Isaac-Jacob

Introduction:

We’ve been journeying through the book of Genesis. For the majority of the term, we’ve been looking at what is called the primeval history. That is to say, that part of Genesis that seems to take place apart from strictly recorded history. We saw there that God created a world, that that world was good, but humans ruined it under the temptation of the serpent. After being cursed, we saw that sin and its devastation was running amok through the world. People were behaving terribly, and although God was good, nevertheless people continuously turned from him. He would offer grace, but they would respond in sin, so he would react in judgement. We saw this with Cain and Abel, we saw it with the flood, and we saw it with Babel. By the time we’re finished reading Babel, our response should be something like “Oh no, what is God going to do from here? Humanity seems irreconcilably lost.”

And then Genesis 12 comes in, and in particualr Genesis 12:1-4 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.” In here we see three promises being made to Abraham. What are those?

Land, descendants (nation) and blessing. Not just blessings to Abraham, but blessings to the whole world through him and his descendants. The promise of descendants is a particularly important one because Abraham and Sarah have as yet not been able to have kids and they are both getting on in years.

From here, the rest of Abraham’s life-story illustrates two currents. The first is God’s faithfulness. God repeatedly makes serious promises t Abraham, called Covenants in the Bible. We see one in Genesis 15 and another in Genesis 17. In these covenants, God binds himself to Abraham and being faithful to him. And yet, the other current is Abraham’s repeated failure to trust in God. Every time Abraham sees God, and hears God reiterate his promises to him, he turns away from what God has said and instead focusses on what he can do to solve the problem of not having kids or keeping himself safe. This includes giving his wife over into the hands of foreign kings for the sake of his own protection, and even sleeping with his wife’s maidservant because they want to try speed up the process on their own. And the point is that although Abraham fails regularly, nevertheless God remains faithful to him. His faithfulness isn’t predicated on Abraham, but on God’s own nature.

Eventually, they do have the child and they call him Isaac. And the last thing Abraham does is one of the most interesting. What does God ask him to do with his new son?

He asks him to sacrifice him on top of a particular mountain.

Crazy right. But does he?

He is willing to. But God intervenes and offers a sacrifice in his place, a ram who is caught in the thicket.

And what did we say this showed?

It basically showed us three things. Firstly, Abraham is faithful to God. By the end of his life Abraham has learned to trust God. The second is that God isn’t like the other nations’ understanding of God. He isn’t a God who asks for child sacrifice. Finally, we saw how this pointed to the occasion when God sacrificed his Son, and when he did so that we all might be spared his wrath.

Today we will be looking at the story of Isaac and of his son Jacob.

Isaac (Genesis 24-25)

Although Isaac is the child of promise, he doesn’t feature very heavily in our story. He only has one story about him, and he’s honestly hardly there. So, take a look at Genesis 24. There we have Abraham talking with his servant. What does he not want, and what does he tell the servant to do? (v3-4)

He doesnt’ want his son to marry one of the Canaanites, but rather to marry a woman from his country.

But what is the servant’s worry? (v5)

That the woman he chooses might not be keen to come back and marry Isaac. Understandable concern.

The servant wonders if he shouldn’t take Isaac to meet her if this happens. What is Abraham’s response?

He says that the servant must never take Isaac there, but that God will provide the wife. We see, in this late stage of his life, that Abraham’s faith in God and his ability to trust him has grown enormously. But he does also say that if he can’t find a woman, then this oath will cease to be binding.

So the servant leaves on his task. He has some gifts and all that to sweeten the deal. What does he do when he gets to the well? (vv12-14)

He prays and asks God to show him which woman. He even has an exchange in his mind that will show him who this woman is.

And who comes out before he has finished praying? (v15)

Rebekah.

And what happens with her?

Things go exactly as the servant said they should, so he now knows that she is the one whom God has sent.

So what does he give her?

He gives her bracelets and a nose ring, marking her out as the wife.

So, they go home together and meet her family, her father Bethuel and her brother Laban. You need to remember him. He comes in handy in a little while. The servant then starts to speak to them about why he’s come in. What does he say about his master Abraham in v34-38?

He points out that he is rich and blessed by God.

Why do you think he’d point this out?

To give the men reason to consider marrying their daughter off to this guy. If he’s rich, then his son will be rich. Firstly, he can take care of their daughter/sister. Secondly, some of that wealth will come to them by virtue of their relationship.

So, they allow her to marry him. The servant gives them a bunch of gifts to say thank you. And they leave. And what do Laban and Bethuel say to her when she leaves? (v60)

They bless her. The content of the blessing is much like the blessings God gave to Israel. And this is deliberate. Them echoing these blessings points forward to a time when Israel will receive them. They will be the ones who will increase, and also the ones who will inherit the cities of their enemies.

And then, the lovers are united. What are we told in v66-67 about how Isaac loves Rebekah?

We are told that he loves her dearly.

Okay, so that’s the only story about Isaac really. The only other thing to talk about is his family dynamic. But we’ll talk about that with Jacob.

Jacob (Genesis 25:19-36)

What do I want to teach?

Although Jacob is a sinful, deceitful man, nevertheless God blesses him and uses him in the furthering of his plan to establish the nation of Israel, and through them restore the world to the paradise of Eden.

Key Texts:

Genesis 25:19-34

Genesis 27:1-41

Genesis 28:10-22

Genesis 29:14b-30

Genesis 32:22-32

Genesis 35:1-15

Genesis 25:19-34

Summarise the section:

Rebekah gives birth to two sons under a promise from God.

Point of this section:

To tell of the birth of Jacob an Esau in a way that foreshadows the rest of the narrative, and to begin the narrative with the stealing of the birthright.

How does it tie in with the main point?

By showing Jacob to be deceitful, but also by indicating that the succession of God’s promises will come through him.

Genesis 27:1-41

Summarise the section:

Jacob and Rebekah trick the blind Isaac into giving the blessing fit for the eldest child to the younger Esau, resulting in family conflict.

Point of this section:

To show how the younger brother came to be both the father of Israel and the one through whom the line of promise goes.

How does it tie to the main point?

It both establishes the reason Jacob needs to flee and it shows us how he came to be the one inheriting the blessings Esau deserved.

Genesis 28:10-22

Summarise the Section:

Jacob has a dream while fleeing his brother in which God reiterates the promises that he made to Abraham.

Point of this section:

To show that Jacob has become the child of promise.

How does it tie to the main point?

Shows God guaranteeing the establishmet of the nation of Israel through Jacob

Genesis 29:14b-30

Summarise the Section:

Jacob marries two woman after working for the younger sister and being tricked into marrying the older one.

Main Point:

To set up Jacob as the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Genesis 32:22-32

Summarise the Section:

Jacob wrestles with God, has his name changed to Israel and earns a blessing from God.

Main Point:

To foreshadow the nature of the relationship between Israel the nation and their God.

Genesis 35:1-15

Summarise the Section:

God meets with Jacob, calling him to purify himself, and reinstates the covenant with him.

Main Point:

To show God’s faithfulness to an errant man, and to illustrate that God’s promise never once left Jacob.