Book of Genesis - Ch. 25, Vs. 1-34 (12/17/2000)

Abraham Gives His Property and Dies in a Good Old Age

We're going to get back to our book of Genesis. Chapter 25. Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. This was after Sarah had died, and Shabarian, Zimran, Jokan, Shan, Medan, Median, Ishbok, Ishmael.

That's not right. Yeshua. Where did I get Ishmael? I'm not going to pronounce all of those names, but we go through all of them down to verse 5. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. This is talking about his real estate, his unreal estate, everything.

Isaac typified the Son of God, whom he hath appointed heir of all things. But unto the sons of the concubines which Abram had, Abram gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived eastward into the east country.

Abraham knows that there will be confusion, argument. Lots of things come up. So he disperses his property while he's yet alive. And these are the days of the years of Abraham, which he lived, and a hundred and three score and fifteen years is how long?

175 years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man and full of his years, and was gathered to his people. That's all it says. Abraham died. After all that God had made of him, he says he died.

Well, he disperses his property while he's yet alive. It would not have been done or not done so well if he had waited. In many cases, it's wisdom for men to make their own hands their own executors, and what they find to do while they are yet alive.

I think this is a good idea. And the sons of Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Mephilah in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre. He is buried in the same place that his wife Sarah.

And the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth, there was Abraham buried and Sarah his wife. It came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed the sons of Isaac, and Isaac dwelled by the well of Lehorah.

Ishmael's Full Life and the Line of Isaac

Now these are the generations of Ishmael, and we go all through the linealogy of Ishmael, and we come down to verse 17. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael. A hundred, thirty, and seven years, and he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered unto his people.

He lived a full life, and he died. No more said about him than about Abraham. There's lots of references to Abraham throughout the Bible. And they dwelt from Mephilah unto Shur, that is, before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria.

And he died in the presence of all of his brethren. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son, Isaac. And Abraham begat Isaac. Now we're starting on the lineage of Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Paddanaram the sister to Laban the Syrian.

They were not Jews. The Jewish race has grown into the Jewish nation. But the beginning of it was Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. She could not bear a child.

And the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived. And the children struggled together. So when did the... Well, it started with Ishmael and Isaac, but here we see the battle continuing even before they're born.

And the children struggled together within her, and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? Then she went to inquire of the Lord. Evidently, there had not been twins born in recent years. And she wondered why she's thus.

And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of children, people, shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other, and the eldest shall serve the younger.

Now, I would have you notice, before they're born, that they're told, she's told, who's going to serve who. And it's the younger that is going to serve. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in the womb.

Jacob and Esau Before Birth

One was stronger than the other. And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esau. And after that came out his brother, and he took hold of Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob.

Isaac was three years, three score years old when she bare them. And the boys grew, and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. Let me get your input as to the character or description of these two men.

That's good. Anybody want to add? If I had been choosing the boys, I would have chosen Esau. Jacob just wasn't desirable. He was using cunning. He was a trickster all of his life until the Lord changes it.

And that's pretty late in his life. And the boys grew, and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob.

Can you see any problem coming? We're told pretty well as to what it is. Yes. We do not have any record, but I would say that it is a fair assumption. Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob.

We discover here two problems. The difference between the one seems stronger than the other. It was stronger for Isaac to love Jacob. The stronger for Rebecca to love, did I say Jacob? Isaac to love Esau, and Rebecca to love Jacob.

That can do nothing but create a problem. The other hunted, and the other one seems to hunt, and the other washes dishes. Well, anytime you find a young man washing dishes before he's married. Now, Jacob sawed portage, potage, and Esau came in from the field.

Sawed means what? Boiled. He boiled potage. Now, Esau came in from the field and he was faint. What was this potage? It's beans. And anybody who doesn't like beans, there's something wrong with them. It was just a bowl of beans.

They may have had something else in it, but basically it was beans. Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red potage, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. Now, he comes in from the field, Richard.

He's hungry. He hasn't killed anything. And he says, give me a bowl of beans. Well, Jacob would have given him some. But Jacob saw an opportunity. He saw just how hungry Esau was. And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright.

He didn't beat around the bush. He didn't sneak up on it. He just says, sell me your birthright and I'll give you a pot of beans. Well, Esau said, behold, I am at the point of death, and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

If he saw the reason or all of the ramifications of the birthright, he considered it nothing. This has always been a little bit hard for me to understand. When the firstborn had, well, it varied over the years, but double portion.

And he got everything. But here he says, I'll trade it to you for a bowl of beans. Now, that could be nothing much lower than that. What do you think of that, Joy? He wanted it for money. Can you think of any other reason?

Verge? Any other example? David? He couldn't see. He couldn't understand. Well, he sells the beans. Do you really believe he didn't sell the beans? He sold it for a bowl of beans. Do you really believe that he understood, Bill?

Okay, Diane. Right, and Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that red potage. Jacob says, sell me your birthright. And Esau said, behold, I am at the point of death. Do you think he was? Do you think he thought he was?

Who said that? Okay.

He thought he was just making conversation. He didn't really think he was giving the birthrights up. I think that's right. What did you call it back there? What's her name?

Brenda. It's so far back there I can't see. What did you want to say? Yes. Right, Russ? Out of the field. In fact, he was coming out of the field, proved that he wasn't about to die. Put up your hand.

All right. Give the birthright. Pass it down. And that he could skip over this little field. Yes.

So we see lots of short-term reasons. And Esau said, behold, I'm at the point to die, and what prophets shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, swear to me this day. And he's swearing to him, and he sold him his birthright.

Now, this was unknown to anybody except Esau and Isaac. Jacob. Birthright unto Jacob. He sold his birthright, all that went with it. Now, he did not consider all that went with it. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way.

It seems so insignificant that Esau, I want to be sure I got the name right, Esau simply ate his beans and went on his way. He forgot about it. He knew that he was firstborn. He couldn't change that. He knew that his father didn't know anything about this agreement.

He knew that his father would override it. He just knew. Thus Esau despised his birthright. So Esau sold his birthright. Little did he know what he was doing. But in all of this, was God controlling? It seems a shame, and I don't understand it, how God can control a situation that seems on the surface to be wrong to us.

It was wrong for Jacob to do what he did. Yet God controlled it. It was wrong for Esau to do what he did. But God controlled it. They didn't know that. How many things do we do without realizing God's controlling it?

You'll have to raise your hand. All right, we all do it. There's a time coming when, well, now I look back and I can see how God controlled everything. I can see it closer to the time that I do it. But I wonder if we could see it ahead of time.

There's nothing to prevent it that God does control everything. I just wonder. Yet we can all look back at a different time scale, a different way, a different... I've got to quit. I'm losing my concentration.

God Controls Human Decisions and We Live by Faith

Is there anything from anybody? Anything about the lesson you want to bring up? Yes. And we can see everything back, at least I hope we can. We cannot see immediately in the future. We can see way out here in the future that he's going to control it all.

But immediately in the future, a day or two or a week in front of us, we can't see that.

And his father's not going to see what he can't see. And so he has to treat his father whether he made the deal with his brother or not. Other than he saw selling the birthright.

So the selling of the birthright really didn't have anything to do except it made it legal.

He's made it so that we live by faith. We have to. Anything else? Let's stand and we'll be dismissed. Charlie dismisses, please. To the Father, we thank you.