WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.680 So if you're just joining us, we are doing something a little bit different this year. 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:06.799 We are going through the entire story of the Bible in 11 months. 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:08.640 We started this at the beginning of February. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.560 We're calling this the whole story. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.560 And so we've broken down the story of the Bible into 14 different series. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.519 And we are currently in series two right now. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.440 And so we finished the first one a few weeks ago. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.920 We're in series two, and I'm so excited about this. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:28.239 We've got to average 3.2 messages per series to get there, and we're ahead of schedule. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.120 We're 0.2 ahead of schedule right now, and I'm really, really excited. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:34.000 I'm not a ahead of schedule kind of person. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:35.200 I'm never ahead of schedule. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:37.439 So the fact that we're here right now, I'll take it. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:38.799 Really excited about it. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:43.759 And last week we kicked off series two, which is called Broken Homes. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:45.439 And here's kind of the basic idea. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:51.439 When you get to about Genesis chapter 12, the second half of the book of Genesis is all about this family. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:59.119 It's this family over multiple generations that God chooses, He handpicks them to be his representatives on the earth. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:15.280 He says, I'm going to use you, I'm going to promise things to you, I'm going to give you descendants, I'm going to make you into a nation, I'm going to give you land, and you're going to be the ones who are going to represent me to the world, and I'm actually going to bless the entire earth through you, which ultimately happens through Jesus. 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:17.519 That's like the climax of that promise. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:25.680 And you would think that if God's going to handpick one family, that He's going to like, I mean, it's like your number one draft pick opportunity, right? 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:26.719 You're going to pick one. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:35.439 You're going to pick a group of people who are just marked by their stability, by their incredible wisdom and decision making. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.000 This is going to be a family that has it all together. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.560 This is going to be a family that makes all the right decisions. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:46.560 Even when adversity is facing them and they're in tight spots, they're going to do the right thing the vast majority of the time. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:47.359 That's what you would think. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.879 And you find out really quickly, nope, not the story at all. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:58.640 These are messy people whose lives are honestly defined by brokenness. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:05.280 If you read the second half of the book of Genesis, it's like just reading more family drama than you can handle. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:14.639 And if you're ever feeling guilty about the family drama in your life or you're stressed out about the family drama in your life, just read the second half of Genesis and be like, God, thank you, that that's not my family. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:17.759 Because I'm not saying that some of us couldn't compete. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:26.240 I'm just saying that most of us would have a really hard time making a case about us having more drama in our family than we see in this family. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:31.520 This is a series of broken homes, but it reminds us of a few very important things. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.080 Number one, it reminds us of how special Scripture is. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:35.759 The Bible's so amazing. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.319 And it's amazing for a variety of reasons. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:40.560 One of those reasons is the Bible doesn't lie. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:48.639 Because the stories that it records of the people that we would consider the heroes of the Bible, they're just stories that should never have made the cut. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:58.479 If the purpose of the Bible was to try to put its best foot forward and try to present some very beautiful image of what life ought to be like. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:00.000 We see this in our world all the time. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.400 So many people who are celebrities or leaders, there's this veneer of perfection. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:12.719 They live these very manicured lives, and what they allow to be known by everyone is very small, and it's very, very purposeful. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:20.159 And if you read their autobiographies, you don't read about the messy parts of life unless it's the messy parts of life that make them look like heroes. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:24.159 Then you open up the Bible and it's like, whoa, too much information. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:25.840 I did not need to know that. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:27.120 I really didn't. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.479 Why in the world would those stories make it into scripture? 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:32.080 Why would they have allowed that to happen? 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.280 And the reality is, God wants us to know the truth. 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:40.960 He doesn't lie to us, he doesn't whitewash anything, he tells us the truth, even sometimes the ugly truth. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:53.439 And so when we read scripture and we read these stories of failure and struggle and scandal, it gives us a tremendous amount of trust that what we're reading is accurate and true because this is this is humanity on display. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:56.080 It also reminds us that God uses broken people. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.840 The Bible is not the story of amazing men and women doing incredible things for God. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:13.520 It's the story of really messed up people, broken people with all kinds of issues, who have this incredible God whose power and love and patience is more than all of our mistakes combined, and he uses broken people to do his work in this world. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:22.160 So if your life feels messy, if you're ever able to say, hey, I'm kind of a broken person, good news, you are useful to God because he uses broken people. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.000 It's important for me to remember that because I don't have it all together. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:27.600 Not even close. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:35.439 But these stories, especially these stories in the second half of Genesis, they also do something else really helpful for us. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:59.040 Because as they display all these messy parts of these people's lives, as they record and tell us about all the messed up stuff that goes on in these broken home families, they also allow us to see these qualities that rise to the surface and have the ability to actually compensate for all the brokenness in some pretty amazing ways. 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:11.920 These qualities that we as people can also have in our lives that allow us to sort of rise above our own mess, and so we can learn from these people, broken as they are. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:16.800 Now, last Sunday we looked at Abram, who has his name changed by God to Abraham. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.120 He's the father of the Jewish nation. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:29.680 That nation eventually becomes known as Israel, and Israel is the name given to Abraham's grandson Jacob, about halfway into his life. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:31.360 He gets renamed Israel. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:33.680 We're gonna learn about that this morning. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:40.959 Abraham has a son named Isaac, Isaac has a son named Esau, and another son named Jacob, and Jacob's gonna be our focus today. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.519 Isaac's life is pretty, it's pretty chill. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:49.600 In fact, in his family, among all his descendants, Isaac probably has the most like stable life. 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:54.480 There's drama with his children, but Isaac isn't really at the root of most of that as far as we can tell. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:59.439 So Isaac's doing okay, but Jacob, oh my goodness, when we get to Jacob. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.399 Are you guys familiar with the phrase hold my beer? 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.759 Like how many of you did a quick show of hands, you know that phrase, hold my beer. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:06.800 Okay, not everybody does. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:11.759 Let me this is a phrase that's become popular in the last 10 years, and the idea of it is simple. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:12.879 It started off with a comedian. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.279 I tried to find like the root of this phrase this week. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:23.680 Uh apparently there was a comedian who made a joke about 15 years ago, 20 years ago, saying there's never been a good decision followed by the words, hold my beer. 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:33.600 You know, the idea someone's been drinking and they look at their buddy, and after they've they've had a few and their judgments impaired, they say, hey, hold my beer, and then they go to do something or say something, and like that's gonna be bad. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:43.839 And over time, it's become a phrase with like internet meme culture and Twitter and things like that, where if someone says, hold my beer, it basically means, watch me outdo your stupidity. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:48.639 It's like, oh, you think that was bad, hold my beer. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:49.439 You know? 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:55.759 Think like the Atlanta Falcons at halftime of the Super Bowl a few years ago, where it's like, hey, too soon. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:56.879 I know, I'm sorry. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:58.160 Too soon. 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.639 Oh man, I'm from Missouri and the Chiefs just won. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.600 But I want you guys to know, I actually, like, I'm fully invested here. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:09.360 I've lived here for about 20 years, and so I don't even consider myself a Chiefs fan. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.079 Like, I'm here. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.959 I felt the pain of that more than I felt the joy of the Chiefs winning. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:14.319 So I'm not making fun of the Falcons. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:16.160 We're all in this misery together, okay? 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:17.360 We're all in this together. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.839 So it's this idea, like, hold my beer. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:22.800 I'm about to outdo your stupidity. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:30.319 And if you read Jacob's story in the Bible, it's basically like he's trying to play the ultimate game of hold my beer with his life. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:43.040 Because every story you read about this guy is just one bad decision, one manipulative moment after another, one moment of poor character, one moment of just outright deception and lies. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:47.199 It's like he's trying to do his best to do his worst. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.040 And it kind of starts right off the bat. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:54.000 And so let's start to look at the broken home of Jacob's life. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:54.800 Here we go. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:56.240 I may have said Joseph a second ago. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:56.800 I think I might have. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:57.839 If I did, Joseph's another. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.959 There's a lot of J names, so just sometimes you guys call me Jason. 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:01.600 My name's Justin. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:02.160 I'm fine with it. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:03.199 We're fine with it too. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:03.759 Okay? 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:06.399 So Genesis chapter 25. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:11.759 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was unable to have children. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.920 The Lord answered Isaac's prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant with twins. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.879 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb, so she went to ask the Lord about it. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:22.000 Why is this happening to me? 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:22.560 She asked. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.600 And the Lord told her, The sons in your womb will become two nations. 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:27.839 From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.960 One nation will be stronger than the other, and your older son will serve your younger son. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.960 And when the time came to give birth, Rebecca discovered that she did indeed have twins. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.960 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:42.159 That's interesting. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:44.159 So they named him Esau. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.879 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:50.799 So they named him Jacob. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.840 Isaac was 60 years old when his twins were born. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:09:01.840 Now, Jacob, the name in Hebrew means deceiver or usurper or supplanter. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.279 And so basically they're like, oh, he's grabbing his older brother's heel. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:09.120 It's almost like he's saying, no, I want to be first, because in their culture, the first got everything. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.759 He's like, I want to be first, I want to win. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.799 And from the very beginning of his life, it's like he's grasping for something that doesn't rightly belong to him. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.759 So they name him deceiver, which may have not been a good idea. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.879 Because if your name is deceiver, you can't really get mad when that person deceives. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:26.879 Like it's what you named me, it's just what I do. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:32.240 And we see this right away, as soon as we start reading about moments in Jacob's life. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.799 So for example, Genesis chapter 25. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:40.399 It says, Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.519 And the reality is Esau's probably literally starving. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:45.919 Like it's not, this is an ancient culture. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.679 We're talking 3,000 years ago. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:50.240 There's no refrigeration, there's no fast food restaurants. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:56.639 If you went out into the open field, if you went to hunt and you didn't have a good hunt, you were just hungry, starving. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:58.399 He probably hasn't eaten in who knows how long. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.120 So he says to Jacob, quick, let me have some of that red stew. 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:02.080 I'm famished. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:03.840 And this is why he was called Edom. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:04.879 Edom means red. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.279 And so, anyway, Jacob replied, First, sell me your birthright. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:11.519 His brother is starving in front of him. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:13.519 He's like, Oh, you want some of this stew? 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:14.960 Mmm, smells good. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:16.320 I'd love to give you some. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:24.480 Just why don't you go ahead and trade me this for your birthright, which would mean the inheritance that he is allotted as the firstborn by his father. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.639 Look, I'm about to die, Esau said. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:28.159 What good is the birthright to me? 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.919 But Jacob said, Swear to me first. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.960 So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.679 And then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.519 He ate and drank, then he got up and left. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:40.000 And so Esau despised his birthright. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.000 So you can look at Esau and judge him here. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.600 Hey man, you should have cared more about your inheritance than that. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:50.240 But at the same time, it's really hard to read the story and feel good about Jacob. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:53.039 Your brother is starving. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:54.720 You have food. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.799 He asks you for some, and you're like, not before you give me what doesn't belong to me. 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.799 That's just sort of Jacob's nature. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:04.320 And as we're gonna learn, Jacob is just the worst. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:05.519 Like he's the worst. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:07.039 I'm gonna go ahead and say it. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:12.240 For most of my life, I just decided that Jacob is the worst character in the scriptures. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:20.639 He's just, it's impossible to find something redeeming about this man, or so I thought, but you're gonna see why I grew up thinking this. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.120 Let's go to Genesis chapter 27. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:28.240 When his father, Isaac, um, was old, he went to his father and said, sorry, let me go back. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:28.799 I lost my place. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:29.200 Here we go. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.360 He went to his father and said, My father, yes, my son. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.200 Oh, I remember why this starts that way. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:34.480 I was supposed to set that part up. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:36.480 So let's rewind and act like I did it right. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:37.039 Okay. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:39.200 So here's the deal. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.200 Isaac, Isaac, there's so many stories here. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.600 I was trying to condense it as much as I could because we've got to get through a lot. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.600 So Isaac is old. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.159 And as he got older, he loses his sight. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:49.759 He's blind, can't see. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.840 And so Isaac decides, you know what, I'm probably gonna die soon. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.720 I need to bring my boys in, and I need to bless them. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:58.799 And the main one he would bless would be Esau. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:05.120 So as the firstborn, Esau had two things coming to him: his birthright, the inheritance, all the stuff, all the livestock, and all of that. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:09.519 But number two, which in their culture was really even more important, was the blessing. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:30.720 Because they believed that when someone blessed you, when someone with authority blessed you, your father spoke a blessing over you, that that was not just like a nice, well-intended, encouraging set of words, like, oh, thanks, that made me feel good, that that was speaking something into existence, that those words would stay with you the rest of your life. 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:39.759 And we might look at that and think it's superstitious and silly, but think about how often, if you look at your past, someone's words shaped your future. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:41.759 Either for the good or for the bad. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:55.360 Someone's words, something that someone spoke over you, stuck with you for years and years and years, and maybe it was discouraging, and maybe it was something that you had to fight to get over, or maybe it gave you a different perspective on life, and those words lifted you a little bit higher. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:57.120 They believe that to an even greater degree. 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:01.759 So this blessing is a big deal, and Isaac's like, Bring in my oldest Esau. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.200 I want to bless him. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:05.759 And he tells Esau, why don't you go and hunt? 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:10.720 Esau was a great hunter, hunt some wild game, make me my favorite dish, bring it to me, and then we'll do this. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:18.480 And while Esau is out doing that, Jacob and his mom come up with this idea to steal the blessing from Esau. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.679 She's like, Look, your father's blind. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:26.159 Rebecca says, so why don't you uh put some of your brother's clothes on? 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:33.120 And he's really hairy, so they even put some like animal hair on his hands, like his neck, and like Esau was apparently very hairy. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:39.440 And you know, anyone who's a little brother can probably do a decent impression of your older brother if you if you had to. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:46.000 And so basically, why don't you go and just lie to your dad, say that you're Esau, and he'll bless you, thinking that you're Esau, but then you'll have the blessing. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:46.799 This is horrible. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.039 And Jacob doesn't really fight it. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:50.000 So here we go. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.679 This is what I was supposed to say now. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:56.320 He went to his father and said, My father, yes, my son, he answered, Who is it? 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.600 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, your firstborn. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:00.879 I've done as you told me. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.559 Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.519 And Isaac asked his son, Well, how did you find it so quickly, my son? 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:09.519 The Lord your God gave me success. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:10.240 Oh my goodness. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.600 Now he's actually using God in his deception. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:14.960 This is horrible. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.840 Then Isaac said to Jacob, Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you're really my son Esau or not. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:25.759 So Jacob went close to his father, who touched him and said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.519 He did not recognize him, for his hands were very hairy like those of his brother Esau. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:30.639 So he proceeded to bless him. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:32.159 Are you really my son Esau? 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:32.639 He asked. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:34.960 And again, just imagine being Jacob in this moment. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:35.519 You've lied. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.840 You've got to feel some tinge of guilt. 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:42.240 And now you've got this one final opportunity to just go, nah, I'm just playing. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:44.480 Prank, you know, kind of thing. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:46.799 But no, he he doubles down. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:48.559 He says, I am. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:52.720 And he said, My son, bring me some of your game to eat so that I may give you my blessing. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.919 Jacob brought it to him and he ate, and he brought him some wine and he drank. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:06.320 And then his father Isaac said to him, And just imagine being Isaac, and you think you're saying these words, they're so powerful, they're so sincere, and you think you're giving this to your oldest, not knowing that you're being completely deceived. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:07.360 It's heartbreaking. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:11.519 Come here, my son, and kiss me. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:13.360 And so he went to him and kissed him. 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:19.679 And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.919 May God give you heaven's dew and earth's riches, an abundance of grain and new wine. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.279 May nations serve you, and peoples bow down to you. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:30.879 Be Lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:34.480 May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:40.159 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.799 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.639 Then he said to him, My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.399 His father Isaac asked him, Who are you? 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.039 I'm your son, he answered, your firstborn Esau. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.440 Isaac trembled violently and said, Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me? 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:00.080 I ate it just before you, and I blessed him, and indeed he will be blessed. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:02.960 And see, in their world, you couldn't even like take it back. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.080 It's already been spoken, it's already been said, it's out there, it's done. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.960 So now Esau doesn't get his father's blessing. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:14.320 This angers Esau, and in verse 41, Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:22.320 He said to himself, The days of mourning for my father are near, and then I will kill my brother Esau, my brother Jacob. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:28.639 So Esau says, Because of what you've done, you've stolen my birthright, you've stolen my blessing, you're a liar, you're a deceiver. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.279 You're the worst little brother ever. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.679 And there's a tough competition for that. 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:36.799 Like we've all, we've how many of you have brothers, just out of curiosity? 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.960 You've got some brothers, like you've done some, you've probably done some things to your brothers that you're not proud of. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:49.200 The worst thing I ever did to my little brother was convince him that he had killed me when he was about four years old. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:51.759 And so I know, I'm I'm being honest. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.080 He stabbed me in the leg with a pushpin. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:56.320 Like, fully, like just a pushpin in a wall. 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:00.799 He grabbed where he got the pushpin, he grabbed it, stabbed me in the leg, and it stuck and it hurt. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:06.880 And I said, ow, and then I just sort of proceeded to use it as an opportunity to traumatize him for the rest of his life. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.480 And I like acted faint and I fell down and pretended to die. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:16.480 And I have a distinct memory of my three, four-year-old little brother shaking me with my eyes closed, going, Justin? 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:17.359 Justin? 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:20.799 And then he starts weeping and crying, and I was like, aha! You know. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.599 And, you know, I he'll tell you to this day, he's never used a pushpin since. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:26.079 He can't do it. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:30.960 If you hand him a pushpin to hang something on a on like a bulletin board, he's like, nope, not doing it. 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.880 But that's like the worst thing I've done to my brother, as far as I can think. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.960 That doesn't even begin to compare to what Jacob does to Esau. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:41.519 And so Esau wants to kill him, but could you blame him? 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.200 And so this just begins the family drama that you can't even imagine. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:46.079 So it gets worse. 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:52.720 So Jacob leaves, he runs away because Esau's gonna kill him as soon as his father dies, and out of respect for his father, Esau's not gonna do it till then. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:57.599 Jacob goes, and while he's gone, he meets this girl named Rachel, and he falls in love with her. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:05.680 Falls in love with her, works out a deal with her father to marry her, but then, like, as happens sometimes, he accidentally marries her older sister. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.319 You know? 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:09.359 Because that's just, who hasn't done that, you know? 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.319 Oops. 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:22.079 And actually, it's kind of an interesting story because it turns out that the father-in-law of the women that he ends up marrying is just as deceptive as he is, so he kind of gets what's coming to him. 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.160 And so he marries this girl named Leah, but then he's like, I want to marry Rachel too. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:31.119 And in that time, in that part of the world, in that culture, marrying multiple people was a thing, and so he marries Rachel. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:36.079 And then he's like, two women is not enough for me, so he also marries each of their servants. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:42.960 He's got four wives, ends up having twelve sons and one daughter from four different women, which is just a perfect recipe for family bliss. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.000 You know, twelve boys, one girl, four different moms. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.079 What could possibly go wrong? 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.000 Remember, his life's motto is hold my beer. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.640 It's like he's trying to make it as bad as possible, and he's doing a great job. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.640 So this creates all kinds of strife in his family. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:06.400 Because not only does he have four wives and twelve boys and one girl, he plays favorites. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.480 Like he loves Rachel way more than his other wives. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:09.599 He makes that very clear. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.160 He loves the children that Rachel has more than the others. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:13.359 He makes that very clear. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:18.559 He only has two boys with Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin. 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:23.599 And so when Joseph's young, he he makes Joseph this amazing coat, the coat of many colors. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:24.480 You may have heard that story. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.119 And basically, it would be like a luxury item. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.279 And he gives it to Joseph, not to all of his boys. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:31.119 He doesn't say, hey, boys, I've got something for all of you. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:35.279 He distinguishes Joseph, even though Joseph is nowhere near the top of the birth order. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:39.759 He distinguishes Joseph and makes it very clear to all of his sons, this one's my favorite. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:41.599 I like him more than you. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:43.279 And I'm not even exaggerating. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:44.559 He just does that. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:50.880 So this creates all kinds of jealousy in his family, and the older sons decide, you know what, we we should kill Jake. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:52.160 We should kill Joseph. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:57.920 We should kill him because he's annoying, he drives us crazy, his father, our father, loves him so much more than us. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.960 Let's get rid of him, let's kill him, and then we'll be rid of all this pain. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:02.799 That's how broken this family is. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:04.960 And so they almost go through with killing Joseph. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:07.359 They decide at the very last minute, you know what, let's not kill him. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.720 That's a little extreme. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:17.920 Let's just sell him as a slave to Egypt, we'll make some money, and then we'll just tell our father that he's dead by showing him that beautiful coat covered in blood and torn to pieces. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.519 And so they do that. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.920 They sell Joseph as a slave to Egypt. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:28.079 Joseph ends up rising through the ranks of Egypt, goes from being a slave all the way to being second in command in the nation of Egypt. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.200 That's an amazing story for another day. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.240 But it doesn't do any good for their family. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:39.359 Because now they have Jacob, their father, who's who's a mess. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.000 And he mourns for his son Joseph. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.599 And instead of reflecting on it and saying, well, you know what? 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:52.400 At least I've got all these other boys, and it's time for me to show my love to them as well, he's like, at least I still have one more from Rachel, Benjamin. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:55.119 And he just takes all the favoritism he had for Joseph. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.039 Now he pours it all on Benjamin. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.000 The older brothers' lives are no better, and now they have to carry this guilt. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:01.440 It's just brokenness. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:03.680 I mean, we're talking broken home. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.839 Like we can't even imagine. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:08.480 So years go by. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:13.759 Years go by, and Joseph has risen through the ranks in Egypt, but his brothers have no idea. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.079 As far as they know, he's probably just dead. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.119 Like that's something that happened to slaves in that time period very often. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.720 They have no contact with him. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.880 There's a huge famine in their land. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:29.599 So all the older brothers, except for Benjamin, go to Egypt to try to get some food because Egypt has food because of Joseph's amazing leadership. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:34.559 They see Joseph, he's in charge of the food distribution, but they don't recognize him because he's gotten a lot older. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:35.599 He's dressed like an Egyptian. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.000 Why would they even think to look for him there? 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.119 He recognizes them and he tries to test them. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.440 He recognizes that Benjamin isn't with them. 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:46.880 And as far as Joseph's concerned, maybe they just got rid of Benjamin like they got rid of him. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:49.599 So he asks, Hey, do you have any other siblings? 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:50.640 Tell me about your family. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:59.759 They mentioned Benjamin, and he says, I'll tell you what, I will bring food to you, I will give you food as long as you bring Benjamin to me to prove to me that. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.839 You're telling the truth because I suspect you of being spies in this land. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.359 And they're like, No, no, no, no, no. 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:07.440 Our father would never let Benjamin come with us. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:09.359 He loves Benjamin so much. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:13.599 And Joseph, again, playing this charade, says, Okay, here's what I'm going to do. 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:14.720 I'm going to take one of you. 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:18.400 He takes an older brother, Simeon, he throws him in jail. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:25.839 He says, Tell your father that I will not release this one unless you bring this younger brother, Benjamin, to me. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:28.000 And so they end up going back. 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.880 And they tell their father Jacob about this. 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:32.480 Genesis chapter 42. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:36.720 When the brothers came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.920 The man who was governor of the land spoke very harshly to us, they told him. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.160 He accused us of being spies, scouting the land, but we said, We are honest men, not spies. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.400 We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.640 One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.880 Then the man who was the governor of the land told us, This is how I will find out if you are honest men. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:59.920 Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take the grain for your starving families and go on home. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:05.039 But you must bring your youngest brother back to me, and then I will know that you are honest men and not spies. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.640 Then I will give you back your brother, and you may trade freely in the land. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.599 He is all I have left. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:19.839 Imagine being these older brothers. 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:24.000 Benjamin is all I have left. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.559 I don't care about you. 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:27.200 Oh. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:33.359 If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.920 He basically says, Let Simeon die. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:37.359 I can handle that. 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.279 But if I lost Benjamin, I would never survive. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.920 Again, Jacob, he's just sort of the worst. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.279 And here's the crazy thing. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.720 Jacob ends up having his name changed to Israel. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:58.400 And he becomes the namesake of God's people. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:07.119 Like Abraham, when we read his story last week, you know, Abraham had some missteps, but right from the beginning of his story, you saw something redeeming in Abraham. 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:08.240 He was a man of faith. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:11.599 God speaks to him and says, Go, leave your country, follow me. 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:13.440 And right away, Abraham's like, I'm gonna go. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:16.000 And then as he goes, he makes some major mistakes and blunders. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.240 But at least he he responded with faith. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.200 At least we see that right off the bat in his story. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:25.359 We don't see anything redeeming in Jacob's story. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:29.519 He's a bad brother, he's a bad son, he's a bad husband, he's a bad father. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:33.599 Every time he has a chance to do the right thing, he doesn't. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.599 Every time he has a chance to do something selfish on his own behalf, he does. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:43.839 And he ends up being the one that God chooses to name his entire nation after. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:46.880 They're not the Abramites, they're the Israelites. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:48.720 They're named after this guy. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.599 Why? 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:51.680 Again, I'm just being honest. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.759 I grew up from fourth grade on going to church. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:54.480