It's BIGGER than you thought (Genesis 25.19-28)
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Its Bigger than you thought
Its Bigger than you thought
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,
and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.
Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb.
The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau.
Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Situation:
This is the story of Isaac and Rebekah.......
The wedding ceremony was beautiful I would imagine.....
.....and everything has gone according to plan.
But after the wedding......
there is an issue......
......later on in their marriage
Because according to the text...
Rebekah is barren!
The same way Hannah was barren...
The same way Sarah was barren.....
Her body is unable to produce a child.......
And whenever an individual is unable to produce there is a tendency to feel....
“lesser than”
And today I want to speak to some of you who feel as though you are
“lesser than”
(pause)
And so.....
Here we are again witnessing another scenario of a woman in the biblical text whose womb requires God’s intervention in order to become pregnant with child.
And I believe that when we feel “Lesser than”
......that’s the perfect time to go to a God who is “Greater than”
(slight pause and expound1)
And the bible says that in verse 21......
Isaac prays..
(pause)
Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
This verse is powerfully interesting to me.....
Because the bible does not record many words from Isaac.
And it is in this verse that Isaac speaks up again...
And in my Spiritual imagination I hear Isaac praying.......
“Lord,
I know that you are a God who is impressively able and faithfully unswerving.
Lord,
If anyone is to understand how mighty you are in the mystery of human weakness.
I understand.
(slight pause)
Not only do I understand, but I am the experience of Faith.
Because when my Mother Sarah in her old age was barren.
God it was you.......
......who masterfully overcame on her behalf.
God you heard my Father’s Faith!
(slight pause)
God I am here.......
.......only because of Faith and Prayer!
(slight pause)
And now Lord......
.....I’m here as the product of that Faith and Prayer
.....Praying on behalf of my sweetheart Rebekah
And now God......
....I’m reaching for your power again
....address her body, and her inability to have children.
Intervene God.....
......like only you can
Amen.......
(pause)
And according to the text.......
God granted what Isaac prayed!
(pause and expound)
[Expound - The Power of Intercession]
Look at it now....
The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
According to the text.....
The process of pregnancy has exceeded Rebekah’s expectations....
And she is now trying to understand what God has done to her....
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear her asking,
“God.....
.....What’s the reason for this?”
And....
“If this is supposed to be a blessing in my belly.....
why does it feel like a burden?”
(slight pause)
The bible says,
“The children struggled together within her”
And that word “struggle” in the Hebrew means,
To crush, oppress, or rival....
And so basically what’s inside of her is pushing against one another inside of her womb.
(pause)
And according to the text....
......it reaches the point that she can’t take it no more and says,
“God what’s wrong with me?!?”
(pause)
Key question:
Have you ever needed God to explain life to you?
(slight pause)
Look at it now....
And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
According to the text......
God says......
Rebekah,
The reason you feel what you are feeling is because....
.....what’s happening inside of you is “Bigger than you thought!”
(pause)
You’re thinking you got a baby problem......
But you got more inside of you than you think!
(pause)
God says,
“Let me break this down for you daughter”
There’s twins in your belly
....and these twins will become ancestors of 2 nations
....not only that but they are going to be divided
....divided emotionally, physically, and socially.
One Nation is going to be stronger than the other
And I’m breaking custom............The youngest twin is the one who gets the promise and the older twin is going to serve him.
(pause)
Key Question:
What happens when God explains what’s happening, but does’nt tell you how to stop it?
(pause)
Because in my spiritual imagination I hear Rebekah saying,
Isaac......
“What did you pray, Bruh?”
(pause)
“I’ve got something going on inside of me.......
.......and I have no control!”
(pause)
But notice Freedom,
When she was barren there was nothing going on inside of her.....
And now that she is preganant.....
Something is happening inside of her that she cannot stop....
(pause)
And that’s when something hit me in my Spiritual imagination that suggests,
The Promise that Isaac prayed for is in the same womb as the problem Rebekah is experiencing.......
(pause)
And sometimes Freedom.....
It’s hard to differentiate between a problem and a promise when we’re looking for Perfect scenarios....
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear God saying,
Baker,
I didn’t use perfection to impregnate Rebekah.
I used Promise.
(slight pause)
And that’s what had Rebekah messed up in this moment....
....because even though she is no longer barren
.....she walked into this season of her life thinking that a blessing meant
No Struggle
No Conflict
No Problems
Perfection
(pause)
But.....
....the blessing of her pregnancy does not equal perfection
…it equals promise
(pause)
That’s why.....
God can still use me....
And....
....that’s why God can still use you....
(pause)
Because if God needed perfection to carry the promises of God......
We would have gotten skipped over!
(pause and expound)
Look at it now.... (Summarize only)
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
The bible now.....
....describes these twins Esau and Jacob
It talks about their physical appearances
It explains the experience of how they come forth at birth
It details their differences and how they mature through their lives.
It shows to us an Isaac who waited 20 years for a child. He got married to Rebekah at 40, and now here he is at 60.
(pause and optional expound)
And then Freedom......
.......it’’s in verse 28 where I found a new appreciation for Rebekah
Look at it......
Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Freedom.....
If I can be honest....
I always felt some type of a way when I saw how Rebekah showed favor towards Jacob.....
(slight pause)
Because in my mind I couldn’t understand why she loved him and did everything she could to set Jacob up for success to the point of taking the birthright from Esau......
(slight pause)
But it’s in these last words of this verse that God gave me a new revelation....
(pause)
Because the bible says....
“But Rebekah loved Jacob”
(pause)
Watch this......
The bible tells us why Isaac loves Esau when it says....
“Isaac loved Esau because of the meat he would kill and bring home for dinner!”
(pause)
But when it comes to Rebekah it doesn’t say why she loves Jacob
it just says.....
“But, Rebekah loved Jacob!” (REPEAT)
(pause)
Watch this......
Freedom............
The reason Rebekah loves Jacob.....
(pause)
Is because when she felt something struggling inside of her.......
God said,
You’re not only experiencing PAIN
But....
You’re also experiencing the Process of my Promise
(pause)
You’re carrying what I told Abraham!
And then God told her how God was going to do it when God explained.....
“And the younger one of the twins is the one whose getting the promise”
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear Rebekah saying,
“I know everybody is looking at ESAU as the strongest”
“I know it sounds backwards”
“I know it goes against what’s customary”
But.....
......based on what God told me!
“I’m here to Love what God PROMISED”
And......
.......now I understand Rebekah!!!
Because.....
Rebekah understands that......
She supports what God Promises
And.....
Anytime you have carried what Rebekah has carried.....
Anytime God has explained that what you’re carrying is........
“Bigger than you thought”
(pause and expound)
Freedom......
We need some Rebekah’s that are willing to
Support........
.......something BIGGER!
....................CLOSE and CONCLUSION....................
