac He was a hunter, a man's man. The Bible describes him as a man covered with hair He said it would be a picture of masculinity.

Esau was loved by Isaac And Jacob was loved by Rebekah

A picture of favoritism from both parents, but I want you to remember what God told Rebekah: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Rebekah had an understanding of what God wanted for her children and I am sure that Rebekah would have shared this information with Isaac

In Jewish culture the older son was the one who would inherit most of the land so for God to say that the older shall serve, the younger was countercultural

And Isaac had planned on giving the blessing to Esau, but Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac so that he would give it to Jacob

Where Isaac was lacking in faith, Rebekah stayed steadfast

Tell the story of the blessing: Jacob’s stealing the blessing from His brother

In the end, Isaac had faith and blessed both of his sons, and didn't change the order of the blessing

Jacob received the blessing and Esau received a much less favorable blessing.

Isaac didn't try to change his mind, but he trusted the Lord in the way things played out.

“The older shall serve the younger.”

Joseph:

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Genesis 41:50–52 ESV

Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Conclusion:

So what do we see here?

What is the commonality or the common thing between Isaac blessing Jacob and Esau and Jacob blessing Joseph's children?

I want to highlight that he's a man we're not perfect. Jacob is a liar, deceiver manipulator.

Isaac, also Much like Abraham would often Lie

But Despite their sin, both Jacob and Isaac were blessed by God, and blessed their sons, having faith that God would fulfill his promise to them.

When Jacob blessed the children of Joseph, he didn't even have a land to give them, but he had faith that God would provide the land

So what can we learn from these stories? Do you have to be perfect to have faith?

Do you have to see the answer to have faith?