Jacob's Marriage Genesis 29

Sermon Nuggets Mon Sept 17                                          

Gen 29

Double Wedding

           

            Whenever we read the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, we must always remember that behavior that is recorded is not the same thing as behavior which is approved. Just because the Bible records that people lied, stole, and had numerous wives doesn't mean that God approves of such things. The Bible is an accurate record of what happened in the lives of real people, including their mistakes and foolish choices.

We know that Jacob left his home for two reasons. First to flee from his brother, Esau, who was intent on killing him because he stole not only his birthright, but his blessing. And secondly, Jacob left home with the instructions of his parents to find a wife from the family of his mother in order to start descendents for the promised line as revealed by God. He met with God along the way and received the promise directly just as Abraham and Isaac did. He made a commitment to God.

            After Jacob arrived in the region of his Mother’s family he asked some shepherds if anyone heard about this family. Providentially by God’s direction not only have they heard about this family, here comes the daughter of Laban whose name is Rachael and she is also a shepherdess.

            Jacob gets one look at his cousin and he falls in love. He moves the rock from the well and waters her sheep. He reveals his relationship with her. Rachael runs home to tell her family. Her father is excited about the news some 75 years later about his sister and brings his nephew into their home as long lost family.

            After about a month after Jacob is living and working for his Uncle. Uncle Laban asks Jacob what he wants for wages. He is in love with Rachel and wants to marry her.

            I wonder if Laban remembered when the servant of Abraham came to take his sister away. She left after just a week and never saw her again. He probably didn’t want to lose her. But how much would she be worth? Isn’t that great when fathers can negotiate a financial settlement with the groom on the price of a bride? What would that do for the self esteem of the bride? There is no mention that she had much say in the negotiation, but the deal is done and they are engaged for seven years.

            That’s a bit different that even today when people can’t seem to wait before they get married. I have counseled couples who wanted to get an education after high school but are afraid that their boyfriend or girlfriend won’t wait that long. I remind them of the love commitment that Jacob had for Rachel where says because he loved her time flew by. Does your love have persistence to it that you can wait?

When 7 years past Jacob can’t wait any longer. He has been pure. She is a virgin. Now is the time to marry according to the contract. He has done his job and proved faithful and committed. So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a wedding feast. But when evening came, he took his older daughter Leah who had poor eyes, and gave her to Jacob. The bride is veiled, the time is at night. They go into the wedding tent, the bridal chamber and consummate the marriage.

But what a shock when the veil was removed and it was daylight in the tent and Jacob discovers that his bride is the older sister, Leah. Can you imagine what dialogue there was between the son-in-law and father-in-law? "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?"

But here the deceiver, namely Jacob, was deceived at his own game. He wanted one thing and it was stolen from him. He was married to the wrong woman. Laban was acting out of order, knowing full well that Jacob would not agree to his older daughter he tricked him into marrying her since that was the custom of marrying children in their birth order, just like it is in India.

Laban tells Jacob that he can have Rachel as promised, after the bridal week is over, but he has to work for another 7 years. Because Jacob loved Rachel this is something he agreed to, so within one week he had a double wedding. Two sisters married the same man. But it doesn’t take anyone by surprise to realize there were problems with this arrangement right from the beginning.

            Jacob loved Rachel he did not love Leah. She was forced into a situation because apparently people didn’t want her for a wife maybe because of her poor eyes, and next to her sister was not attractive. She felt rejection and even when she got a husband he was unwilling. Leah was resentful of her sister and her sister resentful of her.

            God knew what he was doing when he said from the very beginning, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife and the two shall  become one.” There is a spiritual oneness designed by God with one husband and one wife that is God’s plan for marriage.  So even before the Law there was the Godly principle set down. People were more influenced by the culture than faith.

            Laban is behaving in exactly this fashion however in that culture. Interestingly enough it really wasn’t until the last 150 or so years that our culture began to marry for love. Marriages used to be arranged and based on compatibility. One author I read stated that “We live in an age that over values romantic love”. It has also been noted and I quote “Men and women who in earlier centuries were married, now remain unmarried and unhappy in a society that considers romantic love the only proper basis for marriage”

           

When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb and she had four sons. Each time she thought this was a blessing of God and would she would be loved by her husband. All this time Rachel was barren.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Tues Sept 18 

Gen 29: 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weakeyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

19 Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leahand gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. ³⁰ Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

           

From the Groom’s Perspective

There are some reflections as we look at Marriage from different perspectives.

            Although there may be many reasons for a man to get married, we know of at least three reasons Jacob wanted to get married. Sex, love, and kids. He went to this land to find a wife in order to fulfill the promise of God to have offspring to begin ancestry from which the promises of God would be made known to the world. But when he met his cousin he saw she was beautiful beyond words and fell in love with her. As soon as the seven years are up he doesn’t seem to mix words. Let me marry her they I may lie with her. Now’s the time for sexual relationship with my wife.

Is he in love with her solely based on her good looks? We are not sure. We know she’s good looking and we know he’s deeply in love with her.  Is this love at first sight? Or lust at first sight? Many times people begin their attraction physically. They are appealing to the member of the opposite sex. When I first laid my eyes on Judi she had her hair up in this large curlers and a scarf over her head. Fortunately we had future encounters which allowed me to see her in a different light!

Rachel is characterized only by her physical attractiveness. She was “beautiful of form and face” (verse 17). The author may be drawing our attention to this fact because it was the major source of attraction for Jacob. There seems to be, then, a significant contrast here between Rachel and Rebekah. Rebekah was selected for Isaac by Abraham’s servant on the basis of divine guidance and because of personal qualities which assured him that she would be a fine wife for Isaac. Rachel, on the other hand, was selected by Jacob for himself, but without any mention of her personal qualities, only a description of her beauty. Rebekah’s beauty was an additional plus, an unexpected fringe benefit; Rachel’s beauty was the essence of her selection. The red warning lights should already be flashing in our minds.

The point of verse 20 is that Rachel was well worth the high price which Jacob had agreed to pay for her—a price measured in years of service rather than dollars. The Bible says that Jacob worked those 7 years and that they went by fast to him-so in love with her that the effort he had to put out to get her hand in marriage seemed like nothing. The effort wasn’t considered great for the reward, the goal, the woman of his dreams was what he kept his sights upon.

It’s been a 7 year engagement for he calls her “my wife”. In that day and in Jesus’ day one’s engagement was considered to be as binding as marriage itself. It was a serious thing to be engaged. Legally bound to one another. Remember that Joseph spoke of quietly divorcing Mary even though they not yet officially married.

 He’s eager to have sexual relations with her. They have not had pre-marital sex. They had remained sexually pure during those 7 years of engagement. The Bible restricts sexual activity to marriage. The Bible exhorts to purity and holiness in all of our relationships. It recognizes the power of sexual desire and yet we are told to master our desires. I know that the majority of dating and engaged couples in today’s society are involved with each other sexually in ways that the Bible says must be reserved for marriage. Jacob, for all his character flaws respected Rachel when it came to physical things. He saved himself for marriage.

God has planned sex as something good and enjoyable which God has made and reserved for the marriage bed. Don’t give away your purity. Save yourself for the one you marry. Also when and if you are dating be on guard against what is known as gradualism. Gradualism is a slippery slope. First you start out holding hands, then kissing, then comes petting and then heavy petting and then before a couple knows it they’ve gone all the way. As a single person you need to set physical limits in your mind even before you start dating and you need to be resolved and firm on that. You need to commit yourself to the Lord to be the sexually pure person God wants you to be.

Love is a commitment. If you really love someone you will wait until the time is right. Now I am not necessarily recommending that people wait seven years, unless circumstances call for waiting, but the longer the engagements the more you experience challenges of life that let you reflect on the strength of a relationship. But the more a couple is together the greater the strain of wanting to be more intimate before it’s time so 1 Cor 7 comes into play in those decisions as well. It is better for a couple to marry than burn with passion.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Weds Sept 19 

Gen 29

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. ¹⁴ Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weakeyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leahand gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. ³⁰ Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

From the Father-in-laws perspective

Marriage for Laban was his consideration of finding a husband for his daughters who will treat them well, be a good provider, be a good worker, and have a spiritual base. 

I believe initially there is also a spiritual element that was important for Laban.

When he first heard about Abraham and the promise given to Isaac, when he heard the servant tell how God had led him to his sister Rebekah, he acknowledged this was from God and blessed her in her leaving. Now he hears how Jacob met with the Lord, has the birthright and the promise of God and that too is important for his daughters. Parents want what they think is best for their kids and faith is an important characteristic in future spouses.

When the time of marriage came however, Laban’s responsibilities as a father overshadowed doing what was right. The end result was that Laban married off both his daughters and got 14 years of labor from Jacob. He was taking advantage of Jacobs love for his daughter.  Greed also got the best of him. It seems he was more concerned about his own motives at this point than those of his daughters. He was more concerned of the customs of his day that keeping his word, or earning trust. 

Laban corrupts Jacob morally. Polygamy wasn’t God’s original design. Two sisters in the same man’s bed wasn’t God’s design. Yet Jacob goes along with it which says something about his character too. He completes the wedding week with Leah and then the week after takes Rachel on as his wife. The end result is a big mess! Jacob ends up with 2 wives. One he doesn’t love or want, and the other he favors. That does not make for a very good marriage or family relationship.

 Incidentally the text tells us that as a wedding gift Laban gives both Leah and Rachel a servant girl.  This becomes important later.

            The irony of this is that what goes around comes around. Jacob was a deceiver taking the birthright from his eldest brother. Now Jacob was forced to learn that the right of the firstborn must be respected within that culture. Jacob wore a disguise pretending to his brother to get the blessing, now Leah wears the wedding veil to conceal her identify imposing as her sister for the marriage blessing.

            Laban is not one we would want to use as an example. But it is possible that you are a person who use people and cherish things, other than the other way around. It's possible that you have been unfeeling in your dealings with others. Friend, follow the course of Laban's life. He eventually loses his daughters, his grandchildren, and much of his wealth.

You have to think that one day Laban woke up and realized that he had squandered the good things of life away by his actions. I can't help but think that he died a lonely and broken man. His riches would be empty without the love of family and walking in integrity with the Lord. Although Laban had appreciation for the God of Abraham, he also had other idols around as we will see later.

He is to be commended for his desire to have his daughters cared for, but using his son-in-law for his own advantages makes for unhealthy in law relationships.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Sept 20 

Gen 29

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weakeyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

    ²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leahand gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

 ³⁰ Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah.

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me,because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.Then she stopped having children.

From the Brides' Perspective

           

Few women have been so misunderstood as Leah. Even her name does her a great disservice, for it means “wild cow.” The statement that she had “weak eyes” (verse 17) seems to many to portray Leah as a homely girl with pop-bottle glasses, who cannot see. .

The Bible doesn’t go into the detail regarding the part the she plays in the deception since it was her father’s idea. She could have protested and let the secret out before he said “I do”. I think she might have been a willing accompanist. Perhaps her lack of beauty, which is implied not stated, made it difficult to find a husband so now was her chance to have a man by hook or crook.

            Are there other marriages that are done with pretense instead of openness in our day? I am aware of manipulation and secrets that are kept on the part of husband and wives in certain incidents before marriage. I am aware of some brides thinking they will never get married and that fear drives them to pretend they are something they are not until after the wedding when truth always comes out. I know of men who don’t think they can get a bride so will lie to deceive their mate or not tell whole story until later.

           

I knew a girl in our youth group at my home church in Detroit who felt that she could never find a boyfriend. When one dated her she really dolled up for him. She lost weight, got contacts, used make up and womanly charms to win him over, but after the marriage never saw her with contacts again, doubled her weight and seldom used make up. I left the area but discovered later they were divorced and she was left alone. If he married only for physical reasons both guys and girls will be in for a big surprise. I think however the lady was pretending to be something she wasn’t and the outward covering was a symptom of an inward need what she also hid from her spouse.

            But try to put yourself in Leah’s shoes after the wedding. Jacob's rejection had to hurt. No one likes rejection no matter what culture you are living in. How would you feel if after your week-long honeymoon your husband married someone else -your sister? You yearn for someone to love you and maybe you are tempted to do anything to find that love. Again, don't compromise your standards. The world may not see your beauty yet but God does. He has made you to be a uniquely gifted person that He will use in a wonderful way. If you feel you have nothing to offer, it is because you are not looking through the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord had compassion on Leah because she was discriminated against and unloved by her husband. She was second fiddle. God opened her womb, a special honor for women in that society and blessed her with sons. God knows our hurts and our feelings and understands rejection. He will never forget us. 

I want to say a word first about Rachel. Imagine being Rachel and being able to say with pride and admiration “Look what my man is doing to show how much he loves me. Look at that man. That man loves me. Don’t you all wish someone would be able to say that about you? I know they love me. Just look at their sacrifice for me. Look at what they are doing for me.”

Few things are as important to women today as beauty. This beauty thing is way overplayed even in our society. Rachel was a wonderfully-endowed woman. There is nothing wrong with that. Sarah was beautiful, and so was Rebekah. But outward beauty must always be a secondary consideration. Jacob looked at Rachel’s exterior and investigated no further into her character. The writer, King Lemuel, was not in error when he gave this counsel: Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised (Proverbs 31:30).

Men and boys, this is a word for us. We all want to be seen with the beautiful girls. We all have dreamed of dating them. Some have made great sacrifices to marry a showpiece. Let us look first for character, and if we find it, let us look no further. If we find character with charm and beauty, let us consider ourselves fortunate.

Ladies, I realize that our society has placed a premium on glamour and beauty. I understand that much of your sense of self-worth is based upon your outward attractiveness and “sex appeal.” However, that is wrong. Our ultimate worth is that estimation which comes from God. God was not impressed with Rachel’s good looks. After all, He gave that to her in the first place. God looked upon the heart and blessed Leah. Her worth, while never fully realized by her husband, was great in the eyes of God. May all of us learn to be content with ourselves as God made us, and may we find our real worth in the realm of the spirit 

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Fri Sept 21

 Gods’ Perspective

Marriage is to be in obedience to God to reflect his glory and be used to honor him and serve others and carry out his purposes in our lives. Can he do that better if you are married or single? It was God’s will for Jacob to be married. It wasn’t God’s will to marry two women, but the grace of God was made evident even in the circumstances of ignorance and disobedience. God will work out good and carry out his will and will set us up again on the right path if we let Him.

God’s purposes are going to be accomplished in spite of the messes we make in life. You and I may blow it big time but God’s not done with us and He’s still able and will accomplish the immutable purposes he has for our lives.

Mark this down. Marriage doesn’t solve problems. It can only reveal and intensify them. It is not to be used to escape problems at home or in your personal life. The person that Jacob married literally was not the person he intended to marry. Can’t we all say that about our spouses? We joke and say, It doesn’t make any difference who you marry on your wedding day it is a different person a few months later. None of us marry our dreams. We marry reality and the person is always different than what we imagined in our dreams. So then we learn to live with the reality by the grace of God.

In nearly every relationship, husbands and wives experience a period of unfulfilled expectations. God often works in our lives not by giving us the perfect environment, but by demonstrating his grace, love, and power in our imperfect situations.

God did not bring these events to pass to punish Jacob but to instruct him. Punishment has been born by our Savior on the cross, but discipline is the corrective training which furthers us on the path leading to godliness (cf. Hebrews 12).

In addition to all this, Jacob experienced the grace of God in the delay of 14 plus years. It was this delay which contributed to the preservation of Jacob’s life by keeping him away from the anger of Esau, who had purposed to kill him.

Amazingly, the grace of God was manifested in this event by the gift of Leah as a wife to Jacob. Leah was Jacobs first wife. It was Leah, not Rachel, who became the mother of Judah, who was to be the heir through whom the Messiah would come. Also it was Levi, a son of Leah, who provided the priestly line in later years.

God comes to Leah's defense. The Lord is the defender of the broken-hearted. Certainly as a result of this a relationship did seem to develop between Jacob and Leah. He may not have loved her the most, but he did seem to love her.

God is Holy but His followers are not. We have read this morning of people who made mistakes. Yet, these are people God chose and used to bring about our salvation.

Do you see why this is significant? Some of you may have been putting off following Jesus because of the hypocrisy of some of claim his name? You have misunderstood the gospel It's God who is holy not his followers. Yes, there are many who claim to love Christ who show no resemblance to the Savior at all. Friend, there will always be that in the church. Look to Jesus!

You may have written others off because they do not "measure up". Friend, be careful. Jesus tells us that the measure we use in judging others will be the measure that is applied to you. Can you life up to the standards that you hold others to?  Some of you are desperately discouraged because your life does not measure up to what you wish it would be. You need to remember that being holy is something granted to us by faith in Christ. Then we grow in incorporated the works of God in our lifetime. Be confident of God  be patient with yourself. The process of growth should be steady  Don't get discouraged and give up. When you stumble, get up, confess your sin and begin again.

The wonder of this story is that it points us to Jesus. The whole purpose of our Savior's coming and His substitutionary death was to pay for our rebellion. We are all in desperate need of a Savior simply because God is holy and we are not. He requires perfection . . . we don't come close to meeting his standard. We need someone to rescue us. That someone is Jesus. His death on the cross was to pay the price of our sin.

The wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is this: God knows what we are like. He knows the duplicity in our hearts and the rebellion that often governs our lives. And knowing this . . . knowing what we were really like . . . He still sent Christ for us. We deserve to spend eternity facing the horror of Hell. That's what we deserve! But Christ came to offer us a way out.  He offered to take our place; to suffer our penalty; to make us new. He comes to us in our foolishness and rebellion and offers us a chance to start again. You see, If God loved Jacob, Rachel, and Leah . . .God can and will love you. The question is: will you receive that love?

Pastor Dale

Choices and Decisions Genesis 28

Sermon Nuggets Mon Sept 10 

Verses: Gen 28:1-22                          

Choices and Decisions

            Every day in our lives we are confronted with many choices and decisions. We are asked as a nation to elect a new president, as well as other government officials. We are asked to chose something as important as a mate for life and as simple as if we want paper or plastic at the grocery store; choices of a job, or home as well as what to wear.

            I was told a story many years ago of twin brothers who went into the army. They were very different as one arose high in the ranks to become a general. The other never made it out of perpetual KP. The stresses of life followed them and they had nervous breakdowns and met again in a psych ward. The younger asked the older why he was there. He said life as a General has many decisions. “Decisions, decisions, decisions. I never knew how to decide. How about you?”

“ Same thing. My sergeant asked me to peal the potatoes and put them in three piles, small medium and large. Decisions, decisions, decisions.”

           

There is a book out called don’t sweat the small stuff.  Someone added, Everything is small stuff. Perhaps an eternal perspective helps us understand that sometimes we major in the minors and minor in the majors.              

As we looking at the choices and decisions made and implied in this passage we see a very different direction for Esau than Jacob, though we acknowledge both are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Judas and Peter were the same way you know. Both fell short of the glory of God. But they handled their sins in different ways. One through repentance and the other through remorse. One  through coming to Christ for forgiveness and the other taking matters into his own hands to pay for his own sins. 

What decisions are you facing this week? Are you open to God’s leading? How might He best guide you? Do you really want His best even if you do not know how to decide?

We are often faced in life with many choices and decisions. What are the principles that help guide us?  Prayer, Scripture, advice, and peace of heart are all part of that. I see some contrasts that motivate the lives of Esau and Jacob in their choices.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Tues Sept 11 

Gen 28:1-9 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the landwhere you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. ⁸ Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; ⁹ so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Pleasure or Purity

            There is nothing wrong with pleasures, and may I add there is nothing wrong with purity. But given the two options most in our culture would choose pleasure over purity. Pleasure crosses the line when it is sin or it hurts other people. Pleasure is self centered; purity is God centered. But when we are God centered we find a pleasure that is longer lasting and deeper than the pleasures offered in this world.

            Our society says the pleasure is the greatest goal in our life. Whether it is drinking beer, having sex, feasting on pornography, involved in gluttony. Whether it is passing on gossip, or over indulging in sports or hobbies.

                       

As we look at the passage now, Isaac agrees with his wife Rebekah that it  is God’s will that Jacob marry, have children and be the ancestor of the promised line blessed of God. He changes his attitude toward Jacob now when he realizes he was wrong in trying to do God’s will his own way.

There was no question that when Isaac was to find a wife she was the bride of God’s choosing. Abraham directed his servant to go to his relatives Haran and the Lord directed his father’s servant. They looked in the right place for the right reasons and sought Gods direction and the Lord provided the right spouse.

Now you might think, since this was a marriage made in heaven that they wouldn’t have any conflicts. Just like Christian couples who pray and sense clearly Gods’ direction for them to marry for all the right reasons and find to their surprise their spouse isn’t perfect. Neither were Isaac and Rebekah. We saw they had conflicts mostly over their children and showing favoritism. Married couples will face times of adjustment and conflict. Part of the commitment in marriage is the faith to trust God  they will be worked out, or grace to live with them.

            So Jacob obeyed and sought God’s will and his parents blessing by leaving for the land of his ancestors for a wife.

            Esau was not concerned about God’s will for his life in finding a spouse. He knew about the teachings of his grandfather, since Esau and Jacob were 14 years old when Grandpa Abraham died. He knew about the example and teachings and stories of his father.  But the pleasure of a good time were more important than spiritual concerns or seeking to live a godly life. He was looking for pleasure. The women that satisfied him and his desires motivated him to marry two Hittite women which met with the disapproval of his parents. Now remember, as we said before in another sermon,  it was not the race as much as the false faith of the people that is the Biblical objection as we see many exceptions to the racial issues.

Many people live for pleasure only to find they compromise their purity. We too often find that happiness defined by our culture is pretty shallow and not fulfilling. Jacob is willing to wait for the right woman rather than meeting his fleshly desires and making choices that aren’t God’s best. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because it is fun doesn’t mean its right and just because it is right doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.

I have been surprised often of people thinking all Christians do is sit home read the Bible, looking for reasons to criticize others, and look for ways to squelch fun. Yet after they come to the Lord and gotten involved in activities I have heard over again “I didn’t know Christians could have so much fun.” 

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Weds Sept 12 

Gen 28: 8-17 ⁸ Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; ⁹ so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

   ¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave youuntil I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Pleasing others or Presence of God.

Esau has learned at least one of the reasons why he felt unloved: his wives displeased his parents. I say “parents,” but you will observe that Esau is not reported to have cared about his mother’s sentiments toward him, only his father’s.  Desperately he sought to win the approval of his father. If having a non-Canaanite wife was all that it took to please his father, then that was a small price to pay for the approval he craved. Failing to see any problem in his actions, Esau took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (verse 9). This woman was no Canaanite; she was of the family of Abraham. What could be more pleasing to Isaac than this?

But Esau did not understand the matter of purity or the presence of God. Ishmael had been rejected to carry out the line of Abraham because he was a child of human effort. He was a product of human ingenuity, not spiritual dependence. Marriage to a descendant of Ishmael was done it seems to please dad and others. Without realizing it, he typified in this act the very thing which God most condemned. Don’t things to please others instead of God. Just as Abraham acted on his own to achieve a son, so Esau acted one his own win the approval of others. Ishmael also represents the man’s way, the way of the slave and not the way of grace.

Perhaps I can comment on in-law relationships. I believe that Isaac and Rebekah knew what they were talking about when they wanted to prevent Esau from marrying Caananite women. They knew they would not help spiritually. They knew the culture around them and the ties that compromise faith. As you have heard there were many cultures including the Jewish culture where arranged marriages by parents were prominent. Listen to your parents, even if you don’t agree with them you can be sure of two things, they love you and have your best interests in mind generally, and they have had experience.

            Also remember when the Bible says “a man shall leave your father and other and be joined to your wife and the two shall become one flesh.” There is a place to realize that your mate is the most important person in your life, and your commitment to your spouse is to be above your parents. There are many unhealthy in-law relationships because of interference in areas where parents have no right.

           

Thirdly, a healthy relationship is when it is not competing for power, attention, or love. My advice is make the very best of your in law relationships as you possibly can.  The best type of relationship is where there is acceptance, communication, respect and love. Do what you can to make that happen for our spouses sake. Don’t force your mate to not have contact with his or her parents. For both parents and children, as well as sisters and brothers in law, the Bible says as much as it is up to you, live in peace.

Esau in seeking to be popular and pleasing others also loose the close presence of God.  Many of our choices and decisions are influenced by other people. Now there is no problem with trying to please others if it is also moral and ethical. For an employee to please a boss by doing good work is commendable; for a salesperson to achieve notoriety by working hard and making more than his quota and please his supervisors is worthy as long as it is done honestly. A husband or a wife who do certain things to please their spouse makes for strong marriages. For a student to please a teacher or a soldier to please his officer can bring delight.  But once pleasing others conflicts with pleasing God it will hinder the presence of God.

Politicians will try very hard to please the people in a popularity contest to get elected. But sometimes to please others means you compromise principles and values. Pastors can be tempted to please the people of his church at the compromise of truth or rebuke that is Godly. It is never popular to be a prophet. But to declare the whole truth of God is to be blessed of the father.

While Esau had lots of people around him and would not be considered lonely with three wives and host of servants. Here is Jacob all by himself, going where he is never known or loved. It is an unpopular place to be. But in this setting he has a meeting with God. This is a story of grace revisited. God meets him while he is by himself seeking to obedient to he call and finding a wife among the family of his mother a different line from his Grandfather Abraham.

            And what a meeting it was. He sees the angel coming up and down from heaven and the revelation that all that was promised to his Grandfather and father would now be his. The vision represents, symbolically, what the divine promise declared in words (verses 13-15) and forms a bridge between heaven and earth. At the foot was a poor, helpless and forsaken man. Jacob here represents human nature with its inability and helplessness. The angels of God ever descend to bring help and give deliverance. This forsaken and helpless man is to become the source of blessing and medium of salvation to the whole world.

As we today look back on the fulfillment of the promise of blessing, we know that this blessing was to be accomplished by the descent of the fullness of the personal God into helpless and unworthy human nature, through the incarnation of God in Christ.

In the immediate sense, the Lord seems to make a particular application to Jacob and speaks as though that ladder were placed between heaven and earth for Jacob only. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go." and "I will not leave you." The Lord reveals to us what we call His particular providence over those who are His servants. Wherever we are, he declares He sees us; He tells us He is with us. He assures us He cares for us and pledges to keep us.

Jacob was about to leave the land of promise for a twenty year sojourn in Paddan-aram. He might be tempted never to return to this land again. By means of this dramatic vision God impressed Jacob with the significance of this land. It was the place where heaven and earth met. It was the place where God would come down to man and where men would find access to God. It was, as Jacob asserted, “the gate of heaven.”

Throughout those twenty years Jacob would never forget this dream. He would realize that ultimately, to be in the will of God, he must be in the place of God’s choosing, the land of promise. It was in the land that God’s blessings would be poured out upon God’s people. While Jacob must leave, he must surely return.

Do you remember a similar picture described in the New Testament? Jesus was picking his disciples when he came across Nathanael sitting “under the fig tree” He said here is one without guile.  Nathanael questioned him how any good could come from Nazareth. And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51). Nathanael had put too much stock in place. How could Messiah come from Nazareth? Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. Don’t put the emphasis on the land, but on the ladder.  He, Jesus of Nazareth, was the ladder.

Jacob saw God above the ladder; Jesus revealed God as the ladder. Ultimately it was Jesus Christ who bridged the gap between heaven and earth. It is through Him that God has come down to man. It is through Him that man will have access to God. Jacob saw what he needed to see at that moment in his life. Jesus revealed to Nathanael that there was much more to be seen than what Jacob had perceived in his day.

Jacob rather than seeking to please others found himself in the presence of God and that was more blessed. Which would you pick and why?

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Sept 13 

Verses Gen 28:18-21¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Prosperity or Peace.

There is another ingredient that is in play with our choices and decisions. It has to do with possession or prosperity instead of peace of mind and trust in God. This is implied more than stated with Esau, but he had plenty compared to Jacob who left it all at this point.

In Jacob’s meeting with God there were some very important promises: "I am with you. Wherever you go, whatever you do, whatever your circumstances are, I am with you." And he underscores this by this vision of the stairway. "Jacob, utter your needs, and I will respond. Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you." This represents a continual supply; whatever our need is, God meets that need. This is what the Lord wanted Jacob to know. Wherever he went, he had this same sort of access to God.

Actually, this had been true in Jacob's life for seventy-seven years. The Lord had been that kind of God to Jacob. Whatever his need was, he met it. But it was only now that Jacob saw it. The veil was torn away from his eyes so that, for an instant, he saw spiritual truths which ordinarily are hidden--because we humans live, for the most part, in the physical dimension-but which are none the less true.

The blessing of his two sons was the last we have in the active life of Isaac. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. Abraham’s life was one of authority and decision, Isaac’s of submission and quietness, and Jacob’s one of trial and struggle. There was no accumulation of wives, no material blessings yet for Jacob. Esau’s household grows and the more wives you have the more in the culture in which you live looked upon you as wealthy. The things of this earth become important to so many and possessions become so important- unfortunately more important than peace.

All of Jacob’s efforts to achieve the blessing of God are in vain as well. It was only by entering into a relationship with the covenant God of Abraham and Isaac that Jacob could experience the blessings of God. The basis for such a relationship was the revealed word of God.

I find it amusing that while Jacob could not find God by striving, he was found by God while in his sleep. Surely God is trying to tell us something by this. It is by resting in Him and in His Word that we can be blessed. This does not mean the absence of activity on our part, but it does mean that self-effort will always be futile.

           

What is Jacob request? Vs. 20-21. If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I may return to my father house, then the Lord will be my God.”. What will bring Jacob peace? Not possessions or prosperity but knowing God, resting in his protection, having food and clothes. That would be it. Anything else is a tremendous blessing.

1 Tim 6:8 “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

 Heb 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.".

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Fri Sept 14 

Gen 28:20-22 ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Performance or Promise

Ultimately the question of faith is – do I trust what I’m going to do for God, or do I trust God and His promises? Back in the mid 1960s, three out of four Americans said they trusted the federal government to do what is right all or most all the time, according to Gallup. Twenty years ago that figure had dropped to 44%.  Ten years ago only 19% have that kind of faith in the government. Last year according to CNN only 15% people polled trust the federal government to do what is right.

Last year the Gallup poll showed 75% of the people trusted the military and 45% trusted the church or faith communities.

Many do not live in trusting anyone or anything because they have been disappointed. People who have been burned aren’t sure they can trust much again.

 Judge “How could you swindle those people who trusted you so?”  

Con man: You can only swindle those who trust you.”

God promises to be our God, our Savior. We do not have the same call as Jacob did, nor Abraham, nor Sarah, nor Hannah. What is God’s call and promise in your life? “I will never leave you, nor forsake you- therefore you can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, Why can man do to me?”

 Many times in our lives God allows us to experience the results of our choices and our decisions even though we think we are doing them for God, to find that we need only accept the promises laid out before us. 

I believe when we accept God at his word, then it is a response, not a performance that comes from the heart, not obligation to express our love back to God in wanting to live for him and in worship and service. That is the vow that Jacob makes, to put a marker of his faith commitment at the place of meeting with God and promises by means of giving God 10% of all he has or will have which is symbolic of giving himself. Even our choices can be selfish, or made to be a performance, but the promise of God come as a gift to us even while we are sinners, or lack faith, or lack understanding.

I don’t believe there is anything special about that spot except that is where God meet Jacob, not the other way around. The reason God was there was that Jacob was there. Wherever Jacob went, God would be there. Jacob was on his way up to Haran, which by this time had become idolatrous. The people there had rejected the truth and worshiped another god entirely, as becomes apparent later on. He was going to be in a situation where people were deceitful, cruel, vicious, and untrustworthy. But wherever Jacob went, that would be "Beth-el," "the house of God," that would be the gate of heaven. There would be access to God there. God would be there, because Jacob would be there.

I like what one preacher said, “We have a tendency to invest certain places with religious significance, because we feel that is where God is. God does not live in this church building. He is here when we are here. But when we are gone, this is not a holy site. Wherever you go, that is the house of God- that is the gate of heaven. This means that your house -- which may seem a cold and loveless place to you--is the house of God. There are angels ascending and descending upon you as you move about in that house. Your kitchen sink is the house of God, when you are there. That ought to change your attitude about washing dishes! When you have been cooking all afternoon, have served up a fine meal, and then everybody has gone off to watch TV and you are left to wash the dirty dishes, remember, that is the house of God. God is available to you right there. For some of you businessmen, your car is your office, and in it you go from place to place. And because of the state of the economy, you are really suffering. Remember, that car is the house of God. Your office or workbench, or wherever you are throughout the day, is the house of God.” (I lost the source of the quote)

 At times of deliverance from life’s disparities we vow our future faithfulness to God; yet our futures are marked with the grief and guilt of vows forgotten and contracts broken. God yearns for a fellowship with us in which we are committed to Him in devotion, service and faithfulness to our vows. It is profound that God is faithful to us in our unfaithfulness to Him.

Entering into a relationship with God does not guarantee only good times and happy experiences; but it does assure us of the forgiveness of sins, the hope of eternal life, and the presence of God in our everyday lives. Based on that it is worthy to make choices and decisions based on faith in God rather than pleasures, prosperity, pleasing others, or performances. How about you?

Pastor Dale

Stolen Blessing Genesis 27

Sermon Nuggets Mon Sept 3 The Stolen Blessing

Verses :Gen 27

We had an interesting dilemma occur in the politics of India when I was there. There was a modern day Robin Hood, a criminal and his band of merry men who would give food and material goods to the poor, while robbing the rich. As a result in the woods and forests around the area people would protect him from arrest from the government officials. While I was in Bangalore he kidnapped a very popular movie star which started rioting in the streets. The people were faced with a dilemma. Shall we turn him in for kidnapping our movie star, or not because he provides us with goods? Because he does some good, shall we go ahead and let him continue to do evil?

We are all faced sooner or later not so much always as what is right or what is wrong, but what is the lesser of two evils. Does the ends justify the means?  I know of evangelists who knowingly tell false stories in their sermons in order to convince people they need salvation. Since pe00ople get saved is it okay for him to tell false stories?

I know many Christians and churches that will be dishonest with people in order to raise and get money for various projects they think are important for the advancement of ministry. Some pastors will manipulate and misrepresent their beliefs in order to get a church call.  I am sorry to say I know of some of our own conference denominational leaders who purposely mislead in order to be in positions of political power.

I wonder if they don’t take Jacob and Rebekah as their examples instead of Jesus Christ. I wonder if we aren’t more tempted to do good things in bad ways because it seems to work instead of the way God wants us to follow him.

When you study Romans 3 sometime make a close examination of verses 7-8. In those verses Paul condemns those who say, "Let us do evil, that good may come." He is saying that doing wrong does not make things right.

That is the setting for our story today from the Bible as we look at the interplay of deceit among Isaac’s family and the passing on of the blessing. We will look at the problems. 

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Tues Sept 4 Our Will

Gen 27: 1-7 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

“Here I am,” he answered.

² Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. ³ Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. ⁴ Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back,⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.

The Problem with Seeking to accomplish Our wills

Let me remind you of three important incidents from Isaac’s life as we now begin to look at the life of Jacob. First, God's intent was that the older son, Esau, would serve the younger son, Jacob. Genesis 25:22-23

            Secondly, Isaac loved Esau because of the venison he prepared, because he was a man’s man, because he was an outdoorsman and Isaac favored and loved Esau more than his twin brother Jacob. Likewise, Rebekah, the mother, loved Jacob, who became sort of a Mommies boy growing up. Favoritism breeds discontent in every family. But don’t be manipulated parents because every kid believes another is treated better than he or she is. That is part of human nature.

Thirdly, Esau despised his birthright and because of hunger sold it to Jacob. Jacob took advantage of Esau in order to gain the benefits of the birthright. Under God's plan, the birthright would be Jacob's. But Jacob went about getting it the wrong way.

Now recognizing those key elements we know that Isaac knew what God’s will was. Rebecah knew what God’s will was. God revealed the heart of Esau when he willingly gave up spiritual thing for a bowl of stew.

            Isaac is old when this occurs. He is probably 137 years, the same age at which his half-brother Ishmael died. Here he is taking to bed, complaining of his coming death and willfully determining to pass the blessing to Esau his favorite son, in spite of Gods’ earlier announcement that it should go to Jacob. Isaac was conniving to keep secret from his wife and youngest that he would go against God’s will in order to accomplish Gods’ blessing by doing it his own way.

           

Normally the blessing would have been given before the entire family because it was, in reality, an oral will which legally determined the distribution of goods and responsibilities. In spiritual homes there were also prophecies given in certain incidences.

Normally the birthright belonged to the eldest son. This entitled him to a double share of the property in addition to the privilege of assuming the father’s position of headship in the family. For the descendants of Abraham it determined the one through whom the covenant blessings would be given. But here, Isaac and Esau wanted to do this official blessing without the presence of Rebekah and Jacob because what they were seeking to do was wanting God to bless their wills rather than obey God’s will.

            Isaac wanted God to bless what he wanted, not to obey what God wanted with his eldest. Does that every happen to you? Do you pray asking God to bless your marriage without first seeking a godly spouse? Do you ask that God take care of your possessions without seeking if what you have is honoring to the Lord and being faithful steward of what He has allowed you to have? Some people pray more about getting a deer or a fish than seeking to win a neighbor or loved one to Jesus Christ. Some will ask prayer for their sports team to win and be faithful in attendance, but do very little to help in the church to assist in local ministry or seek to advance God’s Kingdom in missions? Do you want God to bless your will and wants, instead of obey his will and wants?

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Weds Sept 5 Our Ways

Gen 27: ¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I’m a man with smooth skin. ¹² What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”

¹⁴ So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. ¹⁷ Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

¹⁸ He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing.”

²⁰ Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

²² Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. ²⁴ “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

²⁵ Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

²⁷ So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
²⁸ May God give you of heaven’s dew  and of earth’s richness—
    an abundance of grain and new wine.
²⁹ May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed  and those who bless you be blessed.”

Seeking to Accomplish God’s will by Our ways

Esau knew that what his father was requesting was taken from him many years ago when he for a bowl of portage sold his birthright. Esau thought he could pull a quick one over on his brother and receive God’s blessing also. He went to get the wild game and cook the delicious meal and sneak one past his brother whom he didn’t like much anyway.

The final and compelling evidence of Esau’s disqualification for spiritual headship is his marriage to two Canaanite wives:And when Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite (Genesis 26:34). That was totally disdaining spiritual purity, Esau did not hesitate to intermarry with the Canaanites. God’s purposes for His people could never be achieved through such a person.

            Have you noticed how no one in the household trusted anyone else? Isaac did not trust his wife, nor did she trust her husband. Jacob knew that his father would not trust him. Neither of the two sons trusted the other. And Rebekah is listening and watching through the keyhole as Isaac and Esau have a conversation. Rebekah is correct  in clinging to the promise of God. Isaac was willfully rejecting that promise in favor of Esau, but she failed to trust God to bring the blessing to Jacob in his own time and His own way. So they were clearly illustration of doing God’s work in Man’s way instead of Gods’ way.

            Rebekah could easily have met the job requirements for a position with the CIA. She served as a counter-spy in the service of her son. She posed as the faithful, loving wife, but under all of this she sought to further Jacob’s interests going against her own husband. Rebekah, not Jacob, was the true mastermind behind the mission of outwitting Isaac and obtaining his blessing for Jacob. The text tells us that she “was listening.”

When you stop to think about it, the plan was an incredible one. How could Jacob whose whole personality, disposition and physical appearance so different from Esau manage to convince his father that he was his older brother?

Jacob can be praised for at least valuing spiritual things more than his brother,  But when you see how he operated I am disappointed. Now you might think he was only  submitting to his mother’s scheme. But he was no child. He adds to the scheme by lying and dragging the name of God into the deception.

People will often do things and not do things on whether it works more than whether it is right. Too many Christians are of the mistaken belief that if it works then it must be of God. That is a lie. “If it works God must honor it.” Not if it isn’t right. Not if it is inconsistent with the Bible. Because some churches are full of people doesn’t not necessarily mean they are in God’s will.

           

Notice how the sin progressed the more they got involved. First, he clothed himself in the skin of a goat. Then they stole the robes of Esau. Jacob lied with his lips and betrayed his father with a kiss just like Judas.

            Perhaps Jacob never intended this lie to become as big as it did, but nevertheless, it grew bigger and bigger with every statement he made. It began with the words “I am Esau your first-born” (verse 19). From this, lie began to be piled upon lie: “I have done as you told me” (verse 19); “eat of my game” (verse 19). In response to Isaac’s penetrating question, “Are you really my son Esau?,” Jacob replied, “I am” (verse 24). However, the lie that concerns me most is found in verse 20:And Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me.”

            Jacob invokes the name of God in his own deceit. That happens a lot. People will sound holy, all the while doing wrong. God never allows for unholy ways to further His own holy purposes. Jacob excused his sin by claiming that God was his partner. That is certainly using the name of God in vain.

We frequently say, “The Lord led me to …” when often it is something we have always wanted to do and we have finally worked up the courage (or the folly) to go ahead with it. “The Lord told me to …” “The Lord has blessed us by …” Be careful with such statements. They may be evidence of the same kind of thinking that caused Jacob to tell his father God had prospered him by giving him a goat rather than wild game. With what pious words we seek to conceal our sin!

Too often we think God needs our help to get His will done. He uses us to be sure, but how often do believers get ahead of God. We go places he hasn’t led us and make decisions we are sure are right without prayer. We have seen far to many churches apply church growth principles instead of dependence upon the power that comes from above.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Sept 6 – Results of Waywardness

Gen 27: ³⁰ After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”

³² His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”

“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.

³⁹ His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be  away from the earth’s richness,  away from the dew of heaven above.
⁴⁰ You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. ⁴³ Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. ⁴⁵ When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”

Consequences of our Waywardness

            This is such a sad story as the results of seeking blessings turns into a broken and dysfunctional family. They each went their own way instead of the way of the Lord. They each sought to go a different route than how God would have go. But hindsight is better than foresight.

The first thing Rebekah should have done was to speak honestly and forthrightly to her husband about his contemplated sin. Under God he was suppose to bless Jacob, but instead wanted that birthright blessing to go to his eldest and favorite. Submission to authority never includes silence toward evil. We are to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), even to those in authority over us (cf. Acts 16:35-40). Having fulfilled her responsibility to warn her husband of the consequences of the evil he had planned, Rebekah should have been content to leave the disposition of the matter to God, Who is all-powerful and all-wise. But her actions betrayed her lack of faith in the sovereignty of God.

If God is God, then let Him act on His own behalf, particularly in those times when we are unable to act in a way that is consistent with His Word.

The good that Rebekah tired to do was not accomplished. The blessing did go to Jacob which God would have arranged anyway, but the price was 20 years of unexpected exile for Jacob. Rebekah loved Jacob deeply, perhaps more than Isaac. She sought his success even with deception and deceit. But the consequence of her actions cost her separation from her son, which appears to have lasted for the rest of her life. So far as we can detect, once Jacob left for Haran he never saw his mother again. Rebekah underestimated the consequences of this sin, for she thought that Jacob would only need to be gone for a short time—until the death of Isaac.  But Isaac lived for a good forty years more until he died.

Jacob faced the inevitable results of sin also. He experienced an alienation from his father. He now had a brother who despised him and who looked for the day when he could put him to death (verse 41).

One Sunday School teacher asked her class if there were any commandment in the Bible as to how to get along with your brothers and sister. One boy thought and answered, “I know..Thou shalt not kill.” Well that is exactly what Esau proposed to do in his mind. He was so embittered and Jacob suffered the threat of his life.

And worst of all, everything he had gained in a material way he was unable to enjoy because he had to leave it behind to flee for his life. Sin does not pay!

If you are not trusting in God and are trying to do your own will instead of Gods or even God willing your own way, learn that the plotting of sin never work out and the paths of disobedience always has consequences and broken relationships with God and others.

           

But do you also remember what happened in actuality with Jacob and Esau in later years.  The blessing that Jacob stole said that he as to be lord over his brother and that the sons of his mother were to bow to him. Yet before Esau called Jacob his lord, Jacob thus saluted him in chp 32 and before Esau ever bowed to Jacob, Jacob bowed low before Esau Gen 33.

The of the conspiracy of Isaac and Esau are seen sooner. Isaac had sought to give all to his favorite son. Instead, he gave all to Jacob at Esau’s expense. Isaac set his heart on that which was contrary to the revealed will of God, and because of this his world came crashing down upon him when God’s purposes prevailed. Esau despised spiritual things and thus sold his destiny for a dinner. Then he attempted to get it back by renouncing his solemn oath and conspiring with his father to dishonestly regain what he had lost through his own profanity. Esau learned that there comes a point of no return in every man’s life when regret cannot bring a reversal of past decisions.

Indeed, all who have rejected Christ as Savior will live in eternal regret and remorse, but this will not overturn the consequences of living with their decision to live in independence from God .

           

Esau is taken by bitterness, Isaac by disappointment, Rebekah by loneliness, and Jacob as an exile. All because they want to do man’s will man’s way instead of God’s will God’s Way.

           

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Fri Sept 7 God’s Way

Verses- Heb 12: 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. ¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

Remembering God’s Way

      After seeing mans way of trying to accomplish God’s work and promises, we have the opportunity to see the whole story as presented in the Scriptures. God redeems. God forgives. God keeps his promises. Even when mankind by his efforts fail and face consequences, God continues with his larger plan and program. Don’t lose sight of the redemption that will happen. God takes what is and carries out his will bringing about reconciliation to himself and eventually to one another.

 God’s grace is evidenced in man’s sinfulness. The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9).Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the LORD, it will stand (Proverbs 19:21).

This is not to say that God makes man sin in order to achieve His purposes. Nor is it even to imply that God regards disobedience any less sinful because He turns evil into good. The sins of each party in this chapter are not glossed over or excused. No one has passed the responsibility for their actions on to God. No one can place the burden of guilt on God because of His decree. Sin is due to man’s depravity.

Sin always produces separation. It separates men from men, and men from God. Although he received the blessing, it did not make things right. Jacob had to flee for his life, and he ended up being deceived by his father-in-law. It wasn't until Jacob finally humbled himself before his brother that things were made right.

            God had only two to pick from -Esau and Jacob, and which one would you pick? The one who was careless about Gods’ grace because he was too wrapped up in hunting and fishing, sports, and entertainment, or one who wanted the birthright so badly he would deceive, misrepresents, manipulate, and lie to get it?

            Like so much of Scripture this true story is also a prophetic story that involves us all, not just Esau and Jacob. Heb 12:15-17 uses these brothers as an illustration of the salvation by grace giving by God. Although God is exceedingly gracious and is forever tempering justice with mercy there are nevertheless choice in life that cannot be undone and consequences of sin that are thereafter unavoidable. If you reject the grace of God in Christ now, who knows that you will ever again experience a spiritual melting heart and have an opportunity to turn to Him? If you reject the revealed Word of God and do what you know to be wrong,  you may never have a chance again to make it right.

            Tears mean nothing. Esau wept, but his tears were of frustrated selfishness and not repentance. For repentance is turning from sin to do what God desires, stop doing man’s will and mans way, but the will of God becomes the will of man and the ways of God become in obedience and faith the ways of man, therein his true blessing both in the end and in the means. God desires to show Himself faithful.

            The point is Gods’ sovereign will is done in spite of our and any other persons’ opposition to it, or even misguided will or ways or wisdom. God accomplishes his will in spite of the workings of sinful people

           

Margie Haack writes in World Magazine of her story. Her husband’s grandmother died and his grandfather remarried later in life. The woman moved into his home sold her house, gave her money to her children. But when Grandfather died his wife quickly sold the house and had an auction to sell all the things including his stuff that should have gone to his children and grandchildren. It was at the auction that Margie and her husband bid to get some Red Wing Pottery, stoneware of the last century. It was an appreciation piece given to customer who traded at his great grandfather small town store. Now they were rare collectibles. And these were promised as an inheritance to them. But as they bid on their items an antique dealer with more money kept the price higher than they could afford and with deep hurt feelings they didn’t get any of the items which was their inheritance.

           

1 Peter 1:4 says, There is an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for us. No one can steal it. No one can trick us out of it. It is glorious All the pottery and all the material goods of Jacob or Esau are paltry, but the promise represents a greater inheritance from God that points to a family of God comprised now of Jew and Gentile, Black and white, rich and poor, and all the tongues of the earth. It was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and it is offered to you and to me to receive by faith. That is God’s will that is Gods’ way. That is grace even that overcomes all our sin.

            Is your name written down to receive this inheritance from above? We’ve seen the problems of men doing things mans’ way. Now go God’s way and see how He works in your life and in he world.

Pastor Dale