Genesis 25: Preaching/Teaching

Selling Out

Drew asks me random questions all the time.

-Would you cut off your toe for 1 million dollars?

- Would you take one punch from Mike Tyson for 100k?

- Would you rather have feet for hands or hands for feet?

- Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?

when I look at these questions he is basically asking;

What is your price?

We are all capable of selling out on God.But the flip side is we are all capable of selling out for God. When I was a new Christian I was like it is going to be so easy to walk with God for a lifetime. Since that time I have been walking with God for over 20+ years and now I say by God’s grace I can walk with you for a lifetime. I struggle, I have seen friends leave their calling completely and other friends leave Jesus.

We are prone of selling out on God. How do I know from experience and from Scripture. One of the greats of the Bible sold out on Jesus in his final moments. Peter.

story of Peter

But the reality is we are all capable of selling out on God?

But what would it cost you today to sell out and not live a life of what God is calling you to do?

today I want to look at danger signs so that we do not sell out to god.

Introduction to these two characters

God is the author of life: Rebekah is childless for 20 years. Then he allows Isaac and Rebekah to have not just a kid but twins.

Genesis 25:21 “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.”

Isn’t God an amazing God that he can and does answer our prayers.

isn’t this familiar Abraham and Sarah were past childbearing age and God gave them kids and now God again answers prayers.

They were fighting even before they were born which would foreshadow the majority of their life.

Genesis 25:22-23 “But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.””

Today we are going to look at part of their story with this bent.

Are you in danger of selling out on God in a way that you will regret?

The answer is yes. But these danger signs are here to caution us so that we don’t and hopefully give us a way forward so we don’t sell out on God but we sell out For God.

1. The first danger sign of selling out: is being blind to our junk (27-28).

Turn to your neighbor and tell them you got junk.

Raise your hand and say I got junk.

We all have junk in our lives.

Genesis 25:27-28 “When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

Have you ever noticed how different two kids from the same family can be. One kid may love sports another kid may love school another may love music.

Specific Example-

We don’t know much about either Jacob Or Esau yet bet we are starting to get a contrast from these two from the very beginning of their lives.

They are as polar opposite as you can get.

Esau’s nature is about to unfold.

Description of Esau

Not only was Esau a hunter he was a skilfull or cunning hunter, he was a man of the field. He knew how to set traps on animals. It is interesting that their is only one other hunter mentioned in the Bible and it is NIMROD

He is a hunter

Genesis 10:9 “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.””

Contrasted to Jacob

Remember when you see the WORD But it is always a comparison or Contrast. This early story sets up the entire story between these two. Jacob was a peaceful man that lived in tents. Jacob had an even temperament in other words he knew how to control his emotions.

But as different was these brothers were there is one thing they sharEd they both had a lot of junk.

Jacob very name meant deception. Even though this story will highlight Esau flaws Jacob was no innocent dove.

Ryrie Study Bible

Genesis 25:27 (CB:GSEG): In describing the two men now grown, the narrative contrasts their characters by means of a chiastic arrangement: Esau was a cunning hunter (yōdēaʿ ṣayid), a man of the field (ʾîš śādeh); but Jacob was a man of even temperament (ʾîš tām), dwelling in tents (yōšēb ʾōhālîm). The couplet is framed by the use of the participles—cunning hunter and dweller in tents—and parallels antithetically field and tents. CREATION AND BLESSING

THEY WERE BOTH DYSFUNCTIONAL

There dysfunction began in their household @ Birth

"Sin is anything contrary to the character of God." –Charles Ryrie

Parents our Greatest responsibility is to lead And point our kids to Jesus.

Notice we see a weakness in Isaac. Now we should not favor our kids we should love all of our kids. Loving our kids does not mean we treat them all the same. But notice the reason Isaac favors Esau. He favored a kid based on his natural senses. On his taste in food. Son you made me a good meal so I love you more. Pretty superficial dad here. He was good at killing and cooking so he like him more.

Now before we point a finger at Isaac lets make sure we realize that we are capable of doing the same things. It is so easy for us to love our kids more if they not only do what we want them to do but if they also succeed at what we want them to succeed at. Esau was succeeding at what Jacob wanted him to succeed at

today more than ever parents wants their kids to succeed at sports, school you name it. We have raised the bar in every area of our kids lives except for their spiritual walks.

Rebekah loved Jacob, maybe she saw the spiritual potential in him. I wonder if this is why Rebekah favored Jacob. But either way the fact that their was deliberate favoritism going on was not a good thing. It reminds us that we all have junk and we need to deal with our junk. As parents we need to be on the same page. To point our kids to Jesus.

It does not take us long to realize that parenting is hard and we are dysfunctional. Book I read when Nathaniel was not even one yet. Heather’s dad who is the general was looking like me like I was too intense. Lord allow me to point my kids to You. Lord allow Heather and I to walk with you step by step. I want to send my kids out of my house to be world changers for Jesus.

Parents are you on the same page to point you kids to Jesus. IT is hard to do this if you are on the same page, if you are not on the same page it it impossible.

Jacob’s Dysfunction was that he was a deceiver

Jacob wanted the right thing but he was willing to pursue it the wrong way. He was kind of like Jack Baur the means justifies the end. This was an issue God is going to deal drastically with him about.

Genesis 25:24–26 (BKC): The name Jacob (ya‘ăqōḇ, meaning “may He [God] protect”) was selected because of its connection in sound and sense to the noun “heel” (‘āqēḇ). The verb ‘āqaḇ means “to watch from behind.” But as with Esau, so Jacob’s name would take on a different sense later in life as his deceptive nature became evident. His name also meant “one who grabs the heel” or “one who trips up.” So the twins’ births had great significance for later events in their lives. Bkc-dts

This passage is so interesting because Esau was a skillful hunter but we need to remember as well is Jacob was pretty crafty as well and was about to lay a trap of his own for his brother.

Genesis 25:29–30 (CB:GSEG): Esau might have been a cunning hunter, but Jacob also knew how to catch game.

Genesis 25:27–34 (BKC): Sadly, things of great spiritual value are often handled in profane or crafty ways. Some people treat spiritual and eternal things with contempt, for they see them as of no value. And others, though regarding such things highly, make the higher cause serve themselves through craft and manipulation. Esau and Jacob are examples of both types.

Esau’s dysfunction was that he loved the American Dream more than he loved God

They we’re both wrong about the blessing of God it can’t be bought or sold it can only be received as a gracious gift.

Application:

What is your dysfunction?

The real reality is that we all have junk in your life.

Heather uses this when she ministers we have to unpack your bags.

What junk in your life have you been unwilling to deal with.

Maybe it stems from your upbringing, maybe it is something you have going on right now.

Are you pushing it back or are you willing to deal with it.

Dealing with junk is not fun, it hurts but if we refuse to work through it we can be stuck in our life. We can become paralyzed and never grow like God intends us to.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Before you can lead yourself, your family, others you need to deal with the junk in your life.

Good news of the gospel—Give your junk to God

Give a practical way to do this!

2. The next danger sign of selling out is an uncontrolled appetite for the wrong things (29-33).

We were created to thirst after God, that God would have first place in our life. But when we fuel that number one spot with something else instead of saying as the Psalmist says:

Psalm42:1 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul 1pants for You, O God.”

We fill ourselves with other things and instead of us being in control of those other things begin to control us.

We don’t gain extra weight with one bad meal, it is those small compromises that lead to something that is totally uncontrollable.

We don’t get in major debt with one bad purchase on a credit card, it starts with one step.

An affair does not happen with one bad decsion it usually starts with a small compromise.

What are you hungering for right not?

I am the pastor, and I want to be able to say I hunger after God all the time but the reality is that we are all, ”prone to wander from God”

IsaIan 53:6-we all like sheep…

What are you hungering for?

When we hunger for wrong things:

We will always end up unSatisfied.

Genesis 25:29 NAS

When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished;

Esau was doing what he loved and it did not meet his deepest needs.

That is why a millionaire is not content he always wants more.

What fountain are you drinking from that is unsatisfying.

Illustration: 3 Amigos movie where they are famished.

Are you unsatisfied right now?

When we hunger for wrong things:

We settle for leftovers. [Instead of God’s best]

Genesis 25:30–31 NAS

and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”

BLESSING AND CREATION

It conveys the basic idea of gulping down food. The rabbis used it to describe the activity of cramming food down the throat of an animal. The paraphrase “let me gulp down” might better capture his mood.

God wants more for you than you could ever imagine. Think about this for a second. God wants so much for your success. Esau was the first born, the firstborn was entitled to 2x’s the inheritance, but for Esau there was even more he was going to be the seed that the Abrahamic Promise was going to come through.

Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

This was big, no this was really big.

He was willing to sell this for wait for it, a pot of stew. This is crazy I mean if you are going to sell your birthright at least get a #1 chickfila meal with Chikfila sauce.

We look at this story and it is totally mind boggling how he could settle for so little. But here is the reality we settle all the time.

Where are you settling right now?

Are you settling in your walk with God?

If you are settling here you will be settling everywhere else.

Are you settling in how well you are loving your spouse?

Are you settling in how you are investing your life, your time, treasure and talent?

When we hunger for wrong things:

We don’t live with an eternal perspective.

Gen 25:32-33 “Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.”

First of all when we crave the wrong things we just don’t think rationally. Was he really going to die. This is like when your kid tells you they are starving and they have already had two good meal. You do not know what starving is. The only thing Esau is starving from right here and now is he is starving from God but he does not even know it.

application

Are we not glad that the Bible points us to Jesus so often

a great exchange was made in this passage but an even greater exchange would be made down the road

the blessing that Esau was s willing to sell would one day point to Jesus

here was the exchange Jesus made

UhJacobs exchange benefitted him

Jesus exchange benefits us

The great exchange

As the firstborn, Esau had the birthright and Jacob had the stew. But in the exchange, Esau received the stew and Jacob the birthright. But Esau despised his birthright (v. 34), for what could it do for him if he died of starvation? (v. 32)

2 Cor 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

if you will turn to God today he will fill every appetite you have ever had, your deepest longing you ever craved.

3. The last danger sign of selling out is spiritual blindness (34).

Genesis 25:34 “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

The exchange had been made. His action revealed where his heart was. This was not some long drawn out verse it was the overflow of where his heart already was:

After Jacob Gave Esau acted

He Ate

Rose

Went on his way

Genesis 25:34 (CB:GSEG): . He was more interested in feeding himself, like a brutish beast of the field.

When we are spiritually blind we act like beasts of the field instead God’s image bearers.

Before we believe in Jesus Christ we are all spiritually blind in this moment we see that Esau is spiritually blind.

How we act as non believers:

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Isn’t this another part that is so amazing about the great exchange that when we believe in Jesus he brings us to life.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

Here is what we see from the Bible about Esau

Hebrews 12:16 “that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.”

Believers can act like this

Christianity is not about making bad people good it is about bringing dead people to life

One of my favorite movies growing up was Pinocchio. Where this stick figure actually goes from being a wooden doll that had no life to a real boy. What a picture of what God does when we place our faith in him.

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, then today is your day!

Conclusion:

Peter sold out on God as bad as he could:

He denied Jesus three times.

He could have given up right then and there.

But his shortcomings and his fallenness turned him closer to Jesus.

The pattern of Peter’s life was not selling out on God but selling out for God.

Don’t we want this to be the patter of our life.

Here is how Peter ended his life.

Peter ended his life being crucified upside down

Church let’s sell out to God

Luke 9:23-24 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”