1 00:00:01,333 --> 00:00:03,666 Chapter number 25. 2 00:00:10,166 --> 00:00:11,366 Genesis 25. 3 00:00:11,366 --> 00:00:14,433 Verse 19 through 34. 4 00:00:14,433 --> 00:00:19,866 I 5 00:00:19,866 --> 00:00:22,733 title, I don't normally put titles to my sermon. 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:24,066 So y'all let me know what you think. 7 00:00:24,133 --> 00:00:27,899 Rachel, let me know what she thought, and we may not be getting anymore. 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,000 We're going to be talking about Jacob. 9 00:00:33,066 --> 00:00:35,233 God's rogue his rascal. 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,266 And his birth. 11 00:00:38,399 --> 00:00:41,466 All right, Genesis chapter 25 12 00:00:41,466 --> 00:00:43,100 versus 19 through 34, 13 00:00:43,166 --> 00:00:46,333 God's word says, now these are the records of the 14 00:00:46,333 --> 00:00:47,700 generations of Isaac. 15 00:00:47,766 --> 00:00:48,966 Abraham's son. 16 00:00:49,033 --> 00:00:51,366 Abraham became the father of Isaac. 17 00:00:51,433 --> 00:00:54,799 And Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah, the 18 00:00:54,799 --> 00:00:59,233 daughter of Bethuel, the Aramaean, of Padam, 19 00:00:59,233 --> 00:01:02,066 the sister of Oban, the Aramaean, to be his wife. 20 00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:05,166 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of 21 00:01:05,166 --> 00:01:06,833 his wife because she was barren. 22 00:01:06,966 --> 00:01:10,633 And the Lord answered him, and Rebecca, his wife, conceived. 23 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:13,766 But the children struggled together with her, and she 24 00:01:13,766 --> 00:01:17,733 said, if it is so, why the not am I this way? 25 00:01:17,833 --> 00:01:20,833 So she went to inquire the Lord. 26 00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:23,900 The Lord said to her, 2 nations are in your womb, and 27 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:27,000 2 peoples will be separated from your body, and one people 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,066 shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall 29 00:01:30,066 --> 00:01:31,200 serve the younger. 30 00:01:31,266 --> 00:01:34,266 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, 31 00:01:34,266 --> 00:01:36,000 behold, there were twins in her womb. 32 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,166 Now the 1st came out, came forth red, all 33 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,833 over like a hairy garment, and they named him Esau. 34 00:01:41,966 --> 00:01:45,000 Afterward, his brother came forth with his hand holding on 35 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:46,200 to Esau's heel. 36 00:01:46,266 --> 00:01:48,299 So his name was called Jacob. 37 00:01:48,366 --> 00:01:51,733 And Isaac was 60 years old when she gave birth to them. 38 00:01:51,799 --> 00:01:54,966 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. 39 00:01:55,033 --> 00:01:58,866 a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man living in tents. 40 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,066 Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for 41 00:02:02,066 --> 00:02:04,000 game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. 42 00:02:04,033 --> 00:02:05,900 When Jacob had cooked stew. 43 00:02:05,966 --> 00:02:09,133 Esau came in from the field, and he was famished, and 44 00:02:09,133 --> 00:02:12,133 Esau said to Jacob, please, let me have a swallow of 45 00:02:12,133 --> 00:02:14,366 that red stuff there, for I am famished. 46 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,733 Therefore, his name was called Adom. 47 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,033 But Jacob said, 1st sell me your birthright. 48 00:02:20,099 --> 00:02:23,333 Esau said, behold, I am about to die, so 49 00:02:23,366 --> 00:02:25,633 of what use then is the birthright to me. 50 00:02:25,699 --> 00:02:27,666 And Jacob said, 1st swear to me. 51 00:02:27,733 --> 00:02:30,266 So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 52 00:02:30,300 --> 00:02:33,833 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and 53 00:02:33,866 --> 00:02:37,400 he ate and drank and rose and went on his way, thus 54 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:39,666 Esau despised his birthright. 55 00:02:39,733 --> 00:02:40,199 Let's pray. 56 00:02:40,266 --> 00:02:42,433 heaven Father, we love you and thank you for this morning again. 57 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:46,233 We thank you for your word that you've given us to teach us your ways. 58 00:02:46,266 --> 00:02:48,199 I pray that we would listen today intently. 59 00:02:48,266 --> 00:02:51,500 You bless our minds and our hearts for your word, and the message in 60 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:55,033 spite of the messenger, for your grace and your glory in Christ's name. 61 00:02:55,099 --> 00:02:55,533 Amen. 62 00:02:55,566 --> 00:02:59,233 All right, so we have made our way back to the 63 00:02:59,233 --> 00:03:01,166 1st section of the Old Testament. 64 00:03:01,199 --> 00:03:04,800 Remember last time we were in Amos, and now we're 65 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,533 back into the Pentateuch and into the 1st book of the Bible, Genesis. 66 00:03:08,599 --> 00:03:11,666 And, uh, I know everyone's memory is real 67 00:03:11,666 --> 00:03:14,900 fresh, and, and, and remember, you remember everything. 68 00:03:14,966 --> 00:03:18,199 So about a year and a half ago, if you do remember, we 69 00:03:18,199 --> 00:03:21,266 talked about the Abrahamic covenant and 70 00:03:21,266 --> 00:03:24,333 how God, by his grace, his 71 00:03:24,333 --> 00:03:27,366 grace alone chose this man, seemingly 72 00:03:27,366 --> 00:03:30,533 random to us, from the land of Ur 73 00:03:30,566 --> 00:03:33,633 of the Chaldees, to be a nomad and 74 00:03:33,633 --> 00:03:36,900 leave his home land, to form a 75 00:03:36,900 --> 00:03:40,033 new family in a new country in the Near East, which 76 00:03:40,033 --> 00:03:45,566 we would later be called Israel, and later, our 77 00:03:45,666 --> 00:03:48,833 Lord and Savior would come from his family in that land. 78 00:03:49,166 --> 00:03:52,400 He promised that out of the nation that 79 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,466 he would build out of Abraham's family, that 80 00:03:55,466 --> 00:03:58,633 blessings would come to the whole world, and we 81 00:03:58,633 --> 00:03:59,766 see that is true. 82 00:03:59,833 --> 00:04:03,266 I mean, look at all the nations and ethnic backgrounds we 83 00:04:03,266 --> 00:04:06,266 have here, not all of us are Jews. 84 00:04:06,300 --> 00:04:10,133 Um, were all kinds of mix of all kinds of different things here. 85 00:04:10,199 --> 00:04:13,199 But the blessings of God has come to the whole 86 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:16,733 world, through the promises that he made, to Abraham, 87 00:04:16,766 --> 00:04:18,333 end in Genesis. 88 00:04:18,366 --> 00:04:21,433 And there's something about the promise 89 00:04:21,433 --> 00:04:24,433 and the situation when God made the promise to 90 00:04:24,433 --> 00:04:26,233 Abraham that is extremely remarkable. 91 00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:30,000 And we're going to see over and over again in this 92 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,366 family with the promises that God makes to this family. 93 00:04:33,433 --> 00:04:36,733 But let's 1st look back and remember what that part 94 00:04:36,733 --> 00:04:39,366 of that promise was that we looked at in Genesis 15.5. 95 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:41,266 And he took him outside. 96 00:04:41,366 --> 00:04:44,500 This is God taking Abraham outside and said, now look 97 00:04:44,500 --> 00:04:47,833 toward the heavens and count the stars, if 98 00:04:47,833 --> 00:04:48,966 you are able to count them. 99 00:04:49,033 --> 00:04:52,800 And he said to him, so show your descendants be. 100 00:04:52,866 --> 00:04:55,866 Now, unfortunately for God, 101 00:04:55,866 --> 00:04:58,866 Abram may have been the wrong 102 00:04:58,866 --> 00:05:02,633 man from the error of the Chaldees to pick because there was an issue. 103 00:05:02,699 --> 00:05:05,933 There was an issue with Abram and 104 00:05:05,966 --> 00:05:09,100 fulfilling this promise to have a nation 105 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:12,233 and descendants as many of the stars are from the sky. 106 00:05:12,300 --> 00:05:13,433 And Genesis 151. 107 00:05:13,633 --> 00:05:16,800 It says after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram 108 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,166 in a vision saying, do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you. 109 00:05:20,233 --> 00:05:22,266 Your reward shall be very great. 110 00:05:22,266 --> 00:05:25,500 Verse two, Abram said, O Lord, God, what will you give me? 111 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:27,733 Since I am childless. 112 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,266 Abram and his wife Sarai were 113 00:05:31,266 --> 00:05:33,199 barren, childless. 114 00:05:33,266 --> 00:05:34,933 They had fertility issues. 115 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,133 And on top of that, at this point, 116 00:05:38,133 --> 00:05:42,466 even though they weren't able to have kids in the past, now they were very old. 117 00:05:42,566 --> 00:05:44,966 Abraham in his 90s. 118 00:05:46,199 --> 00:05:49,433 But God didn't make it promise 119 00:05:49,466 --> 00:05:50,899 that he doesn't keep. 120 00:05:50,966 --> 00:05:53,733 God keeps every promise that he makes. 121 00:05:53,766 --> 00:05:57,500 And this was certainly the case, because even with their barrenness, 122 00:05:57,500 --> 00:06:01,166 and even in their old age, God 123 00:06:01,166 --> 00:06:04,866 blessed them with a son that they named Isaac. 124 00:06:04,866 --> 00:06:07,866 And all who would come after everything 125 00:06:07,866 --> 00:06:11,000 we read in the Old Testament about the Hebrew people, 126 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,600 all of them come from this promise that 127 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:16,933 God kept to Abraham. 128 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,366 And by extension of that promise, 129 00:06:20,399 --> 00:06:23,533 All of us who are in the faith, are 130 00:06:23,533 --> 00:06:26,533 recipients of that promise, and that covenant that he 131 00:06:26,533 --> 00:06:29,666 made to Abraham as well, through Christ, 132 00:06:29,666 --> 00:06:33,066 the promised seed, that God brought 133 00:06:33,066 --> 00:06:36,233 through Abraham's family that blessed 134 00:06:36,266 --> 00:06:37,533 the whole world. 135 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,399 So Abraham gets several chapters 136 00:06:41,399 --> 00:06:44,533 starting, I think in verse 12, and going all 137 00:06:44,533 --> 00:06:47,699 the way up here into the 20s, but Isaac, his 138 00:06:47,699 --> 00:06:51,666 son, the promised son only gets 2 chapters devoted to him. 139 00:06:51,733 --> 00:06:55,466 Chapter number 24, and then again, in chapter number 26. 140 00:06:55,699 --> 00:06:59,166 And most of that was explaining how Abraham 141 00:06:59,166 --> 00:07:03,133 found him a wife of his own family in 142 00:07:03,133 --> 00:07:04,500 Rebecca. 143 00:07:04,866 --> 00:07:09,233 But uh, Jacob, 144 00:07:09,266 --> 00:07:12,033 on the other hand, gets about 10 chapters. 145 00:07:12,066 --> 00:07:15,533 So a lot of the Old Testament account of Abraham's 146 00:07:15,566 --> 00:07:18,800 family is devoted to Jacob, and then into 147 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,333 Jacob's son and Joseph. 148 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:25,633 But as usual, the Bible gives 149 00:07:25,633 --> 00:07:29,233 a very detailed account of 150 00:07:29,233 --> 00:07:32,300 not only the good things about these men 151 00:07:32,300 --> 00:07:35,433 and women, and the storied 152 00:07:35,433 --> 00:07:39,133 life of Jacob is told in great detail with all the blemishes, 153 00:07:39,133 --> 00:07:42,433 that in the deformities that he had, and 154 00:07:42,433 --> 00:07:45,266 those are in the forefront of these accounts. 155 00:07:45,300 --> 00:07:48,433 So, in other ancient literature, when 156 00:07:48,433 --> 00:07:51,500 there's a, they're trying to create a mythology or 157 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:54,733 a fairy tale, the protagonist, the main characters, 158 00:07:54,733 --> 00:07:58,266 are usually portrayed as Supermen, uh, 159 00:07:58,266 --> 00:08:01,800 with, that they can just destroy armies by themselves with 160 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,033 one spear, or, and they can, they, they don't make any mistakes. 161 00:08:05,100 --> 00:08:07,066 They always do the right thing. 162 00:08:07,166 --> 00:08:11,800 But in the scripture, it's a little different. 163 00:08:11,833 --> 00:08:13,266 There's no filter. 164 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:14,366 Here. 165 00:08:14,399 --> 00:08:17,866 We have Jacob, as we'll see, full 166 00:08:17,899 --> 00:08:21,600 of issues and deformities and blemishes, 167 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,066 and scripture brings those out. 168 00:08:24,133 --> 00:08:27,199 In fact, a lot of his blemishes are brought out 169 00:08:27,199 --> 00:08:30,933 more and more detail than the good things about him. 170 00:08:30,966 --> 00:08:33,966 But because of this, we are 171 00:08:33,966 --> 00:08:37,266 able to relate with Jacob and to really 172 00:08:37,266 --> 00:08:40,266 relate to the stories and the accounts of his life 173 00:08:40,266 --> 00:08:41,899 here in scripture. 174 00:08:41,966 --> 00:08:45,066 And so were all the people 175 00:08:45,066 --> 00:08:46,700 who were reading it at first. 176 00:08:46,766 --> 00:08:50,433 Jacob is God's rascal. 177 00:08:50,466 --> 00:08:51,799 He's God's rogue. 178 00:08:51,866 --> 00:08:55,399 He's a man who uses treachery and 179 00:08:55,399 --> 00:08:57,200 deceit to get ahead. 180 00:08:57,266 --> 00:09:00,566 But God uses the clay of 181 00:09:00,566 --> 00:09:03,700 Jacob's life to make a beautiful sculpture that 182 00:09:03,700 --> 00:09:07,566 we can mire as we read and study his story in 183 00:09:07,566 --> 00:09:11,399 this history of redemption, his part in it. 184 00:09:11,466 --> 00:09:14,633 And with this, we can really be 185 00:09:14,666 --> 00:09:17,666 thankful, because we are all made out of 186 00:09:17,666 --> 00:09:18,866 the same clay. 187 00:09:18,899 --> 00:09:20,833 We're all a mess. 188 00:09:20,899 --> 00:09:23,966 Our God's rogue gallery of sin 189 00:09:23,966 --> 00:09:27,100 and complication that God uses in the 190 00:09:27,100 --> 00:09:30,200 same way that God used Jacob's life, 191 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,366 blemishes in all. 192 00:09:32,399 --> 00:09:35,766 And fortunately for us, even though we're kind of the same, 193 00:09:35,766 --> 00:09:39,000 most of us here in Podunk, uh, central 194 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,133 Louisiana, um, are 195 00:09:42,133 --> 00:09:45,200 complicated on a much less, a much 196 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,733 smaller scale than Jacob was. 197 00:09:47,766 --> 00:09:51,133 And our blemishes aren't going to be recorded in scripture 198 00:09:51,133 --> 00:09:55,399 for 1000000s and 1000000s of people throughout time to 199 00:09:55,399 --> 00:09:56,966 be recorded and to read. 200 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,299 So just like the birth of Isaac, 201 00:10:00,299 --> 00:10:03,466 where Sarah and Abraham were barren, 202 00:10:03,500 --> 00:10:06,500 and they prayed, and God told them that he would have a 203 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:09,333 son, and they were old, and they still had a son. 204 00:10:09,366 --> 00:10:13,033 The things in Jacob's life, his life started out very 205 00:10:13,033 --> 00:10:16,399 complicated, but not too complicated for 206 00:10:16,399 --> 00:10:19,566 the God of the universe, the sovereign over 207 00:10:19,566 --> 00:10:22,633 all things, including the reproductive 208 00:10:22,633 --> 00:10:24,500 system of men and of women. 209 00:10:24,566 --> 00:10:28,100 He is able to use this rogue in 210 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:31,266 Jacob to carry out all his plans and to 211 00:10:31,266 --> 00:10:34,633 bring about this great nation and his plan of redemption. 212 00:10:34,766 --> 00:10:38,066 So let's begin and look at Jacob's life, and 213 00:10:38,066 --> 00:10:41,700 see how this covenant that God made to Abram, 214 00:10:41,700 --> 00:10:45,133 who later become Abraham, would be 215 00:10:45,133 --> 00:10:48,500 worked out through Jacob's life, even with all the complications 216 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:52,700 that were given in Jacob's life. 217 00:10:52,766 --> 00:10:56,399 The 1st one is the complication of Jacob's 218 00:10:56,399 --> 00:10:58,799 family tree versus 19 or 20. 219 00:10:59,100 --> 00:11:03,133 Now, these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. 220 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,333 Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was 40 years 221 00:11:06,333 --> 00:11:09,733 old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, 222 00:11:09,733 --> 00:11:12,733 the Aramaean, of Pedan Aram, 223 00:11:12,733 --> 00:11:16,166 the sister of Loban, the Aramaean, to be his wife. 224 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,933 If you're familiar with your own family 225 00:11:19,933 --> 00:11:23,399 tree, your family history, you are surely 226 00:11:23,399 --> 00:11:26,033 aware of complications that exists in it. 227 00:11:26,466 --> 00:11:30,066 All of us have that odd crazy person, 228 00:11:30,066 --> 00:11:33,066 that an uncle from a long time ago, our 229 00:11:33,066 --> 00:11:36,433 aunt, that was not all there, and maybe 230 00:11:36,433 --> 00:11:39,500 made the newspaper for this or for that, or maybe 231 00:11:39,500 --> 00:11:43,033 there was a tragic story in your family history, 232 00:11:43,033 --> 00:11:47,100 that maybe you learn about later, or maybe you were closely related to. 233 00:11:47,166 --> 00:11:50,166 And sometimes, we all have real 234 00:11:50,166 --> 00:11:54,066 heroes in our family trees, people that are 235 00:11:54,066 --> 00:11:57,899 strong, men and women of honor and character that 236 00:11:57,899 --> 00:12:00,600 we can look back and copy. 237 00:12:00,666 --> 00:12:04,333 The family trees in scripture are no different. 238 00:12:04,399 --> 00:12:07,500 And the book of Genesis, especially, has a bunch of 239 00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,566 these family trees, these histories 240 00:12:10,566 --> 00:12:12,000 of families. 241 00:12:12,066 --> 00:12:15,533 In fact, as you go through the book of Genesis, 242 00:12:15,566 --> 00:12:18,866 it is divided by these family 243 00:12:18,866 --> 00:12:22,000 trees, they're in this 1st verse 244 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,433 of our passage, the Hebrew word Tolodoff is 245 00:12:25,466 --> 00:12:29,133 used when it talks about generations or the descendants of. 246 00:12:29,166 --> 00:12:32,633 And so these are the generations of Isaac. 247 00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:35,100 And you will see that over and over again. 248 00:12:35,233 --> 00:12:39,000 So the people have divided the book of Genesis up with that toledoth, 249 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,066 that Hebrew word that means generations of, 250 00:12:42,066 --> 00:12:45,833 this is the family tree of this man or that man. 251 00:12:45,899 --> 00:12:48,899 And so Jacob's account begins to 252 00:12:48,899 --> 00:12:52,033 be told with the lineage, up to that 253 00:12:52,033 --> 00:12:55,866 point, starting with Isaac and going back to Abraham. 254 00:12:55,933 --> 00:12:59,066 And this is an important thing 255 00:12:59,066 --> 00:13:02,366 for us to realize, especially in scripture, especially 256 00:13:02,366 --> 00:13:05,366 in Genesis, because the direct recipients 257 00:13:05,366 --> 00:13:08,433 of the book of Genesis, the ones that it was originally 258 00:13:08,433 --> 00:13:11,533 given to by the author Moses, were 259 00:13:11,533 --> 00:13:14,966 a people who just came out of Egyptian slavery 260 00:13:14,966 --> 00:13:16,399 of 400 years. 261 00:13:16,466 --> 00:13:19,399 Now, I don't know about you. 262 00:13:19,466 --> 00:13:22,833 Maybe you have been connected to your family for a couple generations. 263 00:13:22,866 --> 00:13:26,833 I know we have some great, great grandparents here in the room. 264 00:13:26,899 --> 00:13:30,333 And so, But 265 00:13:30,333 --> 00:13:33,733 I don't know past a couple of my generations back. 266 00:13:33,799 --> 00:13:36,799 So imagine going back 400 years. 267 00:13:36,866 --> 00:13:38,799 Where did you come from? 268 00:13:38,833 --> 00:13:40,566 Who are you exactly? 269 00:13:40,633 --> 00:13:43,700 Um, the the Jews, the 270 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:48,733 Hebrew people, uh, were not always Egyptian slaves. 271 00:13:48,866 --> 00:13:52,000 And so Moses, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 272 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,700 wrote this book down to show all the way back to the beginning, where 273 00:13:55,700 --> 00:13:59,766 do you, who are you and where did you come from? 274 00:13:59,833 --> 00:14:03,266 Where are you supposed to be now that God has rescued 275 00:14:03,266 --> 00:14:07,166 you through the exodus, from Egyptian slavery? 276 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,866 And now if we zoom out, it's 277 00:14:10,866 --> 00:14:13,866 important to us, as we see the things that were 278 00:14:13,866 --> 00:14:16,933 written to these ex-Egyptian slaves, to show 279 00:14:16,933 --> 00:14:20,100 them who they were, it's important to see that from 280 00:14:20,100 --> 00:14:23,266 the beginning of Genesis, and to the end of 281 00:14:23,299 --> 00:14:26,433 Genesis, when the Hebrew people become Egyptian slaves, 282 00:14:26,433 --> 00:14:30,166 that God made promises to their 283 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,433 ancestors, Abraham, was the Egyptian, the Hebrew 284 00:14:33,433 --> 00:14:36,566 people's ancestor, and now they would be able to start 285 00:14:36,566 --> 00:14:37,700 connecting the dots 286 00:14:37,933 --> 00:14:41,166 to see that he was keeping his promises even 287 00:14:41,166 --> 00:14:44,299 hundreds of years later, even through the pain and 288 00:14:44,299 --> 00:14:47,299 the trial, the complication of 289 00:14:47,299 --> 00:14:48,733 Egyptian slavery. 290 00:14:48,799 --> 00:14:52,033 And so as they read it, as we read this book and 291 00:14:52,033 --> 00:14:55,399 these stories and accounts, we can see the bigger picture that 292 00:14:55,399 --> 00:14:59,000 God is trying to paint of his faithfulness 293 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,566 and of the story. 294 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,733 So there's a lot more here than 295 00:15:03,733 --> 00:15:07,200 just one lifetime than the problems 296 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,466 that Jacob runs into in his life. 297 00:15:09,566 --> 00:15:13,266 He is put into the middle of a family that 298 00:15:13,266 --> 00:15:16,333 is already there, and so many other things around 299 00:15:16,333 --> 00:15:19,633 him, are influencing who he is, and 300 00:15:19,633 --> 00:15:22,100 what he is to do. 301 00:15:22,166 --> 00:15:25,866 And that's what Jacob had 302 00:15:25,866 --> 00:15:26,899 to go live into. 303 00:15:26,966 --> 00:15:30,100 He was the son of the son of the man 304 00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:33,299 who God made a personal promise 305 00:15:33,299 --> 00:15:36,299 to in an audio visual way. 306 00:15:36,366 --> 00:15:39,833 If you remember the story of cutting the cows 307 00:15:39,866 --> 00:15:42,933 in half, and then the fire 308 00:15:42,933 --> 00:15:46,133 and the smoke smoking pot, walking through 309 00:15:46,166 --> 00:15:49,933 them, confirming the covenant that God made with Abraham 310 00:15:49,933 --> 00:15:51,133 personally. 311 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,500 And there's not been anyone else who had that type of covenant 312 00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:57,899 made with him in the way that God made that covenant 313 00:15:57,899 --> 00:15:59,100 with Abraham. 314 00:15:59,166 --> 00:16:02,533 And Jacob is only two generations 315 00:16:02,533 --> 00:16:04,500 removed from Abraham. 316 00:16:04,566 --> 00:16:08,933 That's a lot to live up to as your family. 317 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,000 So maybe you have some stories about 318 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,166 your grandfather or your father, that make 319 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:19,500 you proud, that make it difficult for you to walk into, 320 00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:22,633 in their shadow, or maybe, as Philip 321 00:16:22,633 --> 00:16:24,666 mentioned this morning, maybe there's hard stories. 322 00:16:24,733 --> 00:16:27,733 Maybe your father acted shamefully 323 00:16:27,733 --> 00:16:30,066 or embarrassingly to you. 324 00:16:30,133 --> 00:16:32,166 And Jacob had both. 325 00:16:32,299 --> 00:16:35,466 Abraham did such things that 326 00:16:35,466 --> 00:16:38,633 were worthy of honor and looking up to, but he 327 00:16:38,666 --> 00:16:41,666 also did some blemishes and pimples 328 00:16:41,666 --> 00:16:42,799 him himself. 329 00:16:42,866 --> 00:16:45,933 Both of them, Isaac and 330 00:16:45,933 --> 00:16:49,066 Abraham, Jacob's ancestors, our father and 331 00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:52,399 grandfather, were men of God, 332 00:16:52,399 --> 00:16:55,933 but also were sinners, and that is clearly listed 333 00:16:55,933 --> 00:16:58,466 out in scripture, if you read their accounts. 334 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:01,866 But God used the good, and the bad, 335 00:17:01,866 --> 00:17:04,866 and the ugly, to sculpt an amazing story, that 336 00:17:04,866 --> 00:17:08,000 we're still reading and leaning from today, and 337 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,433 this little Near Eastern family, that we can still marvel 338 00:17:11,433 --> 00:17:15,166 out, marvel at how God worked through their lives and through their families. 339 00:17:15,299 --> 00:17:18,366 And he is still doing that today, no matter what 340 00:17:18,366 --> 00:17:21,533 your history is, what your family tree is, God is still working 341 00:17:21,566 --> 00:17:23,666 through our lives. 342 00:17:24,733 --> 00:17:28,566 And this is the illustration, an example of just that. 343 00:17:28,633 --> 00:17:31,200 Our lives, our families. 344 00:17:31,266 --> 00:17:34,099 A lot of times they're a mess, right? 345 00:17:34,166 --> 00:17:36,633 There's always something going on, something's going wrong. 346 00:17:36,666 --> 00:17:40,266 But God, in those messes, 347 00:17:40,266 --> 00:17:43,266 God takes those complications and straightens 348 00:17:43,266 --> 00:17:46,333 it out and works it all out, he has promised to 349 00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:49,700 work it all out so that in eternity, all those messes 350 00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:52,266 will be turned into his glory. 351 00:17:52,333 --> 00:17:55,400 And he does that through his covenants, his promises, 352 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,400 to us and his people, and through the gospel 353 00:17:58,400 --> 00:17:59,666 of Jesus Christ. 354 00:17:59,700 --> 00:18:02,833 So this 1st part of the story, 355 00:18:02,833 --> 00:18:05,000 of the birth of God's robe, Jacob. 356 00:18:05,066 --> 00:18:08,000 And we see that he was born into a lot. 357 00:18:08,066 --> 00:18:11,366 There was a lot there for him to live 358 00:18:11,366 --> 00:18:14,700 up to as the grandson of Abraham 359 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,333 and the son of Isaac. 360 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,400 And the 2nd thing I want us to look at is that his birth 361 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:20,466 was complicated. 362 00:18:20,533 --> 00:18:23,700 His family was complicated, and his birth was complicated. 363 00:18:23,766 --> 00:18:24,833 Verse 21. 364 00:18:25,099 --> 00:18:28,166 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of 365 00:18:28,166 --> 00:18:31,400 his wife, because she was barren, and the Lord answered 366 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,700 him, and Rebecca, his wife, conceived, but 367 00:18:34,700 --> 00:18:37,799 the children struggled together within her, and she said, 368 00:18:37,799 --> 00:18:40,799 If it is so, why then 369 00:18:40,799 --> 00:18:42,299 am I this way? 370 00:18:42,433 --> 00:18:45,266 So she went to inquire of the Lord? 371 00:18:45,366 --> 00:18:48,900 The Lord said to her, 2 nations are in your womb, and 372 00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:51,966 2 peoples will be separated from your body, and one 373 00:18:51,966 --> 00:18:56,033 people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. 374 00:18:56,099 --> 00:18:59,333 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, 375 00:18:59,366 --> 00:19:01,599 there were twins in her womb. 376 00:19:01,799 --> 00:19:05,099 Infertility has been a constant problem, 377 00:19:05,099 --> 00:19:08,166 not just in our times, but in families going 378 00:19:08,166 --> 00:19:12,200 back, even to, as we discussed, Abraham and Sarah. 379 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:15,333 And it seems to be, 380 00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:18,599 especially for the 1st family of the Hebrews, a 381 00:19:18,599 --> 00:19:20,266 constant, consistent problem. 382 00:19:20,366 --> 00:19:23,400 Abram and Sarai, now Isaac and Rebecca 383 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,966 were experiencing the same problem. 384 00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,733 Rebecca was barren. 385 00:19:27,799 --> 00:19:29,766 She could not conceive a child. 386 00:19:29,900 --> 00:19:33,266 And then in the future, Jacob himself 387 00:19:33,266 --> 00:19:36,433 would experience the same issues with his wife, Rachel. 388 00:19:36,566 --> 00:19:39,566 And so there's a pattern that 389 00:19:39,566 --> 00:19:40,766 is arising here. 390 00:19:40,866 --> 00:19:44,533 And every time there's a pattern in scripture, we need to pay attention to it. 391 00:19:44,599 --> 00:19:47,833 Why would God, out of his grace, 392 00:19:47,833 --> 00:19:51,266 choose a whole family that would constantly 393 00:19:51,266 --> 00:19:54,799 have problems, conceiving children, 394 00:19:54,799 --> 00:19:57,866 if he was promised to make a 395 00:19:57,866 --> 00:20:00,866 nation as abundant as the stars in the sky and the sand 396 00:20:00,866 --> 00:20:03,433 on the seashores from that family? 397 00:20:03,566 --> 00:20:07,099 Remember, not too long ago, we went over the 398 00:20:07,099 --> 00:20:10,099 story in John chapter 9 of the 399 00:20:10,099 --> 00:20:11,966 man born blind, right? 400 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,133 And the disciples had come to Jesus, and there 401 00:20:15,133 --> 00:20:19,200 was this man that was born blind, and they asked him, you know, who sinned? 402 00:20:19,266 --> 00:20:23,099 Did his parents sin, that he would deserve to be born blind? 403 00:20:23,166 --> 00:20:26,233 Was it punishment to his parents, that he was born blind, or 404 00:20:26,233 --> 00:20:30,200 is it some sin that he would later commit, that God made him blind for that sin? 405 00:20:30,266 --> 00:20:32,900 That was the thinking of the time, that they had. 406 00:20:32,966 --> 00:20:36,266 Well, Jesus responded in John 9, verse 3. 407 00:20:36,433 --> 00:20:39,666 He says it was neither that this man sinned, nor 408 00:20:39,666 --> 00:20:42,666 his parents, but it was so the works of God 409 00:20:42,666 --> 00:20:44,700 might be displayed in him. 410 00:20:44,833 --> 00:20:48,433 God sovereignly used the blindness, 411 00:20:48,433 --> 00:20:51,433 the disease of that man, in his 412 00:20:51,433 --> 00:20:54,500 life, all the hardship that man went through from the time 413 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:58,033 he was born until the time that Christ healed his blindness, 414 00:20:58,033 --> 00:21:01,166 was all for the purpose that Christ 415 00:21:01,166 --> 00:21:04,299 would use his life and his healing as an 416 00:21:04,299 --> 00:21:07,400 illustration of Christ bringing us from 417 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,466 darkness, the blindness of sin into the light of salvation. 418 00:21:11,666 --> 00:21:14,799 And he used the barrenness of 419 00:21:14,799 --> 00:21:18,066 this 1st family, as an illustration that 420 00:21:18,066 --> 00:21:21,200 God is faithful to keep his promises, in spite 421 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,666 of everything on the outside, that it may look. 422 00:21:24,733 --> 00:21:27,866 It may look impossible on the outside, but 423 00:21:27,866 --> 00:21:31,000 God was the one who has specifically 424 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,433 making these families have babies. 425 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:36,833 Now, Isaac had a half brother. 426 00:21:36,900 --> 00:21:37,500 Remember? 427 00:21:37,566 --> 00:21:40,700 Abram, when they were 428 00:21:40,700 --> 00:21:43,766 getting old, and God obey this promise, he took matters into 429 00:21:43,766 --> 00:21:47,400 his own hands, and Sarai gave him Hagar, 430 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,566 her slave, to be one of his wives, 431 00:21:50,599 --> 00:21:53,666 and that she would conceive a child who would be 432 00:21:53,666 --> 00:21:57,333 an heir to Abram, in spite of what God said. 433 00:21:57,366 --> 00:22:01,500 And his Isaac's half brother, Ishmael, 434 00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:05,266 had the opposite problem of Isaac 435 00:22:05,299 --> 00:22:06,500 and Rebecca. 436 00:22:06,566 --> 00:22:09,866 And Genesis 25, 13, it says, these are 437 00:22:09,866 --> 00:22:12,966 the names of the sons of Ishmael, by 438 00:22:12,966 --> 00:22:14,933 their names in the order of their birth. 439 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,133 Nebayoth, the firstborn of Ishmael, 440 00:22:18,133 --> 00:22:21,266 and Kadar, and Abbeel, and Mipsum, and 441 00:22:21,266 --> 00:22:25,266 Mishma, and Dumah, and 442 00:22:25,266 --> 00:22:28,400 Tamah, Juter, Nayfish, and Kadama. 443 00:22:28,466 --> 00:22:31,033 So, he had 12 kids. 444 00:22:31,166 --> 00:22:32,366 The opposite. 445 00:22:32,466 --> 00:22:36,000 Isaac and Rebecca couldn't have one, but Ishmael, 446 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,133 who was not the one the promised would go through, was able to 447 00:22:39,133 --> 00:22:40,633 have a whole baseball team. 448 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,566 It was easy for him and his wife. 449 00:22:43,633 --> 00:22:46,866 Wouldn't it been easier for God, just 450 00:22:46,866 --> 00:22:50,400 to go ahead and use Ishmael, like it was Abram and Sarah's 451 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:51,733 plan in the 1st place. 452 00:22:51,799 --> 00:22:55,099 But no, God would use the once baron 453 00:22:55,099 --> 00:22:58,099 Sarah, who had become Sarah, to 454 00:22:58,099 --> 00:23:02,299 fulfill his promise by her conceiving and burying a child. 455 00:23:02,366 --> 00:23:05,733 And Isaac now knew that story. 456 00:23:05,766 --> 00:23:07,099 He knew where he came from. 457 00:23:07,166 --> 00:23:10,166 And I'm sure Abraham told him over and over 458 00:23:10,166 --> 00:23:13,233 again around the fire, this is what God had done 459 00:23:13,233 --> 00:23:16,266 for us, you are a gift of God, and he gave him the 460 00:23:16,266 --> 00:23:17,700 promises that God had made. 461 00:23:17,966 --> 00:23:21,133 But now Isaac was struggling and suffering 462 00:23:21,133 --> 00:23:23,066 with the same problem, Isaac and Rebecca. 463 00:23:23,099 --> 00:23:26,166 And so the only thing that Isaac could do 464 00:23:26,166 --> 00:23:29,633 is to go to God and pray, and this is so good. 465 00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:32,766 Genesis 25, 21, Isaac prayed to 466 00:23:32,766 --> 00:23:36,299 the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren, 467 00:23:36,299 --> 00:23:39,666 and the Lord answered him, and Rebecca, his wife conceived. 468 00:23:39,733 --> 00:23:42,866 Now, my Hebrew is a little rusty, so 469 00:23:42,866 --> 00:23:46,200 I have to use other smarter people than me for reference, 470 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,333 but one of them talked about how this 471 00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:52,500 phrase prayed to the Lord on behalf of his 472 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:55,733 wife means that he prayed in front of his wife. 473 00:23:55,866 --> 00:24:00,200 In the presence of Rebecca, is where he prayed. 474 00:24:00,266 --> 00:24:04,033 He was leading his family, and going to God in faith, 475 00:24:04,033 --> 00:24:05,533 for the issue that they were having. 476 00:24:05,599 --> 00:24:07,866 They were praying together. 477 00:24:07,933 --> 00:24:11,000 And he was comforting his wife by praying for, and 478 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,400 that is a good lesson for all of us, husbands. 479 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,433 He was doing this for a long time. 480 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,233 praying and waiting for God to answer. 481 00:24:23,299 --> 00:24:27,333 Verse 20 says that when they were married, Isaac was 40 years old. 482 00:24:27,366 --> 00:24:30,733 And then in verse 26, when he had the twins, 483 00:24:30,733 --> 00:24:32,700 it said that he was 60 years old. 484 00:24:32,766 --> 00:24:35,933 So this is Isaac praying on 485 00:24:35,966 --> 00:24:39,200 behalf of in front of his wife for 20 486 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,733 years for God to answer his prayer. 487 00:24:42,799 --> 00:24:45,933 And that is a great example and encouragement to 488 00:24:45,933 --> 00:24:49,200 us, that if we go before the Lord in faith, and 489 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,266 we pray, and we wait on the Lord to answer, he will always 490 00:24:52,266 --> 00:24:54,799 come through according to his will. 491 00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:58,066 And I'm sure during that period of 20 years 492 00:24:58,099 --> 00:25:01,166 of praying for a child, it 493 00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:02,533 may have seemed hopeless to them. 494 00:25:02,666 --> 00:25:05,733 There was no chance, externally, that they could 495 00:25:05,733 --> 00:25:08,933 see for them to have a child, much 496 00:25:08,966 --> 00:25:12,200 less for Isaac to be part of 497 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,766 that line that would father nations of people. 498 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,366 But this is how God works over 499 00:25:20,366 --> 00:25:22,333 and over and over again. 500 00:25:22,466 --> 00:25:25,633 He uses the weakness of us, the weakness 501 00:25:25,633 --> 00:25:28,566 of his people, to show that he is strong. 502 00:25:28,633 --> 00:25:31,933 He uses the hopelessness of 503 00:25:31,933 --> 00:25:35,299 our situation sometimes to push us to him, 504 00:25:35,299 --> 00:25:38,533 and to force us, to hope in 505 00:25:38,533 --> 00:25:41,833 him as the only one who has the solution for 506 00:25:41,833 --> 00:25:43,099 our problems. 507 00:25:43,166 --> 00:25:46,500 And we're all of us, in here today, examples of that, in 508 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:48,133 one way or the other. 509 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,733 We're quite an unimpressive lot. 510 00:25:51,799 --> 00:25:55,166 You know, I don't plan the psalms. 511 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,233 I mean, I plan the psalms, but there we go one after the other. 512 00:25:59,299 --> 00:26:02,700 And this morning, the psalm was talking about how the 513 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:05,766 situation, and of course, the one who 514 00:26:05,766 --> 00:26:10,500 interprets the psalm and puts it into English for us, interprets 515 00:26:10,500 --> 00:26:13,866 it into the church as it should be, but 516 00:26:13,866 --> 00:26:17,000 it talks about how much the church struggles and 517 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,533 how much pain the church is and how unimpressive the church is. 518 00:26:20,599 --> 00:26:23,833 And that is the case, especially 519 00:26:23,833 --> 00:26:25,400 in certain periods of time. 520 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,566 But the church has an almighty God, 521 00:26:28,566 --> 00:26:32,233 as our source of strength and hope, no matter what 522 00:26:32,233 --> 00:26:34,633 the situation looks like on the outside. 523 00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:38,233 And I found this illustration, and I thought it was fitting. 524 00:26:38,366 --> 00:26:41,700 If you could put yourself into the place of a 525 00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:44,933 boss or a manager who had the job of 526 00:26:44,966 --> 00:26:47,966 hiring someone to fulfill a position that 527 00:26:47,966 --> 00:26:49,299 required public speaking. 528 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,066 And in walks a young man who 529 00:26:53,066 --> 00:26:56,233 stutters, and on top of the stuttering, 530 00:26:56,233 --> 00:26:57,433 he has a lisp. 531 00:26:57,566 --> 00:27:01,400 And then nothing on his resume seemed impressive. 532 00:27:01,466 --> 00:27:02,599 He doesn't have a degree. 533 00:27:02,666 --> 00:27:04,533 He's never been to college. 534 00:27:04,566 --> 00:27:07,566 And one of his reference references, 535 00:27:07,566 --> 00:27:10,866 told you that in one of his first times doing 536 00:27:10,866 --> 00:27:13,933 public speaking, he fainted out 537 00:27:13,933 --> 00:27:16,500 of fear of public speaking. 538 00:27:16,633 --> 00:27:19,633 But what if I told you that 539 00:27:19,633 --> 00:27:22,766 you were interviewing a young Winston Churchill, 540 00:27:22,766 --> 00:27:26,299 one of the greatest public speakers of history, 541 00:27:26,299 --> 00:27:27,966 especially recent history. 542 00:27:28,033 --> 00:27:31,400 And that's how the church is right now, 543 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,099 in our form now, we're not bad impressive. 544 00:27:34,166 --> 00:27:37,700 But one day, when we're fully sanctified, 545 00:27:37,700 --> 00:27:40,700 when we're fully glorified, and we're fully prepared in 546 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:43,700 front of our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ, by his grace through 547 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:46,799 his salvation, we will be very 548 00:27:46,799 --> 00:27:49,566 impressive for his glory. 549 00:27:49,633 --> 00:27:52,166 And that's how Isaac and Rebecca were. 550 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,566 They couldn't even have a kid. 551 00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:56,866 And especially at that time, that was how 552 00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:58,266 you were someone. 553 00:27:58,333 --> 00:28:02,400 That was how you grew your family economy. 554 00:28:02,466 --> 00:28:05,466 The Belgian confession says 555 00:28:05,466 --> 00:28:08,599 this about God's church on this earth, and it really matches with 556 00:28:08,599 --> 00:28:10,233 the song we read in song. 557 00:28:10,266 --> 00:28:13,266 It says, this church has existed from the beginning of the world 558 00:28:13,266 --> 00:28:15,366 and will be to the end. 559 00:28:15,433 --> 00:28:18,666 For Christ is an eternal king who 560 00:28:18,666 --> 00:28:19,866 cannot be without subjects. 561 00:28:19,933 --> 00:28:22,933 This holy church is preserved by God 562 00:28:22,933 --> 00:28:26,666 against the fury of the whole world, although 563 00:28:26,666 --> 00:28:29,766 for a while, it may look very small and 564 00:28:29,766 --> 00:28:32,833 as extinct in the eyes of man. 565 00:28:32,900 --> 00:28:35,900 Our only hope and strength, for all of our 566 00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:39,133 existence, is in the Lord Jesus Christ, 567 00:28:39,133 --> 00:28:42,266 God the Father, and the power of His Holy Spirit, 568 00:28:42,266 --> 00:28:45,099 who protects the church, even when it looks bleak. 569 00:28:45,133 --> 00:28:48,433 But the problem of conception 570 00:28:48,433 --> 00:28:53,066 wasn't the last problem that Rebecca had with her babies. 571 00:28:53,099 --> 00:28:56,400 So God answered their long 572 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,866 prayer and waiting time with Rebecca 573 00:28:59,900 --> 00:29:02,000 conceiving and becoming pregnant. 574 00:29:02,066 --> 00:29:05,133 And it turns out that not only did he 575 00:29:05,133 --> 00:29:08,266 answer their prayer for a child, he answered their prayer 576 00:29:08,299 --> 00:29:10,266 for two children all at once. 577 00:29:10,333 --> 00:29:13,500 And these two children were quite 578 00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:16,500 the lively pair even before birth. 579 00:29:16,566 --> 00:29:19,633 Verse 22 says, but the children struggle together within her. 580 00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:22,766 And she said, if it is so, 581 00:29:22,766 --> 00:29:24,200 why then am I this way? 582 00:29:24,266 --> 00:29:27,900 So she went to inquire of the Lord, that 583 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:31,200 struggling together within her, could be translated 584 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,466 as smashing into one another. 585 00:29:33,566 --> 00:29:34,599 inside. 586 00:29:34,633 --> 00:29:37,700 So Rebecca goes to God, and 587 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:41,000 praise again to him, and listen 588 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,666 to what she says that I can barely get out, and it's that way on purpose. 589 00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:47,833 If this is from you, which it obviously is, 590 00:29:47,833 --> 00:29:51,666 because we couldn't conceive, then why is it so hard? 591 00:29:51,966 --> 00:29:54,000 Why does it hurt? 592 00:29:54,066 --> 00:29:57,366 And she says it even in the Hebrew, 593 00:29:57,366 --> 00:29:59,700 according to what I read, it's kind of jumbled. 594 00:29:59,833 --> 00:30:02,533 She's saying this in the midst of her pain. 595 00:30:02,599 --> 00:30:05,833 And when she can't even get the words out from this pregnancy. 596 00:30:05,966 --> 00:30:08,966 So we obviously know that 597 00:30:08,966 --> 00:30:11,733 this pregnancy is from you because we couldn't conceive. 598 00:30:11,900 --> 00:30:15,066 But now that you've given us this joy 599 00:30:15,066 --> 00:30:17,900 and this blessing, why does it hurt so much? 600 00:30:17,966 --> 00:30:20,966 Why is it so hard to 601 00:30:20,966 --> 00:30:23,000 be pregnant with your blessing? 602 00:30:23,066 --> 00:30:26,200 And I want you to remember that question, 603 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,299 even though you may not be able to remember how it is, she said it 604 00:30:29,299 --> 00:30:32,466 in her inner pain, because that'll 605 00:30:32,466 --> 00:30:36,433 probably a question, you will be asking yourself throughout your life. 606 00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:38,233 If this is your will, God. 607 00:30:38,299 --> 00:30:41,366 If this is what you have for me to do, why is it so hard 608 00:30:41,366 --> 00:30:43,633 and why does it hurt? 609 00:30:43,866 --> 00:30:47,000 And always remember that God 610 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,533 answered Rebecca in verse 23. 611 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:52,700 The Lord said to her, 2 nations are in your womb, 612 00:30:52,700 --> 00:30:56,233 and 2 peoples will be separated from your body, and 613 00:30:56,233 --> 00:30:59,599 one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall 614 00:30:59,599 --> 00:31:00,733 serve the younger. 615 00:31:00,799 --> 00:31:03,866 So he said, one of the reasons you're hurting is because 616 00:31:03,866 --> 00:31:05,533 there's two, not just one in there. 617 00:31:05,599 --> 00:31:09,333 We have ultrasounds now, but Rebecca had 618 00:31:09,333 --> 00:31:13,666 God himself tell her that she was having twins, 619 00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:15,733 and they weren't just going to be twins. 620 00:31:15,799 --> 00:31:18,500 He's extending his promise through them. 621 00:31:18,566 --> 00:31:22,000 He called them in this verse to nations 622 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,566 are growing up inside of you. 623 00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:29,066 And there would be the start of the nation of Israel 624 00:31:29,066 --> 00:31:31,700 and the nation of Adam. 625 00:31:31,799 --> 00:31:34,266 Or, as we like to say, Edom. 626 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,500 And so let us know again, that God is 627 00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:39,733 in control of all the outcomes. 628 00:31:39,799 --> 00:31:43,266 He adds another twist to his 629 00:31:43,266 --> 00:31:44,933 promise. 630 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,133 He says that the older will 631 00:31:48,133 --> 00:31:49,500 serve the younger. 632 00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:52,933 And this puts the 633 00:31:52,933 --> 00:31:56,966 general thinking and the culture of the time on its head. 634 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,166 The older was always the one who got the biggest 635 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,333 blessing, who received the double portion 636 00:32:03,333 --> 00:32:06,466 of the inheritance, and that the younger 637 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:09,666 would serve the older as a 638 00:32:09,666 --> 00:32:10,700 general rule. 639 00:32:10,766 --> 00:32:14,133 But God says, no, I'm going to show you, it's from me. 640 00:32:14,166 --> 00:32:15,966 I'm gonna place that on its head. 641 00:32:16,033 --> 00:32:18,966 The older will serve the younger. 642 00:32:19,033 --> 00:32:22,333 And we can make, and we must make a connection 643 00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:25,799 between how God works in Rebecca's 644 00:32:25,799 --> 00:32:28,799 life, through those two boys, into even into his 645 00:32:28,799 --> 00:32:32,233 church today, and he does it over and over and over again. 646 00:32:32,299 --> 00:32:34,766 This is just one example. 647 00:32:34,799 --> 00:32:38,099 New Testament gives us a great example of this, of 648 00:32:38,099 --> 00:32:41,166 how even we are like this in 649 00:32:41,166 --> 00:32:44,400 1 Corinthians 127, but God has chosen the 650 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:46,966 foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 651 00:32:47,099 --> 00:32:50,099 And God has chosen the weak things of the world, a shame the 652 00:32:50,099 --> 00:32:53,166 things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and 653 00:32:53,166 --> 00:32:56,466 the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, so 654 00:32:56,466 --> 00:32:59,533 that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man 655 00:32:59,533 --> 00:33:01,700 may boast before God. 656 00:33:01,766 --> 00:33:04,166 If this isn't how God worked. 657 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,500 Then we would have no hope, because there's no great 658 00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:10,566 people in here, there's no shining examples 659 00:33:10,566 --> 00:33:13,133 of goodness in here. 660 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,633 There's no world leaders that are in this 661 00:33:16,633 --> 00:33:19,633 church, but God has saved us, in 662 00:33:19,633 --> 00:33:22,766 our baseness, in our foolishness, in our poverty, 663 00:33:22,766 --> 00:33:26,666 in our difficulties, to show that 664 00:33:26,666 --> 00:33:29,833 he is God, and that he deserves the glory, 665 00:33:29,833 --> 00:33:32,900 not us, and anything that we've done, and it's the same thing 666 00:33:32,900 --> 00:33:35,733 with Jacob and Esau. 667 00:33:35,833 --> 00:33:40,033 He uses the hardness of Rebecca's pregnancy. 668 00:33:40,099 --> 00:33:43,166 He uses the turning around of the 669 00:33:43,166 --> 00:33:46,200 cultural norms here to grow 670 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,200 his people, and to show them his hand is 671 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:50,933 over and in everything. 672 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,166 She said, if it is so, why then am 673 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:55,533 I this way? 674 00:33:55,633 --> 00:33:58,700 Because God is showing her this 675 00:33:58,700 --> 00:33:59,966 very important truth. 676 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,566 So Jacob had a complicated family tree. 677 00:34:03,666 --> 00:34:06,966 He had a complicated birth story, and 678 00:34:06,966 --> 00:34:09,900 then finally, he had a complicated brother. 679 00:34:09,966 --> 00:34:11,900 And Esau, verse 25. 680 00:34:12,133 --> 00:34:15,133 Now the 1st came forth red, 681 00:34:15,133 --> 00:34:19,099 all over like a hairy garment, and they named him Esau. 682 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:22,666 Afterward, his brother came forth with his hand holding 683 00:34:22,699 --> 00:34:24,266 on to Esau's heel. 684 00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:27,433 So his name was called Jacob, and Isaac was 60 685 00:34:27,433 --> 00:34:28,866 years old when she gave birth to them. 686 00:34:28,933 --> 00:34:32,066 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, 687 00:34:32,066 --> 00:34:35,366 a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, 688 00:34:35,366 --> 00:34:36,433 living in tents. 689 00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:39,566 Now, Isaac loved Esau because he had 690 00:34:39,566 --> 00:34:42,933 a taste for game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. 691 00:34:44,233 --> 00:34:47,300 To say that the relationship between 692 00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:50,433 these two fraternal twins was 693 00:34:50,433 --> 00:34:53,833 complicated is kind of an understatement, and 694 00:34:53,833 --> 00:34:57,000 their relationship will be iffy all throughout their 695 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,866 lives into adulthood. 696 00:34:58,933 --> 00:35:02,099 So Moses here, the author of Genesis 697 00:35:02,099 --> 00:35:05,166 through the Holy Spirit, gives us a lot of details here to 698 00:35:05,166 --> 00:35:09,133 show us exactly how different these two brothers were. 699 00:35:09,199 --> 00:35:11,066 They look different. 700 00:35:11,233 --> 00:35:13,766 They enjoy different things. 701 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,400 And one of them was favored by uh, 702 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,533 Isaac and one of them was favored by Rebecca. 703 00:35:20,599 --> 00:35:23,833 So a couple of these things that I just want to go 704 00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:26,833 over before we're done, to show 705 00:35:26,833 --> 00:35:29,366 their differences is 1st their names. 706 00:35:29,466 --> 00:35:33,300 Esau came out covered in thick, 707 00:35:33,300 --> 00:35:36,300 red hair, that the word Esau 708 00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:39,366 looks like a play on the Hebrew word for felt. 709 00:35:39,433 --> 00:35:42,500 And so it looked like he was already covered 710 00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:44,966 in a felt clothing. 711 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,000 But he came out first, but then Jacob 712 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,300 came out right after Esau, with his hand around 713 00:35:51,300 --> 00:35:54,666 his heel, trying to pull him back in so he could be first. 714 00:35:54,733 --> 00:35:57,800 And so, uh, it looks 715 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,800 like Jacob was the instigator of all the struggles 716 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,133 that Rebecca had in in utero. 717 00:36:03,199 --> 00:36:06,966 And he was named for this act of grabbing 718 00:36:06,966 --> 00:36:09,133 on to Esau's heel. 719 00:36:09,199 --> 00:36:12,266 And they probably meant it kind of jokingly 720 00:36:12,266 --> 00:36:14,599 and cute when they named him that. 721 00:36:14,666 --> 00:36:17,666 But it sounds like the 722 00:36:17,666 --> 00:36:19,400 word for heel. 723 00:36:19,466 --> 00:36:22,633 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew word for healed. 724 00:36:22,699 --> 00:36:25,699 But later, other people 725 00:36:25,699 --> 00:36:28,699 would use that name because it sounds like another 726 00:36:28,699 --> 00:36:33,199 Hebrew word that means to supplant or to trip. 727 00:36:33,266 --> 00:36:36,266 And so the, the, the idea 728 00:36:36,266 --> 00:36:39,366 is that we're in a race and and 729 00:36:39,366 --> 00:36:41,333 Tim is is going right in front of me. 730 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,466 In order for me to get ahead, I stick my 731 00:36:44,466 --> 00:36:45,533 foot out and heal him. 732 00:36:45,599 --> 00:36:48,599 I trip him up so that I 733 00:36:48,599 --> 00:36:51,233 can be the winner of the race. 734 00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:54,133 And this is very fitting for who Jacob is. 735 00:36:54,199 --> 00:36:55,866 Jacob is a deceiver. 736 00:36:55,933 --> 00:36:56,833 He's a supplanter. 737 00:36:56,900 --> 00:36:59,966 He twists things and schemes things so 738 00:36:59,966 --> 00:37:01,533 that he can be on top. 739 00:37:01,566 --> 00:37:05,533 As you'll see, if you read the story of Jacob. 740 00:37:05,599 --> 00:37:08,666 And the 2nd thing I want to bring out is 741 00:37:08,666 --> 00:37:11,666 they both have a unique personality and 742 00:37:11,666 --> 00:37:15,066 kind of a unique system of faults in 743 00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:16,800 their life, they're more disposed to. 744 00:37:17,666 --> 00:37:21,199 their personality failures kind 745 00:37:21,199 --> 00:37:24,566 of come out over and over again in the 10 chapters 746 00:37:24,566 --> 00:37:26,666 of Jacob's life. 747 00:37:26,699 --> 00:37:30,666 Esau was a man with no foresight. 748 00:37:30,733 --> 00:37:33,199 He was apathetic about the future. 749 00:37:33,266 --> 00:37:37,033 He could care less about what was coming up next. 750 00:37:37,166 --> 00:37:40,933 All he thought about was right here and right now. 751 00:37:41,066 --> 00:37:44,300 He didn't care about the gifts of God. 752 00:37:44,366 --> 00:37:47,599 Imagine being a part of that family, especially that close, where 753 00:37:47,599 --> 00:37:50,666 the promise was made, that it was going to be your family that 754 00:37:50,666 --> 00:37:52,633 was going to father this great nation. 755 00:37:52,699 --> 00:37:56,766 Esau could care less about what God said about his family. 756 00:37:56,833 --> 00:37:59,599 He was living for right now, and we see that. 757 00:37:59,666 --> 00:38:03,133 That fact demonstrated in this story of 758 00:38:03,133 --> 00:38:05,466 Jacob and Esau and the stew. 759 00:38:05,533 --> 00:38:08,833 Esau was out in the field, either hunting or 760 00:38:08,833 --> 00:38:11,000 working in the garden. 761 00:38:11,099 --> 00:38:13,066 But he forgot to look to the future. 762 00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:15,400 He didn't even think about dinner. 763 00:38:15,566 --> 00:38:17,500 as being in the future. 764 00:38:17,533 --> 00:38:20,533 So he came back completely unprepared for the end 765 00:38:20,533 --> 00:38:23,666 of the day, and when he returns, he found Jacob cooking 766 00:38:23,666 --> 00:38:25,633 a red stew. 767 00:38:25,699 --> 00:38:29,000 verse 30, Esau said to Jacob, please, let 768 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,099 me have a swallow of that red stuff there. 769 00:38:31,199 --> 00:38:32,833 For I am famished. 770 00:38:32,966 --> 00:38:36,133 Therefore, his name was called Edam. 771 00:38:36,199 --> 00:38:38,300 And he didn't know what the stuff was. 772 00:38:38,366 --> 00:38:40,599 He didn't know what Jacob was cooking. 773 00:38:40,633 --> 00:38:43,766 All he knew is that he was hungry right now, at 774 00:38:43,766 --> 00:38:47,433 that very moment, and he wanted that stew. 775 00:38:47,533 --> 00:38:51,133 No, he needed to have that stew or he would die. 776 00:38:51,199 --> 00:38:55,466 So that the little heel grabber, Jacob, scheme to plan in his mind. 777 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,466 He says, okay, sure, bro. 778 00:38:57,566 --> 00:38:59,199 I'll give you some of this stew. 779 00:38:59,233 --> 00:39:02,233 All you got to do is trade me for your 780 00:39:02,233 --> 00:39:03,366 birthright. 781 00:39:03,966 --> 00:39:06,833 That doesn't sound like a fair deal to me. 782 00:39:06,966 --> 00:39:10,333 I might give you a couple bucks for a bowl of stew, especially 783 00:39:10,333 --> 00:39:13,766 if I'm only asking for a swallow of stew, 784 00:39:13,766 --> 00:39:15,400 but my birthright. 785 00:39:15,433 --> 00:39:18,433 The reality that I'm the oldest and I 786 00:39:18,433 --> 00:39:19,800 get the double inheritance. 787 00:39:19,866 --> 00:39:23,033 I'm not going to give that up for us, but Esau could 788 00:39:23,066 --> 00:39:25,300 care less about any of that stuff. 789 00:39:25,333 --> 00:39:28,400 Anything that it meant to be in his family, his 790 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:32,066 family name, his family honor, who he was, all 791 00:39:32,066 --> 00:39:35,533 he cared about, was right now he was experiencing a 792 00:39:35,533 --> 00:39:37,333 pretty extreme hunger. 793 00:39:38,066 --> 00:39:41,599 He sacrifices the future on 794 00:39:41,599 --> 00:39:43,400 the altar of the right now. 795 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,400 And this is a constant theme 796 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,866 for Esau's life. 797 00:39:49,033 --> 00:39:52,199 And this became such a joke to 798 00:39:52,199 --> 00:39:55,333 the people around them that they started calling 799 00:39:55,333 --> 00:39:58,199 him a Dom, which just means red. 800 00:39:58,266 --> 00:40:01,699 And so every time somebody would call him red, 801 00:40:01,699 --> 00:40:04,933 they weren't talking about his hair, they were talking about the red 802 00:40:04,933 --> 00:40:08,099 stew that he traded his birthright 803 00:40:08,099 --> 00:40:09,300 for in shame. 804 00:40:10,266 --> 00:40:13,433 But as usual, when people don't 805 00:40:13,466 --> 00:40:16,800 think about the future, and then they get to the future, and 806 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,366 bad stuff happens, what do they do? 807 00:40:19,466 --> 00:40:23,233 They don't blame their lack of foresight or wisdom or care. 808 00:40:23,300 --> 00:40:26,366 They blame someone else, or something else, 809 00:40:26,366 --> 00:40:29,433 and that is exactly what Esau does in verse 34. 810 00:40:29,599 --> 00:40:32,666 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he 811 00:40:32,666 --> 00:40:35,233 ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. 812 00:40:35,300 --> 00:40:38,900 Thus Esau despised his birthright. 813 00:40:38,966 --> 00:40:43,300 Esau is the quintessential secular man. 814 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,400 He is given not just a birthright as 815 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:47,733 a child of Abraham. 816 00:40:47,766 --> 00:40:51,133 He is given a birthright as a child of God in 817 00:40:51,133 --> 00:40:54,733 the sense that all men are images of 818 00:40:54,733 --> 00:40:56,099 a holy God. 819 00:40:56,666 --> 00:40:59,966 He looks at the creation and he says, 820 00:40:59,966 --> 00:41:01,633 no, God. 821 00:41:01,699 --> 00:41:04,800 I'd rather do what I want to do right now than 822 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,133 to think about the future. 823 00:41:06,199 --> 00:41:09,333 And this is exactly what the author of 824 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:13,633 Hebrews, which should be the next book you preach through, says 825 00:41:13,633 --> 00:41:17,066 about Esau in chapter number 12, 826 00:41:17,066 --> 00:41:20,133 verse 15, see to it that no one comes 827 00:41:20,133 --> 00:41:23,266 short of the grace of God, that no root of 828 00:41:23,300 --> 00:41:26,433 bitterness, springing up causes trouble, and by 829 00:41:26,433 --> 00:41:29,766 many be defiled, that there be no immoral or 830 00:41:29,766 --> 00:41:32,833 godless person like Esau, who sold 831 00:41:32,833 --> 00:41:36,866 his own birthright for a single meal. 832 00:41:36,900 --> 00:41:40,366 Another word for godless here is 833 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:43,933 profane, or useless, or 834 00:41:43,933 --> 00:41:47,699 pointless, a profane, useless, 835 00:41:47,699 --> 00:41:51,000 pointless, godless person, living 836 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,133 their life as if their life had no purpose 837 00:41:54,133 --> 00:41:57,266 and no point doing whatever they wanted to 838 00:41:57,266 --> 00:41:58,599 do right now. 839 00:41:58,633 --> 00:42:01,633 And this is the life that we 840 00:42:01,633 --> 00:42:03,966 see Esau here, living. 841 00:42:04,033 --> 00:42:07,333 But we also get a glimpse of the scheming 842 00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:09,666 of Jacob here. 843 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,333 We've got these two brothers, the secular Esau 844 00:42:13,333 --> 00:42:16,766 and the conniving Jacob, the red 845 00:42:16,766 --> 00:42:20,533 and the old heel grabber supplanter. 846 00:42:20,599 --> 00:42:23,966 So what has God to do with 847 00:42:23,966 --> 00:42:26,133 all this complicated mess? 848 00:42:26,166 --> 00:42:29,599 How is he going to work out his plan of redemption 849 00:42:29,599 --> 00:42:33,433 and his plan of covenant with Abraham through 850 00:42:33,433 --> 00:42:34,500 this mess? 851 00:42:34,633 --> 00:42:37,699 Well, maybe you feel 852 00:42:37,699 --> 00:42:41,533 a similar way about the circumstances of your life. 853 00:42:41,599 --> 00:42:45,000 I know there are some circumstances in my life right now that 854 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,666 are very difficult and very complicated. 855 00:42:46,866 --> 00:42:50,533 But we do what Isaac and Rebecca do. 856 00:42:50,599 --> 00:42:53,833 We pray, and we wait, and we look at these examples here 857 00:42:53,833 --> 00:42:56,833 in scripture, as the example of what 858 00:42:56,833 --> 00:42:58,099 God can do in our lives. 859 00:42:58,166 --> 00:43:02,099 As he works out, all this mess that we make into 860 00:43:02,099 --> 00:43:05,266 a straight line that goes straight to glory in heaven, 861 00:43:05,300 --> 00:43:08,366 through Christ, and through his truth. 862 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:09,000 God loves. 863 00:43:09,066 --> 00:43:10,266 This is what he does. 864 00:43:10,333 --> 00:43:14,466 He loves to work in real people's lives, 865 00:43:14,466 --> 00:43:18,199 and show himself almighty, 866 00:43:18,199 --> 00:43:20,666 and show himself sovereign over everything. 867 00:43:20,699 --> 00:43:23,699 He takes the material that he has, 868 00:43:23,699 --> 00:43:27,166 this mess that we are, that Jacob was, and 869 00:43:27,199 --> 00:43:30,366 molds it into a family, that one day would 870 00:43:30,366 --> 00:43:33,366 be as numerous as the stars of the sky, and 871 00:43:33,366 --> 00:43:37,099 as many as the strains of sand by the seashore, 872 00:43:37,099 --> 00:43:40,266 all for his glory, even though they worked so 873 00:43:40,266 --> 00:43:41,300 hard against them sometimes. 874 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,400 He worked all that out to 875 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:47,699 fulfill his promise to Abraham, and to us, 876 00:43:47,699 --> 00:43:49,199 through Abraham. 877 00:43:49,333 --> 00:43:52,500 And one day, through Christ, all of our messes and 878 00:43:52,500 --> 00:43:55,500 complications, all of our problems will be worked 879 00:43:55,500 --> 00:43:59,266 out in Christ Jesus for eternity, before the face of God. 880 00:43:59,366 --> 00:44:02,366 And things that we don't understand now, 881 00:44:02,366 --> 00:44:05,599 we'll be able to look back on and say, I 882 00:44:05,599 --> 00:44:09,000 see now how you were weaving and working that 883 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:10,500 out through my life. 884 00:44:10,566 --> 00:44:13,633 And now you've brought it into this glorious place. 885 00:44:13,699 --> 00:44:15,366 That is the promise for all of us. 886 00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:18,933 And that is just a little bitty example seen 887 00:44:18,933 --> 00:44:22,500 in the life, the birth of Jacob and 888 00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:23,833 his family there. 889 00:44:23,900 --> 00:44:27,033 So let's remember that as we live our lives, 890 00:44:27,033 --> 00:44:31,966 as we face the trials and struggles and hardships of our life. 891 00:44:32,066 --> 00:44:35,233 Let's remember that God is always faithful, and he always 892 00:44:35,233 --> 00:44:37,766 keeps his promises, even when we don't understand. 893 00:44:37,866 --> 00:44:38,466 Let's pray. 894 00:44:38,533 --> 00:44:41,300 And, Father, we love you and thank you for your mercy on us. 895 00:44:41,366 --> 00:44:44,433 What a great God you are, a sovereign God, who loves 896 00:44:44,433 --> 00:44:47,533 us for reasons we don't understand, but because of your grace, 897 00:44:47,533 --> 00:44:51,266 because of your mercy, you're even using us to fulfill your plans. 898 00:44:51,300 --> 00:44:52,333 I praise you for that. 899 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:55,099 I pray that you bless us as we leave for your glory in Christ's name. 900 00:44:55,166 --> 00:44:55,533 Amen.