Not What You Expected (Genesis 25:12-34)

Darth Vader as Luke Skywalker’s father

Now What You Expected

God does not act in ways that are popular to man

save star football player

save Pharaoh (great leader of a mighty nation)

but God does act in ways that are consistent with Himself

save water-boy

save Moses (weak, stutterer who makes tons of excuses)

so that there is no confusion as to WHO gets all the glory

background

Abraham/Sarah —> Isaac/Rebekah (well really their 2 boys)

shocking prophesy—not what you expected from God

25:19-26 pew Bible # 23

husband/wife situation is not focus of passage

similar to Abraham and Sarah’s situation (barren)

Ishmael’s descendants don’t seem to have a problem procreating

but Sarah did

and now so does Isaac’s wife, Rebekah

why would God do that to His chosen people???

children would not be just an expected part of the human experience

BUT it would be clear God stepped in…IN HIS OWN TIMING

Isaac—40 years old then 60 years old

but this is not the focus of this passage

the 20 years of bitter barrenness is covered in but 1 verse (25:21)

focus is with the struggle between the twins

25:22 struggled “Literally it says, ‘The children smashed themselves inside her.’ ”

prophetic oracle of divine communication (25:23)

the older shall serve the younger—Jacob over Esau

this passage is quoted in the NT

Romans 9:10-13

before any good or bad deed, God chose the younger over the older

actually, despite what bad deeds the younger would do

meaning of Jacob’s name—”heel grabber” = “deceiver”

God’s choice (election)

are you scared to preach on election?

not really

why I know this is a controversial topic, it is a Biblical topic

not a subject I chose to preach

preach all of Bible

we cannot run or shy away from the Bible

we should press in with humility

God chose the younger

Jacob over Esau (Gen 25)

primogeniture (being firstborn)

double portion

humanity favors the firstborn, not most qualified (monarchies—kings and queens)

thus God choosing Jacob not expected

God has a pattern of choosing the younger

Abel over Cain

Seth the youngest

Isaac over Ishmael

Jacob over Esau

Rachel over Leah

Joseph over brothers

Judah over older brothers

Ephraim over Manasseh

David over brothers

Solomon over Adonijah

John Sailhamer “Behind each of these “reversals” was the recurring theme of God’s sovereign plan of grace. The blessing was not a natural right, as a right of the firstborn son would be. Rather, God’s blessing was extended to those who had no other claim to it. They all received what they did not deserve.”

God has a pattern of choosing those we would not expect

the more we get to know God

we should expect the unexpected (humanly speaking)

or expect how God normally acts

1 Cor 1:26-29

Moses, not the gifted speaker

Jesus

born in a stable, raised in despised Nazareth, poor and lowly

rejected by men Isaiah 53:3

this Jesus is who God chose Philippians 2:9

then Jesus in turn chooses lowly disciples to be His representatives to the nations

election is God’s prerogative (an exclusive right, privilege)

we want God’s election to make sense to us

but it doesn’t have to

God is God and we are not

does not have to answer to anyone

HE IS GOD

He is the potter; we are the clay (Rom 9)

what right does the pot have to say to the potter???

God chose us in Christ

Eph 1:3-6

not based on merit (you don’t want that)

God doesn’t look through the corridor of time

to see if we would be good or choose Him

Romans 9:11

God did not choose Jacob because of what good works he would do

God chose Jacob DESPITE the evil works that He was gonna do

Esau nor Jacob are worthy

shocking behavior—not what you expected from man

25:27-34

sad sin—parents played favorites

Isaac—Esau

Rebekah—Jacob

our aim is that all 3 children think they are the favorite

if this were a western cowboy movie

we may think we have it figured out

Esau is the good guy — white cowboy hat

the tan, hairy hunter, outdoor type, a straight shooter

Jacob is the bad guy — black cowboy hat

squinty eyed, the foxy, deceiving, mama’s boy

BUT WE WOULD BE WRONG

Jacob catches Esau in a weak moment

with a pot of lentil stew ready to eat

Esau asks to eat some of it (25:30)

more crude than translation

“eat” is more like gulping down (used for feeding of animals)

Jacob takes advantage of the situation to reverse the primogeniture

pot of stew in exchange for your birthright

thus we would conclude Jacob stole Esau’s birthright

BUT WE WOULD BE partially RIGHT and partially WRONG

inspired author

Thus Esau despised his birthright. (25:34)

despise — treat as worthless

Hebrew authors seldom evaluate actions BUT PAY ATTENTION WHEN DO

Esau could care less about his birthright

while Jacob goes to great lengths to gain it

Esau has proven he is not fit to keep the birthright

Esau did not want his birthright…he despised his birthright

this is not what you would expect

let’s focus now on God’s chosen—Jacob

living up to his name

plotting and planning (stewing over the stew)

he will get the birthright no matter what conniving he has to do

now he is legally considered the firstborn

Jacob is not worthy either

this is not what you would expect—God would choose the “good guy”

Man’s choice (responsibility)

if we only understand very little of the Bible

we understand that we are responsible for our choices

Esau and Jacob are both making real choices that have real consequences

Esau would rather 1 pot of stew over his birthright (Heb 12:15-17)

he chose a single meal over an inheritance

Jacob would rather deceive than get things honorably

here he is unwilling to share a pot of stew with his famished brother

“It will cost you, Esau”

later Jacob will deceive Isaac to steal Esau’s blessing

he will trick his uncle Laban to leave a wealthy man

Jacob is a heel-grabber, deceiver, self-made man

not worthy to be the seed of the woman (3:15)

THUS God’s choice of Jacob is totally of grace

Jacob is a total scoundrel…UNTIL the night he wrestles with God (32)

the fact that God uses men like Jacob to build His kingdom should shock us

AND encourage us at the same time

no matter how bad Jacob was, God still graciously used him

how many of you would have chosen the Acts 7 Saul holding the coats of Stephen’s stoners (assassinators)?

what are we to make of this account in the backdrop of the Bible and human history?

compatibilism—upholding divine sovereignty and human responsibility

compatibilism

oil and water

explain divine sovereignty (Matt 10:29)

2 examples

Gen 50

brothers sold Joseph into slavery and ended up in Egypt

yet God sent Joseph to Egypt — 2nd in command (45:8)

which is it? both

Acts 2:23-25

Jesus died according to God’s plan

yet you crucified Jesus

2 truths in the Bible that seem incompatible but are because God says they are

God is God and chooses whom He chooses

while may make us bristle, cannot bypass or explain away in Scripture

I am not asking you to like it

BUT we must embrace the God of the Bible and not the God of our own making

we are okay if His choosing is us or our family

we are not okay always if it is someone we think is undeserving

interesting enough we almost always think we are deserving

if you think you are deserving of salvation,

then you don’t understand grace

let the stench of that arrogance die before our holy God

BUT we are all deserving of God’s just wrath towards our sin

Jesus emphasizes that the last shall become first in His kingdom

it’s because anyone in His kingdom knows they really shouldn’t be there

except for the King’s free gift

ESPECIALLY FOR US GENTILES

wrong question: why does God send people to hell?

right question: why does God save anyone?

we do not know whom God will save

Spurgeon (yellow stripe on back)

since not, “whosoever will”

but we do know how He normally acts

many times it is not who we think

but we must also uphold

We are responsible for our choices

real choices

Esau was not a puppet on a string

he freely chose to despise his birthright

Jacob did not act righteously and was not following God in his actions

yet God redeemed him despite his choices

God’s special grace is needed by each and every one of us

WE NEED JESUS

human response is part of God’s salvation

evangel shares (Rom 10)

GOSPEL

He draws (John 6)

HS convicts (John 16)

HS gives life (born again) (John 3)

we respond with repentance and faith

God uses His children’s prayers in salvation

Matthew 9:37–38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.””

I do not presume to know how all of this works, nor do I have to know

I just know it is true (1 Tim 2:1-6)

so whose salvation are you praying for???

Corporate Prayer (2/23 @ 5p)

don’t just think about the quarterbacks and cheerleaders

remember the prostitutes, tax collectors, deceivers, and fishermen

Now What You Expected

God also uses His children’s mouths in sharing the gospel

Kindness Outreach (4/12)

we should be driven to new limits with whom we want to share the gospel

God never saves anyone apart from someone sharing the gospel—no one

so who will you share the gospel with next???