#53: What You Set Your Eyes On Shapes Your Life

In this episode we explore Genesis 36 as more than a list of names, seeing Esau’s worldly success and the long fallout of his choices, and we call one another to live for a better homeland. We tie genealogies to today’s decisions about money, contentment, endurance, and hope in Christ.

• why Moses includes Esau’s genealogy and why it matters 
• Esau’s “trophy case” and the danger of winning the wrong game 
• how Amalek, Edom, and Haman reveal long-term consequences 
• living as temporary residents with eyes on eternity 
• Hebrews 11 and seeking a better homeland God prepares 
• applying eternity to money, possessions, and generosity 
• contentment in Christ vs the churn of consumer desire 
• Revelation 21 and thinking about heaven to fuel endurance 
• Moses choosing reproach over Egypt’s treasures for future reward 
• fighting the good fight and finishing well with hope

Transcript

Welcome And Genesis 36 Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Beyond the Pulpit, exploring the life and ministry of Walnut Creek Church downtown. Walnut Creek Church exists to glorify God by making authentic disciples of Jesus Christ who love and worship him and all they do. Well, all right, welcome to Beyond the Pulpit. My name is Derek Wadley, and I'm joined by Lou Cookie. Hey everyone. And Dan Root. Good morning, everybody. In this last weekend at church, uh we looked at Genesis chapter 36 and uh some of the descendants of Esau and everything that poured out from there. But Dan, you talked a lot about how we have to live our lives in light of eternity. Esau uh in a lot of ways gained the whole world and lost his soul, um, and his descendants followed after him, but then you encouraged us to be looking forward to the next life, living in light of eternity. There there seems like there's a lot to unpack there.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

It's a big, it's a big uh subject there. Yeah. Living in light of eternity. A little bit. You know, it's kind of it was kind of funny. Um there were a few people on Monday, last Monday, they looked ahead um to Genesis 36, and they just said, uh, may God be with you. And like like in your breath. Did you say it also with you? And uh and I think because when you read you read uh Genesis 36 for the first time, and you you think about it, you're like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

I can't pronounce these names.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Let alone like the first half of the given with a with a dictionary.

Why Esau’s Genealogy Matters

Esau’s “Trophy Case” Of Worldly Success

SPEAKER_02 1:36

I know you're benevolently skip the name some of the names. I know, then you have to skip the chapter. Yeah, so it's it's kind of a it's kind of an an interesting chapter because in some ways it doesn't really fit. Like if you just cut chapter 36 out, it would flow naturally from 35 with uh uh Isaac dying and then Jacob and Esau burying burying their dad to Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed. It actually connects like perfectly. But but Moses inserts chapter 36. And I think he does that for a lot of reasons. He's he wants to tie up some loose ends on Esau. You know how what I think that's one of the questions that you have when you're reading the story. What what happens to Esau? What so that question is answered. It's also uh a history lesson in the neighbors uh of Israel. I mean, they share a border for over a thousand years, and they're not a formal nation for a thousand years, but the people are there, and then they become a nation. And Israel eventually becomes a nation. So that border, they share that border for over a thousand years. So so it's a history lesson. The people of God would understand their neighbors and and um they would understand that in some ways the the the Edomites are their relatives, their relationship. It's kind of kind of a crazy thing. But but as you as you get into it, uh you begin to realize this is what Genesis 36 is. Um it is a um it's the trophy case of Esau. It's in the ancient world, they would look at this and say, This is everything a man would want in this world, you know. Uh wives, children, land, conquest, nation, nation. Everything I mean, you get you get everything that you want. And he's a rebellious man, he's an evil man. Esau's an evil man. Yeah, but I think if if uh if we were gonna hang out with him, I think we'd be like, That's a good, that's a good dude. You know, like I mean he's part of a biker gang, and so I don't know what to do with that. And but he is a dude, he's a bro. Yeah. He goes to a metallica metallica concerts, he's he's got probably has long hair, red hair.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah, it's like maybe not hang with, but like at least be on good terms.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Like by good dude, not like in the Christian sense, good dude.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

No, I mean, I mean just like in the world. Like he's he's paying his bills on time and he's defending women in advance. Yeah, in advance.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Defending women as he's married to the body. He might be looking for women at the same time. And we digress.

Descendants, Amalekites, And Lasting Fallout

SPEAKER_02 4:15

But uh But he's not he he's just living it's just living his his life. He's just living his life, and it's kind of interesting because there's no there is no possible way Esau would have anticipated the fruit of his life. Like there's just no way he would have understood that rulers and kings would come from him, that a whole nation would would come from him that would last a thousand years.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

I know.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

I know. I mean it's it's wild.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

I would assume, you know. Yeah, yeah.

Living As Temporary Residents

Seeking A Better Homeland

SPEAKER_02 4:51

I mean, he's just living his life and he's living his life and and but but but there's really this long history. There's this long history that flows from this one man, and um and what you see is that his descendants, this is kind of interesting, but his descendants get get worse and worse and worse and worse. And they're uh if we would have had more time at at church, maybe like three or four weeks, we could go through like all the descendants and how they connect to the rest of the Bible. There's Amalek, one of his sons, Amalek, who become the Amalekites, yeah, who are perpetually at war with Israel slaughters, yes, and and uh Saul. Saul and and then uh God tells uh Saul he's supposed to w wipe out the Amalekites, including the king, King Agag, and he doesn't do it, he doesn't kill Agag, uh at least right away. So Samuel Samuel has to come and do it. But you you learn later in the Bible in the book of Esther that um that Haman uh who is part of the Persian Empire, he is attempting to kill all the Jewish people, and he is a descendant of King Agag. So he's a guite, I think that's what it is. Yeah, he's an Haman the Agite. And so he he's you know, um uh the Amalekites they have a long history of going after the Jewish people, then and then the Edomites do as well. And so there's just no possible way that Esau could have envisioned what would come from his his life, and I think that's true of us as well. Like it's almost impossible uh to anticipate the fruit the long-term consequences of our lives. And um and I and only God knows, uh only God knows. Uh and when he's asking us to obey him and to trust him and to do what he says, sometimes in the moment, it doesn't always make uh the most sense. It's not always the most practical thing to trust God in the moment. But God God doesn't just have uh the next five minutes of your life in mind, uh He's thinking about uh your descendants and he's thinking about eternity. Totally. And that's how we have to live the Christian life, and that's how the Bible uses uh uses the example of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in uh so in Hebrews chapter uh 11 it says in chapter 11 um verse 13 it says these all Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they're seeking a bet better homeland. Yeah. There's something about just saying, uh, I'm I'm temporary, that this life is temporary. Uh because the more you focus on the fact that this life is temporary, it's fleeting, everything's slipping out of your hands, then it makes you way less likely to sin to get the things of the world. Like you're not gonna go kill a bunch of people to save your reputation if you know your reputation is fleeting anyways. You're not gonna rob a bank, you know, if you're like it's temporary anyways, it doesn't last. And so the starting point of the Christian life is um in so many ways is just dealing with the reality that we're temporary. Yeah. Which is sobering.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

We're but a vapor, a vapor that lasts for, you know, a short period of time. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Applying Eternity To Money And Stuff

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Here today, gone tomorrow. And so in some in some ways, we want to build a bet a better world. No, there's no doubt about that. We want to be a great blessing to the world. Um, but at the same time, we recognize this life is is passing away. You know, it's our our lives are are fleeting. We are, like you said, Luke, we are a vapor. And then it's but it's you know, atheists can look at this life and say, this life is temporary. You can do that. Yeah. Um a uh a lot uh any honest atheist is doing that. So there's nothing uniquely Christian about saying this life is temporary. But uh the height of foolishness is pretending like we're gonna live this life forever. So uh step one is you gotta say this life is temporary, and then step two, uh, we need to seek an eternal homeland. That's what they did. Now who say now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they had come from, they would have an opportunity to return. But now they desire, I love this, they desire a better place, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. You know, God has prepared a city for them. And that that's exactly what Jesus says to his disciples. He says, I go to prepare a place for you. I am going to prepare a place a place for you, and when the time comes, I'll come and get you. Yep. I'll come and and get you. And so I'll bring you home. And so the whole the whole um uh really the heartbeat of eternal life, it starts now, no doubt, but it's actually being with the Lord forever. That's right. Now, what do you how do you think that applies to our lives? You know, putting our eyes on the next life, living for the next life. How do you do you guys have any thoughts about it? How does that actually apply?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Like what how does that inform some of the decisions that we uh make? Yeah. I mean, one thing that comes to my mind is it it should inform all of our decisions in one sense, but or not in one sense, in a very real sense, but uh you know, specifically, I think it it informs about how I think about uh money and possessions. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I think you know, especially living in the society we live in that we're being constantly marketed to and bombarded to get the next thing, have the uh have the next thing, get something you know a little bit better, whatever. And and because we have the ability to, I mean you just think like today, I ordered something from Amazon is gonna be here this afternoon. Yeah, some drugs, but stores a lot. Painkillers, not as a pharmacy mouse. That's true. Uh that's how it is. But um I uh just think about how it's it's very easy. What money and possessions can do is they can pull our gaze down into the things of the world to where we're living for the here and the now and not for the eternal. And so they can become a trap, and as Paul talks about how something that can actually shipwreck our faith. No doubt. And so uh we want our what we're doing with our money or the possessions that we acquire. There's nothing wrong with having things. There's nothing wrong with having money. In fact, uh the church uh operates because uh you guys are generous in giving back to the Lord. Aaron Powell So make more money, is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Just give more money, okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Give more money to Luke.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Hey. That Bentley's not Yeah, my Bentley's not gonna pay for its cell. It's not gonna fill its cell. That's good. Thanks, Dan.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

That's good for paying attention. That's good. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

My kids are like, we have a Bentley? Do we have a secret garage?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

No. That's the that's it's in Bay 3. Yeah, yeah. That's where the that garage door opens to Luke's.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Because if you open that garage door, you're like, this is where I'd put a Bentley door. That's right. Nobody would suspect it.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

You'd think of no safer place.

Contentment, Stewardship, And Generosity

SPEAKER_01 12:18

But I think, yeah, the the this is something that I uh the Lord, you know, I think just graciously reminds me and challenges me quite often is what am I doing with my money? What am I setting my eyes on uh in this world? And it's easy to put our hope in getting things, experiencing things, possessing more things. And y'all know, like I know, you get that next thing and it's cool for like a few hours, a few days, whatever, and eventually it wears off, and you want the next thing. And uh and so it creates this discontentment in our soul. And oftentimes it reminds me, okay, my contentment is not in stuff, but it's in Christ. And so that's right. There's a lot of things here, but I think thinking about how should I think about my money and possessions, okay. Jesus says, store for yourselves treasure in heaven where moth and rust are not destroyed, and thieves are not break and steal. And so one way we can do that is being good managers or stewards of the resources that God has given us now. Amen. Amen. In faith, sowing, uh uh meaning giving or using our money in ways that are gonna advance the gospel, they're gonna bless the people of God. And not exclusively. I mean, having a house that's taken care of and having things that are there to have people over and and to take uh to uh be hospitable to is a tremendous blessing and whatnot. So but thinking through, yeah, for me, I'm like, okay, Lord help me to see uh this world in the light of eternity, uh, so that I'm wise um in all areas of my of my life, but especially areas like money and possessions, for they are things that shipwreck people's faith.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Uh Jesus says, why why does the seed, why does the seed get choked out? Well, one reason is worries of the world, but another reason is wealth, riches, the desire for wealth, desire, the desirefulness, yeah. And even Paul says it's the desire, the love of money. So that's one thing that immediately comes to my mind, yeah, like given the culture we live in.

Thinking About Heaven Rightly

Endurance, Moses, And Future Reward

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Yeah, and to that end, like we try to keep resources at our welcome center uh for our members to purchase and to to be an encouragement to them. Like we're not making any money off of this. This is we negotiate deals with publishers. We do, we do negotiates deals. And so we we do that so that we get them as cheap as possible, and then we just ask, you know, the to just cover the costs. Yep. Um, and sometimes it's not even that. And so, but we have a book there called The Treasure Principle. Um that dives by Andale Corp dives into that passage, unpacks it. It's super, super helpful. So we we would recommend that to you as well. Yeah. Um the other thing I think about just in in light of thinking about it, it's like you you know the phrase uh that person's so heavenly minded, they're of no earthly good. Um sometimes I wonder though, like if the problem is actually we don't think about like heaven enough. Like I think that that's also like a pretty common problem. Oh yeah. And so um I think that it's like if we want to be look forward to the next life, we have to understand what we're looking forward to in the next life. You know, I I often go to Revelation 21 just for encouragement um to look forward to the next life. You know, the there's the whole 21, one through through eight. I won't get to into into all of it, but you know, it's like he talks about how like Jesus is bringing the new heaven and new earth out of the sky, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And when we go in, he's gonna wipe away every tear, and death shall be no more, no mourning, crying pain. Um, and it's he says, Behold, I'm making all things new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me, It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. So he's got to like think about where we're going. Like so I think that we can neglect that. And we want we want like the no pain. We want the no, you know, we look forward to our new bodies and all that. That's all we should look forward to that. But it's like, to what end is the is the new body for? To what end is like the lack of suffering for? Well, it's this eternal relationship, like in the presence of God with Christ, with all of the redeemed from all of eternity, you know, or all of all of time. Uh, so it's like I have to ask myself often, do I look forward to that day? Do I look forward to it enough? Yeah. Um, you don't want to be so consumed by it's like, well, that's coming, therefore none of this matters. Certainly. Um, but but yeah, it's like we gotta think about heaven a little bit. We gotta think about eternity a little bit in his life.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

And I think it's it's uh focusing our eyes on on glory, you know, sharing in the glory of Christ, uh, that helps us to endure. There's a there's a relationship between uh fixing our hope on Christ, fixing our hope on uh on heaven, and the ability just to keep going and to to keep suffering. That's actually the idea. The idea of endurance, persevere, yeah, is that you remain under the suffering. You don't you don't quit. And uh Moses in uh Hebrews chapter 11 it says um uh verse twenty-four, it says, By faith, Moses when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and he chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to uh to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Why did he do that? For he considered, verse twenty-six, for he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of heaven, since he was looking ahead to the reward. So he was looking ahead to his reward and uh Moses understood.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

What's that greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt?

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Yes. Did I say the wrong thing?

SPEAKER_01 18:04

He said heaven. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

Oh, I'm sorry. That would be that would be a difference.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Wait a second, no matter what. Skip the line translation you're reading.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt since he was looking ahead to the reward. So he he was looking ahead uh to to being with the Lord and being rewarded for his suffering. And that's something that uh that that is designed to motivate us, that that every ounce of suffering is is worth it. You know, God God is going to uh God sees what's going on and he sees uh the sacrifices that we make. The sacrifice to to obey him, to trust him, to to to be grateful, um, to rejoice, yeah, and to to be generous, to s to deny the flesh. And you know, C. S. Lewis, he talks about, he gives us illustration. I believe it's in the book Mere Christianity. I I might be wrong, but he might be in a different book. But he talks about uh soldiers uh marching uh in in the parade, the victory parade. You know, you imagine a gr a great war, yep, and the soldiers have won the war, and they're the soldiers who fought in the war are are marching and they're celebrating. And then he gives this this image of a of a person uh of a of a young man who hid from the battle. But during the the during the parade, he slips into formation and he marches with the the soldiers who who had won the war. And and he he uses that illustration to talk about how uh this is the time to fight. Like this is this is this is the battle. This is the war that's being fought. And this is our time to to suffer. And he says, in the end, if you could talk to yourself, uh looking back, when you stand in the presence of God, if you could talk to yourself now, uh you you would tell yourself not not to hide from all the the difficulty, not to not to hide from all the the challenges, but to to fight the good fight of faith. And uh Paul Paul uses that language, you know, I finished the race, I fought the good fight of faith, and now there's a there's a reward for me. That's right. And uh the more we think about that, I think the more we think about the glory of heaven, the glory of being in the presence of God forever, I think the more we're gonna trust him and obey him now.