All in the Family

Abraham, Keturah, Jacob & Esau

Genesis 25

J. Boda 3/10/08

We last completed chapter twenty four and saw Isaac entering into marriage with some profound spiritual analogies for us today. I purposely stopped at chapter twenty four before our holiday break because this chapter, twenty five, although is records the sad death of Abraham, it really is much more of a beginning than an end!

God promised to bless him and make him a great nation to bless the entire world, and now we will begin to see the first line of that divine chain.

Keturah

Most Bible students and scholars are unsure of just who this woman was. In another passage of scripture she is called “Abraham’s Concubine” (I Chronicles 1:32 –also it states this here in Genesis 25:6), but I believe like most, that Abraham did not have a harem of women whom he took whenever he wanted along with Sarah his wife. This type of arrangement was never God’s design and we have too many scriptures which depict the beautiful sanctity and uniqueness of Abraham and Sarah alone!

He may have had her as one of his servants and after Sarah died, being free to re-marry, he was drawn to her in love and they married.

We are never told of who she is, or where she comes from, but her name – Keturah – means “Covered with Incense”. Although most names have significant meaning in the Bible, this one only seems to deepen the mystery as to its meaning! (Any good guesses?)

But what IS significant is that Abraham was incredibly blessed to have SIX more children through her! If you recall some of our previous outlines, you will know that at the point that Abraham and Sarah finally became to an end of themselves and were ready to have a son – Isaac – Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100 years old and later in commentary about it in the New Testament, it states that at THAT time Abraham’s body was “As good as dead” (Hebrews 11:12)

Abraham was as good as dead, very old, yet he re-marries and has six more children, and lives another 75 years! Does anyone else think this is amazing, or is it just me?! (If someone really was smart, they would form a highly concentrated Viagra and call it “Viagraham”!)

There is no doubt in my mind that God rejuvenated Abraham! There was some kind of divine resurgence which gave him energy and added years. I don’t know if he prayed for it, or if God just blessed him with surprise grace, but it really is amazing! (It is very possible that Abraham purposely asked God to revive him and give him more children to fulfill what God had promised before to make him a great blessing to the world, although if so, it would be God granting his wish simply out of love as the panoramic blessing was only promised through Isaac)

The son’s names are all given and each has some meaning, since very little is known about most of them, you will have to use your imagination as to what some of them became!

1. Zimran – Celebrated
2. Jokshan – Fowler
3. Medan – Judgment
4. Midian – Contention
5. Ishbak – Freedom
6. Shuah – Prosperity

Of these sons and their sons, it is difficult to establish where they went and what nations emerged from them as this was very long ago and little records were kept. However, one of them, Midian, we know much about and the outcome is not good. He is the father of The Midianites who became allied with the bitter enemies of Israel later such as The Ishmaelites, (Genesis 37:25) The Moabites, (Numbers 25:1, 6-15) and The Amalekites, (Judges 6:3).

Most likely, all of them eventually merged and intermarried with the various Arabic people and today are blended together with modern Arab countries.

Although God blessed these children and is concerned with them, it is also very clear of the distinction between all of them and Abraham’s one son with Sarah – Isaac!

Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, but unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. (Genesis 25:5, 6)

Can you see the clear distinction?! Remember that earlier upon Abraham’s test in chapter 22, God told him to take his “Only son whom he loved” even though Ishmael is his firstborn son and very much alive and well! But yet also, once again, God blesses Ishmael and IS concerned with him, but when it comes to God’s master plan of redemption within the big picture, all the others are of no consequence, ONLY ISAAC MATTERS!

Side note: Fast forward to today, here and now, what does this tell us?

The very same thing! Namely that although God is concerned with the entire world, and blesses everyone, yet within his plan of redemption and big picture, the people who really matter are God’s chosen few, all who have willingly given their lives to him, repented of their sins, and vowed to follow Jesus! (Of course, God desires everyone to enter into this chosen group, and it is our command to help lead people to it, but sadly most will miss it)

Abraham’s Death

Abraham remains one of the most important characters in the Bible, and of anyone who has ever lived! He was called “a friend of God” and was chosen out by God’s divine election and providence to be the father of faith and the father of a new nation who would usher in the Messiah – Jesus.

If chapter amounts are of any significance, (I’m not sure they are) then the amount of verses and chapters devoted to him further increase his importance! Up to this point, the last twelve chapters could have been called “Abraham’s Story”!

(Then if you add up all the other many scriptures all over the Bible which speak of him, there is a huge amount dedicated to him!)

Also, another amazing fact is this: Among the “Big Three” religious groups in the world today – Judaism, Christianity & Islam – there is really only one common denominator which they all agree upon, that Abraham was a very great and important prophet who was blessed by God! (If you ever get trapped in an elevator with a Jew and a Muslim, and you don’t want to get into a fight, bring up Abraham and you’ll all get along until help arrives!)

Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175! When he had been considered good as dead at age 100, when most people lived similar life spans at that time compared to today, all the more amazing!

Three things of significance to notice about Abraham’s death;

1. It was probably the first, last, and only time that his two sons Isaac and Ishmael got along in agreement!

2. Abraham was buried in the same plot of ground he had purchased earlier for Sarah, and was the only piece of real estate he actually owned.

3. Once again we see the importance and significance of his very special son – Isaac - when it concludes his death notice by saying God once again began to bless Isaac.

One more thing to notice which is often overlooked is the phrase, “Then Abraham died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people. (Genesis 25:8)

Ah ha! We found a mistake in the Bible! How could Abraham be gathered with his own people, when they all lived way back up in Ur where he was first called by God? Now he is being buried way out here in Canaan where many heathen people lived! (Being buried with Sarah would not be considered “his own people” as that was a phrase referring to family and heritage)

Ok, I am being funny, but some people actually make big deals out of things like this and try to find “mistakes” in the Bible!

The answer is very simple, and beautiful; Abraham was gathered to his own people upon death because he actually went, in spirit, to a beautiful paradise and joined all the others (His own people) who had gone on before, (Noah, Enoch, Abel, Adam and many more)

This specific place is actually named in the New Testament and called “Abraham’s Bosom” in Luke 16:22. (Most Bible students, me included, believe that this is where Jesus went after he died on the cross, and called it “Paradise”. He then gathered all of them who were there and led them into heaven at that time to have direct access to God and all he has. Before, the curtain was not yet torn and the way was not yet made open.)

Next we see a listing of Ishmael’s descendants in verses 12-18. I will not take the time to go through all of their names as they are not the prime movers within this story. Like Keturah’s sons, most of them intermarried and merged together with the Arabic peoples of the area. (One for sure today is the Palestinians) God indeed blessed them and made good on his promise to make “Twelve Princes” from Ishmael. (Genesis 17:20)

Jacob & Esau

The next part of out text begins a major division and shift in the Bible. If chapters and verses were arranged following themes and subject matter, then a brand new chapter would start in Genesis 25:19!

This new division is another long section dealing with “The Generations of Isaac”. Where would it end and begin another? Probably way up in Genesis 37:2 where it then begins, “These are the generations of Jacob…”

In many ways Isaac and Rebekah followed the same pattern, designed by God, of his parents Abraham and Sarah. They married when Isaac was about 40 years old, but had struggled many years to have children and had to wait another 20 years until their first child came, and it was a double whammy – twins! (Genesis 25:20, 26)

There are some amazing points to notice in this passage;

1. Rebekah’s statement “If all is well, why am I like this?”  (Vs. 22) echoes through the ages with deep meaning! Other versions say; “If it’s going to be like this, why go on living?” (Jewish Bible) “Why is this happening to me?” (NIV)

 We all could really ask the same thing! When people say, “Everything is fine, there is no problem, it’s all good” then we could ask, “Then why do I have such vile tendencies, why do all we all grow old and die, why is there cancer, AIDS, and all sorts of disease, Why, why?! Metaphorically speaking….all is not well! We live in a world infected with a terminal disease called sin, and it has infected every one of us. If we can ever grasp this reality, we would never question God or assume that it is his role to make us all happy with no problems and if we suffer anything, it must be God’s fault.)

2. God speaks of the two children within her womb as “two nations” even before they are born! Furthermore, the two boys are spoken of having personalities and fighting even before they emerge! This means firstly, that God lives outside of our concept of time and completely knows every future event and can speak of it in the past tense as to him it is as good as done. Secondly, if these two “unborn” children are spoken of in this manner, what does this say about abortion, and God’s view of it? (For more insight see Psalm 139:14-16 / Ecclesiastes 11:5 / Luke 1:44)
3. God specifically tells Rebekah that of the two boys, the “elder shall serve the younger”. (Vs. 23) This is crazy! The established order was always that the younger shall serve the elder, meaning that it was to be the firstborn who would receive the blessing and inheritance! But the firstborn, Esau, would not be in the Messianic line by God’s plan; it was to be Jacob, who came out second. (This can seem like, “what’s the big deal?” but it WAS a big deal!) Why God just didn’t cause Jacob to come out first and seemingly do it the hard way, is both perplexing, and also very gratifying, in that God always seems to operate in ways that go beyond our expectations! (Which is usually very good)(For more insight into why God did this, please see my grace note entitled; “The Principle of the Second” on my site-JB)
4. The birth of Jacob & Esau exemplifies God’s sovereignty and God’s divine election. These are big Biblical words, but even smart Bible scholars get very perplexed and confused in these matters because God’s ways are so much higher and within a trillion-trillion faceted dimension! Even the smartest person still is confined to a tiny human level and cannot possibly fathom God’s mind and ways! (Even the great Apostle Paul, when contemplating this subject concluded in a similar way – read Romans 11:33-36) The other passages which make mention of this Jacob & Esau dilemma are Malachi 1:1-3 & Romans 9:10-13 – please read them now – and join the perplexed peoples!

Although many people shudder at the statement that “God hated Esau but loved Jacob”, saying, “How could God hate Esau?”

(A more accurate translation from the original language would be; Jacob I have preferred, Esau I have rejected.”)

I actually have spoken with many people on this subject and have been asked that question many times, and sometime in the past I believe that God gave me a very good answer. One that is very Jewish, in the fact that many times Jewish Rabbis (Including Jesus) often would answer difficult questions by asking another (sometimes even more difficult) question!

The answer is this: The question and issue really should not be why or how God could hate Esau….but rather this – How could God love Jacob?!

Jacob was the most conniving and crooked character who possibly ever lived and if we could ever come to grips on how and why God could love him, then we could move on to the answer of how God could hate Esau. (Actually, if we really understood how God could love Jacob, the other question would be answered by becoming a non-issue and not even a question worth asking)

Jacob & Esau Grow up (Or do they?)

Now we will briefly look at verses 27-34 to finish this chapter.

This story is one that will be familiar to any of you who spent your youth in Sunday school, (like me) but if so, the danger is in relegating it alongside the likes of Snow White, Robin Hood, and other fairy tales. But however familiar this may be it is actual history and should be considered as accurate historical accounts as everything else recorded in the pages of the Bible is as well.

Just by this short account, it is easy to get the idea that these are two good boys and one just loved being out in the fields hunting, while the other was rather a mama’s boy who stayed at safe at home. But as with everything in scripture, there is always more to the story, if you care to work a little and search deeper.

Esau

First let’s look at Esau; (The name means – Hairy) 

There is nothing wrong with being a hunter; I personally have enjoyed this sport for many years. But it is significant that the only other hunter mentioned in the Bible, also in Genesis, is named Nimrod, who we looked at in a previous outline. He was a chief rebel against God and history tells us that he was the first world ruler dictator and spear headed the building of the tower of Babel. But there is more, a lot more that we can learn about Esau:

1. In Genesis 10:9 it states that he is “A man of the field”. This can refer to something, as the Bible often does, both in the literal sense, and in speaking metaphorically. Of course there is nothing wrong with being a man of the field literally, enjoying the outdoors and hunting. But going deeper, in Matthew 13:38, Jesus gave a parable where he actually says that the fields he is talking about represent “The World”. Metaphorically speaking, Esau could be spoken of as being “A man of the world”. Once again, there is nothing wrong with that, if it just means traveling and being knowledgeable about other cultures. But “The World” spoken of by Jesus in that context is “Kosmos” in the original Greek. That literally means an ordered system of people, culture, customs and thinking that is evil and rebellious and growing against God with each day that passes. We are told in I John 2:15-17 to not love or embrace “The World” (Kosmos) and anyone who does, cannot have God’s love inside of him/her!
2. Esau is also Edom. This is NOT a good thing! Genesis 25:30 states this, as well as 36: 1, 8, 19 (Three times) The Bible doesn’t want us to miss this equation – Esau = Edom! Edom became a great, but very evil nation against God, you can read an entire book in the Bible with details on God’s judgment to Edom – Obadiah. Even though Edom does not even exist at this time, Esau is the father of them with the same evil heart, and God can see everything and knows the future.
3. Esau was a profane fornicator. How do I know that, just a wild guess? No, read it for yourself in the same scriptures, the same Holy Spirit who inspired them, in Hebrews 12:16. This basically means that he simply followed after his own lusts and was an immoral person with other women (or men) who were not his wife. (Although this type of behavior is much accepted today, especially in TV and movies, God’s opinion of it, and the Biblical definition of it called sin, have never changed.)

Jacob

Lastly, we must conclude with a brief look at Esau’s twin…and better half, Jacob. (His name means “Heel grabber” -or simply "Heel" - so Jacob & Esau could be called "Heel & Hairy"...a great title of a new TV comedy of two Jewish brothers who hate each other.) 

In Genesis 25:27 – my translation says that Jacob was a “mild man”. Some say “plain man”. This really is not a good translation from the original Hebrew!

The original word is “Tam” – which means “perfect, upright, and undefiled”.

(This is really amazing because by all accounts, Jacob was a liar, and selfish, stubborn man!)

But as usual, God always sees deep within the heart, and knows and sees what we will become by his grace and mercy! (Think about it, all of us are given incredible promises in the Bible speaking of God choosing us, loving us, and planning to spend eternity with us. Which one of us can say that we deserve or earn any of that by our character and/or behavior? If God gave us what we deserve, it would be just the opposite!)

God is concerned with establishing his kingdom and bringing salvation to the world, and by his divine providence he choose Abraham, then Isaac, and then Jacob, and the line continued from there all the way to the culmination of exclamation point of his plan – Christ!

All along the way God chose to use ordinary, very imperfect people, who although started off insignificant, became very significant and important by what God did in them and changed them into. Each one of us is exactly the same! None of us come to God with anything to offer, or any special desirable trait God desires. But God simply chooses us out of his divine providence and each one of us becomes special because of what God does in us, through us, and what he changes us to become!

In saying this, I am setting up the next chapter/outline, where we will find glaring faulty human tendencies in one of God’s special chosen vessel, which all of us should be able to relate to. Please read Genesis chapter 26.

Like Father, Like Son

Genesis 26

The life of Isaac

J. Boda 3/24/08

As I have been stating all throughout this study, at times, the Bible is not presented in chronological order. Please note that the events in this chapter, from 26:1 - 33, took place before the birth of Jacob and Esau, even though we just got through a chapter dealing with their birth! Then, (to confuse you even more) this chapter ends with the twins already 40 years old, and the next chapter begins with Isaac very old on his death bed and the twins even older.

Although Isaac lived the longest of the four great Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph) less is recorded of him in scripture. But a study of him is profitable and he is a very interesting character!

If we step back and try to view the big picture and panorama, it becomes clear that God has revealed a beautiful pattern for us in these men.

Abraham – represents The Father and fatherhood

Isaac – represents The Son and son ship

Jacob – represents The Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s work in us

Hopefully you have already seen the wonderful aspect of Abraham and fatherhood in our previous sessions and outlines, and we will cover Jacob coming up. But here in this chapter, we must focus on Isaac.

Firstly, looking back we must remember that it was to Isaac that Abraham gave everything he had! (Genesis 24:36/25:5)

Most Bible scholars link this to The Father-God giving all that he had to his Son-Christ. (Hebrews 1:2)

But following this link even further, all believers are also the recipients of this divine avalanche of grace and blessing from God, as we are “joint heirs with Christ”. (Romans 8:17)

So as we look at Isaac, we can identify with him because as with Isaac, so with us! All the wealth of the father’s house is ours as well!

In many ways Isaac seems to be a carbon copy of his father Abraham!

1. Both encounter famines in the land
2. Both travel out of the land to find relief
3. Both lie about their wives as being sisters
4. Both had workers quarrelling with people of the area
5. Both were very wealthy & strong
6. Both had The Lord appear to them
7. Both had dealings with Abimelech
8. Both had people of the land see the Lord was with them
9. Both commanded and sent their sons to find wives back home

There are more, can you think of any?!

Isaac – Man of the Wells

Although we found Abraham to have dug some wells and encounter some events around them, it appears insignificant compared to Isaac! If you read Genesis 26 all the way through in one setting, it seems his entire life revolved around wells!

It has been said that Abraham was a man of the alter – Jacob was a man of the tent – and Isaac was a man of the well.

In fact, even looking back a little, the very first thing that is mentioned of Isaac after being bound on the alter by Abraham was, “Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi” (Gen. 24:62) Then the next mention is in Genesis 25:11 “ …and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.”

Now here in Genesis 26, it links Isaac with wells seven times to be exact in this one chapter! What are we to make of this? Is there any significance?

Yes! In Genesis 26:19 we are told that Isaac’s servants re-dug one of Abraham’s wells and found “a well of running water”. The actual Hebrew words for this “running water” are Mayim Chayyim – literally Living Water.

About 2000 years later Jesus would refer to the Holy Spirit as “The Living Water” in John 7. Also, before in John 4 when he was at Jacob’s well, he spoke of the Living Water metaphor to the Samaritan woman.

Even earlier in Jeremiah 2:13, God himself identifies with this Living Water when he says, “They (My people) have forsaken me – the fountain of Living Waters.”

Although we cannot necessarily take this well that Isaac’s servants dug up as literally “Living Water”, it is very significant that those words were chosen and that they link directly to God himself!  

The significance is possibly this:

Once again Isaac typifies Christ in that, just like Jesus, he re-opened the source of true living water which had once flowed, but had been blocked and stopped up by traditions and the sinfulness of men!

What do I mean by this?

Please turn to Matthew 5: 17 – 48

Here Jesus starts out by saying that he came NOT to destroy the law, or even re-define it, but simply to FULFILL the law that God gave. Then he proceeds to outline precisely what that law was, which had gotten twisted and perverted down the years!

Notice how many times Jesus begins with the words, “You have heard it said of old, but I say…”

Please don’t think when he speaks of this that he is referring to God’s original giving of the law to Moses! “You have heard it said of old” refers to the rabbinical teachings that added and attempted to interpret God’s law down through the ages. Jesus was not re-defining the law, or giving a new version of it, but simply declaring what it was in pure and simple essence! The result was radical, revolutionary, and shocking!

Jesus, speaking in metaphor, re-dug the wells of interpretation and re-opened the original source well filled with living water! Here in Genesis 26, Isaac and his servants are simply going about their business re-digging up wells entirely for practical purposes, probably not even thinking about this connection, yet God is at work behind the scenes!

(That is the entire concept of my cd and web site – Magnificent Mundane)

Ordinary people are involved in their ordinary lives and work, yet at the same time, God is at work behind the scenes directing, and working out his plans – all without violating man’s free will! A beautiful divine mesh of sovereignty and free will – Calvinism and Arminianism)

This same re-digging of living water wells was also done at least twice again in history. Once in scripture with an ancient king of Judah called Josiah (II Chronicles 34) and also during the Reformation with Martin Luther and the other reformers.

Also, another application and meaning of this Living Water reference is this:

Water is the main requirement and source of all life on earth! It is required to start life, and it is required to sustain life!

(When Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights, did that include food AND water?)

(All ancient cities, including Jerusalem, were built with the water supply as being the top priority)

Just as our physical lives depends on water almost daily, we also are in total need of Living Water from God to give and sustain our spiritual lives! Just like Abraham, we can start out on our spiritual journey with God’s Living Water in ample supply, but through time, and encounters with difficulty, the wells can become stopped up. We need to open up these wells again! If the Living Water represents God’s Holy Spirit, then we should be open to his work and role in our lives and pray that he can do his work in us unhindered.

There is a direct link to our need for Living Water and spiritual daily bread.

What is the bread in these verses?

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God.” (Luke 4:4)

“Give us this day our daily bread… Matthew 6:11)

”

Read John 4: 4 – 32

Exodus 16: 1 – 36

Revelation 22: 1-2

Twice God Appears to Isaac!

Once again, like his father Abraham, Isaac is also blessed to actually encounter God's personal visits with incredible blessings given to him! We cannot glaze over this, there are some very deep truths and practical applications here for all of us here and now.

Please read again the two accounts of God's appearing to Isaac in 26:2 - 5 and 26:24. (How do you imagine God actually appeared to him? In a strange way like a burning bush, in a blaze of glory and fire, or in a Theophany?)

The first thing I notice is that God only introduces himself the second time, and both times he is very matter of fact and begins both appearances with a negative command! First he commands Isaac to NOT go down to Egypt! Why? Does anyone recall what Egypt symbolizes all through the Bible? (If not take a good guess, we went through this in Genesis 12:10 when Abraham did go down there.)

Now, compare the two appearances and notice what is different between the two times God begins with his positive blessing.

1....I will be with you and will bless you. ( 26: 3)

2....I am with you and will bless you. (26: 24)

(I just checked several translations and they all say the same so I didn't even bother to dig down to the original Hebrew)

It would be good if you can think on why this is stated like this without reading further! But here goes anyway;

The answer is really obvious if you read the context of both accounts. The first time is more of a test for Isaac as God commands him to not go down to Egypt (as he was probably planning to do) and to stay in the land where he was for a while (probably years). God was going to bless him and his descendants regardless in the big picture, but personally for Isaac, IF he obeyed God's command, THEN God would be with him in specific everyday blessings each step of the way! (Which is what happens the second time as God comes and says both in the present tense.)

OK, isn't that the same for us here and now?! First we come to God in repentance and by faith, we reach out for his grace and become a child of God. Now that we are his children, he is going to bless us in the big picture with eternal life and heaven, but in the here and now, to enjoy all of God's blessings, step by step, day by day, requires some obedience on our part! No, this is not about earning God's favor, or working our way to heaven!!! But simply the beautiful mesh and merging of faith & works. Faith without works is dead! (James 2:17) (Also see James 1:22 - 27)

Also notice that God's blessing both times to Isaac is basically two-fold:

1. I am with you (Protection)

2. I will bless you (Provision)

Once again, Isaac is not getting a different blessing, but the same one his father Abraham received! In Genesis 15: 1 God appeared to Abraham and said, "I am your shield, your very great reward."  (Do you see the protection and provision aspect?)

In the New Testament we are told that Abraham is our spiritual father of faith, and all God's promises to him are also linked to us. We should all be completely assured that God will both protect us and provide for all our needs every day, see Jesus own words on this assurance in Matthew 6: 25-34.

Finally, one more bit of insight into God's appearances here to Isaac, concerning the big picture blessing that God will do regardless of Isaac. Notice that in both times, he mentions blessing to Isaac and his descendants, and in both times, God states the reason for this panoramic blessing that has nothing to do with Isaac! Look closely and you'll find that in both times God specifically says he is going to do this because of Abraham! So in this larger, big picture blessing, Isaac was not even considered, and his obedience was irrelevant.

Fast forward to us here and now? God is going to have his way, and his way is to ultimately bless all of us! His perfect will is for all of us to obey, love, and follow him every day, but because we live in a fallen world with sinful hearts, he knows better than us the reality of what will happen. If we want God's incredible blessings and provision and protection every day, we must choose to seek and follow him. But in the big picture our eternal salvation does not depend on any of our efforts, or lack thereof, to obey or not obey God. I believe that this scripture is teaching us that if we belong to God as his children, God has saved us and blessed us with eternal life, but in the here and now, to experience any of these blessings and joy, we must exercise faith, trust, and obedience in following him.

(For a beautiful scriptural description of this principle, please read I Corinthians 3: 10 - 15 now)

Conclusion

Genesis 26 ends with a brief footnote about Esau, and how at age 40 he takes Hittite wives which become problems for Isaac and Rebekah. What problems and grief, we can only guess, but we can clearly see the life paths of Isaac and Esau taking two different roads.

Remember that it was an extremely important command from Abraham, that Isaac obtain a wife from his own people, and even had his servant travel back to his homeland and find one in chapter 24.

This was also Isaac’s charge to Jacob in Genesis 28:1

But not only did Esau go his own way in marrying Hittite women, we also can jump ahead a bit and see that he purposely went against his father’s wishes to make him mad, and married Ishmaelite women! (See Genesis 28: 8-9) (Ishmael married an Egyptian woman – Gen 21:21)

So once again, we see these two sons, Isaac and Esau, going about their lives, going in two different directions. God was at work building a new nation that he promised to bless through Abraham, and eventually bring the Savoir to the world.

Did God do it by his divine providence and sovereignty? Or did he stay out of the way and do it by allowing people to have their own free will? (Yes)

Jacob’s Blessing

Genesis Chapter 27

John Boda

April 7^th 2008

I was very tempted to entitle this study note; “The Stolen Blessing”, which although it may seem justified, I believe it depicts a very narrow and distorted view of this chapter! Why? Because Jacob didn’t really steal the blessing from his father Isaac, it was pre-ordained and prophesied by God that he (Jacob) would be the chosen son whom God would bless as the important Messianic link to Christ, and not the elder son Esau!

So from God’s point of view, all was proceeding as planned, but from Jacob and Rachel’s point of view, they were manipulating, and deceitful in obtaining something that was not going to given them, as far as they believed.

So we must be very careful in that, although it appears Jacob stole the blessing, he was going about a long twisting road to allow God’s will and purpose to be accomplished! This presents another dilemma:

If that is the case…it also appears that when anyone defends Jacob that they are condoning lying, cheating and deception.

Even worse….since God said that he loves Jacob and rejected Esau, it appears that God condones lying, cheating and deception!

How do we, or can we, skate or dance around these issues?!

An important key to help unlock this dilemma is this fact;

In the Bible, there is not a single instance of criticism of Jacob! (Except from Esau and Laban, who are really unworthy witnesses because of who they were) Every time that God spoke to Jacob, it was a message of blessing and promise and never one of rebuke or chastisement.

In other words, although we may see a Biblical character in a certain way, God may see him in an altogether different way!

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

This principle is woven all through scripture, so we shouldn’t be surprised!

Here are just a few examples of oddly chosen people from our perspective whom God decided to use for his glory;

Moses

Jonah

David (Initial anointing)

Rahab the prostitute of Jericho

Ruth the Moabite

Paul

Peter

Matthew the tax collector

Zacheous the tax collector

You & me!

So getting back to the issue at hand, did Jacob steal his father’s blessing? It depends how you look at this, from our human perspective or from the big panoramic view of God. To help you see this better, I have come up with a formula which may clarify it more.

The divine formula, which seems to be law for most of us in this life is:

GWA = LWR

Got it? It isn’t rocket science or physics…it is basic practical theology which translated is this:

God’s Will is Accomplished……..by the……Long & Winding Road

(You’ll never find that formula at Moody or Wheaton College, but I don’t care, it should be in all the text books!)

Just like Einstein’s E=MC2 works both forward and backward, this formula also goes both ways:

By the Long & Winding Road……..God’s Will is Accomplished

Once again, it would seem that a direct plan would be best, but doesn’t God know what is best? It would seem that if God choose Jacob and not Esau, then Jacob would have been the elder. It would seem that if God wanted Jacob to get Isaac’s blessing then Isaac would have given it to him instead of all this crazy lying and sneaking around!

Following through with this thought….it would seem that if God wanted the message of the Gospel communicated to the world, he would not have chosen

imperfect, fallen, dysfunctional human beings….like you and me!

It also seems…like I got the message through, next thought!

The Difference between Blessing & Birthright

The Birthright

This is related to the order of the birth of sons. The firstborn son was given the title to the family name and a double portion of his father’s inheritance.

Although Esau was the firstborn and elder, he foolishly gave in to Jacob’s agreement and sold his birthright to Jacob. (Genesis 25:29-34)

At that time the birthright could be traded and/or sold and the outcome was binding. Later, it seems that God commanded that this could not occur anymore and it belonged to the firstborn regardless, see Dt. 21: 15-17.

In a larger and spiritual view, both Adam and Jesus were the firstborn males and both have the birthright of their father – God!

So which one, Adam or Jesus, is the actual firstborn to receive the double portion and spiritual, eternal birthright from God?

Psalm 89:27

Romans 8:29

Colossians 1:15,18

Hebrews 1:6, 12:23

Revelation 1:5

The Blessing

The blessing is different from the birthright in that the father could bless his son in anyway he wanted to, and although it was usually reserved for the firstborn eldest, he could give the blessing to another. But whomever the blessing was given to, it was also binding and could not be changed. (Genesis 27:33)

This blessing was not just some informal quick prayer that we tend to think of in our modern culture today. The blessing was a very important prophetic event by which the patriarchs, under the influence of God’s spirit, and in expectation of death, would pronounce the divine blessing on one of his sons.

(Jacob also does this upon his death in Genesis 49)

Isaac should have blessed Jacob and not Esau! He was no doubt present when God spoke the prophetic word to Rebekah; “…the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

Rebekah also should have not planned deception with Jacob as she knew God’s will all along was for Jacob to get the blessing anyway.

Both Isaac and Rebekah are examples here of doubt, haste, and clearly a lack of faith in God’s word. But God has his way, by the earlier formula, and allows them to continue in their foolishness, but yet in the end it is Jacob who gets both the birthright and the blessing.

The Consequences of Sin

Another principle that is found all through scripture is this:

Even though God will forgive a sinner who repents and asks for forgiveness….there often remains lingering consequences of sin in this life!

Consider the rest of Jacob’s life in summary;

He had to leave his home (Genesis 27:42-28:5)

He never saw his mother again and was tricked by a deceptive uncle (Genesis 29:14-30) (Rebekah also suffered by never seeing him again)

He lived in fear of his brother Esau (Genesis 27:41 – 32:3-8)

His own sons acted deceitfully like him with the Shechemites (Genesis 34)

Later his sons also deceived him regarding his favorite son – Joseph – and caused him to live in grief and sorrow for many years thinking Joseph was dead. (Genesis 32: 9-12)

Consider David, who was the anointed king of Israel and loved God, and was used mightily by God. Yet, after he fell into adultery and murder, even though he repented and was granted mercy and forgiveness from God, yet he suffered the loss of his firstborn child by Bathsheba. He also suffered great turmoil within his own family with his own son seeking to kill him and even came and openly raped David’s wives and concubines.

There are many, many more examples of Biblical characters who, even though they may have received mercy from God, yet still suffered the direct consequences of their specific sin or sins in their lives.

The practical application for all of us today here and now is simple – stay close to God and pray like Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation”. Because even though we may be forgiven for eternity and in our spiritual life, yet we can avoid a life of unnecessary trouble by asking God to help us avoid sin!

The good news is that even though Jacob ruined much of his life by his earlier bad decisions and sinful actions, yet God did love him, chooses him, blessed him, and did change him later! We will see in upcoming chapters how God completely changes Jacob’s character, and marks it by giving him a new name – Israel.

The Consequence of Blessing

This principle works both ways! Not only does sin have lingering ramifications in our lives, but so do acts of grace and blessing and service to others!

I don’t want to go into this deeply here as it would require a detour from this chapter, but this is another real principle that we should know on the positive side.

Just a few Biblical characters who display this come to mind;

Rahab the prostitute of Jericho

David & Jonathon (Jonathon’s blessing to David went on through his son whom David took care of as his own)

There are many, many more examples, can you think of any?

A very important key verse showing this principle, both negative and positive is Genesis 12:3 (Read it now)

Pleas don’t confuse or mistake this as Eastern religious Karma! It is not that, although that principle is based within scripture, the idea of Karma involves no holy, personal, loving God who is the agent behind blessing and cursing.

More on the blessing;

This was usually done by the father upon knowing that he was about to die, and would be very old. The general consensus is that Isaac is about 135 years old and Jacob is about 75 during this event in Genesis chapter 27. But once again, Isaac mirrors his father Abraham in almost every way! Even though it appears he is very old and about to die…he goes on to live another 40+ years and dies at the ripe old age of 180! (Genesis 35:28)

The fact that his eyesight was gone may have been more due to some physical defect or disease rather than simply old age.

The entire story here in this chapter is plainly stated and I don’t want to, or have the time to go over every verse and/or thing that was said and done.

But if you have any questions and/or comments about this story, please bring them up during the group session!

However I want to go deeper, into the spiritual meaning and application of this story and event. We must remember that every story, event, person, and even word written down in scripture is more than just historic and interesting, although they are that! Everything in scripture has deeper truths, but many of them are just that, they are very deeply buried and hard to see!

But since we are in this chapter, I would not be treating it properly if I didn’t go over one more important principle which really requires us to step back again to view the big panoramic view!

Final thoughts on Genesis 27;

One character stands out to me in this chapter, it is Rebekah. She is behind the scenes manipulating this drama!

Notice that she is the one who was listening, most likely secretly, to Isaac ask for fresh wild game from Esau, and then came up with her grand plan of deception for Jacob to deceive Isaac and get the blessing.

When Jacob appears apprehensive, she urges him on and even faithlessly says, “ Just do what I say, if your father discovers this and curses you, let it fall on me.” (Paraphrase) Genesis 27:13

Then, after the deed is done, she is told of Esau’s plot to kill Jacob (no doubt by a trained servant who also secretly spies) she comes up with the plan to hide Jacob at her brother’s home.

But notice that in order for her to send Jacob off, she has to use her grand manipulative powers again and complain to Isaac that she is disgusted with the local Hittite women, fearing that Jacob may take one for a wife. Of course, Isaac falls for the plan and sends Jacob off to Rebekah’s brother’s house to find a wife, fulfilling the very plan of her scheming heart. (Genesis 27: 46 – 28: 2)

What are we to make of this behavior? Should we condone it, or despise it?

Of course we cannot condone this! Rebekah was not acting in faith, and was not trusting God at all. Her actions are those of one who believes that “God helps those who help themselves” and that God may exist, but he is either too busy, or too uncaring to help us and work this out, so it must be figured out by ourselves.

It is really sad that this seems to be how many people, even Christ followers live and make decisions!

No wonder that Jacob was Rebekah’s special favorite son, she seemed to have passed on her self-life, meaning her sin empowered will and need to control and manipulate people and situations.

Whatever became of Rebekah after this episode? She fades from the scene and that’s it for her! We don’t know anything more about her life. It as if the Bible shows us again that sin has ramifications that follow afterwards. She may have lived a long life, but what is left of her life is not worthy to be mentioned in scripture. We do know that she most likely never saw her favorite son Jacob again, which would have filled her remaining years with sorrow and pain.

All believers who follow Jesus should always seek God first in prayer for decisions and also follow good advice from others who are spiritually like minded. Many of us have personalities that are type –A and lean toward the controlling side. Those people must be even more aware and cautious not to fall into the type of conduct that Rebekah did in this chapter.

We must always remember that God is the master manipulator! We tend to think of manipulation as a bad thing, and it is for most of us! But with God, who is pure, holy and perfect, it is a beautiful thing!

Please read Genesis 28, where we will go through a passage which shows God in control, and Jacob’s encounter with it in his dream.

Now listen you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a midst that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will we will live and do this or that”. As it is all such boasting is evil.   James 4:13-16

Jacob’s ladder

John Boda

Genesis Chapter 28

4/21/2008

As stated many times before, although the words of the Bible are divinely inspired, the verse and chapter divisions are not! Here in this chapter, verses 1-9 should really be part of the last chapter, as they continue in context with the events in chapter 27.

This session and outline will focus on verses 10 – 22 and the event of Jacob’s dream, and encounter with God at Bethel.

Here is a brief summary of those first nine verses;

Isaac falls prey to Rebekah’s manipulation (From Genesis 27:46) and again blesses Jacob before sending him off back to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife from one of his mother’s family.

Esau continues down his dark path and out of spite, goes off to marry another woman of the land, which he knew dis-pleased not only his parents, but God!

It was almost as if he reasoned, “ Well, since my brother Jacob has the blessing of my father and of God, and I don’t, I might as well go all the way and make them mad and ashamed of me, then maybe they will realize how wronged I have been by Jacob, and they will all change their minds.”

(If this was his thinking, but his logic was flawed and it was God’s will and plan for Jacob to receive the blessing from even before they were born)

The “As You Go” Principle

We have seen this principle before! Since I really haven’t found any fancy theological name for it yet, I just call it the “As You Go” principle.

We see it clearly here in Genesis 28:10, when Jacob leaves to make the long journey from Beersheba (South of Jerusalem) to Haran (Mesopotamia) –today where Iraq’s borders are, he stops along the way near a small town called  Luz – (Ancient meaning – Separation). It is here, along the route, as he is on his journey that God connects with him in a dream.

Jacob first had to leave! It was God’s will and plan for him to receive the blessing, and it was also imperative that he obtain a wife from his own family of Abraham and Isaac. So we can be absolutely certain that God intended for him to make this journey! But God did not connect with him until he was on his way! Do you see it?

Although this may seem like a trivial matter, it is an important principle, not only for many Biblical characters, but also for all of us today.

So far, we saw this principle in Abraham – all through his life! (When God first called him in Genesis 12:1-3, he doesn’t tell him any details as to even where he is going, but Abraham must first set out initially and obey, then as he does, God fills in the details) God starts the chain, but as Abraham obeys and begins to move forward, God shows up and gives additional blessing! It was as if, for every step forward he took, the light from God was that much bigger and brighter shining on his pathway!

This principle was also very clearly exemplified in Abraham’s unnamed servant in Genesis 24. Abraham sends him out to find a wife for Isaac, again back to Abraham’s homeland. Once again, this servant has no details on who this woman might be, but after he obeys, sets off on the journey and arrives, and then God directs him to Rebekah! (The entire chapter is an account of this event) His key words, “As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s family.” Genesis 24:27

Later, we see this many more times such as with Samuel being sent to Bethlehem to find and anoint the next king, but he has no idea who it might be, until he actually goes, arrives, and then God shows him.  Fast forward to today:

Many times when we find that we don’t have any clear direction from God, it can often be because we haven’t moved forward or acted on what God has revealed to us already!

It doesn’t have to be physically going anywhere. If God has blessed you in some area, it was for a reason, and most likely that reason involves you using that gift and giving it away. Sometimes we lack any new blessings from God because we haven’t given away what we have to others. (In all my studies of scripture, I still have not found one case where God blessed someone with some gift with the intent of that person hoarding that gift and holding on to it as some personal memento.)

Before I move on, here are a few supporting verses which help show this principle further;

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18

 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Colossians 2:6

The First Stairway to Heaven

The remaining verses in this chapter deal with our focus, which is Jacob’s dream and encounter with God. In this dream he sees a ladder, or stairway, which bridges the gap between earth and heaven, and Angels of God are seen both ascending and descending upon it.

This ladder or stairway (Verse 12) is – Sullam – in Hebrew – which is a word that is only used here, one time in the entire Bible, which tells us that this ladder, or stairway, was not just some makeshift divine escalator, but was something unique and very special!

Upon reading this account, we are left with many questions;

Is this just a dream, or was it actually real?

What is the ladder, and what is its meaning?

Was the bridge between Heaven and earth global, or just confined to this spot and area?

First of all, I believe that this vision was both a dream, as well as a spiritual reality! We tend to think of all dreams as fantasy and unreal, but in the past, God used dreams many times to reveal actual present realities and future events to his people. Although this was used more frequently in the past, God can, and still uses this today at times, although we must be very careful to be sure that any dream or vision does not add/or contradict anything that is written in scripture! Many people have been led astray by following after “new revelations” obtained in dreams or visions that have actually been sent by Satan disguised as God.

As to the precise locality of this ladder, even though Jacob seemed to believe that this particular spot was the gateway to heaven, I believe that we must enter into the big panoramic picture once more. This spot may have become special and sacred to Jacob, but God deals with people and events all over the earth! Yes, God was very interested in Jacob, but nowhere in this text, or anywhere else, can we conclude that there was anything super special about this particular town, area or geographical spot! (More on that later)  But the last question deserves some deeper thought and time;

The Meaning of the Ladder

We have already seen that this ladder/stairway was something very special in that the Hebrew word used for it is unique and found only here in this text.

Most likely it was NOT really even a ladder, or stairway as we think of one, but rather what was known as a – Ziggurat

A ziggurat was an ancient tower ascending upward, with some extending very high into the sky. At the very top would be a shrine, with many containing the idols of their gods to worship. Many ziggurats have been discovered, or at least the remains of them, in the Middle East recently.

There was one very famous ziggurat type structure we already covered in Genesis chapter eleven, what was it?  

As with many Old Testament passages, the spiritual meaning can be found elsewhere, often linked to the New Testament and that is the case here.

The Link to Jesus

The Bible contains four Gospel accounts, with some stories repeated in some, or all of each one. Each Gospel account is different in that each one God used a different writer, and each one had a distinct personality.

Matthew – Tends to portray Jesus as the King of the Jews

Mark – Tends to portray Jesus as the Servant of all.

Luke – Tends to portray Jesus as the man of the human race.

John – Tends to portray Jesus as God!

Matthew – Mark – Luke are all very similar and because of that they are known as – The Synoptic Gospels – which mean they are “seen together”.

John – stands alone as very unique! That would be expected if his intent was to portray Jesus as God! It contains many things that the other three don’t have, and this link to Jacob’s ladder/stairway/ziggurat is no exception.

The link is found in John 1: 43 – 51 (Please go there now and read it)

This is the account of Jesus’ calling of Phillip and Nathanael.

 (Notice that when Jesus called Phillip, like the others, he just said, “Follow me”, and didn’t give any details or specifics! They had to initially obey and actually follow him before they found out any more – what principle is this?)

But as we focus in on Nathanael, he was from a nearby town called Bethsaida, which was very close to Nazareth, both located by the Sea of Galilee. When Nathanael heard that Jesus might be the great prophet, but that he actually came from Nazareth, he said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?. Like many of us today, we like our little town, but have bad things and/or sarcasm concerning any other places close by…it would be like us in Romeoville saying, “ Can anything good come from Bolingbrook?” (Of course, the answer is no)

When Jesus sees him, he makes an incredible statement that he was very pure and sincere! What a great initial comment made by anyone, but coming from Jesus, this was simply awesome!

But, true to form, Nathanael doesn’t get puffed up with pride and start boasting and taking bows before the others, instead he asks, “How do you know me?”

Jesus says that he saw him while he was sitting under the fig tree, big deal right?! We might be thinking, what fig tree? When? He probably sat under many fig trees! This could be like me meeting you for the first time and saying, “I know you, and I saw you when you were cutting the grass!”

But Jesus had a very specific day and moment in mind, and Nathanael knew it! We know this by his reaction to Jesus’ statement in verse 49:

Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel!

What was so special about that particular day/time when Nathanael was sitting under this certain fig tree?

While we don’t know specifically, I can say that Nathanael must have had a God-moment while sitting there! I’ve had one before, and can remember the exact day and place I was at forever! Something happened between Nathanael and God which only Nathanael and God knew about.