Genesis 27 The Place of Sin in God's Decree

Cornerstone Church

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Welcome, we are studying Genesis 27 today. John, could I ask you to please open us in a word of prayer?

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Father God, we know that you are the God and the Creator, the Sovereign God of all. We look at things that are going on in the country and we say, how can such deceit succeed?

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Lord, you are sovereign and we know that your will cannot be violated. We are going to be studying some difficult passages about even deceit, but we are going to see that you are the

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Sovereign God. Pray that you give Pastor Jeff the words to say, in Jesus' name, Amen. Probably the most difficult book in the

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Bible to read is the book of Lamentations. Now that could be argued, there are other reasons why other books could be difficult, but to hear about little toddlers in the streets after the city has been ransacked and they are falling down, they can't find their mothers and they are dying of hunger on the side of the road.

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It is just a brutal story about Lamentations and obviously

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Jeremiah, the author, is weeping as he writes it and considers what he has seen.

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But it does say in Lamentations chapter 2, the Lord has done what he purposed.

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Can you imagine that? The evils of our day, when we think about the most evil things that our eyes have witnessed, some of us, it's not too long ago, that the 1940s, the world witnessed the

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Holocaust and the horrors of the Holocaust and the question is, where was

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God when this happened? The rabbis will tell you falsely that God has only put things into motion and he wasn't there.

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That, why do good things happen, why do bad things happen to good people? The answer from the

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Talmudic rabbis is that God can't control that, that's merely the decisions of man and God will not impose upon the free will of man and he has nothing to do with it.

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But October 7th, where babies were put into ovens, which by the way, the wickedness of the

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Hamas soldiers, not even soldiers, the vigilante terrorists, they only were able to force themselves to do the evil that they intended from their heart by being on drugs.

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Did you know that they were completely drugged up in order to do the atrocities that they did?

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That came out in the news, yeah, that they had certain pills that they would take that were like psychotic meds that would allow them to just absolutely massacre and kill babies and put them in ovens and you think, where was

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God in that? Well, I want to tell you what was the most horrific thing that ever happened in the history of the world.

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One more innocent than the toddler staggering in the street and that was the innocent lamb of God and more precious in value because he is none other than God himself in the flesh dwelling, tabernacling among us.

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Yet Acts 4 .28 tells us that God predestined the death, not just the death, but the torturous crucifixion of the innocent lamb of God.

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How do we wrap our minds around these two realities? That sin causes this suffering and yet God predestined these things to occur.

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We know from scripture that God is not the author of sin.

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So what place does sin play in what God has decreed? That's the question today and the answer is that God has predestined or decreed whatsoever comes to pass, including the crucifixion of Jesus.

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It says in Lamentations 2 .17 that he purposed the destruction of Jerusalem, which included the sinful acts of man, the sinful

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Assyrian destruction, which was so horrific, very much like the Hamas invasion of Israel.

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In all of these things, God's hands are clean. He holds the sinner completely responsible for sin while ordaining that the world would fall in the

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Garden of Eden, that sin would unfold in the world, and that he would remedy sin even by the hands of sinful men.

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The crucifixion of Jesus was that essential moment where sin was atoned for by God's predestined plan through the hands of sinful men.

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It seems impossible for us to understand, but you see, God is above the universe.

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When Nebuchadnezzar was finally humbled from his self -exultant place after having been made like an animal to crawl around and his nails grew long and he was dripping with dew and his hair was gnarly and outgrown, he'd been an animal for seven years.

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When he finally was restored his right mind, he was given eyes to see the sovereignty of God.

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Someone turn please to Daniel chapter 4 verse 35.

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What he confesses here in Daniel 4 .35 is a high view of God's sovereignty.

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It's a recognition that God has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, including the sinful things that happen in the world.

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God is not the author of sin, he does not infuse sin into the hearts of man, but he makes the man who has fallen in Adam, who is wicked, who will do as that person chooses to do, fully responsible for his own choices, and God has decreed what will happen.

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So he is both the one who decrees everything that happens and innocent of sin.

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His decree includes responsible actions in this world by willful creatures.

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So who has Daniel 4 .35 for me? Stan, would you read that? All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.

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He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.

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No one can hold back his hand or say to him, what have you done? What have you done?

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None can make that question of him. See, the problem is, we often put ourselves in a position as judge over God.

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And he refuses that place to us. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was the high and exalted one, but he was humbled and brought down a step, and he confesses all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as what?

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Nothing. Nothing. And he, God, does according to his will, or as he pleases.

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God's will, God's decree, will happen. Not only in the heavens, where everything is as it should be, but even here on earth, where God is still in control.

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What is the famous statement that R .C. Sproul said about the molecules of the universe? Anybody know it?

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There is not one maverick molecule in all the universe. Meaning one molecule that's out of God's control.

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God is sovereign over everything, and this is what Nebuchadnezzar confesses. None can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done?

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Let's read a story about sin. Genesis chapter 27. Famous story about deception.

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Which in no way endorses deception, but Jacob's blessing came through the sin, the deception of an entire dysfunctional family.

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Isaac is dysfunctional in this story. Rebecca is dysfunctional.

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Jacob and Esau are both dysfunctional. And yet a blessing comes through an utterly dysfunctional family.

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It shows that the blessing, God's decree of what he intends to do, includes the sinful choices of man, but God will accomplish all his purposes in what he does.

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The same actions of sinful choice on behalf of a dysfunctional family are meant by them for their own self -interested purposes, right?

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Real willful choices. But what these meant for evil,

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God meant for good. Just like Genesis chapter 50, verse 20. Alright, so Barbara, would you be the first to read?

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We're picking up Genesis 27, verses 1 to 4. This is a very interesting introduction to this passage because God has already spoken two chapters earlier and said, from the word of the

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Lord, the older will serve the younger. And yet what does

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Isaac have in mind to do? Give the blessing to the older, not the younger.

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And what's driving Isaac at this point? Why does he favor

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Esau over Jacob? Yes, and where can you see that in the text?

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Look at verse 3. Take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

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Why is that needed to deliver the blessing? It's not.

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What's actually driving Isaac at this point is his stomach.

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He's going to get a good meal. He wants to have a good meal, be satisfied, and then in the delight of his heart, lay his hands on his son

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Esau and bless him with the blessing.

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Now, what is the blessing? What is the blessing? We need the context of the book of Genesis for that.

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It's more than that. It's more than that. It is that, but it points to Christ.

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When Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees, he was given a land, promise, and the blessing would be on those who bless him, and the nations that bless him would be blessed, and those that curse him would be cursed, and through the seed, all the world would be blessed.

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The blessing is pointing forward to Christ, that there would be a seed promise.

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This actually goes all the way back to Genesis 3 .15. The seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.

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Now, you have Abraham called out with this seed promise that he would bless the world through his seed, and that promise would go not through Ishmael, but through Isaac, and now

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Isaac will pass that blessing on to, should have been

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Jacob, the younger over the older, but instead, Esau will get the blessing in Isaac's mind.

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Isaac wants to give it to the firstborn, because that's just the society, right? The firstborn gets the blessing, but God didn't say that the firstborn in this case would get the blessing.

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He had said the contrary, that the older will serve the younger.

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So he's being clouded in his judgment by his carnal mind. He loves the good food that Esau brings home.

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He likes the fact that Esau's a manly man. He's out there in the field. He smells like the field.

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He's hairy and strong, and he goes out all day, and he hunts, and he brings back the meat.

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We have the meats. So he is very much favoring his older son because of carnal reasons, carnal judgment.

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Okay, so let's read verses 5 to 13, Judy, if you wouldn't mind.

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So now Jacob finds himself in a ticklish situation, because his mother is commanding him to do something which is against what his father said.

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Question, does the end justify the means? I think you realize not, right, by the fact that you're laughing.

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Right. The moral prescriptions of the Bible are to be obeyed, even when it seems like that's going to go bad for us.

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Things won't work out, right? Is it okay to lie to protect somebody from harm?

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That's a deep hole, but I don't think I have time to go down that rabbit trail entirely, but I'll just tell you the answer.

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No, it's not okay. There are other ways to protect life besides lying. One sin does not justify another.

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There's a whole chapter on this in Wayne Grudem's book, Christian Ethics, and we could delve into the reasoning behind that, the biblical reasoning.

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But what happens here in our text? Does he talk about Rahab? What's that? Does he talk about Rahab? He does talk about Rahab, yeah.

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Yes, makes a couple of really good points about Rahab that she was never commended for any aspect of her lie.

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In Hebrews, where she's held up as a hero, it was only that she sent them away, not that she lied to the people who were pursuing.

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So, interesting, yeah. And there's other points that Grudem makes about that, but that's usually one of the utilitarian arguments that some will make.

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Even John Stott made that argument that you should, in that case, lie like Rahab. Or the

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Egyptian midwives, their lies before Pharaoh of what happened.

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But there's no biblical reason to take that position. The Bible never commends lying as the way to protect life.

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Yeah? Then you can lie by omission. Grudem, and I would agree with Grudem, would say there's a difference there.

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To omit telling the truth is not the same thing as affirming something you know to be untrue with your mouth in writing or in word.

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So, to fall silent could be an option. To omit things is, there are times, like Jesus, he didn't even stand against his accusers.

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He didn't respond. He just stood silent. You could do that. You could fight. You know, if it's the case of the

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Nazi soldier, and I know we are taking the rabbit trail now, but this is important. The Nazi soldier is saying, do you have

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Jews hidden there? You can begin to excoriate them for persecuting the

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Jews and not even answer their question. You could preach the gospel to them. You could, in fact, fight them if you need to.

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But there are other options besides lying. Okay? There's never a reason why the end justifies the beginning.

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Now, in this text, Rebecca, does she have any good ground to stand on to try to get the blessing to go to Jacob?

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No. No, to try to get the blessing. That might be her motivation, but there's something, go back with me a couple of chapters.

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Genesis 25, 23. Genesis 25, 23 says, and the

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Lord said to her, she has the word of the Lord. Two nations are in your womb.

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Two peoples from within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other. The older shall serve the younger.

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God had decreed by this word, and we'll learn that it was always God's decree, that the blessing promise would pass on through Jacob, not

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Esau. But here's the thing. She goes about attaining what she thinks is right and also what fits her preferences because just like Isaac prefers

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Esau, Rebecca prefers Jacob. So there's a favoritism there motivating her heart.

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Her intentions are all twisted, and her means of accomplishing her end are sinful because she rebels against the headship of her husband.

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If you look here in verse six, Rebecca said to her son Jacob, I heard your father speak.

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This is never a good start to the conversation. When a mother goes to a child and triangulates against him, you know bad things are about to unfold.

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I heard him say this, but I'm commanding you that. You see, a godly approach to a disagreement would be to go to who?

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Jacob or Isaac? Isaac. If she knew she was standing on truth, she had to go and bring the truth of God's word to Isaac and plead with him, and instead what she does is she resorts to deception.

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Deception. This is sinful behavior on her part. So now you've got Isaac and his carnality.

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He's just worried about his stomach. You've got Rebecca rebelling against headship, which is really the perennial problem of the curse, right?

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For man, the curse is the ground thorns and thistles, pricking your fingers, and the difficulty of being a provider.

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For women, her desire will be for her husband, but he will rule over her.

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What does that mean, for her husband? Yeah, because in Genesis 4 -7, sin's desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

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It's a parallel construction, so you know that what that means is her desire would be to have control.

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There is a natural battle of the sexes in that sense, right? And is it a godly desire there?

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No, that's the sinful carnal desire, but the godly woman resists the temptation to overtake headship.

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There are a lot of homes, even Christian homes, where it's reversed. Headship belongs to the woman, not ontologically, but in the way that the family functions.

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She does say, obey my voice. Yes, she does. I think that's an important textual marker there.

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It's so commanding, but it's in rebellion against what she heard the father say.

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And what should the son do? He's in a terrible spot there, because he needs to submit to both parents.

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And a command from the mother is to be regarded, but now it's against what the father is doing. So it's really an ugly sin.

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And remember, what are we talking about big picture here? God's blessing and God's decree is going to happen right through the midst of this mess.

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The dysfunctional family can't disrupt what God is doing. Even the sin becomes the instrument of what

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God is doing. Amazingly. So to go back a little bit to Genesis 25, the verse that you referenced, when it says one is going to be stronger than the other in the womb, and then obviously

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Esau is probably physically stronger, it seems like. So what do you think the strength was referring to?

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Well, I think there's a physical strength there, but it's referring to the nations. So Esau becomes the

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Edomites, and they're this mountainous people, Petra and all of that, and they ultimately get wiped out and always fall under God's judgment.

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The last known Edomite that we know about is Herod, the fake king, he was an Edomite. But the true blessing promise on the stronger, that's the blessing promise on Israel.

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So Jacob becomes Israel, Esau becomes Edom, and there's a differentiation there.

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But it's the younger that gets the blessing, not the older. And then of course Romans 9 explains salvificly that Jacob I loved,

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Esau I hated. So there's a strong difference here between the two. Only hinted at in 25 -23, but it gets more explicit as the text unfolds.

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Yeah, you're welcome. Alright, so let's continue on. So we're seeing sin in Isaac, sin in Rebecca.

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This thing's getting more and more dysfunctional. And now we have the son.

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Verses 14 -17. And Bob, would you read that?

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So he went and got them, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son

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Jacob. She also covered his hands, and the smooth part of his neck with goat skins.

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Then she handed to her son Jacob tasty food and the bread she had made.

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There's a ridiculous element to this. It's like a Halloween costume. She's putting on fur on his arms, and on his neck, and making him smell like the field.

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The deception is, this is preposterous. But here's a bigger point to think about.

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Rebecca was not a godless woman. Do you remember how she was called?

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Do you remember the story, I think John taught that one? Where the servant goes to find her, and the sign that she was a godly woman is that when he asked for water, she would say, oh yes, here, let me get you water, and let me water your camels as well.

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That's the same girl. Rebecca was not a godless woman. She was godly and loved the

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Lord, and she would go the extra mile. It's just that she got caught up in the flesh. Can even godly women do terrible, godless things?

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How about guys? Are godly men capable of falling into sin? Not as bad.

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He's too young to know what it is. Another interesting thing here is that sons and daughters often wear the sin of their parents.

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I don't think Jacob is dressing up like an animal apart from the influence of an ungodly sinful choice of his mom.

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She's got him dressed up. He's wearing her sinful choices. And that's actually what happens in dysfunctional families.

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We have to fight against the sins of our parents that we don't repeat them because these things can become cyclical.

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Generation after generation. You've been in addiction ministry. How many alcoholics had an alcoholic father?

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Plenty. But it's not necessarily the case here. He's responsible for his own sin, but it's his own mom who's leading him into it.

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Wow. So this happens in 14 -17. She's a godly woman, but she has become so invested in this blessing.

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She's fixated on it. Now, if she hadn't interposed here, would God have had a way to stop

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Isaac from doing the wrong thing? Did God need her to sin this way? No. But will

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God still use him? Amazingly, he will. Just like the crucifixion of Jesus, it was sinful men, but it was

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God's plan that he'd be put to death by the hands of sinful men. God's plan includes the sinful choices of men.

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While he himself is yet not the author of sin, his decree includes those willful choices, responsible choices within the plan.

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That's the big idea that's being communicated here. Alright, verses 18 -25. Thank you,

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Sue. So here's

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Isaac. He's old and he's dim in eye. He can't see. He's probably legally blind or completely blind.

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He's groping about. He calls his son in. Jacob comes back sooner than expected.

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Who are you, my son? Look at verse 19. I wonder if Jacob, in the back of his mind, thought, maybe my dad won't even ask.

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Maybe I won't even have to lie. He'll smell me because he's got a good sense of smell. He'll feel me and I won't have to lie.

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But sure enough, the first question is, who are you, my son? Interesting question. There's already a suspicion in the air.

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Because why do you ask that? Who are you, my son? Jacob said, and here's the lie, the deceptive behavior becomes a spoken verbal lie.

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I am Esau, your firstborn. Verse 19. I have done as you have told me.

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Is that true? Is he Esau? Has he done it? That your soul may bless me. He's looking for a religious blessing upon his sinful deceit.

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Incredible. And it's just like it snowballs on him. You know how in Genesis 4 -7, Cain was told, sin is crouching at the door.

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Its desire is to have you, but you must master it. That's how sin is.

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As soon as you crack the door open, it flings wide open. As soon as you give it a little foothold, it climbs up your leg and it's got you wrapped up in a stronghold.

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Jacob is in over his head. He began to lie and now it's like he can't help but lie all the more.

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And it becomes more and more egregious. Isaac said, how is it that you have found it so quickly?

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He's suspicious. And so he has to say, look at this. Verse 20. Because the

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Lord, your God, granted me success. Do you think Jacob knows the

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Lord at this point? He says, your God. Right. I don't think he knows the Lord. I think he calls him your

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God because maybe this is only sort of like subconscious or he hadn't really thought it through. But he himself doesn't know the

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Lord. But he knows what will manipulate Isaac. He knows Isaac's most important thing in his life is his

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God. And so he appeals to his God. Your God gave me this. Victory.

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But it's a lie. He didn't get the game by killing it quickly. It's all a lie. Verse 21. Then Isaac said, please come near that I may feel you.

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Uh -oh. He's doubting to know whether you are really my son.

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And now Jacob has to plunge even deeper into this lie. He let him feel. And he said, the voice is

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Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother's

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Esau. So he blessed him. He said, are you really my son Esau? He answered, verse 24,

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I am. In the Greek. Ego eimi. Elihu in the

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Hebrew. That's that statement of God's name. I am. He's claiming an utter lie.

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He is not who he claims to be. He's a liar is what he is.

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And yet Isaac calls him bring it near to me that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.

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So he brought it near and he ate and he brought him wine and he drank. Verses 26 to 29.

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Timotheus. Then his father Isaac said to him, come near and kiss me my son.

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So he came near and kissed him and Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, see the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the

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Lord has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.

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Let people serve you and nations bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

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Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you.

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Okay, so in verse 29 let people serve you. That's the language that God already spoke. The older will serve the younger.

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So it's now enlarging that. It's bringing more specific detail to that promise. It says be

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Lord over your brothers. So he would be the nation of Israel and they would have victory over the surrounding peoples.

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The Edomites in this case. But look at the end of verse 29.

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Recognize this language? Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you.

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Remember what I said that this is? It's more than an inheritance blessing. This is the seed promise of Genesis 12, 1 to 3.

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And Genesis 15 and Genesis 18 and Genesis 22. It's repeated four times. The Abrahamic covenant.

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The seed blessing. This points to the Christ. It's the promise to Abraham.

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Pastor Isaac is now going to Jacob. Next it will go through Judah, then through David and finally to Christ himself.

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This is the blessing of the entire world through this seed line.

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Not through Esau as you would expect as the first born. It's through Jacob, the younger.

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So this is an amazing thing because here it is. Now could anything have stopped

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God's decree? Nothing. This is the point that Nebuchadnezzar finally learned.

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This is what Jeremiah knew in Lamentations chapter 2 when God said that he purposed it.

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This is what Pontius Pilate inherited the Jews and the Gentiles. Acts 4 .27. All learned God's decree was fixed before the foundation of the world.

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In fact, think about this. If the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world, the

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Lamb's book of life, the Lamb, it happened in time, but he was regarded as a

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Lamb because he was already a sacrifice in the mind of God before the foundation of the world.

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And if a sacrifice for sin was already prepared, did the mind of God already account for sin in the world?

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Was that plan too? Of course it was. Otherwise he would just be the lion from before the foundation of the world, the king.

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No, he was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. God had ordained both sin and remedy as part of the overarching plan.

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He had a decree and here that could not be thwarted even by sin. And marvelously, it even included these sinful choices.

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So the blessing goes from Isaac to Jacob through a deception, through a sin.

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Wow. God's decree includes the sinful choices of men for which they are responsible and from which he is innocent, although his plan includes sin in the world.

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That's the teaching of scripture. So verses 30 through 38, John, if you wouldn't mind reading.

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It came to pass as soon as Isaac made an end of blessing Jacob and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac, his father, that he saw his brother came in from his hunting.

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And he also made savory meat and brought it to his father and said unto his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison that thy soul may bless me.

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Isaac, his father, said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn.

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He saw. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said, Who? Where is he that has taken venison and brought it to me?

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And I have eaten of all before thou camest. And have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed.

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And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry and said unto his father,

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Bless me, even me, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with his subtlety and has taken away thy blessing.

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And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times.

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He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said,

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Has thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have

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I given to him for service. With corn and wine have I sustained him. And what shall

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I do now unto thee, my son? And Isaac said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father?

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Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

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Wow. So you see the horrible sin involved in it. Wrecked Esau. He's weeping.

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But can the blessing be brought? Can he do like a do -over? Wait a minute. Okay, I was tricked. Do -over.

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Is that what the text says? No. This was God's decree.

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That blessing was spoken and it was binding. God regards it as sure.

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He said it and it can't be taken back. No do -overs here. So the big idea is that the decree of God includes such things as this.

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Could it have been that Herod or Pontius Pilate wake up that morning when Jesus was to be crucified and had a good day and maybe responded to the dream of Herod's wife and decide not to crucify

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Jesus? Could that have happened? It had to be through Herod the

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Edomite fulfilling that aspect of the prophecy. He had to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot because the 30 pieces of silver of Zechariah 11, 12, and 13.

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In fact, Jesus needed to be cut off at that exact time period because of Daniel 9, 24 to 27.

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It had to happen just like it did. Nothing could stop God's plan from unfolding just like it did.

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In Daniel 9, 24 to 27, it even talks about a coming time of desolation. The Antichrist overrunning

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Jerusalem. Desolations are decreed. Are desolations part of God's decree?

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Why yes, they are. Desolations are decreed. All of these things that happen here are sinful and the person who did them is responsible for them but God is behind the scenes orchestrating good and meaning good in the very sinful actions that they meant for their own selfish reasons.

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Verses 39 and 40. I think Sandy's up. Then Isaac, his father, answered and said to him,

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Behold, away from the fragility of the earth shall be your dwelling and away from the dew of heaven.

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By your sword you shall live and your brethren you shall serve but it shall come about when you become restless that you will break his yoke from your neck.

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So what's the relationship going to be like between, and this doesn't happen between Jacob and Esau. When Jacob comes back from the foreign territory and Esau meets him, it's in peace and they reconcile.

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So it's referring not just to their private personal relationship but the national. Nations are within your womb was the promise.

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So Israel versus Edom, will they be friends or foes? Remember the book of Obadiah?

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When they sit up on high and they laugh because in their mountain perches they're not being touched by the opposing armies and then

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God judges them for how they sat on high and refused to help their brother. They hate each other.

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The Edomites and the Israelites will be against each other. Verse 40, you shall break his yoke from your neck.

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That means you're going to be at war with them. Even though Edom was never really a threat to Israel, they're the stronger.

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But they're not friends. They're brothers but they hate each other. They're against each other.

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Do you think that God dealt unjustly with Esau? Is there any sign of life in Esau?

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John will teach next week on Esau and what we'll see is that there's never a sign of life in Esau.

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His mother wants a good godly girl for Jacob and sends him to go find her but Esau says, oh that's what they want?

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Okay, I'm going to go get an Ishmaelite for myself. And he took many wives. Right?

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God didn't restrain him. God let him get rich and wealthy, fat and happy and never know the

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Lord. Jacob had a much rougher road working for seven years for Laban and then seven more years for Laban as well to get the two daughters wrestling with that angel of the

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Lord which is probably Christ himself. His hip touched thrown out of socket but ultimately all of that struggle was to break his will that he now would know the

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Lord God. Which from that night on he does. God pursued and rescued and saved

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Jacob but Esau was let to go his own way and here Esau has a very bad future prophesied about him.

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Away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be. That's the mountain crags of Petra. Maybe you've seen it in Indiana Jones.

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That big opening in the mountain wall with the big door. Remember that? Indiana Jones fans here?

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No? That's Petra. Yes, that was Petra. So he's living not in a good fertile land but up in the mountains and away from the dew of heaven on high.

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That's what that means. That's where the Edomites will be. By your sword you shall live but you're going to be subservient to your brother.

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And then Rick, could you just bring us home now? Verses 41 to 46. ... one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?

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Wow, so now you see Rebecca, she really only loves the younger. She's just concerned about him getting a good wife.

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Doesn't say much. I mean, I don't know, she still loves Esau, but not like she does Jacob.

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But they named him Jacob, which means he cheats. Yeah, the heel grabber, because he was born hanging onto the foot.

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Do you see the hatred in the family? Now Esau's only comfort in life is that as soon as his dad dies, he's going to kill his brother.

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That's how he gets by day to day. He's so angry. Sin introduces untold suffering into families.

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If they had done things God's way, the blessing still would have come about. God, of course, is going to do as God will do.

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But the sin of each person, Isaac's carnality and his love of game, and his favoritism,

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Jacob's deceit, that heel grabbing, now he's got a brother that wants to kill him and he's got to flee for his life.

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The untold suffering of this mother, it is just a real, it's a train wreck. But here's the good news of the whole story.

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God's blessing comes right through the midst of that mess.

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Isn't that good news for our lives? In all of our sin and all our struggles, everything we go through, the blessing carries right through because it's all by grace, not by works.

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It's completely of grace, not by anything good. When you read these stories, do you realize that Abraham is just a sinner like us?

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And Isaac and Rebecca, they're godly. Actually, they know God. Rebecca was a godly woman, and yet in all that sin, they're bringing untold suffering into their own personal lives, but it cannot thwart

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God's decree, His blessing. It's good news. So, John, would you close us in a word of prayer?

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Lord, in the words of the Reformation, sola gratia. We know, Lord, that this applies to our coming to you is only by the grace of God because we're dead in sin.

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But we also know, Lord, that this applies to the reality that your will is going to be done by your grace, by your omnipotence, by your power.

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We thank you, Lord, for the truth that even comes through these difficult verses of how sin and dysfunctionality can be so ugly, but yet through this all, we know that the promise of Messiah comes just as you desired it.

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We glorify in you, and we say thank you, Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.