Book of Genesis - Ch. 28, Vs. 1-22 (01/14/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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Clarence, read the first verse. Who read it first?

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Which chapter? I can't tell you. Chapter 28.

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Then Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Shall I take a watch of Canaan?

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This second blessing confirmed Jacob's faith, lest he should think that his father had given it without God's leading.

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Those that have the blessing must keep the charge annexed to it, and not think to separate what

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God has joined. God's to say and to do is all one thing with God, whatever it is with man.

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Arise, go to Paddan -aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife from thence, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.

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And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou mayest be a multitude of people.

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There's something rather remarkable about the original words in this verse.

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They signify literally for an assembly, for a congregation, or the church of peoples, referring no doubt to the

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Jewish church in the wilderness, and more particularly to the Christian church, composed of every kindred nation, people, and tongues.

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And give thee the blessing of Abraham unto thee, and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which

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God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob, and he went to Paddan -aram unto

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Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

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Now we have the beginning and end of the journey there, but it took him quite a while to get there, some five hundred miles.

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Now we're going to leave Jacob for a moment and switch back to Esau. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed

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Jacob and sent him away to Paddan -aram to take him a wife from thence, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying,

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Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. This passage concerning Esau comes in the midst of Jacob's story.

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Esau did well, but he did it when it was too late. He saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not his father, and he might have seen that long ago if he had been as interested in his father as he should have, and not just his palate.

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Now, how did he now mend this matter?

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Well, he just made it worse. He didn't fix it at all. First, he married a daughter of Ishmael.

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Ishmael is who? Just one talk at a time with your hand up.

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Who is Ishmael? All right. Did he carry the blessing?

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No. So he married into a family that was rejected. He was cast out.

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He took a third wife while his other two were neither dead nor divorced.

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He did it only to please his father and not to please God. Now that Jacob was sent into a far country,

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Esau would be the only one he hoped to humor his father and to prevail with him, that maybe he'd make a new will, that he would put the promise upon him.

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But that was not to be. Carnal hearts are apt to think themselves as good as they should be, because perhaps they're not as bad as they could be.

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And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and was gone to Padanaram. His departure from his father's house in fear of being pursued or waylaid along the way, what route did he take?

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The back roads. He took the little -used route. Well, this would put him in more danger, wouldn't it?

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It certainly increased the length of the journey. Esau, seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not

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Isaac, his father, then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto him the wives which he had,

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Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abram's son, the sister of Naboth, to be his wife.

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And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Oran. Esau married his father's niece.

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Jacob married his mother's niece. Now, the first day he traveled some 42 miles, he was running most of the way.

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What were the last words he heard? Among the last words he heard was

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Esau saying that when he finished mourning for his father's death, he was going to kill him.

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And he remembered that. Yes. Jacob is now either 55 or 70 years old.

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I found both and could not decide which was which. But nevertheless, he was of voting age.

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And he lighted upon a certain place. What's that mean? It was a certain place.

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And tarried there all night. Because the sun was set, and he took the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and lay down in that place to sleep.

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Now, doesn't that tell us when it says a certain place, doesn't that tell us that it's not a parable, that this is a real man in a real place, and the experience he's going to have is a real thing?

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Yes. But he took stones for a pillow.

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I have a little bit of problem with that. Well, he dreamed a dream.

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I think I would too. And behold, a ladder set upon the earth. And the top of it reached to heaven.

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And behold, the angels of God ascended and descended upon it. Ascending is which direction?

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Up. First. Descending is down. This is the only place this term is used.

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Ladder. It really means staircase. And behold, the

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Lord stood above it. Are you getting the picture? And said,

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I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the

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God of Isaac, the land wherein thou liest, to thee will

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I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.

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And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

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And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which

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I have spoken to thee. Now, and behold,

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I am with thee. Greg, wouldn't that be enough to run him until he got back?

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It should be. He's going to question it though.

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Jacob left home and thought that he had left God. Well, why wouldn't he?

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He's the only place he'd ever been. This is a man that had never been away from home.

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And the first time we find him traveling, he takes to the road running from his brother.

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And surely the

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Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. It was a surprise to him. And he was afraid and said,

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How dreadful is this place. This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

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Why wouldn't he believe that? Or why would he believe that?

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He must have believed it. He was afraid. He probably believed it. They say there is a place that is the gateway to heaven.

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Jacob rose up early in the morning, took the stone that he had put for the pillows, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.

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What's he doing? Building an altar. And he called the name of that place

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Bethel, but the name of the city was called

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Luz at first. Who else do we remember that tried to take up a bode in Luz?

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And Jacob vowed a vow. Now let's listen to his vow. If God will be with me, if he will be with me, and will keep me in this place that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the

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Lord be my God. What's he trying to do? He's trying to bargain with God, isn't he?

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Isn't it interesting that he's trying to make a bargain for God to do what

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God already said he was going to do? Yes. But you know, we're not too much different than that.

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Maybe I didn't really hear that one. Say it again. No, he's going to take what

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God already gave him to sustain himself. He's saying, if you do this, then

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I'll do this for you. Yes. God's already done it. Yes. So all God wants to do is to obey him.

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Something else. When Jacob got his birthright, do you remember how he got it?

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Do you remember the story? God never did correct him for that.

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Why? What? But why didn't

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God reprimand him for it? Well, he's going to get reprimanded for it, although he may not connect it, but he will.

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Brother, there were so many times when we get caught up in the same situation as he's in in these verses that we're looking at, trying to make deals and stuff.

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We can't make a deal with God. I mean, we know that. How many times have we got caught up in situations just as he is here?

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And we know the problems we're already having. Well, let's finish.

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And this stone, which

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I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that thou shalt give me,

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I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Well, his thoughts and his actions were good, but the motivation was wrong.

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We're going to travel with Jacob for some time. We're going to see that his uncle was the champion trickster of all, that he teaches him some things, and not until he comes back to the wrestling match does he really find out who he is.

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Are there any questions from anyone? I was just thinking, where else could you go that you could get as much

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Bible teaching as we've had this day? It just doesn't exist, does it?

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Let's stand and we'll be dismissed. Virge, dismiss us, please.

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Father, I'm so thankful for the day you gave us, Lord, and all the work you do.

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Just always be mindful of when you speak to us, Lord, that we listen to you. Lord, I thank you for the school we have here,

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Lord, and what the kids are being taught, Lord. And they go out into the world and they understand where their roots have been planted,

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Lord. Lord, just continue to bless this church. Thank you so much for blessing

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Brother Ellis again back with us, as he teaches us each time here, Lord. Just thank you for the many blessings you pour out on us, and the love and mercy you're raising up for us in Jesus' name.