Looking Out for Number One - Jacob Part 1

Bibles, turn if you would to Genesis chapter 25. Genesis chapter 25. Back a few months ago, we preached a series from the first three chapters of Romans on the righteousness of Christ and the necessity of faith. We are not saved by our own good works, by our own self righteousness because we are all sinners for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, how are we saved?

How is it that that we can have a relationship with a holy God even though we are unrighteous sinners? Well, through faith. By grace, through faith. That's how. It's by grace through faith that we have been saved.

Not of ourselves, the gift of who? God, not of works lest any man should boast. Not by works of righteousness we have done but according to his mercy, he saved us and how do we experience that mercy and that grace? We experience it through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, that is that only true in the New Testament?

Or is that also true in the Old Testament? It's also true in the Old Testament. We're reminded in Romans four, Paul writes, that Abraham was also saved by what? By faith and not works. He says and he quotes from Genesis 15, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for what?

For righteousness. And he became the friend of God. Abraham too was saved by his faith. He believed God and God counted that to him for the righteousness that he lacked. He lacked righteousness.

We even looked at the story of Abraham and saw that Abraham's faith was not perfect and he was not always righteous in everything he did but he has a righteous God and we have a righteous savior today and it's because of the righteousness of Christ. The grace of God and the opportunity through faith in the risen savior. To have that righteousness accounted, put in our account for us that we can have this blessed relationship with God today. So, we left Romans and we moved to Genesis. We looked at Abraham and Isaac and today, Jacob.

Today, Jacob. Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, Esau and Jacob. What can we learn concerning our faith and our journey of faith from these two boys today? I would like to focus the next couple of weeks mainly on Jacob. But first, a little background.

So, if you would, Genesis 25 verse 19. Genesis 25 verse 19. These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca to wife, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister to Laban, the Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, that is he prayed because she was barren and the Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca, his wife, conceived and the children struggled together within her and she said, if it be so, why am I thus?

And she went to inquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people shall be set of separated from thy bowels and the one people shall be stronger than the other people and the elder shall serve the younger and when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb and the first came out red all over like a hairy garment and they called his name Esau. Well, the name Esau means red and after that came his brother out and his hand took hold on Esau's heel and his name was Jacob and Isaac was three score years old when she bear them or 60. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear God, thank you Lord for your for this day and your word. We thank you Lord for the opportunity we have to look into it together to praise and worship you who have given us life, not only physical life but spiritual life through faith in Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.

May he be exalted in all we say and do today and may you use your word. May it not return void but may it fulfill that which you have sent it forth to do in our hearts today. We pray in Jesus name, amen. Like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca went childless for twenty years forty to sixty. God testing their faith before he gave them twins in response to their prayers of faith.

Most important legacy of Abraham and Sarah that they passed on to their son, Isaac, was his faith and his faith is demonstrated in his prayers to God and eventually, in God's time, answer to those prayers. I'm sure they prayed for many many years. Don't lose faith. God does answer prayer but he answers prayer in his what? In his time.

In his time. So, if there's something in your life that you're struggling with, if there's something that's discouraging, if there's some loved one that you're praying for who has needs, keep praying. Keep praying. Don't lose hope. God is almighty.

God will answer prayer. So, don't keep, don't quit praying. They didn't and God gave them two sons at once. God promised Rebecca and he told her that the older by a few minutes being Esau would serve the younger, Jacob, born grasping Ehaul Esau's heel. She believed God but like her son, as we'll see in a minute, thought God needed just a little bit of what?

A little bit of help in order to make that come true. And we'll see that and that causes all kinds of complications when we jump in and take responsibility that is not ours to take. As I thought on Jacob this past week, it occurred to me that early in life, Jacob was always looking out for Jacob's best interest as I mentioned earlier. Looking out for number what? Number one, always trying to find a way to get ahead, to get the upper hand, particularly on his brother Esau.

Well, I guess maybe that's not all uncommon with brothers to try to outdo the other but this led not only from their childhood but also into their adolescent and adult years as as well. Jacob was always, always diligently scheming. And always finding himself in hot water as a result. After all, Jacob's name, Jacob's name means supplanter or schemer and indeed early in life, that's what Jacob was. He was trying to supplant his brother as the as the greatest in his household as the older and he was always scheming to try to figure out how to get advantage over him.

Now, God had made a promise. Now, does God keep his promises? Yes, he does. Does he need us to be scheming in order to help him? No.

Does he need us to be praying? Yes, scheming. No. Be careful. God does things the right way.

We need to make sure that we're doing things the right way and not the wrong way. Consider the soup and the birthright in Genesis. You say, pastor, what are you talking about? The soup and the birthright. Well, look in verse 29 of chapter 25.

So, verse 29 of chapter 25. And we'll see the first example of Joseph Jacob's scheming. And Jacob sod pottage. Now, you probably haven't said sod pottage in a while. He made soup.

Okay, that's what he did. He made soup and Esau came from the field and he was faint. Oh, he was weary and he was tired. And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage or soup, for I am faint. Therefore, was his name called Edom.

Evidently, the soup was red in color. So, Esau was also called Edom. Both terms mean red. Jacob said, okay. I added the okay.

Jacob said, okay, sell me this day thy birthright and Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die and what profit shall this birthright do to me? Well, what was a birthright? Well, the birthright was given to the oldest son that was born to the family. And the birthright meant that he would receive a double portion of the inheritance and also other privileges and responsibilities as the head of the family. This was Esau's by again a few minutes.

I think only only a few minutes older than Jacob. And that assured him that he was going to receive the greater part of the land and inheritance and all of that when the when their parents, when their dad passed away. But Esau said, well, you know, I'm going to die of hunger here with birthrights not going to do me any good and so he said, okay. Verse 33, Jacob said, swear to me this day and he swear unto him and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then, Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way.

Thus, Esau despised his birthright. The birthright was rightfully Esau's but out of concern only for the what? Only for the moment and only for himself, he gave away that which was of incredible value. Simply for a bowl of what? Bowl of soup.

But the there's not only one bad actor here, there's actually what? Two. You know, here Esau comes in off the field. He's hungry. He's thirsty.

He's famished. His brother who was more of a a homeboy, home child, he he was the cook and he made him this bowl of soup. Well, you would think he would just have done what? Just given it to him. You know, mean, isn't the way you make food?

You give it, you know, I mean, it it wasn't a business he was in. He was just making food for the family but he saw in Esau's temperament and eye that he was so desperate, he decided to do what? To take advantage of the situation. And so, he convinced Esau to depart with his birthright in order to get a bowl of soup. Now, you might say, well, Jacob was quite shrewd.

Well, maybe so but he was also a schemer and he was also looking out just for who? For number one, himself. Jacob couldn't be satisfied with his place in the family so he schemed and persuaded his brother to give away the birthright for bowl of soup. Now, was that binding? I would guess so as Esau, he asked Esau to do what?

To swear to it, to take an oath, and Esau did. But in the least, Jacob had gained some advantage over his brother which he could try to use as leverage later. I I am guessing this is not the only time that Jacob did this kind of thing to Esau to try to get advantage over him. However, this is also a sad testament to the misplaced priorities of of Esau who seemed a slave to the passions of the moment and had little regard for the future of the Lord. That is the condition of a lot of people today.

No, no regard for the future, no regard for the consequences, and pick particularly no regard for who? For God. There's no fear of God before their eyes. The Bible says, it's appointed on the man once to die but after this the judgment and it seems like the world in which we live, people are so worried and concerned about temporal things they have, no thought nor time to think about eternal things. One day, when judgement day comes, they're going to regret that.

And so is Esau here in this passage. For what he did. Jacob got what he wanted but he did it whose way, his way, scheming. It worked. But pragmatism does not always yield the desired outcome in the end.

May seem to at the time but in the end, it often results in something else. Proverbs fourteen twelve, there's a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. There's a way that seems right to us. You know, well, you know, I'm I'm in this pickle and hey, here's the way out and I I can figure this out and I can do this and I just gotta lie a little and just do a little underhanded stuff and you know, I know I know God says this in his word that this thing is wrong or that thing is wrong but you know, but it's important and and it's going to end up right in the end and and so we run ahead of God, we don't listen to God, we do it our way, and it ends up a what? Ends up a mess.

Israel conquered Jericho. The walls fell down. Who knocked them down? God did. Why did God knock him down?

Because they obeyed and did as he told them. The next city, they didn't bother to ask God. It was a smaller city. They thought, hey, we got this. We don't even need to send the whole army.

We'll just send a part of it. Well, they sent that part of the army and they got run away. They lost. Lost 36 soldiers too. Got defeated by this little dinky city.

What was the problem? They didn't do it whose way? God's good. They didn't realize that the reason they won Jericho was because of God, not because of them. Sometimes, we do the same thing.

Always best to do it God's way. There's a way that might seem right to you but if it's not God's way, then, watch out. It's probably going to end badly. That brings us to Genesis 27. Genesis 27.

Now, Jacob's father, Isaac, is up in years and He is calling his sons to give them their part of the blessing, the inheritance. Well, evidently, Isaac didn't put much stock in the soup incident. And so he was going to give the greater inheritance to who? To Esau anyway and Rebecca and Jacob, well, could they have that? Could they let that happen?

I mean, would God's promise to Rebecca come true? If if they let Isaac give the blessing to Esau? Well, at least that's what they must have been what? Thinking in their head. We can't let that happen.

So again, the scheming began. Isaac being nearly blind, Jacob was able to deceive him by pretending to be his brother Esau. And therefore, Jacob got the blessing intended for Esau. But at what cost? Look if you went in verse 18, we'll see the last half of the story And Jacob came unto his father and said, my father and he said, here am I, who art thou my son?

Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou baits me, asked me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat my venison and that thy soul shall be my bless thee and Isaac said unto his son, how is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? He had asked Esau to go kill an animal to prepare for him. Whether because the Lord thy God brought it to me, Jacob said.

Verse 21, Isaac said unto Jacob, come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son, Esau or not, and Jacob went near unto Isaac, his father and he felt him and said, the voice is Jacob's voice but the hands are Esau's hands. Well, that's because his mother had taken skins of an animal and put on his hands that were nice and furry. So, it feel like Esau. And Jacob went, let's see. Verse 23 and he discerned him not.

That is Isaac did not did not know it was Jacob because his hands were hearing his brother Esau's hands so he blessed him and said, art thou my son, Esau, and he said, I am. And he said, bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee, and he brought it near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine, and he drank, and his father Isaac said unto him, come near and kiss my son and he came near and kissed him and he smelled the smell of his raiment and blessed him. Well, that's because they clothed him in Esau's clothing and said, see the smell of my son is the smell of the field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore, God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee and nations bow down to thee.

Be Lord over thy brethren and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be everyone that curseth thee and blessed be he that blesseth thee. So, Jacob deceased his father and he got the greater blessing. So, they fixed it, didn't they? Jay, Isaac was going to do the wrong thing.

God had said, Jacob was to have the big greater blessing and so, Rebecca and Jacob, they, you know, they fixed it. They schemed and they deceived and hey, now it's going to all turn out alright, right? Not quite. Not quite. Just think for a moment.

Did God give, did God have to abide by the blessing of Isaac? Did God have to abide by the blessing of Isaac? If Isaac blessed Esau greater than Jacob, does that mean that God is required to bless Esau greater than Jacob? I don't think so. I don't think God had to abide by Isaac's blessing.

Isaac could've blessed Esau all he wanted to. The blessings didn't come from Isaac. The blessings came from who? From God. Could not have God overruled?

Sure, he could have. Sure, he could have. Rebecca and Jacob didn't have to jump in there and fix things for God. God had it all under control but sometimes we think that. Well, it's not going the way it's supposed to God.

So, I'm going to have to just I'm going to have to quit going to church and take an extra shift on Sunday. I'm going to have to quit doing this or doing that or I don't have time for this ministry or I don't have time for my family or I've gotta do something shady in order to earn just a little bit more. Who are you forgetting about? Came out God. You think you have to do it all on your own?

You don't. You don't have to do it all on your own. As we talked about in Sunday school, God has it all. He owns it all. He says to those who will seek first the kingdom of God that he shall provide all of their needs for them.

You're not in this alone Don't forget about the one who made you and everything around you. Who owns it all? Well, Jacob and Rebecca didn't do too well in that way. Jacob just couldn't trust God and take the chance. Couldn't wait on the Lord.

So, he took matters into his own hands and as a result, he had to leave home suddenly. So, his older brother did not kill him. So, here's the result. He got the blessing. Esau came back a few minutes later.

He had went, he had found and killed an animal, he had dressed it, he had cooked it, and now he brought it to his father to get his blessing and his father says, what? But I already blessed you and Esau but it wasn't me and Esau was just a little bit what? Upset and angry and who was he angry with? He was angry with Jacob, his brother and Esau was a mighty hunter and he had probably 20 different ways to do away with his brother if he wanted to. Reminds me of two other brothers in Genesis chapter four.

Who would they be? Cain and Abel. Except with this twist, Abel was killed by Cain because he was doing the right thing. Esau was angry at Jacob because he did the wrong thing. And he probably would have killed him.

But realizing what was about to happen, his parents sent Jacob away. They told him, go to your uncle's place and pay down Aram and stay there. So, your brother does not kill you. It would be twenty some years after that before he saw his brother again. And not his father.

He and his mom believed God but they were acting as though they did not believe or trust in God's promise and power. Do not make the same mistake as they. You say I believe in God, okay? You believe in God, trust him. You believe he's almighty?

Trust him. You believe he has your best interest at heart? Trust him. Don't run ahead. Don't decide God's way just isn't going to work.

I'm going to have to do it. My way because you're just going to dig yourself into a hole and then when you get at the bottom, you're going to be looking up going, how in the world did I get down here and how do I get back out? Trust God. You say you believe in him, trust him. Trust God to provide and give your tithe and offerings to the Lord.

Trust God and go where he leads you. Trust God and tell the truth. Admit your failures and your sin. Trust God. Take time out of your day to talk with him.

Trust God and fill in the blank. Whatever is relevant to you. What is it that you tend to struggle with God about? Struggle to trust him and to do the right thing and let God take care of the rest. He will not fail you.

You will fail you often. He will not fail you. Consequently, however, before Jacob left, Isaac did pass along to him the blessing of Abraham and like Abraham, told Jacob not to take away from the Canaanites but from his family back in Padan Aram. That is in chapter 28 that Isaac gives Jacob that blessing. That was the blessing that was really the important one and again, that blessing didn't just come from Abraham and Isaac, it came from who?

It came from God. He said in chapter 28 verse three, God almighty blessed thee and make thee fruitful and multiply thee that thou mayest be a multitude of people and give thee the blessing of Abraham to thee and to thy seed with thee that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger which God gave in Abraham. That was the blessing that God gave to Abraham way back in Genesis 12 that's now passed along to Jacob. Pass along to Jacob because Jacob was such a good kid? No.

Pass along to Jacob because God said so and God chose so and God wasn't done with Jacob yet and he's not done with you yet either by the way. Although Jacob's faith in God seems a bit shaky or at least shallow, God had chosen him, blessed him, and would work in him to make him the person he needed him to be. That's what God is trying to do for you and for me. We need to get out of the way and let him do it. He will.

He has promised that which has he has began, he will what? He will finish in us. He stuck with Jacob. Praise God. He is willing to be patient with us.

He does not give up on his sheep. Even the stubborn and strong willed ones. And while God keeps working, you would better start what? We had better start what? Listening and heeding what he has to say.

Because when we don't, things will only go badly. In Jacob's case, running for his life, sleeping on a stone in the desert. Proverbs three, five, and six tells us, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not into thine own understanding, all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths but Galatians six seven tells us this, be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

You trust God, he's going to direct your paths and that will turn out well in the end. You just watch and see. But if you decide to go at your own way, you will reap what you sow and what you you sow outside the will of God is not going to be good. It's going to be bad. That's the point and so Jacob finds himself in the desert hunting for a rock to use as a pillow all by himself trying to find his way several 100 miles to his uncle's house to escape his brother, to escape the hand of his brother who's trying to kill him.

Not exactly the best results there. That brings us to the third point or situation here. We have the soup. We have the blessing of Isaac. And now we have Bethel.

Bethel, it means house of God. The place wasn't called Bethel when Jacob comes to it in the desert. It's called Luz. It is named Bethel as he renames it because as he lays down on his rock for his pillow in the wilderness, God comes to him in a dream. God reveals himself to Jacob in a way that he had never done so and Jacob listened in a way that he had never done so.

Before. Verse 12 of chapter 28, twenty eight twelve. And he dreamed and behold a ladder sent up on the earth and the top of it reached the heaven. And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, the thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land wherein thou liest to thee will I give it and to thy seed and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth and thou shalt spread abroad to the West, to the East, to the North, and to the South, and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God's promise to him. He says, behold, I am with thee. I will keep thee in all places whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. So, God comes to Jacob in a dream and he says, Jacob, you know that blessing that your dad gave you before you left the house?

Well, it's not just his blessing, it's what? It's my blessing. It's my promise to you. I'm going to make of you a great nation. I'm going to bring you back here and you're going to cover the your descendants are going to cover the land and I will be with you wherever you go to bring you back here to fulfill that promise that I have made to you.

Had God forgotten Jacob? No. Was God done with Jacob? No. Was God going to keep his promise?

Yes. Jacob made things a little bit more complicated and difficult for who? For himself. By not simply trusting God. That's what happens when we decide, well, God, your way isn't good enough.

I'm going to have to help you out here. We just make things more complicated for us in life. It's at times like these when we are in distress like Jacob was that God speaks to us for it is often the time when we are most likely to listen. When things are going really good, we think that we have everything what? Under control and we're just not listening to God.

When things are going badly, well then, we get to thinking, you know, I am in trouble and I need God's help. So, we open our ear to God and that's what happened here to Jacob and sometimes God has to let us sink to such lows in order to get our attention. Best, it doesn't have to come to that, right? Right. Best, it doesn't have to come to that low point to where we listen to God.

Hopefully, we'll learn to listen and trust and obey before we get there. It's best for us if we do. But if you find yourself in such a place, now is the time to listen. Don't keep shutting God out. Listen, reminds me of a program on the radio I heard as a child.

The program on Christian radio was entitled Unshackled. Anybody remember Unshackled? Unshackled were is the stories that were told. Concerning the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago was the first large rescue mission in the country of its kind and through the years, life after life after life was rescued. Not only physically but also spiritually by the ministry of this rescue mission.

Souls were saved, lives were changed because somebody cared and somebody trusted God and somebody was willing to be used of him and God picked up person after person out of the ditch off the street and changed their lives forever. God is still able to do that by the way today. God is almighty. He's powerful but he's also loving and merciful and if we are willing to turn an open ear to him, he is willing to turn an open ear to us. And help us out of whatever hole we've dug ourselves into.

And so he does for Jacob. There in the dark, all alone in the wilderness, God himself repeats the blessing to Jacob and it's God's blessing that counts by the way, not man's. Sometimes, we forget that. The Pharisees of Christ day lived for the praise of men that had little actual time or interest in service to God or of his reward and praise. Be careful not to live for the praise of men.

Genuine or not. For the praise of man does not always lead us to the right way nor does it tend to keep us humble. And humble is what we need to be. And sometimes in order for God to get us humble, he has to take us through the valley to get us to the top of the next hill. Thus, it was with Jacob.

And thus it is with us. It is the praise and blessing of God that we should be desiring. It is the place and blessing and reward of God that should be on our hearts and minds that should direct us in our decisions that we make in life. Anyway, Jacob responds in faith and he gives us the first glimpse of what Jacob could and one day would be. That's in Genesis 28 verse 20.

Verse 20, Jacob vowed a vow saying, if God will be with me and will keep me in the way that I go and will give me bread, tea, and raiment to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, Then shall the Lord be my God and this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee. We see a glimpse into Jacob's faith here. It took a revelation from God's heaven to get his attention but he did respond in faith but even in that response, we see a hint. A hint of uncertainty and still a bit of bargaining. If God, you will do this, then, I will do that.

Now, it seems he believed that God would do it and he was committed to giving a tenth of his possessions and his time himself. Lord, but he still uses the word if as though he's not quite sure and he's still bargaining with God. But before you're too quick to judge Jake, if you might want to take stock of your faith in areas in which you demonstrate weakness too. Jacob's weakness was in his scheming nature. What's yours?

Say, well, pastor, I'm not a schemer. Okay. Good. What's your weakness? You have one.

There's something in your nature and in your life that you struggle with. You need God's help. You need to turn it over to who? You need to turn over the Lord. You need to trust him.

You need to do it his way and not your way. He'll lead you in the way what? Everlasting. He'll set a table before you in the presence of your enemies. He'll lead you beside still waters.

He'll protect you with his rod and his staff. He'll lead you to green pastures. If you will learn to follow the shepherd and trust him. And not try to go it your own way. What is your weakness?

It would be another twenty years and a lot more heartache and toil and trouble before Jacob would surrender more fully to his God. Learn to care more for others than himself. And to wait on the Lord. We're going to look at some of that next week. And praise God, he did it.

He did. He did change but it did not have to take so long nor does it have to take so long with us. But if you find yourself in Jacob's shoes, two things in closing, take heart and take heed. Take heart, God is not done with you yet. And God can turn things around.

He can. Don't lose hope. Trust in God. And take heed. Listen to what he has to say.

Don't just say you believe what he has to say. Actually, trust and obey. Do as he directs. Go to him for direction. And instruction and help.

And he will lead you right. He says in Jeremiah thirty three three, to a rebellious nation, He says, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Let's pray. Dearly father, we thank you Lord. For Jacob, it is sad Lord to see his struggles and his scheming ways and his weak faith.

And the trouble that it caused him but Lord, we're thankful that you did not give up on him. You did not forsake him. And Lord, you promised your children today that despite the struggles we have, you will never leave us nor forsake us. But Lord, I pray that we would take heart today and we would take heed to your word. That we would live for the glory of our God, that we would learn to trust and obey and whatever weakness it is that you're putting your finger on today, that Lord, we would give that to you and trust you with that.

Lord, help us. Forgive us. And show us great and mighty things today. Lord, help us to heed your word and your call and Lord, if there's one here in this service today that's never trusted you as the Lord and savior of their life. They're trying to get to heaven by their own good works.

They think they might get there just by coming to church but Lord, good works won't cut it. Lord, I pray that you'd help them to see today your love and what you did for them so they could get to heaven. And that they would trust Jesus Christ who died on the cross for their sins. As their Lord and savior, that they would entrust their soul to you today. They would tell you about it in prayer and you would save them forever.