Genesis 25:19-28:9, God’s Grace Displayed for His Glory

Introduction

Good morning, beloved. It is an incredible joy to open God’s Word together again. If you have a Bible, please open with me to Genesis 25. Once again, we are continuing our high altitude fly over of the book of Genesis. This account of beginnings. The account of God beginning to deal with His people all for the sake of His own glory. We are looking at the relatively brief account of God’s dealings with Isaac and his family. Before we begin, let’s pray and ask the LORD to bless our time together in His Word.

PRAY

What do you find most encouraging in your life? What keeps you going day after day? What gets you up and moving again when you’re down? Sometimes it might be a comforting and encouraging word from a friend or family member. Sometimes it might be a well timed compliment about the way you did something or handled a situation. Typically, when we think of encouragement we think of it coming from a more positive perspective. Like a “well done” after you worked hard at something.

But, what if I told you that you can even be encouraged in spite of yourself? In spite of failure. Maybe that sounds like a strange idea to you. I assure you it isn’t though. If you are a Christian, even in the midst of discouragement, you can still find great comfort and encouragement in the face of your own failings. You just have to be looking in the right place––or better yet––you just need to be looking to the right person. The right source of all encouragement. The LORD Himself is to be our source of encouragement.

Our passage this morning follows the brief account of God’s dealings with Isaac, the son of Abraham. To be quite honest, Isaac wasn’t all that impressive. We’ll see a couple of bright spots in his life, to be sure. But Isaac actually shows himself to not be all that impressive. He has quite a few blunders as a man, as a husband, and as a father. Blunders so bad that it leads to incredible family dysfunction and brokenness.

Yet, in spite of his failures, and the sinful dynamics of the rest of the family, God’s sovereign grace abounds all the praise of His own glory. That’s what we will see very prominently throughout this account we are looking at together this morning. Woven through the tapestry of this incredible account is the thread of God’s sovereign grace at work for His own glory and the joy of His people in spite of themselves. That’s the thread that ties everything together.

Israel would have read this on the precipice of entering the promised land. The conquest of the land was a daunting and worrisome task. They had sinned and failed many times during the wilderness wanderings. They needed to be reminded of God’s power and grace that was at work in and for them. That was the ground of their confidence in all that lay ahead, not their own strength or merit. Thus, it would be the grounds for their praise and worship of Him. God saves His people and fulfills His promises all to the praise of His own glory.

Like Israel, we too have experienced sin and failure in our own lives during the wilderness wandering of life in this fallen world while we await the final fulfillment of God’s promises when Christ returns. We too need to be reminded and encouraged by God’s sovereign grace at work in and through us all the praise of His own glory. Being encouraged by that will lead us to live a life of praise to God for who He is and what He has done and is doing.

MAIN POINT—Live your life in praise to God according to His sovereign grace.

Defining Terms

Before we get deep into the text, I want to take a few minutes to define our terms. Particularly what we mean when we speak of God’s sovereignty and God’s grace. First, when we speak of God’s sovereignty we should think of His right to rule over everything. As Creator of all, He has the right to rule over everything. He has the right to do all that He pleases with His creation.

Additionally, when we speak of God’s sovereignty we should think of His power to rule over everything. He has the power, the ability to do all that He pleases with His creation. In fact, nothing can truly oppose Him because of His sovereignty. Thus, Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

The other term we must carefully define for our purposes this morning is God’s grace. When we speak of God’s grace we are thinking of His unmerited favor shown to some. God’s grace cannot be merited. It cannot be earned. If it could, then by definition it would not be grace. By God’s grace, he shows mercy to some, by giving them what they do not deserve––His righteous judgment. God’s people experience God’s mercy by God’s grace. We do not and cannot earn it. It is freely given by God according to His own good pleasure. A gift, so that no one may boast.

Thus, putting the two terms together, when we speak of God’s sovereign grace we are referring to God’s right and power to dispense His grace as He pleases, all for His own praise and glory among the recipients of His sovereign grace. God’s sovereign grace has a purpose, a goal. Its end is to lead His people, the recipients of His grace, to praise and worship Him in glad submission and delight in Him for all eternity for who He is and what He has done for us in Christ.

Now, one more thing to be said, which will then lead us into the text before us this morning. God’s grace is not opposed to human responsibility. The recipients of God’s grace live and act in accordance with and in response to God’s grace. God’s grace leads to action in the lives of His people, prompted and fueled by His sovereign grace. Which leads to the outline for the rest of our time this morning. In light of God’s sovereign grace, the people of God…

Seek Him in prayer

Treasure Him and His blessing.

Fear Him above all

Trust God and wait on Him

Seek Him in Prayer

The first thing I want us to note is that God’s sovereign grace leads His people to Seek Him in Prayer. Follow along in your Bible as I READ GENESIS 25:19-26.

We are reminded in verse 20 that Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Then in verse 26 we learn that he was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to His two sons––Esau and Jacob. The math is simple. Isaac, being the one who inherited God’s blessings and promises to Abraham, waited for twenty years before he and his wife would see the first fruits of that promise. By our standards, that’s a long time!

Just as it was with Sarah, God’s promise seemed to be in jeopardy because Rebekah was likewise barren. But, unlike Abraham and Sarah, Isaac does well by not seeking to take matters into his own hand. He doesn’t try to manufacture the blessing according to human means. Here we see Isaac do well in trusting the LORD. He prayed. He sought the LORD according to the LORD's promises. Belief in God's sovereignty actually draws us to Him in prayer, not complacency.

Sometimes, people will ask “If God is sovereign, then why do we pray?” The thinking is that if God is going to work everything out, then we really don’t need to pray. But that is entirely wrong thinking. God’s sovereignty actually leads us to pray. So, what we actually should say and think is this–– “because God is sovereign, I will pray.” Who else better to go to in times of uncertainty and need than the sovereign LORD of the universe who is able to do all that He pleases?

Though there is some mystery to this, God uses the prayers of His people as a part of His working out His sovereign plans and purposes. Beloved, let God’s sovereignty encourage and fuel your prayers. The LORD knows and remembers His promises. Even more, He is able to do all that He pleases, including bringing about His sovereign plans and purposes. Therefore, like Isaac, we are led to seek Him in prayer. Our prayers bring Him glory because they acknowledge His sovereignty and our utter dependence upon Him.

Beloved, this is at the very heart of why we come together in corporate prayer the first Sunday of every month. As the people of God we desire to see God’s name praised. We desire to see His kingdom advance through the spread of the gospel. We desire to see the gospel going out among the nations. We desire to see our lost family, friends, and neighbors saved from the coming judgment. With those desires, knowing God’s sovereign grace by our own experience, we come together and call upon Him to do what only He can do for His own glory.

The other part of this is God’s grace––His unmerited favor––toward some. Feeling the struggle within her womb, Rebekah inquired of the LORD about it. Then, in verse 23 we see the LORD’s response to her inquiry. We learn she is bearing twins. But contrary to human wisdom and tradition, the older will serve the younger. Thus, when they were born, it became clear that Jacob, as the second born, would have preference and rule over Esau, the older. This was according to God’s purpose of grace.

Now, where am I getting that point? Here it is important to remember a very important principle in reading and studying our Bible’s. The Bible unfolds for us as a progressive revelation about God and His redemptive plans and purposes in the world. By progressive, I don’t mean liberal ideology. I mean progress in the sense of unfolding, like a story unfolds and progresses through a novel. Later texts bring further development and clarity to what has come before it.

Here’s why this is important to remember. The New Testament authors, who were also writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in many places explain passages from the Old Testament and their implications for who God is and what He is doing in the world all for His own glory. That is to simply say that when we’re trying to interpret the Old Testament as the New Covenant people of God, we should do so according to how the New Testament authors interpreted such passages

In regards to the text we are in this morning, the apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 9 that this points us to God's purpose of sovereign grace in election. There was no moral virtue about Jacob that made him preferable over Esau. That much is made clear in the deception we see later in Genesis 27. Like all of God's people, Jacob’s election is based on God's mercy and grace alone. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy.

This is important, beloved, because it actually leads us to humble praise and worship to our great God. We have nothing to boast about in and of ourselves. As Christians, we know that. Or at least we should. There is nothing inherently impressive about us that merited God’s favor to us in Christ. God’s grace leads us to worship Him all the more and marvel at His sovereign grace in our own lives and the lives of others among the people of God. God’s sovereign grace leads us to praise.

Do you praise Him for this gift of grace, beloved? Do you marvel at what God has done and is doing for you all by His grace for His glory? If you’re like me, the answer is probably not nearly enough. But one day, we will worship and praise and glorify Him for all eternity with white hot worship for this very reality. That He gave us eyes to see and ears to hear. That His grace drew us in to contemplate the infinite glory of Christ and the cross and compelled us to come to Him in repentance and faith.

That’s what Paul does in Romans 11 after considering all that God is doing.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Treasure Him and His Blessing

The second thing I want us to see is that God’s sovereign grace should lead us to Treasure Him and His Blessing. Let’s READ GENESIS 25:27-34.

It doesn’t take long for us to get a hint that things are going to go downhill for this family and their relational dynamics. In a sense, we already saw it in the previous verses as the two brothers struggled against each other even in the womb. But then, adding more fuel to the fire, we learn in verses 27-28 that there was some parental favoritism at work also. An important note made by Moses in this narrative. It will play out later as Isaac seeks to bless Esau instead of Jacob, according to the oracle given in Genesis 25:23.

When we come to verse 29, the timeline picks up and fast forwards a bit. Jacob and Esau are now older. Esau is able to hunt. Jacob is able to cook. At the heart of this narrative is the two brothers opposite each other. Neither of them is really portrayed in a positive light. Esau, the oldest, came in from hunting and was exhausted. Seeking imediate relief from his exhaustion he saw Jacob’s stew and insisted he get some of it. Most likely, Esau was being a bit dramatic here. He most certainly was not near death.

Jacob, it seems, knew his brother's impulsive tendencies. So, he just so happened to be cooking some of this stew as Esau would be coming in from the fields famished. There’s not any deception, but certainly some manipulation. Using Esau’s impulsive nature against him, he was able to manipulate Esau into giving up his birthright. As the firstborn, according to tradition, he was supposed to inherit the primary blessing of his father and eventually take on authority and responsibility as head of the family. It was a prominent position of the firstborn.

Once again, the New Testament helpfully shed light on this text and makes clear what we are to glean from it. Hebrews 12 picks this story up and teaches us an essential lesson as those who are recipients of God’s mercy and grace. Here in Genesis 25, we see that Esau is a man driven by his passions and makes a bad decision for short term gain that forfeited long-term blessing. Listen to what the author of Hebrews has to say about all of this in Hebrews 12:15––

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

The author of Hebrews is writing to Christians who are experiencing trials and difficulties on account of their faith. Throughout the letter, he is urging them to persevere in the faith. To not turn away from the faith for the fleeting pleasures of this world. To keep their eyes fixed on the eternal reward that is found in Christ alone. In the verses I just read from Hebrews 12, the author uses this account to make that point to his audience––do not turn away from the faith and God's blessing for short term gain in the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Beloved, life as a Christian in this sinful fallen world is no cake walk. We are guaranteed that we will have difficulty in this world. We should not be surprised by it. We should anticipate it and with that we should anticipate the same temptation to turn away. Maybe we will find relief from our suffering, especially if it is at the hand of the world persecuting us. But to do so, beloved, would be giving in for short term gain. The call of this text, like it was to the audience of Hebrews is the same. Endure suffering. Persevere in the faith. To do so will be far better.

More than anything this world has to offer, we are to treasure Christ and the sure blessings that are ours in Him by faith alone. Jacob was not blameless. He was shrewd and manipulated his brother. Nevertheless, he knew the greater treasure in the long run. And, in spite of his manipulative personality, God’s purpose of grace for Jacob to receive the blessing will come to fruition.

Fear Him Above All

Third, I want us to see that God’s sovereign grace leads us to Fear Him Above All. Follow along as I READ GENESIS 26:1-11.

In those first five verses we just read, we see explicitly the promises made to Abraham are given to Isaac. God affirmed to Isaac that he was in fact going to carry forward the promises made to Abraham. This should have been a comfort and encouragement to Isaac. I’m sure that it was.

However, such encouragement did not have the effect of him having full confidence in the LORD to protect Him. We see, as the saying goes, that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Isaac is being portrayed here as Abraham 2.0. It’s sort of like the remake of an iconic movie in our day. Here, with Isaac, we have an Abraham reboot.

A famine had come upon the land. Isaac dwelt in the land of Gerar and he too had his own dealings with a ruler named Abimelech. Most likely this is a different Abimelech than the one Abraham dealt with back in Genesis 20. Perhaps a son or grandson or a title of the king in those parts at that time, like Pharaoh is the title of the king of Egypt. We can’t be too sure.

While dwelling in the land of Gerar, Isaac gave in to the same temptation of fearing man that his father, Abraham, did. He told the people of the land that Rebekah was his sister instead of his wife. This was just as cowardly and shameful as it was with Abraham. He put his wife in danger to save his own skin. Even worse, he feared man rather than God. But, just as He did with Abraham, God showed Himself to be faithful in spite of Isaac’s faithlessness. God graciously intervened for the sake of His own name and the promises He made to Abraham.

Beloved, we are just as prone to the fear of man as Isaac was. The temptations come in a variety of ways. We might be tempted to soften the message of the gospel. We might want to remove the hard aspects of sin and judgment to make the message seem more “palatable.” We might be tempted to compromise our integrity so that we’re not seen as strange by our unbelieving coworkers and neighbors. We want to save our own skin––to be liked and not mocked for what we believe.

To do such things, betrays a fear of man and love for the world that does not fear God above all and fails to honor Him as we are called to do. We dare not tamper with the word of God to package it according to the world’s liking. We dare not compromise gospel living for the sake of man’s praise. To use Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28––“do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Beloved, God’s grace is sufficient for us in our weakness. When tempted to fear man rather than God, we must remember His sovereign grace that is at work for His glory and our joy in Him. When God is for us, who can ultimately stand against us in the grand scheme of eternity? Thus, we live for Him and His glory. Let’s pick back up and READ GENESIS 26:12-35.

God graciously delivered Isaac from his own cowardice and in spite of his sin, continued to bless him. Once again, we see that God's promises to Abraham are also to Isaac. This entire passage emphasized God’s presence with and blessing resting upon Isaac. No matter how many times the people of the land opposed him by stopping up his wells, the LORD continued to bless Him and provide for Him. And as a result, this pagan king, Abimelech, and those who were with him took notice that the LORD was with Isaac.

These outsiders recognize God's blessing upon Isaac. Now, we need to be careful here in how we apply this. We might be tempted to look at the material blessing of Isaac in this passage and think that such material blessing is what we can expect. And that is simply not true. Sometimes God does grant material blessing to his people. Other times, His blessing comes according to other means. You should not consider material abundance and earthly possessions as a sure sign of God’s blessing on you.

All you have to do is consider the earthly life and ministry of the LORD Jesus who said in Matthew 8:20 “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” He was a man despised and rejected by men. Eventually murdered on a Roman cross. All his disciples, and the church, after Him, experienced severe persecution. Yet they were nonetheless blessed by God. Namely, in His presence with them.

What does that look like for us today? Just as these outsiders were able to look at Isaac and see that God was with him, is the unbelieving world around you able to look at your life and see that God is with you? Is there a marked difference in your life compared to theirs?

Are you increasingly being conformed to the likeness of Christ? Such that, no matter what circumstances you face in life you are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh? Are people able to see increasing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? And as a result ask you to give a reason for the hope that is in you?

Oh beloved, let us increasingly be a people who bear the marks of our LORD Jesus in lives that demonstrate His presence with us, all to the praise of His glory, knowing that we do so all according to His sovereign grace.

Trust God and Wait On Him

Finally, God’s sovereign grace should lead us to Trust and Wait On Him. Let’s READ GENESIS 27. Don’t miss all the sin and family dysfunction. No one is blameless, not even Isaac. In spite of it all, God’s grace abounds and the promise goes on.

Earlier we noted Isaac's favoritism for Esau because of the tasty game he would bring him to eat. That favoritism begins to play out in a significant way here in Genesis 27. We often might read this passage and feel sorry for Isaac being deceived here. But Isaac sort of brought this on himself. He’s not guiltless. We can feel bad for him. Compassion for someone caught in sin is good and right. But, he still bears responsibility and will experience the consequences for His sin.

Isaac would have known about God’s word’s to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23. He knew that the blessing was supposed to go to Jacob, the younger. He should have been seeking to bless Jacob all along. Instead, he bucked against God’s ways and sought to go his own way to bless Esau. But, as we will see, God's plans cannot be undone. God will not be mocked. Isaac’s taste buds and favoritism toward the older son will not alter God’s plans. Now, that doesn’t make what Rebekah and Jacob did okay.

We ought not see this and think that there are occasions to lie and deceive to manufacture God’s blessings. Nor should we assign guilt to God and suggest that He blessed their sin. I assure you He didn’t approve. What we should realize and remember is that God’s grace is at work for the good of His people and His own glory in spite of our sin, not because of it. But, as we saw in reading, the consequences of the sin and family dysfunction will be long term turmoil even as God’s grace abounds in the promise continuing to Jacob as He intended.

The sinful family dysfunction is on full display. Rebekah remembered the promise about Jacob receiving the blessing, heard what Isaac said to Esau, and determined to take matters into her own hands. She failed to trust that the LORD would see to it that Jacob would be blessed. She should not have done this in such a deceptive way. Perhaps a simple reminder to Isaac about what the LORD had said would have sufficed. Then simply seek the LORD and trust Him to bring it about according to His own means.

Jacob, though he was obeying his mother, was still guilty of sin for partaking in the deception and lying to his father, which even included taking the LORD’s name in vain there in verse 20. All in all, the ruse worked and Jacob received the blessing. Though God graciously permitted the blessing to pass on this way, it came with devastating consequences. Esau was filled with bitter, murderous rage. Rebekah, as far as we can tell, would never see her beloved son, Jacob, again as he would be sent away. Jacob would reap the consequences later in his life.

Sin always has consequences even as God’s grace abounds all to the praise of His glory. Much of this could have been avoided had Isaac remembered that Jacob was to be blessed and simply prepared Esau for that reality. Instead, we see a family full of favoritism, deception, and hateful murderous ambition. Isaac learned the hard and painful way that God’s purposes are not to be resisted. God will have His way with or without our willing participation.

There is certainly a warning in that. We dare not resist God’s purposes. We dare not seek to go our own way and do things according to our own wisdom. We look to God’s Word. We consider what He has revealed in His Word about how we are to live and do ministry together. We do our level best by His grace and the power of His Spirit at work in us to do things His way. When we don’t, we should know that God will not stand by and allow His plans to go unfulfilled. We will bear consequences for not doing things His way. That is a warning for us all.

But there’s encouragement too, isn’t there? That’s how we began our time together this morning. We should be encouraged by God’s sovereign grace in spite of our shortcomings, our sins, and our failures. All our hope rests upon God’s sovereign grace, not our own merit. Our sins, though they are many, His mercy is more.

Conclusion

Are you a Christian here this morning weighed down by sin and shame? Maybe it's a secret sin that has yet to come to light. Maybe it's something that has come to light and the consequences seem like more than you can bear. And you need to hear from this text that you are not beyond God’s sovereign grace at work for your joy in Christ. Cling to Christ and the mercy that is found in Him and Him alone. He loves to take what is weak in the world to shame the wise and prideful of this age who are resting in their own so-called self-righteousness.

Maybe you’re here today and you’re not a Christian. For any number of reasons you find God’s grace unbelievable when you consider your ways over the course of your life. You need to know that no Christian in this world is a Christian because of their own merit. Every Christian here in this room is a debtor to God’s grace––His sovereign grace. You have that same hope if you will simply turn from your sin and come to Christ in faith. And if you do, you will join the vast number of God’s people who will sing His praises for all eternity because of His sovereign grace.

Whoever you are and wherever you are in relation to the LORD this morning, my hope for every single one of us is the same. Beloved, Live your life in praise to God according to His sovereign grace.