Two Lives (or Finding Wives)

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 119:57-64

Psalm 119:57–64 ESV

The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!

Scripture Memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Scripture Reading: James 4:13-17 (Micah?)

James 4:13–17 ESV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Sermon:

1

Speaker 1

00:00

Well once again, and as always, good morning church. I was glad when they said to me let us go and Worship in the house of the Lord. Well, this morning, we turn our attention to Genesis chapter 28, verses 1 through 9. And on the surface. It's a very simple. Story narrative. It's telling us two things on the surface that are very important. One Jacob and Eve saw. Are going to find wives. We need to find wives for these men so that. Abraham, who's going to have many descendants, had Isaac? Well, if Abraham's gonna make any sense through Isaac Isaac's needs, many descendants. What's going to have to go through one of them, and for either one, we'll need a wife?

00:47

Now, because of the stolen blessing story, we know the blessing will throw flow through Jacob. And so that's the other important part. So, one we got to find wives, but? We need to make sure it's not just Isaac's blessing that goes to Jacob, but in fact the very blessing that God gave to Abraham. Must flow. To Jacob. And. What's going on in this story? That's the heart. That's the Y that's going on. Why does this text exist? An important test I do for myself. Anytime I read a passage of scripture, I ask, why did God give us this, right? Every word is useful for teaching or proof and correction. But why this, what would be different? What would we be missing if God had not included this text in scripture. That's a question, I ask, and and that's the big why we need wives for these boys, and we need the abrahamic blessing to flow.

01:48

But there's something else going on here. When I took my my my class on the Pentatooks? Dr John Kirit was my professor. He's the one who opened my eyes to reading Genesis.

02:03

It's sort of one lens, but there's the Genesis angle, and there's the biblical angle, and they go hand in hand. As you read through Genesis. In in effect. The entire book is a working out of Genesis chapter 3. In Genesis, chapter 3, God was speaking to the serpent, and he told the serpent he would put enmity between the seat of the serpent and the seed of the woman, the seed of the serpent, would strike the seed of the woman's heel. But the seat of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent, and so through all of Genesis, you're seeing the outworking of the enmity, but also the Strife, the Striking of the heel.

02:50

And what we long for is the crushing of the head. In Genesis, we don't really ever get to the crushing of the head. We still look forward to it. That's still the. But in order to see, how do we know what's going on, who's what? It's important we go. It's helpful, rather, to go to the New Testament. To Paul writing in second Corinthians. There, Paul was writing the difference between the world. And the church. What marks the difference? How do we know the difference, and it turns out the difference between the world and the church is going to be the same sort of difference between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpents.

03:36

So, in second Corinthians 5, 7, Paul writes this, for we walk by faith. And not by sight. And so, as we read this text and we understand, this is about finding wives. Ultimately, we're looking at two lives that are lived. And, and the lives that are lived impact how they find wives. It impacts how they interact with everyone around them. They impact us being able to see. What God is doing and who God is doing it with. And what a life of. Rather than a life of sight. May look like? So, as we keep that in mind, let's read our text. Genesis chapter 28, verses 1 through 9.

04:24

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. And directed him. You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise and go to padan Aram to the house of Bethul, your mother's father, and take is your wife. From there, one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. God Almighty, bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you that you may become a company of. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham. Thus Isaacs and Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram to Laban the son of Bethul, the aramian, the brother of Rebecca Jacob and Esau's mother.

05:11

Now, Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to padana Rama to take a wife from there. And that he blessed him, and that as he blessed him, he directed him. You must not take away from the Canaanite women. And that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to padana Ram. So, when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not, please Isaac, his father, Esau, went to Ishmael. And took as his wife. Besides the wives, he had mahaloth, the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of nebioeth. These are the words of the Lord for us this morning. Let's open our time together with the word of prayer.

05:53

Do Lord, we thank you for your goodness. And your grace. We thank you. That you look upon us. And you call us, you save. You have been good to us. You have blessed us beyond all measure. The Heavenly Realms through the work of your son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, in the gifting of the Holy. The comforter and helper, the one at work within. Moving us, drawing us to repentance, then blessing us with many good gifts. May we learn what we ought to from this passage? May we be a people who are changed by the hearing of the word. May you use this?

06:34

This time. These words to conform us into the image of your son, our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is in his name that we pray. Amen.

06:46

Originally, I had titled this sermon finding wives. But I realized at the heart. The most important thing we can get from this. Is to look at the two lives that are lived in particular the lives of Jacob. An Esau. Until we start. By looking at Jacob. One thing we could note here, Jacob. In the times when Jacob has been doing action. It has not gone well for Jacob.

07:25

Took advantage of his brother. He didn't steal his brother willingly stole it, but he certainly took advantage of his brother. Trading, taking his brother's Birthright for a bowl of red stuff. So, the Bible says it. And then, in our last text last week. He with his mother. Lied to his father? Cheated Esau out of a blessing. He wasn't doing the right thing. And yet, scripture. Teaches us that Jacob was a man who lived by faith. Hebrews talks about the faith of the Patriarchs. Here he is. Not a life of trickery. But a life of Faith. So, what does that look like?

08:14

Well, the first thing I want to note is it's passive. In some ways, we'll get there. But here, at the beginning. Jacob doesn't do much here. And he is just blessed. Jacob is blessed, though he has cheated and his brother wants to kill him. Rebecca and Isaac will save him. Isaac calls Jacob and blessed him. And then gives him Direction. The direction is, you must not take away from the Canaanite women. Now, part of the the heart behind. This is if we go back to Jacob and Esau before the blessing. Esau takes for a wife, verse 34 of chapter 26, a couple chapters ago, when Esau was 40 years old. He took Judith, the daughter of Barry, the hittite to be his wife and base math, the daughter of Eli and the hittite.

09:12

And so these hittite women, these Canaanite women verse 35 of chapter 26, make life bitter for Isaac and Rebecca. We're not giving the exact details of why it's bitter, but scripture sort of explains often. Why this goes? Because wives. Who don't believe in God? We'll drag the heart. Of one who should believe in God away? I, I know that there are many examples in this congregation of you all breaking this rule, but when I was a youth pastor? Right, and in this congregation, I know there are many of you who who. This is not true of.

10:01

And you've had long, happy, married lives. But when I was a youth pastor, I used to tell kids and I stand by this. I would say it again. You do not flirt to convert. Right that the Christian kids shouldn't go around flirting with secular kids, hoping that they'll start coming to church and get saved. And then they'll be the right sort of person to marry, does not work like that. Generally, I know there are exceptions. But here, we have evidence in scripture. It doesn't really work. Look to Solomon, the wisest man of all time that his foreign wives drew his heart away from the Lord.

10:39

And so, part of why they make the life of Isaac and Rebecca bitter. It's likely they. They took his heart. Is evidenced by his life away from the Lord.

10:53

But there's also just cultural issues and difficulties. There's also the fact that these are the people who occupy the land that God had promised. So there's just a lot of difficulty that makes life bitter. So, go find a wife, not from the Cana. Women, in fact, do not. The same thing, Abraham said about Isaac. When Abraham sent his servant off, you cannot do not let Isaac marry a Canaanite woman the same thing. Isaac is saying now to Jacob, so we have a pattern of the way the blessing will flow. That's important. So, what does he do? He sends him.

11:29

He sends him to his mother. Brother. Now, is there difficulty here that this means he's likely marrying a cousin? Yes. That's a difficulty. It will be discussed in detail. In our grace group this week. But I'll help us out a little bit. There are two options both valid. I think both important to how to understand this.

12:01

Mother, saying that Laban is Rebecca's brother. Doesn't necessarily, though it might, doesn't necessarily mean that this is her literal brother. In the same way, we might think, instead, it could mean. We don't know. It could mean.

12:22

This was her closest. Similar age male relative. Who was tasked with caring for her? When her father? Head passed. Here, we're describing brother, not by a blood relation, but in a role. Could be? Here's the other option we covered this last week, so I'll just say it quickly. What the Bible describes is not what the Bible prescribes, and just because, Jacob's going to go marry his cousin does not mean it is okay and right. And good for us to do that.

12:59

And it could be this sort of a lesser of two evils. Your options are your your cousin or a Canaanite woman. For Jacob, and only for Jacob. Hear me clearly. The better option. Is the not Canaanite woman? Those are two answers. Pick which one you like, and we'll discuss which one might work better in great group this week. But he goes off. And then the blessing. The most important blessing verse three, God Almighty, bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you in your offspring that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings. I've said it once. I'll say it again. The blessing of Abraham, if we think of it in three ways.

13:44

It's descendants, land, and blessing. All three are here. God Almighty, bless you. There's the blessing. May he make you fruitful and multiply you. There's The Descendants, may he give you the blessing of Abraham. In case you're missing this, he makes it explicit, and then the third part that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings land blessing. Land or descendants, land blessing. It's all here. Jacob is blessed with the blessing of God Almighty and the same blessing that went through. Abraham, so we are called to see the lesson we must get from this more than anything else. Is this the blessing to Abraham went to Isaac, went to Jacob?

14:28

So that later, when we read the New Testament and God says, I am the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we see the same blessing flows because the same God is God of all three of them. That's the most important lesson. Jacob is blessed.

14:45

But then there's a note that I want to make.

14:50

If we're pulling out Isaac as being our representative of a life of Faith because he's the seed of the woman as evidenced by the blessing of God flowing from Abraham Isaac to Jacob. So, he's one who walks by faith. Jacob is blessed. And then he obeys. This Isaacs and Jacob away, and he went.

15:15

Isaac sent him. He blessed him. And Jacob went.

15:23

Jacob, if he is the life of Faith. Shows us that it's a life of obedience.

15:32

He is blessed, and then he obeys as God directs him. And I want us to be clear we understand. The life of faith is not a life that everything's easy. And everything always goes great. Jacob is blessed. And sent away. To a place that will actually be difficult for him. He will be tricked there. He'll, he'll sit there and and find someone he wants to be his wife. We'll cover this later. Want to marry her? Be tricked to marry the wrong sister. Have to work longer till he finally marries another, and that causes family Strife.

16:19

Throughout his life. He's still blessed. This means life goes perfectly. And he obeys. He's always obeyed perfectly. In fact, at one point, God will come and wrestle with him to teach him a lesson. Dislocate his hip so that he walks with a limp for the rest of his life. We still say he obeys. Even though it's not perfect. The life of faith is not a life lived perfectly. It's not a life of only sort of physical manifestation of wonderful, happy-go-lucky blessing, but it's a life that's always blessed.

17:02

Because even in the midst of the trials and troubles and challenges in spite of over and against and sometimes through the trials and troubles and difficulties.

17:14

God Almighty has blessed him. And even though in his life, there's ups and downs and ins and outs and the beginning of his life was definitely not super praiseworthy. And as we go? He rightfully has the name trickster, Esau said. That part, truthfully. But as we go forward. He obeys. This is a life of. We walk by faith. We are blessed.

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In all ways. At all times. Those who walk by faith, faith in their lord, and Savior Jesus Christ.

17:54

He who gave us his own son, will he not with him graciously give us all things?

18:03

We've been given life and life abundantly. We are more than conquerors, Paul says. Through him who saved us? For, I am convinced Romans 8 that neither. Tith, nor death, nor angels, nor demon, the president of future, or any powers, nothing. Nothing in all of creation, Paul says. We'll be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ, Jesar, Lord. We are blessed. So we should obey. Live lives worthy of the calling you've ever seen. Obey the law of Christ. Jesus, who said blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus said these things.

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We said for him, who knows what to do, but does not do it. This is sin, don't do that obey.

19:01

Go. Therefore, until all the world make Disciples of all Nations, baptizing them in the father and son of the Holy. Teaching the zerval that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you, always even to the end of the age we obey. It's a life of Faith. It's a life of obedience. And it's a life that is blessed. It's ultimately the main point of this entire section. But we're included a little bit of historical trivia. Esau. Who shown himself to be Reckless when he traded his Birthrights. Who showed himself to be? Murderous and sinful in his heart. When his response is murder.

19:50

Is going to make another appearance.

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In verse 6, we turn our attention from Jacob to ease. Before Jacob goes off. Right before?

20:05

Esau breaks the Yoke of Jacob and and Jacob is sent off to go. Languish in some sense in padana Ram. We're going to tie a bow on Esau. You saw, saw that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him away. Which just to be fair to Esau. That's rough. He, he's still. He took your Birthright and he says, when he stole your Birth, right? He steals a blessing, and now he just watches his dad. Bless him again. This time with the blessing of Abraham. So, Esau knows, now there's no shadow of a doubt. There's nothing left for him.

20:45

And so, what Wells have been as hard is, is envy? We're not told this explicitly. But he sees that Jacob bless him, and he sees that he sends him away, and he hears okay, what's important? Don't take away from the Canaanite women. And maybe he he's sitting down at the dinner table looking to his two Canaanite wives.

21:12

And, and this, this tinge of jealousy Creeps in. Jacob was blessed. It looks just too wide, like it's their fault. How can I get what Jacob has? I want what Jacob has. He saw that Jacob obeyed.

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And he sees that verse 8, the Canaanite women, did not please Isaac, his father.

21:40

One of the great tragedy of Esau's story at the heart of it. Is a man who it seems. Is jealous?

21:53

This is what makes it interesting. It feels like he's jealous for. Approval of his father. Though he's the one who has the love. Of his father. Isaac is a very conflicted person in these poor in this portion of scripture. For, he loves Esau. For he eats of his game, he wants to bless Esau. He obviously loves Esau. His wives, causing bitterness. He blesses Jacob, not once, but twice. And so he saw that he has the love is envious of the approval. Of his father.

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So, what does he do? Well, the short story is he goes to his uncle. And marries his cousin.

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That part's the same thing that that Jacob's doing? Call a spade, a spade.

22:57

But he went to Ishmael. Not to lay them. He went where he thought he went where made sense to himself. Esau. Is self-righteous. Isa goes to Ishmael. And took as his wife. Besides the wives, he had. So, we're compounding Esau's falling. Because Esau walks by sight and by sight, he says, this is what seems right to me. He looks at the situation, and he himself Ponders and figures out a solution. What is his solution? I will go. Not to my mother's brother, but my father's brother. And. I won't get rid of the Canaanite wives, which were in some sense the problem.

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I'll just add on top of that some goodness.

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He's self-righteous. The ways that we see all of these things manifesting in our own lives is countless. But let me just help us out.

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We.

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I will call a spade a spade today. We hear God is love. And I say, we, I mean, like, the corporate, Universal human we. We hear God is love.

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So, what do we do?

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We live our lives. Such that we get to define love. We get to Define what that looks like. We call ourselves loving. For whatever it is that we're doing. If we go, ask almost anyone. Ask them what they're doing. Is it right and loving? They will say yes. This is a fundamental motivation in all of us, but here's a problem if we do it in our own strength and might using our own wisdom in our own Insight in our own self-righteousness. We'll be like yourself. And though the words are right, though, the words of Esau are right. I'm gonna marry a non-cananite woman. Those are the right words.

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The action comes out warped and wrong. It's what self-righteousness leads to.

25:31

Sin is bad. Yeah, we all agree. You shouldn't do bad things that's basic. Humans agree. You shouldn't do bad things. Here we get self-righteous, we think. I know what's good? Look to the world. Look at the world around us, woe to them, for they call what is evil good and what is good evil because they are operating in self-righteousness, so they call the murder of unborn humans good and right and praiseworthy, and they celebrate.

26:12

Self-Righteousness. We Rejoice when evil happens. Because it's a good to us, it's self-righteous. We live this same way. When we walk by sight, we will be deceived and we will do things that seem right. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, its result is destruction. Scripture teaches us Esau is proof of that.

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Romans chapter 1 Paul Dives into this. That, though, the truth of God was apparent to these people, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. And so instead they decide to live lives worthy of whatever they want, and God gives them over to their debase mind to do things that ought not be done. Why self-righteousness is the story of sin? When we walk by sight when we walk by what our eyes can see when we try to think up our Solutions in our own plan.

27:19

We failed. When the motivating force within us is jealousy and envy and Strife, this is what James says. James chapter 4, verse 1 what causes? Quarals and causes fights among you. Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have so you murder that sounds like Esau? You covet and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. This selfishness that grows within. There's quarreling the passions at war within us. We're this is what walking by sight looks like. It's the life of Esau.

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On one sense to if we're just looking at this. Just. Clear. Eyes. But non-spiritual lives. Just let's use walking by sight. These two stories Jacob?

28:23

Is told. Don't marry a Canaanite woman, go to your family, and marry a cousin, not a Canaanite, and he does. Esau hears don't marry a Canaanite woman, so he goes to his cousin and finds a wife.

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At that level. These are the same stories, but they could not be any more diametrically opposed. One is moved by God's blessing and goodness, and he obeys when he's told the other is moved by jealousy, Envy, and strife. And he moves forward in self-righteousness. May this be a lesson to us?

29:14

For, we walk by faith. And not by sight.