Sermon Tone Analysis
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A Man of Constant Sorrows
Remember the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I remember being down in Mexico, and a good friend of ours, Rick Ashby, would play the soundtrack to the movie over and over again.
There was a song in the movie, A Man of Constant Sorrows.
It was one of those songs that sounded happier than it really was.
It’s got this nice beat.
It’s got some fun harmonies.
But then there’s the words.
“For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad,
Perhaps I'll die upon this train
You can bury me in some deep valley,
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another,
While I am sleeping in my grave”
I don’t remember it being such a sad song.
As I look at the words, here is a man who is leaving everything behind.
He’s saying goodbye one last time.
He’s saying, let me die.
Forget about me.
Bury me somewhere where I’ll be forgotten.
Move on and love someone else.
The title of the song accurately describes the words of the song, I am a man of constant sorrow.
Today we turn a page in Jacob’s life.
We will be in
Let’s go ahead and read it now.
But I am going to start at verse 16, then come back to verse 9.
Read genesis 35:16-29.
Jacob’s is a man of constant sorrow.
His name means Trickster.
When you think of that you think of a clown.
But he’s not a happy clown.
He’s more like a sad clown.
His life was filled with tragedy and frustration.
When he was younger he received more than he should have.
It was through his cunning and his ability to lie.
But then, for most of his life, it was a life of disappointment.
He was tricked into marrying a woman he didn’t love.
He was in bondage to his father-in-law, fleeing for freedom.
His children brought violence upon the family.
And yet, God was not through bringing disappointment into his life.
There was still more coming his way.
We see 3 Heartbreaking moments in this portion of the chapter.
And yet, Jacob never despaired.
He never raged.
He never contemplated suicide.
He persevered.
He endured.
The first heart breaking tragedy was the death of Rachel.
Rachel was his beloved wife.
He had 2 wives, but she was his favorite.
She’s the one he loved.
She’s the one he worked 14 years to marry.
She was the love of his life.
She had become pregnant with a second son.
The first son was Joseph.
She began giving birth to her second son in what is now Bethlehem.
The second’s son’s birth wasn’t as easy as the first.
There were complications, and she died giving birth to her second son.
She died giving birth to her second son.
Before she died, just after the son was born, she named him Ben-oni.
Which means Son of My Lament, or Son of My Sorrow.
In the town, where the Beloved Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, would eventually be born, Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, died.
But he did not despair.
He built a tomb.
Buried her.
And moved on.
The second heart breaking tragedy was fulfilled by his own son Reuben.
In verse 22 it described Reuben’s unspeakable sin.
He had an affair with Bilhah, one of his father’s concubines.
This wasn’t just any concubine though.
She was the mother of Dan and Nephtali.
These his brothers.
These were 2 of the tribes of Israel.
And they would end up becoming 2 of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Bilhah was basically Reuben’s step mom.
This is incest.
says that this kind of sin, incest, being with your step mom, isn’t even tolerated among the pagans.
This is disgusting.
How could Jacob’s own son do this to him?
Imagine the disappointment and the anger that Jacob had?
Again, Jacob did not lose it.
There were no crimes of passion.
No violence.
Then at the end of the chapter, we learn about the third heart breaking tragedy, the death of Isaac.
Jacob had been on a journey to return to his homeland.
He had been on a long journey to return to his father.
He desired for his father to meet his children.
He desired for his father to meet his children.
Children of promise.
When he arrived to his father, Isaac was 180 years old.
Verse 29 is fairly simple.
Isaac breathed his last.
He Died.
He Was gathered to his people, old and full of days.
He died and was buried like his ancestors before him.
Those of you who have suffered through the loss of a parent know how deep this hurts.
Jacob didn’t use this as an opportunity to lord it over his brother.
He doesn’t scream into the night.
He didn’t go into a drunken rage.
He and his brother, reunited and buried his father.
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