The last time we saw Abraham he was preparing the next generation to be able to take over the family after his death. But guess what, he was going to live another 35 years! And not only that, he’d get married again and father 6 more kids! Let’s look at:
I. Abraham’s final chapter
[Read Genesis 25:1-10.]
So Abraham’s grand life on the earth was over. But even in this final chapter we can see some very important things.
1. Abraham’s descendants were promised by God.
[Read Genesis 17:4.]
2. Abraham gifts secured Isaac receiving the covenant.
3. Abraham inherited eternal life; “gathered to his people”.
[Read Matthew 8:11.]
4. Abraham’s two eldest sons back together for a short time.
But with Ishmael being back on the scene there was the chance that he might now try
and rival his younger brother Isaac for his father’s inheritance. So God made it clear that the covenant was going through Isaac just as He planned all along.
[Read Genesis 25:11.]
But even though Ishmael didn’t receive the covenant, he wasn’t forgotten. So we see:
II. Ishmael’s generations
[Read Genesis 25:12-18.]
When we look at the generations of Ishmael we again see God’s prophecies coming true.
1. God’s promise to Hagar that Ishmael’s and Isaac’s families will live in conflict.
[Read Genesis 16:12.]
2. God’s promise to Abraham that Ishmael will have 12 nations come from his line.
[Read Genesis 17:20-21.]
“My covenant I will establish through Isaac.” So let’s look at:
III. Isaac’s generations
In the last part of chapter twenty five we see the early years of Isaac and Rebekah and their two sons Jacob and Esau. But through the events recorded here we’ll get some insight into the character and mindset of these four people. Let’s first look at Mom and Dad.
1. Isaac and Rebekah depend on God
[Read Genesis 25:19-21.]
For the first twenty years of their marriage Rebekah couldn’t have a baby. As you know, this is an incredibly hard thing to deal with – especially in the ancient culture where a woman’s worth is often associated with having babies to build the family. But Isaac loved his wife and prayed on her behalf that she would have a baby. He obviously prayed the right prayer in faith because the Lord answered his prayer and Rebekah conceived. Isaac depended on God. Rebekah depended on God as well.
[Read Genesis 25:22.]
When her pregnancy wasn’t going well she went to the Lord as well. I’m sure it was a scary thing for her. She finally gets pregnant after twenty years but the babied inside her are playing football all the time. What a responsibility a woman has who carries a baby inside of her. But when she was troubled she went directly to the Lord with her concerns.
Now this part of the story should sound familiar by contrast. Remember, Isaac’s parents went through the very same thing. For the first ten years of their marriage Sarah couldn’t have a baby. But instead of trusting the Lord they took matters into their own hand and Abraham had Isaac’s brother through a handmaid.
I can’t help but think that Isaac and Rebekah learned from their parent’s mistakes and decided to depend on God instead of themselves. And even though they waited twice as long as Abraham and Sarah, they stayed strong and simply waited on God to act.
But these two boys wrestling inside of Rebekah’s womb was a foreshadow of things to come, because these two brothers would be on different life paths right from the start.
2. Esau and Jacob differ from one another
[Read Genesis 25:23-28.]
Esau Jacob
older younger
servant to leader of
weaker stronger
hunter peaceful
outdoorsman homebody
Isaac’s favorite Rebekah’s favorite
Emotional, earthly minded calculated, spiritually minded
These two guys couldn’t have been more different. And I’m sure that there was lots of conflict between these two kids as they grew up. Especially since the parents had their favorites. (Kids often pick up on these things and end up resenting the other kid for it.)
But their differences was all a part of God’s sovereign plan. Remember, God will providentially accomplish His will upon the earth.
[Read Romans 9:10-16.]
Paul was trying to let the Jews know that they couldn’t merit the grace of God just because they were Israelites. God had decided to show the nation grace by choosing them to bring forth the covenant. He decides based on His will, not our works.
In the same sense, He decided that Jacob would be the one through whom the nation of Israel would come. Could God have chosen Esau to build Israel? Sure He could have. But for reasons only known to Him He chose to use Jacob in this historic task.
But you know what I think? I think God does things in such a way that when people pay attention they recognize that only God could have done it.
Esau should have led the family. Esau was the firstborn, Esau was the hunter, Esau was the fighter, Esau was favored by his father, Esau should have received the promise. But God decided to use the intellectual, homebody Jacob who was favored by his mommy to bring forth the nation of Israel. Now that’s something that only God could do.
Now I believe these two young men knew about the covenant that was given to their grandfather Abraham. They also knew about the rights of inheritance that was alive and well in their family. The firstborn would get a double portion of the family estate along with becoming the family chief and priest.
But I also believe that these two guys looked at the covenant and their inheritances through very different mindsets:
- Esau didn’t care about either being concerned about only the present day
- Jacob looked forward to both and aggressively went after them
Esau didn’t care about the future – Jacob cared about the future. But as we’re going to
see, at this point in their lives both were depending on themselves to accomplish their goals.
3. Esau and Jacob depend on themselves
[Read Genesis 25:29-34.]
When you read about this two things jump out at you – Esau was careless and Jacob was calculated. While Esau was hungry and just wanted to get something to eat, Jacob looked at it as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and secure his future. Both of these guys minds were on themselves and they did what it took to make it happen. Esau got his belly filled and Jacob got his bank account filled.
Now this goes to show how earthly minded and short-sided Esau was. Now I don’t believe for one minute that there was nothing else in the house to eat. This was a rich family with herds of animals and servants and means to get whatever they wanted. And I also don’t believe that Jacob was so physically powerful that he could have prevented a hungry Esau from getting some of that soup. I think that Esau just didn’t care about the future and would do whatever it took to get his momentary needs met. So he carelessly sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Now that’s one expensive meal.
Have you ever made an impulsive decision like that? One you regretted later?
[Buying furniture story.]
Esau’s impulsive, careless decision was a reflection that his mind wasn’t on the Lord. His mind was on himself.
[Read Hebrews 12:16-17.]
So what about Jacob? Was he being opportunistic or was he being manipulative?
I think Jacob’s mind was on himself as well. Now I do believe He was a godly young man who believed in the promises of God. But he was a sinner who had a problem with deception. While this shows up more clearly a little later in his life, we can see the beginnings of it here. While he wasn’t dishonest with Esau, he was using his manipulative forces to get what he wanted. (And that’s what lying is. Saying whatever to get whatever.)
If he believed that God wanted to use him to bring forth the covenant he should have let God do it His way instead of man’s way. His brother comes in from an unsuccessful hunt. He’s hungry and he’s tired. He should have just given his brother something to eat. When my kids try and pull something like this at home they get in trouble. Probably yours too. We don’t let our kids extort from one another. But Jacob was going to make it happen even if he had to take advantage of his brother’s weakened state and lack of care. God would have accomplished it His way if Jacob would have been patient.
We need to learn from this. If God wants to do something in and through us it has to be done His way in His time. He doesn’t need us rushing things and manipulating circumstances.
[Pastor getting people involved to keep them at church story.]
God wants to build our church His way. And I think He wants to do it in such a way that for those who are paying attention we recognize that only God could have done this. We need to be patient, we need to be listening, and we need to fully rely on His guidance and His power to build His church.
God wants to build our personal lives in the same way. We need to depend on Him like Isaac and Rebekah did, not force our way like Esau and Jacob did. Depend on the Lord – He will never let you down.
