Hall of Faith: Isaac & Jacob
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
We act on promises for the future:
If I do these courses I will receive my certification
If I work for you, you will pay me
If I marry you, you’ll remain faithful
Now sometimes these promises are upheld, but sometimes they are not. Sometimes the school moves the goalposts on you or goes belly up, and you get no certificate.
Sometimes the client doesn’t pay, or the employer short-changes you.
Sometimes the spouse cheats.
This is the weakness of people promises. People are failible, they can fail. Even when we take care to find the most trustworthy school or spouse or client, there’s always the possibility of failure.
Our faith in others is always tinged with the knowledge that disaster is a possibility.
Our faith as Christians is like that, but not like that at the same time.
We act on promises for the future, but unlike human promises we don’t ever fear that God will fail.
He never changes,
He always pays what is owed,
He always reamins faithful,
Our faith is confidence. Our faith is not some vague trust to the universe, it is trust assured by the living God!
We read about that earlier in the chapter we’ve been working through:
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.
How can we have such faith and conviction? Because God has always delivered on his promises. He has never been a liar.
The Lord is the same yesterday, today and forwever.
And so when he promises preservation of your soul through judgement, when he promises cleansing in Jesus Christ, whe he promises resurrection and eternal life in a New Heavens & Earth, you can bank on that. You can rely on it.
In this chapter we’re looking back at heros of faith who trusted God, took him at his word, and they received what was promised. More than that, when they trusted God and acted on his promies, they did wonderful and mighty things. Things for which they are commended!
“For the men we will study in this chapter those events were still future; they lived in the shadow of God’s plan, revealed through promises and prophecies. Despite all their difficulties and weakness, they trusted God and responded in faith to the plan he had revealed.” (Richard D. Phillips, Hebrews, Reformed Expository Commentary, 482.)
Now our two heroes this morning are Isaac & Jacob, son and grandson of Abraham & Sarah from last week.
Both of them prnounce blessings on their offspring, both give these blessings in faith, both have prophetic elements to them. You could say that faith can see the future as it receives the promises of God, and that what theses guys did.
Lets look at the background to these two fellows and how they acted in faith.
Isaac Blessed his Sons in Faith (while deceived)
Isaac Blessed his Sons in Faith (while deceived)
Isaac doesn’t get too much air time in Genesis, especially not as the “protaganist” of the story. He alwyas seems to have things happen to him - he is almost sacrificed, his wife Rebekkah is brought to him, and in this story of blessing, he is deceived by Jacob. Nevertheless, lets start with what Hebrews says about Isaac’s faith:
By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
It was common in the ANE for patriarchs to invoke a blessing on their decendants.
It was a kind of prayer to God and comissioning or approval from the father.
Now a blessing can have no confidence of coming to pass (i can say whatever I want!) unless God answer the prayer, or promise the outcome. And in this case he had promised.
After Abraham died God spoke to Issac and reiterated the promise:
And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Like Abraham in many ways - would not receive the fulness of the promise in the first life.
Lived in expectation. Desired the blessing for his children (this is a good thing, and you should think like that too)
God fulfills his promise in strange ways - e.g. barren old Sarah, the yonger son Isaac instead of the older son Ishmael.
Isaac had two sons - Easu and Jacob (aka Edom & Israel)
God continued his “strange” ways of blessing by choosing the younger Jacob to be the one God would primarily use to fulfill his promises. He said to Rebekkah:
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.”
Two sons born and God providentially made it so that Jacob received the blessings and promises
Sold birthright to Jacob
Jacob “stole” Esaus blessing - Tell the story
An example of sin being shared - Jacob should have known, Rebeekah & Jacob shouldn’t deceive. Shared culpability (like things like modesty & lust).
An example of God using bad choices to bring about his plan.
Anyway - through this providential means, Jacob is endowed with the blessing, just like God intended.
Here’s the blessing:
May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Even though Isaac was being deceived, he was still pronoucing a blessing in faith, ecoing the promises of God to his father.
Nations would bow down, both in ancient times as the enemies of God were tamed, but there is a fuller fulfillment in Christ, the son of Jacob who would become king over the earth.
Now the nations are being called to Christ, to bow the knee and kiss the Son. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is is Lord to the glory of the Father. Nations will serve Jesus, the greater Israel. Edom will serve Jesus
And cursed will be everyone who curses Jesus, blessed will be everyone who blesses Jesus. (this is not about modern secualr Israel, this is about the childrne of the promise - the People of YHWH!).
Isaac lived in faith, and pronounced a blessing in faith. You can too.
You live in expectation of the fulness of the promises.
Jacob - More Blessing in Faith
Jacob - More Blessing in Faith
The story of Jacob blessing his sons has some similarities. Again while he is old and can’t see straight. Again there is a flipping of the older/younger divide.
Lets see what Hebrews says about it:
By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.
So Jacob is continuing in faith like his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac, living in expectation of the promises being fulfilled.
The story
12 Sons
Famine
Joseph sold into slavery (more on Joseph another time!)
Jospeh saves the family, and brings the family to Egypt
Jacob reunited with Jospeh - meets his gandsons
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
Joseph sets them up on left & right for blessing, but then Jacob crosses his arms and says:
And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Jospeph tries to straigthen the arms, no says Jacob.
Ephraim and Mesannsah will become two great tribes in Israel, covering massive areas.
Ephraim would be a leading tribe in the conquest. Ephraim would come to represent North Israel, much like Judah in the south.
Jospeh’s obedience and faith is rewarded in his sons
But Jacob did not only bless his grandsons, but his own sons too.
In particular he would predict this:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Judah would be the ruling tribe (David, Solomone, Etc)
Judah is the ruling tribe to this day, in Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The rule shall never depart from Judah.
Jacob looked in faith toward the fulfillment of the promises, even though he died ina foreign land.
We may well die “in a foreign land” but our hope is secure, our faith is set on a sure deliverance.
So What?
So What?
Jesus rose from the dead and promises you will to if you have faith in him.
Live in faith for your children and others
Live expecting God will deliver (how will this change your attitude?)
Ask for God’s promises in faith:
English Standard Version Chapter 1
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
Die in expectation.
