WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:06.799 Well, we will spend the next four weeks in the story of Jacob and Esau. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.919 So this is in the first book of the Bible in Genesis. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.439 In Genesis, we see a family becoming a people group. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:17.760 And then in this family, we have Isaac who marries Rebekah. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:22.399 And they finally, after having a difficult time getting pregnant, they have two boys. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.399 They have Esau and they have Jacob. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:33.520 So as Sam read in Genesis chapter 25, even in the womb, these two boys are beginning to fight and have conflict. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:46.479 And then Rebekah receives the prophecy that the two will be in conflict, and then the older will serve the younger, which would have been against all the culture and all the ancient institutions at the time. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:48.560 So Esau was older. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:55.600 Ever since birth, he was hairy, came out with red hair on his body, he became an outdoorsman, a skilled hunter. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.159 We would have seen him at Bass Pro Shop. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:03.679 Jacob comes out, he's more of an inside guy, he's cultured, he's quiet. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:07.920 He would be sitting right next to my wife watching Barefoot Contessa. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:09.920 Like that's that's Jacob's mood. 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:18.640 And the text says from the very beginning that the two parents actually favored the two kids differently from the very beginning. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:22.239 I mean, so this is just a soap opera of dysfunction. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.280 Like right away, this whole story is just total dysfunction. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.840 So one day Jacob's manning the stove, and Esau comes in from the field. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:39.359 Esau's hurting, he's hungry, he's exhausted, he's starving, and Jacob tells him, Hey, I'll feed you if you hand over your birthright. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:41.760 That's so out of touch for us. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:55.920 Well, here's what a birthright is: if you're the firstborn, you would have received a double portion of inheritance, leadership over the family, so honor, prestige, and a blessing from the father. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.640 A blessing from their father, a blessing of honor. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:03.920 Once it was pronounced, it was never pronounced in vain, it couldn't be retracted. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:05.359 Now, can you imagine that? 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.520 Can you imagine that kind of blessing, that kind of honor, that kind of money, right? 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.680 And then Esau trades it away. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:14.479 Right? 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:23.520 I mean, it's kind of like Prince William having a moment of exhaustion, just trading it away for the, you know, hot dog from QT, the roller hot dog. 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:25.199 I love the roller hot dog, right? 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.719 But still, like I'm not trading, I'm not trading double portion inheritance for a roller hot dog. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:33.280 Now here's what we learned. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:40.319 Point number one is this temporary emotions and circumstances can cloud wise decision making. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:41.439 Right? 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:44.080 If you're over the age of 25, you can just go ahead and say, Amen. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:45.919 Like you know, you know. 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:48.400 History's full of bad decisions. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:50.319 I just thought of a couple uh this week. 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:52.000 Uh you remember this company? 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.159 So uh here's a picture of this company. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:57.280 Maybe you remember being in this store as a teenager. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.759 Blockbuster, hello, remember? 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.159 Maybe you remember, you remember that? 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:07.759 If you're over maybe 30 or so years old, and you got in a car with your friends. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.039 It was a whole event. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:10.000 I loved it, right? 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.840 You got in a car with your friends, you didn't just like watch a movie, it was an experience. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.960 You went to the store, and once you're in the store, you divide it up. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:18.000 Everybody divided up. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:22.719 Each of you picked a movie, you came back in the middle of the store, and you all kind of like submitted your movie to the group. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.599 You had to convince each other which one were you gonna watch that night. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:26.560 An event. 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:29.360 Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for$50 million. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:30.400 They had the chance. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.800 They passed on that needle, they passed on it. 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:34.400 Horrible decision, right? 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:35.919 Horrible decision. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:37.439 Now, what about these two? 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.560 I thought about these two when it came to bad decisions. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:43.919 Well, that's a bad decision if you know what that is, right? 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:44.800 Kodak. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.199 They invented the digital camera. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.560 They decided to not do anything with it because it might threaten their business. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:51.039 Okay? 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:52.479 Bad decision. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:56.319 And then these two, this is a picture of 16 years ago. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:57.759 16 years ago. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.199 And then you remember what happened if you're my age or so. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.840 Brad broke up with Jennifer. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.159 I'm still not over it. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:11.919 I I also this week when I saw this picture, I was like, oh, they are the most beautiful human beings. 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.960 I mean, have you ever have you seen anybody more beautiful than these two? 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:17.279 And I was like, well, what do they look like today? 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.560 So I found this picture, this is more current. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:26.639 And I did like, like at first I was like, oh, like, like, you know, I mean, they're they're they're older now, right? 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.519 Um, but then I kind of looked at it, I was like, they're still good looking. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:36.160 Like, like if you the longer you look at it, you're like, no, they're still good looking, which didn't help my self-consciousness at all, or my like image. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:37.519 But that's not my point. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.959 But my point is, I'm still not over that horrible decision of Brad breaking up with Jennifer. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:44.000 It's been 16 years. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.639 Horrible decision to break up with America's sweetheart. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:48.240 Horrible decision. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:50.959 We know bad decisions, right? 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.000 Esau, Brad, Kodak, Blabuster. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:56.639 And we produce bad decisions. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:58.639 We wish we didn't. 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:08.240 We wish we just were like just a series of wise decisions that led to increasingly great joy and peace and life and harmony. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:09.839 Wouldn't that be great? 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:20.079 I mean, we want wise decisions about who to marry, who not to marry, who to be friends with, who to date, how to date, right? 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:22.800 How to date in 2022. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:30.480 How to handle conflict, whether to go to Georgia or Old Miss or maybe Auburn or maybe Georgia, perhaps Georgia. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:32.879 Maybe Georgia, maybe. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:40.560 Take the job in Kennesaw, or do you take the job and move to Nashville? 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:42.079 Right? 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.360 Most of us want to make wise decisions. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:48.399 Because we know wisdom is good. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.399 Here's a few ideas just with wise decision making. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:54.800 Six kind of quick thoughts on this. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:56.560 These are more observations. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:59.839 I probably could have assigned a Bible verse and hunted that down for you. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.160 You can do that at home. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.839 The problem number one, the process of decision making can be formative to your heart. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.720 See, sometimes we just want to make a decision, get it over with, right? 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:13.439 I do. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:15.120 Just have the decision over. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:24.879 But actually, the process of the decision-making itself, because God is with you, Emmanuel, with you, the decision-making process itself can be formative to your heart. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:29.759 That's good news because it means even the anguish of a decision-making process can be formative to your heart. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:39.600 Number two, having a peace about it, having a peace about it, can stop us from making a right decision that's difficult. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.920 Now, there's nothing more wonderful than having a peace about your decision. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:45.199 Wouldn't that be wonderful? 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:52.079 Every decision, you had full 100% peace and certainty before you made the decision. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:58.480 But sometimes, and what my wife says is she says, it's just time to put on the big girl pants or the big boy pants. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.839 You had to put on your big boy pants and go make a decision, right? 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.519 Sometimes you have peace before the decision. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:06.959 Isn't that wonderful? 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.759 Sometimes you have peace as you're making the decision. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:13.439 Sometimes you have peace after you make the decision. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:17.040 Sometimes you just gotta make a right decision because it's right. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:26.480 Number three, don't expect a divine text message from God at every intersection. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:28.879 Wouldn't that be nice? 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:30.639 It's not GPS, though. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:32.480 It hasn't been for me. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:38.240 We live in faith and wisdom even if we don't have certainty. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:44.480 Maturity is not growing in certainty with every decision you ever make in your life. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:52.959 Maturity is making wise decisions over time in faith, even if you're uncertain. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:08:00.079 Therefore, next three points, therefore, number four, seek God's wisdom in Scripture. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:08.160 Not just at the point of the decision making, but over time building an equity of God's word in you. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:08.800 Right? 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:17.759 So you have an equity of God's word in you because day in and day out, you're just building an equity of God's wisdom inside of you from his scriptures and your heart and in your mind. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:23.120 So as decisions come, you have sort of this foundation, this equity of wisdom. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.319 Number five, seek God's wisdom from wise people in your life. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:30.720 Make the phone call. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.080 Call the person who's already done something like this. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.360 Shoot them an email. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:37.679 Grab coffee with that lady. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:39.840 They've been through it. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:41.679 You've noticed them. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:43.519 There's something about them. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:45.600 Pretty sure they've gone through this. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:47.360 Well, let's call them. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:48.720 Let's do that. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:50.960 Seek that wisdom from people. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:59.440 And then number six, be prayerful, not hasty, seeking God's leading as you make decisions. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:03.919 Now that's not an equation, those six things, or even the last three. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:06.080 It won't work perfectly. 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:13.519 It's more of a description of what it looks like to be a decision maker in wisdom. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:21.279 And even then it's hard, it's filled with mistakes because sometimes we're selfish or we're prideful, or sometimes we're just tired. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:28.159 Like we're worn out from the week and we make a bad decision, worn out from the day, we make a bad decision, or like your parents always said, nothing good comes after midnight, right? 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:30.879 How many people made bad decisions after midnight? 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.279 I shouldn't make a decision after 7 p.m. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:34.480 That's where I'm at at this point. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.799 Used to be midnight, now I'm 42, it's 7 p.m. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:38.000 That's the cutoff point. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:42.080 No evaluation of life or decision making after 7 p.m. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:46.799 If it rains several days in a row, don't ask me to make a decision. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:48.320 The first day, I'm okay. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.200 I work a little bit longer, just get some stuff done. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.639 Second day, I'm hanging in. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:57.919 Third day, I'm like researching being a lifeguard in Costa Rica. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.159 Anything's up for grabs the third day of a rainy series of days in the wintertime. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:03.679 Anything could happen in my life. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.000 Don't evaluate, I don't evaluate, right? 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:06.960 We're emotional. 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:10.879 You can't always trust your feelings, can't always trust your emotions. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:13.360 Sometimes our brains aren't working. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.440 So we can kind of understand Esau in a way. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:22.960 He's tired, he's worn out, he's hurting, and in haste he makes a horrible decision. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.399 This week, early in the week, a cold front came in. 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:26.799 Do you remember? 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:28.080 It was last week at this time. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:34.720 From Sunday to Tuesday, we went from 70 degrees to 30 degrees. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:45.759 Which, if any of you are like me and you get headaches, it left me on my bathroom floor, curled up, in a ball on the cold tile. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:47.840 But I'm laboring for you as a pastor. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.000 And so I'm contemplating Esau there on the bathroom floor. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:55.200 I can't raise my head up as I'll get nauseous and throw up, so I'm just curled up. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.759 Christy, you can't put a blanket over me. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:00.399 Just lay there till it passes. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:02.720 But I'm laboring for you because I love you so much. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:04.720 I'm just laboring as a pastor. 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:09.120 Contemplating Esau, thinking to myself, what if Esau felt like this? 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:11.600 What if this is what Esau felt like? 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.879 What if he felt worse than this? 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.799 Because at one point I called for Christy to come and help me. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:21.759 She could have negotiated anything in that moment. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.679 Like she could have gotten anything. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:25.840 She's been wanting to renovate the half-bath. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:27.600 That could have been all done and sealed up. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.840 Like it anything could have been traded for the help I needed. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:35.039 Anything. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:37.360 Of course she didn't. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.120 Or you'd say, because she's a loving person, a spouse. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.480 But just like a decent human being wouldn't take advantage of somebody in that way. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:45.679 And then you go, oh. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:49.279 That's how manipulative Jacob is. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:51.759 That he would do that. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:12:01.120 So we have a manipulative, selfish Jacob, and then we have a weak, short-sighted Esau. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:07.759 Now, some Jewish history says that Esau might have been around 15 years old, which adds a whole thing to it, right? 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.440 Because think about the decision making you had when you were 15. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.320 You made some mistakes. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.840 Now imagine if you're a rebellious 15-year-old. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.559 So some Jewish history says that Esau was 15 and he was a rebellious son. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:26.559 He doesn't care. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:52.559 That kind of helps us make sense of the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 12, when it says in 15 and 16, see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled, that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.840 Makes me think something more than just exhaustion's going on. 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:01.919 That he he was rebellious. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:03.679 He's a punk. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:06.480 Just didn't care. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.159 Point number two is this nobody's perfect. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:12.399 Everybody's sinful and weary. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:14.960 But God is patient with us. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:17.679 There's no hero in this story. 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.440 I mean, Jacob is manipulative and selfish. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.600 Who does that to his brother? 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.039 God's the hero. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.679 Working out his redemptive plan, even in all this dysfunction. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:44.960 Out of this dysfunction, this lineage, this manipulative Jacob comes the Messiah, comes Jesus to forgive all of our sins and weakness and deem us righteous. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:47.919 The story goes on in Genesis 27. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:50.639 Isaac's become old. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:51.919 He's blind. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:54.639 He calls Esau to him. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:56.159 He says, It's time. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:59.360 Esau, go and fix a meal. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.360 Bring me the meal. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:02.480 I'm going to bless you. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:04.320 It's time for me to bless you. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.440 But Rebecca's been listening. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.399 Remember, Rebecca favors Jacob. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.240 So Rebecca hears it sneaky, sneaky conniving woman. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:16.799 She hears it and she says, Oh, Jacob, hurry, hurry, hurry. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:17.440 Go fix the meal. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:18.080 Hurry, hurry. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:20.399 Because you can get back, and we'll put you in Esau's clothes. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:20.879 And she did it. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:29.759 She put them in Esau's clothes and she put like some hairy stuff behind his neck, made him kind of feel kind of nice and hairy, you know, like a sweater guy, you know, right on the back of the neck. 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:33.519 And Jacob goes in to see Isaac. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:34.559 And here's the story. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:35.200 Bit of reading. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:37.759 Genesis 27, 18 through 29. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.440 So he went in to see his father and said, My father. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:44.960 And he said, Here I am. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:46.240 Who are you, my son? 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.759 Jacob said to his father, I'm Esau, your firstborn. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.039 I have done as you told me. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.759 Now sit up and eat my game, that your soul may bless me. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:01.120 But Isaac said to his son, How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son? 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:07.279 He answered, Manipulative Jacob, here's what he says, Because the Lord your God granted me success. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:16.159 Then Isaac said to Jacob, Please come near that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:24.879 So Jacob went near to Isaac, his father, who felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:31.279 And he did not recognize them because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands, so he blessed him. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.679 He said, Are you really my son Esau? 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.039 He answered, I am. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:40.000 Then he said, Bring it near to me that I may eat of my son's game and bless you. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.000 So he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:48.159 Then his father Isaac said to him, Come near and kiss me, my son. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:49.840 So he came near and kissed him. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:58.879 And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:04.399 May God give you the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.159 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:12.559 Be Lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:18.080 Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.120 Man, this is this is dirty, right? 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:22.320 I mean, this is dirty. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.960 I mean, think about this Jacob sitting here doing this. 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:31.600 Think about this wife and this mom doing this to her oldest child and her husband. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.080 In so many ways, Genesis is offensive. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:41.279 I mean, read it, Genesis, you read about polygamy, the treatment of women. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.000 It's very incredibly offensive. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:50.559 God favors younger sons who are manipulative and selfish over older sons. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:58.240 Tim Keller cites Robert Alter's book, The Art of Biblical Narrative. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:17.599 Alter's a Jewish scholar at Berkeley, who states that the book of Genesis, in the book of Genesis, you actually see two things going on with these issues of like treatment of women and polygamy, and also this idea of choosing the younger even when they're manipulative. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:28.079 And the first is that in every generation, as we read the story working itself out, polygamy wreaks havoc, disaster. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:38.400 See, the Bible isn't supporting it, the Bible's telling about it and revealing the horror that it is in the treatment of women like this and constructing families like this. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:47.599 And then, second, when it comes to God, over and over again, God favoring the younger sons, the older, which is against culture. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.799 God is subverting a cultural value that says, you know what? 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:54.640 You always have to be first. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:57.200 And you always have to be the strongest. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.480 I mean, that should matter a lot to your heart. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:05.519 Because you know you're not always first. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:07.759 You're not always the strongest. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:09.200 You're not always put together. 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:11.359 You're not always in the right position. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:16.319 I mean, what if the only way that you mattered was being the firstborn? 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:22.640 Or the only way that you mattered was holding the certain position, or the only way that you mattered was being the strongest or the most put together? 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.079 That would be awful. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:29.759 And it would be endlessly tiring for you to maintain or try to get that position. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.480 But if God favors the weak? 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:46.640 If God's love fully meets you, not halfway as you get your act together, but fully meets you right where you are right now, that changes everything. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:53.519 Last point, there's this scene after Isaac has passed on the blessing to Jacob. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.400 Isaac's just giving this blessing to Jacob, and then Esau shows up. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:00.880 Right? 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:02.240 Esau's been out preparing. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.880 He thinks he's walking in and get the blessing. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.440 And comes Esau, Genesis 27, verse 34. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:18.000 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.119 Even me also are my father. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:27.519 But he said, Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.200 Esau said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:33.920 For he has cheated me these two times. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:38.640 He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.160 Then he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:52.720 Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him Lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.559 And with grain and wine I have sustained him. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.599 What then can I do for you, my son? 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:04.240 Esau said to his father, Have you but one blessing, my father? 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.759 Bless me. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.880 Even me also, O my father. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:14.240 And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:17.680 Here's point number three. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.079 We could kind of pass this over so quickly in this reading of the story. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:30.960 Many of us were robbed of parental blessing by God is the ultimate Abba of all blessings. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:38.960 We're gonna see that work itself out in the story as we follow Esau in the coming sermons. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:43.519 But some of you were blessed by your parents. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:46.480 You were blessed. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:50.319 They spoke care and they spoke blessing over you. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:57.519 They esteemed you, they listened to you, they cared for you, and it meant everything. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.759 But others of us, we missed out on the parental blessing. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:14.640 Maybe you were always waiting for that parental blessing from your father or from your mother, but instead you received hurt or you received distance. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.799 And because of that, there is a wound and there is a lacking. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:26.240 And in that way, we read this story and we hear Esau weeping bitterly. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:28.960 Do you not have a blessing for me, Dad? 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:36.960 At some point in your life, it'll be good to contemplate two questions. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.519 What did my father or mother say to me that they never should have? 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:46.960 You've been carrying it around for a long time. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:49.839 They should have never said it. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:51.920 And you can begin to let it go. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:57.200 Second question what did my father or mother never say to me? 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.359 That could have changed everything. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:01.279 Right? 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.359 They just didn't speak it, and they should have. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:04.400 They should have said it. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.319 You know they should have. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:09.599 Here's the good news. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:24.720 Where our earthly parents, all of our earthly parents, even if you're sitting next to your earthly parent right now and the greatest parent in the world, all earthly parents, as good as they may be, they're not able to speak into your soul's deepest needs. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.079 They're just not. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:34.079 We have a heavenly father who cares for us and loves us into that place. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:43.839 There's this place in Scripture where Jesus takes on the role of the Abba Father to little children. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.200 Mark 10, 13 through 16. 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:53.119 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:57.119 But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:02.160 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:04.960 He said to them, Let the children come to me. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:09.519 Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:14.720 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:21.680 Then he took the children in his arms and he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:38.640 See, we may miss out on the blessing from an earthly father or earthly mother, but the blessing of Jesus we always have, this Jesus who came through the lineage of the weak to save us and love us. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.200 Even while we are weak, and even while we're not put together. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:57.519 And maybe this morning, you just need to metaphorically allow yourself to crawl into the lap of the Father and let Him bless you. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.880 And to hear that you are His. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:02.640 You are His. 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.920 Jesus is enough. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:12.960 Jesus is enough for all the forgiveness you ever need, all the righteousness you ever need, all the worth you ever need, all the beauty you ever need, all the blessing you ever need. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:14.160 Let's pray together. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:35.680 God, thank you that while we read crazy stories in the Old Testament that are so far outside of our cultural context today, that even today they mean everything to our hearts. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:44.240 That you subvert worldly values that say we only matter if we're first and strongest. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:50.559 Thank you, that you find us even if we are second or last or weak. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:55.279 God, we are in fact sinners in need of your wonderful grace. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:04.480 We are in fact only children to crawl into your lap and receive the blessing that speaks to the deepest core parts of our soul. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:14.720 Not all the forgiveness we need, we have in Jesus all the righteousness we need, we have in Jesus and all the blessing we need, we have in Jesus. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.240 We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:18.880 Amen.