1 00:00:00,166 --> 00:00:02,333 Use my whole voice before we even started. 2 00:00:02,366 --> 00:00:04,233 Cupboard is bare. 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:09,866 All right. 4 00:00:13,033 --> 00:00:17,100 I'll try my best not to be long and boring, but I know one thing. 5 00:00:17,933 --> 00:00:21,433 If no one here enjoys 6 00:00:21,433 --> 00:00:23,233 my sermon, I know my mama will. 7 00:00:28,199 --> 00:00:31,899 I could say, amen, and Jesus loves you 10 times and she'd still be proud of me. 8 00:00:31,933 --> 00:00:33,066 I love you, mama. 9 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:36,266 There's very little about me that would 10 00:00:36,266 --> 00:00:39,500 be worth a man at all without my mom and 11 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:42,033 my dad may rest in the Lord's arms. 12 00:00:43,700 --> 00:00:46,000 All right, so speaking of sons. 13 00:00:46,633 --> 00:00:50,233 That's what we're going to be back in looking at Isaac and Rebecca's 14 00:00:50,233 --> 00:00:53,533 son's life, the life of Jacob, the little heel 15 00:00:53,533 --> 00:00:54,799 grabber himself. 16 00:00:54,866 --> 00:00:57,866 So, um, we 17 00:00:57,866 --> 00:01:00,433 are going to be in Genesis chapter number 28 today. 18 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,766 Genesis number chapter number 28 and 19 00:01:05,766 --> 00:01:07,566 these are narratives. 20 00:01:08,233 --> 00:01:13,200 And so I'll be reading the whole chapter for 21 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,200 us this morning, but Genesis 28, 1 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:17,400 through 22. 23 00:01:17,599 --> 00:01:21,133 God, George says, So, Isaac, called Jacob, 24 00:01:21,133 --> 00:01:24,266 and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, 25 00:01:24,266 --> 00:01:27,433 You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, 26 00:01:27,433 --> 00:01:30,566 Arise, go to Pedan Aram, to the house of 27 00:01:30,566 --> 00:01:32,533 Bethul, your mother's father. 28 00:01:32,666 --> 00:01:35,666 And from there, take to yourself a wife, from the 29 00:01:35,666 --> 00:01:37,633 daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 30 00:01:37,766 --> 00:01:40,766 May God Almighty bless you, and make 31 00:01:40,766 --> 00:01:44,066 you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may become 32 00:01:44,066 --> 00:01:45,566 a company of peoples. 33 00:01:46,333 --> 00:01:49,400 May he also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you 34 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,633 and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of 35 00:01:52,633 --> 00:01:55,466 your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham. 36 00:01:55,500 --> 00:01:58,500 Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to 37 00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:01,933 Pedan Aram, to Laban, son of Pethul, our 38 00:02:01,933 --> 00:02:05,666 man, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 39 00:02:05,766 --> 00:02:09,000 Now, Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, 40 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,166 and sent him away to Badonaram to take to himself away 41 00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:15,366 from there, and that when he blessed him, he charged 42 00:02:15,366 --> 00:02:18,433 him, saying, You shall not take a wife from 43 00:02:18,433 --> 00:02:21,433 the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob had obeyed his 44 00:02:21,433 --> 00:02:24,599 father and his mother, and had gone to Badonaram. 45 00:02:24,733 --> 00:02:27,800 So Esau saw the daughters of Canaan displease his 46 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,966 father Isaac, and Esau went to Ishmael, and 47 00:02:30,966 --> 00:02:34,500 married, besides the wives that he had, Mahaloth, 48 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:38,466 the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nabaioth. 49 00:02:38,533 --> 00:02:42,266 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 50 00:02:43,533 --> 00:02:46,866 He came to a certain place, and spent the night there, because 51 00:02:46,866 --> 00:02:50,166 the sun had set, and he took one of the stones of the place, and 52 00:02:50,166 --> 00:02:53,033 put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 53 00:02:53,099 --> 00:02:56,266 He had a dream, and, behold, a ladder was 54 00:02:56,300 --> 00:02:59,900 set on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and, 55 00:02:59,900 --> 00:03:03,733 behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 56 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,033 And behold, the Lord stood above it, 57 00:03:07,033 --> 00:03:10,266 and said, I am the Lord, the God of your Father, 58 00:03:10,266 --> 00:03:13,333 Abraham, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you 59 00:03:13,333 --> 00:03:15,599 lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 60 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:19,633 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth. 61 00:03:19,699 --> 00:03:22,699 And you will spread out to the west, and to the east, 62 00:03:22,699 --> 00:03:26,233 and to the north, and to the south, and in you, and in your descendants, 63 00:03:26,233 --> 00:03:28,033 shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 64 00:03:28,099 --> 00:03:31,166 Behold, I am with you, and we'll 65 00:03:31,166 --> 00:03:34,300 keep you wherever you go, and we'll bring you back to this 66 00:03:34,300 --> 00:03:37,400 land, for I will not leave you until I have done what 67 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,133 I have promised you. 68 00:03:39,199 --> 00:03:42,266 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely the Lord 69 00:03:42,266 --> 00:03:44,066 is in his place, and I did not know it. 70 00:03:44,166 --> 00:03:47,833 He was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place? 71 00:03:47,900 --> 00:03:51,066 This is none other than the house of God, and 72 00:03:51,066 --> 00:03:52,266 this is the gate of heaven. 73 00:03:53,300 --> 00:03:56,900 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that 74 00:03:56,900 --> 00:04:00,000 he had put under his head, and set it up as a pillar, 75 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,733 and poured oil on its top. 76 00:04:02,166 --> 00:04:03,800 He called the name of the place Bethel. 77 00:04:03,900 --> 00:04:07,133 However, previously, the name of the city had been Luz. 78 00:04:07,199 --> 00:04:10,199 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be 79 00:04:10,199 --> 00:04:13,633 with me, and will keep me on this journey that I take, and 80 00:04:13,633 --> 00:04:16,699 will give me food to eat, and garments to wear, and I 81 00:04:16,699 --> 00:04:19,699 return to my father's house in safety, then the 82 00:04:19,699 --> 00:04:21,033 Lord will be my God. 83 00:04:21,300 --> 00:04:24,300 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will 84 00:04:24,300 --> 00:04:27,366 be God's house, and of all that you give me, I 85 00:04:27,366 --> 00:04:29,100 will surely give a 10th to you. 86 00:04:29,166 --> 00:04:29,699 Let's pray. 87 00:04:29,766 --> 00:04:30,833 Heavenly Father, we love you. 88 00:04:30,899 --> 00:04:34,033 Thank you, Lord, for your mercy that is displayed in all of our lives, 89 00:04:34,033 --> 00:04:36,666 and in Jacob's life that we can read this morning. 90 00:04:36,733 --> 00:04:39,800 I pray you bless the message in spite of the messenger, and that 91 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,866 all your words and your truths will bless our minds and our hearts 92 00:04:42,866 --> 00:04:44,366 for your glory in Christ's name. 93 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:44,766 Amen. 94 00:04:44,899 --> 00:04:48,300 All right, so this is the 3rd part of 95 00:04:48,300 --> 00:04:49,500 Jacob's life. 96 00:04:50,033 --> 00:04:53,233 And this chapter is actually the beginning of the 97 00:04:53,233 --> 00:04:57,566 third part, which will be spread over the next four chapters after this. 98 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,766 So get ready for when we read that whole passage next time. 99 00:05:01,166 --> 00:05:05,100 But we have taught, we started out talking about 100 00:05:05,100 --> 00:05:08,333 Jacob's birth, and how, from the beginning, 101 00:05:08,366 --> 00:05:11,533 he's a little schemer, that supplanter, 102 00:05:11,533 --> 00:05:15,066 the heel grabber, that he was always out 103 00:05:15,066 --> 00:05:18,233 for himself, and trying to make plans to better 104 00:05:18,266 --> 00:05:19,699 himself by his own way. 105 00:05:19,766 --> 00:05:22,766 And we also talked about Rebecca, 106 00:05:22,766 --> 00:05:25,899 and the prophecy that God had given her, that the two babies 107 00:05:25,899 --> 00:05:29,033 that were in her womb, that the twin brothers, Esau 108 00:05:29,066 --> 00:05:32,366 and Jacob, were the start, the beginning of two 109 00:05:32,366 --> 00:05:35,366 different nations, that the rogue named 110 00:05:35,366 --> 00:05:39,100 Jacob, would be one nation, and the utterly 111 00:05:39,100 --> 00:05:43,033 secular man that was Esau, would be another nation. 112 00:05:44,233 --> 00:05:47,300 And one of the things, when we're dealing with the 113 00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:51,133 sovereignty of God, either in scripture or in our 114 00:05:51,133 --> 00:05:54,366 own lives, one of the main things we ask is 115 00:05:54,366 --> 00:05:57,500 the question, why, God, have you ever tried 116 00:05:57,500 --> 00:05:58,566 to ask God why? 117 00:05:58,699 --> 00:06:01,866 Have you ever heard anyone else ask God why? 118 00:06:02,166 --> 00:06:05,000 We can all relate to that question. 119 00:06:05,933 --> 00:06:09,266 But there's another question that's not asked nearly as 120 00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:12,399 much, but is just as important, and that is how 121 00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:15,899 God, how are you going to fulfill your 122 00:06:15,899 --> 00:06:19,500 promises with the situation as it is? 123 00:06:19,633 --> 00:06:21,800 For example, Abraham. 124 00:06:21,866 --> 00:06:24,933 God made a promise to Abraham that his seed would 125 00:06:24,933 --> 00:06:28,133 fill the earth, that he'd be the father of many nations, 126 00:06:28,166 --> 00:06:31,333 that his seed would be like the sand, the sea, and the 127 00:06:31,333 --> 00:06:35,699 stars in the sky, and that he would be a blessing to the whole world. 128 00:06:35,766 --> 00:06:39,199 And then his next generation, is Isaac. 129 00:06:39,300 --> 00:06:41,766 And we saw how much a mess Isaac was. 130 00:06:41,899 --> 00:06:45,199 And then the generation following Isaac, the third generation 131 00:06:45,199 --> 00:06:48,566 after Abraham, is Jacob and Esau, and 132 00:06:48,566 --> 00:06:51,699 what a batch of dysfunction and 133 00:06:51,699 --> 00:06:55,033 mess, where Jacob and Esau, 134 00:06:55,033 --> 00:06:57,666 and Rebecca and Isaac all together. 135 00:06:57,733 --> 00:07:00,866 So how, God, are you going to keep your 136 00:07:00,866 --> 00:07:04,600 promises and make them work out with this material? 137 00:07:04,699 --> 00:07:08,000 Well, part of the reason why Genesis 138 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,233 is written at all is to show his people, 139 00:07:11,233 --> 00:07:14,366 the Hebrew people, and then us, the Christian people, 140 00:07:14,366 --> 00:07:17,366 exactly how God works, and that 141 00:07:17,366 --> 00:07:20,433 helps us, as we live our lives, and we wonder how 142 00:07:20,433 --> 00:07:24,766 is this going to work out for your glory, that we can trust in that? 143 00:07:24,866 --> 00:07:27,966 And that's kind of the message of what we're talking about through all of 144 00:07:27,966 --> 00:07:31,033 Jacob's life, that God weaves his 145 00:07:31,033 --> 00:07:34,333 plan through the tapestry of all of our lives. 146 00:07:34,466 --> 00:07:36,100 He works out. 147 00:07:36,733 --> 00:07:40,033 He works through our lives, and he works through the lives of 148 00:07:40,033 --> 00:07:43,333 sinners and dysfunction and mess, 149 00:07:43,333 --> 00:07:44,833 just like all of us. 150 00:07:44,899 --> 00:07:48,066 And we can see that he does that by looking at the example that 151 00:07:48,066 --> 00:07:51,533 he gave us in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 152 00:07:51,566 --> 00:07:55,233 and so forth, and so on, all the way up until Christ. 153 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,166 Since the two fraternal twins were born, as we saw. 154 00:07:59,300 --> 00:08:03,433 There was this sibling rivalry that was just constant. 155 00:08:04,033 --> 00:08:07,166 They were both working against each other, trying to get ahead, and 156 00:08:07,166 --> 00:08:11,666 then this reached the apex of it in our last message, 157 00:08:11,666 --> 00:08:14,733 where Esau, the favorite son of 158 00:08:14,733 --> 00:08:18,233 Isaac, because remember Isaac liked the food that he cooked. 159 00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:21,833 He was going to receive the blessing of the family as 160 00:08:21,866 --> 00:08:24,133 the eldest of the two brothers. 161 00:08:24,266 --> 00:08:27,633 And this hungry patriarch, Isaac, 162 00:08:27,633 --> 00:08:30,966 was going to give him his blessing for a 163 00:08:30,966 --> 00:08:32,700 meal of game that he cooked. 164 00:08:32,766 --> 00:08:35,899 But Jacob, Rebekah, his 165 00:08:35,899 --> 00:08:39,600 favorite son, stole it through deceit, 166 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,733 that the working of Rebecca and Jacob to deceive 167 00:08:42,733 --> 00:08:44,899 Isaac to seal the blessing. 168 00:08:44,966 --> 00:08:47,799 And this is exactly the material that I'm talking about. 169 00:08:47,833 --> 00:08:50,100 This is what God has to work with. 170 00:08:50,166 --> 00:08:54,600 All four of these are full of dysfunction and sin. 171 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,866 But God can make the pottery 172 00:08:59,866 --> 00:09:03,799 of his plan work out even with lumpy clay. 173 00:09:04,733 --> 00:09:08,166 So today's passage actually begins in the 174 00:09:08,166 --> 00:09:11,299 last chapter, in the last part, as we see 175 00:09:11,299 --> 00:09:14,833 more of this dysfunction laid out with Esau, 176 00:09:14,833 --> 00:09:17,166 Jacob, and Rebecca and Isaac. 177 00:09:17,233 --> 00:09:20,399 So if we go back to verse 41 of chapter 178 00:09:20,399 --> 00:09:23,633 27, it says, So Esau bore a grudge 179 00:09:23,666 --> 00:09:27,566 against Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. 180 00:09:27,566 --> 00:09:30,566 And Esau said to himself, The 181 00:09:30,566 --> 00:09:32,600 days of mourning for my father are near. 182 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:35,333 Then, I will kill my brother Jacob. 183 00:09:35,399 --> 00:09:38,399 Now, in the words of her elder son, Esau, 184 00:09:38,399 --> 00:09:41,533 were reported to Rebecca, she sent and called her younger 185 00:09:41,533 --> 00:09:44,666 son, Jacob, and said to him, Behold, your brother, 186 00:09:44,666 --> 00:09:47,700 Esau, is consoling himself, concerning you, 187 00:09:47,700 --> 00:09:49,033 by planning to kill you. 188 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:52,700 Now have you ever comforted yourself by planning on killing someone else? 189 00:09:53,100 --> 00:09:56,100 Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice, 190 00:09:56,100 --> 00:09:59,266 and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban, 191 00:09:59,299 --> 00:10:02,366 stay with him a few days until your brother's 192 00:10:02,366 --> 00:10:05,433 fury subsides, until your brother's anger 193 00:10:05,433 --> 00:10:08,700 against you subsides, and he forgets what you did to him. 194 00:10:08,833 --> 00:10:11,166 Then I will send you and get to you from there. 195 00:10:11,233 --> 00:10:14,600 Why should I be bereaved of both of you in one day? 196 00:10:14,666 --> 00:10:18,299 Now, I want you to remember, that is the purpose that Rebecca wants 197 00:10:18,299 --> 00:10:21,600 Jacob to go to her brother Laban's house, or 198 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,666 land, or farm, is 199 00:10:24,666 --> 00:10:28,333 for him to escape the murder of his brother. 200 00:10:28,799 --> 00:10:32,333 But then, Rebecca goes to Isaac, the patriarch, 201 00:10:32,366 --> 00:10:35,666 laying up in bed in his old age and blindness, if you remember, and 202 00:10:35,666 --> 00:10:39,700 she says, This in verse 46, Rebecca said to Isaac, I am tired of living. 203 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,700 Because of the daughters of Heth, if Jacob takes 204 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:46,866 a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters 205 00:10:46,866 --> 00:10:49,433 of the land, what good will my life be to me? 206 00:10:49,566 --> 00:10:50,299 Oh. 207 00:10:51,733 --> 00:10:54,899 So she's not telling the whole truth to 208 00:10:54,899 --> 00:10:57,000 her husband, Isaac, is she? 209 00:10:57,066 --> 00:11:00,899 Esau was so mad at Jacob, he threatened to murder him. 210 00:11:00,966 --> 00:11:04,100 Rebecca heard this, and she immediately started 211 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:06,933 to make plans, and a scheme about what to do. 212 00:11:06,966 --> 00:11:10,133 So she told Jacob her plan, go 213 00:11:10,166 --> 00:11:13,466 leave, and then Esau eventually will forget what happened. 214 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:17,033 Now, would you forget that 215 00:11:17,066 --> 00:11:19,333 your blessing was stolen by your brother? 216 00:11:19,333 --> 00:11:21,066 Probably not. 217 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,266 But she knew Esau, and she knew that 218 00:11:24,266 --> 00:11:27,566 eventually he would, because his personality, 219 00:11:27,566 --> 00:11:30,566 as soon as his mind went to something else, all that was 220 00:11:30,566 --> 00:11:34,000 gone, all his care for this was gone, and he would just be completely focused 221 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,633 on whatever was in front of him, and the next thing that he wanted. 222 00:11:37,700 --> 00:11:40,766 And she knew this about her son, and she knew that 223 00:11:40,766 --> 00:11:42,200 Jacob would listen to her. 224 00:11:42,933 --> 00:11:44,066 But she did have a problem. 225 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:47,100 She had to deal with Isaac, the patriarch, 226 00:11:47,100 --> 00:11:50,566 the husband, the one that wore the pants in the family. 227 00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:53,233 But she was a master schemer as well. 228 00:11:53,299 --> 00:11:56,733 She was a master manipulator of her husband, 229 00:11:56,733 --> 00:12:00,766 and so she went in and came up with this complaint 230 00:12:00,799 --> 00:12:04,100 that Esau, you know, he married two local pagan 231 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:07,166 women, and so she went to Isaac and 232 00:12:07,166 --> 00:12:10,166 put her hand on the back of her head 233 00:12:10,166 --> 00:12:12,200 on her forehead and said, Woe, it's me, husband. 234 00:12:12,266 --> 00:12:13,933 What am I going to do? 235 00:12:14,066 --> 00:12:17,600 And I just picture Scarlet O'Hara, from Gone with the Wind. 236 00:12:17,666 --> 00:12:21,433 And she's going in there, and complaining 237 00:12:21,433 --> 00:12:23,833 to lying to her husband. 238 00:12:24,700 --> 00:12:27,333 But the nagging, complaining works. 239 00:12:27,366 --> 00:12:30,500 And Isaac complies, as 240 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:32,966 we'll see when we get into our passage. 241 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000 So I want you to keep in mind, as we go through the 242 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 story, this narrative, this account, that the 243 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,000 big picture is that God is weaving 244 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,233 and working through all this, that he is using these 245 00:12:45,266 --> 00:12:48,433 sinners and their actions, their sins, 246 00:12:48,433 --> 00:12:51,600 to fulfill his ultimate will, and 247 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:53,466 he does that every single time. 248 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,700 God absolutely, through all of this, 249 00:12:56,700 --> 00:12:59,766 invades Jacob's life with 250 00:12:59,766 --> 00:13:02,933 grace, in spite of who he is, and 251 00:13:02,966 --> 00:13:05,966 what he's done, and who Jacob is, and what Jacob has done. 252 00:13:06,066 --> 00:13:09,133 So let's start at the beginning of our chapter and see 253 00:13:09,133 --> 00:13:12,266 how this all works out, as Jacob is sent 254 00:13:12,266 --> 00:13:15,500 to search for a wife in the first nine verses. 255 00:13:17,033 --> 00:13:20,166 First verses, so Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, 256 00:13:20,166 --> 00:13:23,600 and said to him, You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 257 00:13:23,666 --> 00:13:26,966 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethul, 258 00:13:26,966 --> 00:13:30,433 your mother's father, and from there, take to yourself a 259 00:13:30,433 --> 00:13:32,766 wife, from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 260 00:13:32,833 --> 00:13:35,000 And listen to the blessing he gives him. 261 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,233 May God, Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and 262 00:13:38,233 --> 00:13:41,233 multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples, 263 00:13:41,233 --> 00:13:44,399 may also give you the blessing of Abraham, 264 00:13:44,399 --> 00:13:47,633 to you, and to your descendants, with you, that 265 00:13:47,666 --> 00:13:50,766 you may possess the land of your sore journings, 266 00:13:50,766 --> 00:13:53,033 which God gave to Abraham. 267 00:13:53,066 --> 00:13:56,733 This scene really cracks me up. 268 00:13:56,766 --> 00:13:59,899 I find it hilarious, because we know what just happened in 269 00:13:59,899 --> 00:14:01,166 the last chapter. 270 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,333 Rebecca went in and she put that bug in 271 00:14:04,333 --> 00:14:07,566 Isaac's ear, but he's sitting in his bed, blind and laid up, and 272 00:14:07,566 --> 00:14:10,700 he's telling Jacob, like, it's his idea, like, this is what you need to do, son. 273 00:14:10,766 --> 00:14:14,133 You need to go get you a wife from our family. 274 00:14:14,166 --> 00:14:17,333 So Isaac calls Jacob 275 00:14:17,366 --> 00:14:20,366 and tells him that he must go away to find a 276 00:14:20,366 --> 00:14:24,266 wife from his native land, like it was his idea. 277 00:14:24,366 --> 00:14:27,666 And on top of that, Jacob already 278 00:14:27,666 --> 00:14:30,799 knew what he was going to ask him, because it 279 00:14:30,799 --> 00:14:32,666 was him and Rebecca's plan. 280 00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:35,566 And the reason that all of this is in there. 281 00:14:35,666 --> 00:14:38,966 is to show that this is just one big circle of 282 00:14:38,966 --> 00:14:41,966 dysfunction and manipulation going on, 283 00:14:41,966 --> 00:14:44,833 again, just like we talked about last time. 284 00:14:44,899 --> 00:14:48,633 And there's some other stuff that's coming that will continue to show you the same thing. 285 00:14:48,666 --> 00:14:51,833 So, maybe you can relate with this, 286 00:14:51,866 --> 00:14:55,266 but hopefully, only in a very small way in 287 00:14:55,266 --> 00:14:56,533 your families. 288 00:14:57,533 --> 00:15:00,966 But Isaac goes along with Rebecca's plan and her manipulation 289 00:15:00,966 --> 00:15:03,433 of him, and he blesses Jacob. 290 00:15:04,233 --> 00:15:07,399 He basically blesses Jacob with the 291 00:15:07,399 --> 00:15:10,533 same promises that the covenant that 292 00:15:10,533 --> 00:15:14,933 Yahweh made with Father Abraham down 293 00:15:14,966 --> 00:15:18,066 to him, to Isaac, and passes that blessing 294 00:15:18,066 --> 00:15:20,233 on noun to Jacob. 295 00:15:20,299 --> 00:15:24,000 So you remember how unlikely that 296 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,133 this was to happen last time, because 297 00:15:27,133 --> 00:15:30,566 in Isaac's mind, he was going to bless Esau 298 00:15:30,566 --> 00:15:33,700 with these covenant promises, but God saw 299 00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:37,266 to it that he would end up blessing Jacob 300 00:15:37,266 --> 00:15:40,399 with these covenant promises dead, because 301 00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:43,500 Esau have I hated, and Jacob have 302 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:44,766 I loved. 303 00:15:44,899 --> 00:15:48,133 So then, the author gives 304 00:15:48,133 --> 00:15:51,266 us Esau's reaction to what has just happened in 305 00:15:51,266 --> 00:15:52,633 verses 6 through 9. 306 00:15:52,700 --> 00:15:55,933 He says, Now, Esau, Saul, that Isaac had blessed 307 00:15:55,933 --> 00:15:59,399 Jacob, and sent him away to Badan Haram to 308 00:15:59,399 --> 00:16:02,466 take to himself a wife from there, and that when he 309 00:16:02,466 --> 00:16:05,600 blessed him, he charged him, saying, You shall not take 310 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,533 a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 311 00:16:07,633 --> 00:16:11,066 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and 312 00:16:11,066 --> 00:16:12,566 had gone to put on her arm. 313 00:16:13,133 --> 00:16:17,000 So, Esau, Saul, that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac. 314 00:16:17,100 --> 00:16:18,133 So what does Esau do? 315 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,366 So Esau went to Ishmael, and 316 00:16:21,366 --> 00:16:25,100 married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalov, 317 00:16:25,100 --> 00:16:28,266 the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the 318 00:16:28,266 --> 00:16:29,933 sister of Nabarov. 319 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,100 Esau saw that Jacob had got another blessing from 320 00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:35,533 Isaac. 321 00:16:35,666 --> 00:16:39,399 And Esau wanted one of those things for himself. 322 00:16:39,433 --> 00:16:41,166 He just wanted some kind of blessing. 323 00:16:41,299 --> 00:16:44,433 So in his fleshly and secular mind, 324 00:16:44,433 --> 00:16:47,533 he saw what happened, and he tried to 325 00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:50,533 do his own thing, and go his own way, and follow 326 00:16:50,533 --> 00:16:53,600 his own instructions, according to 327 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:54,733 the way that his mind worked. 328 00:16:54,799 --> 00:16:57,799 So he went and married another woman, 329 00:16:57,799 --> 00:17:00,799 who wasn't a daughter of Heth, who 330 00:17:00,799 --> 00:17:04,033 wasn't a Canaanite, she was the daughter of 331 00:17:04,033 --> 00:17:06,799 Isaac's half brother, Ishmael. 332 00:17:06,866 --> 00:17:10,200 And so, if you remember the story of Abraham 333 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,333 and Sarah, their first child, their 334 00:17:13,333 --> 00:17:17,833 first son, was Ishmael that they had with Sarah's 335 00:17:17,833 --> 00:17:19,566 maid, Hagar, right? 336 00:17:19,633 --> 00:17:23,000 And this was their way of trying 337 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,466 to get what they wanted their own way, instead of God's way. 338 00:17:26,533 --> 00:17:31,400 So Esau is following in his grandfather's 339 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,933 footsteps, by doing it his own way, and finding someone 340 00:17:34,933 --> 00:17:37,933 that's in the family, like Jacob 341 00:17:37,933 --> 00:17:41,400 was going to do, but not exactly what 342 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:42,433 God was talking about. 343 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:45,500 Ishmael was over here, and Isaac was over here, 344 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:48,799 and now he's going his own way, and doing his own thing, 345 00:17:48,799 --> 00:17:51,966 another mess, and just another reiteration 346 00:17:51,966 --> 00:17:55,433 of the problems of not trusting in God. 347 00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:59,700 But that everyone involved here is 348 00:17:59,700 --> 00:18:03,133 a mess, but the difference is the hand of God. 349 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:04,400 Jacob is a mess. 350 00:18:04,466 --> 00:18:07,466 But God's hand was on him, and 351 00:18:07,466 --> 00:18:10,799 we'll see that in the next part, as Jacob 352 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:14,099 leaves his family and his land, and heads to 353 00:18:14,099 --> 00:18:18,233 his uncle's place in Padanaram to find a wife. 354 00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:22,266 But something happens along the way to 355 00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:24,500 Padan Aram, as it usually does. 356 00:18:24,733 --> 00:18:28,200 Jacob sleeps on the way, and 357 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,533 he dreams a dream, verse number 10. 358 00:18:30,733 --> 00:18:33,866 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, 359 00:18:33,866 --> 00:18:35,366 and went toward Haran. 360 00:18:35,466 --> 00:18:38,533 He came to a certain place, and 361 00:18:38,533 --> 00:18:42,000 spent the night there because the sun had set, and 362 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,066 he took one of the stones of the place, and put 363 00:18:45,066 --> 00:18:47,900 it under his head, and laid down in that place. 364 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,066 He had a dream, and, behold, a ladder 365 00:18:51,066 --> 00:18:54,066 was set on the earth, with its top reaching 366 00:18:54,066 --> 00:18:57,233 to heaven, and, behold, the angels of God were ascending 367 00:18:57,266 --> 00:18:59,000 and descending on it. 368 00:18:59,066 --> 00:19:02,133 And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I 369 00:19:02,133 --> 00:19:05,266 am the Lord, the God of your Father, Abraham, and 370 00:19:05,299 --> 00:19:08,400 the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, I 371 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,500 will give it to you, and to your descendants. 372 00:19:10,633 --> 00:19:13,799 Your descendants will also be like the 373 00:19:13,799 --> 00:19:16,966 dust of the earth, and you will spread out 374 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000 to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to 375 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,299 the south, and in you, and in your descendants, shall all the families 376 00:19:23,299 --> 00:19:24,433 of the earth be blessed. 377 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:26,666 Behold, I am with you. 378 00:19:26,766 --> 00:19:29,833 and will keep you wherever you go, and 379 00:19:29,833 --> 00:19:33,066 will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until 380 00:19:33,066 --> 00:19:35,299 I have done what I have promised you. 381 00:19:35,366 --> 00:19:37,700 So, on the road to Haran, 382 00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:41,099 Jacob comes to a certain place. 383 00:19:42,033 --> 00:19:45,266 And the Bible makes certain, the author of 384 00:19:45,266 --> 00:19:48,299 Genesis, through the Holy Spirit, makes certain that we know 385 00:19:48,299 --> 00:19:49,866 that this is a place. 386 00:19:49,933 --> 00:19:51,266 It's that place. 387 00:19:51,299 --> 00:19:54,533 It's a certain place, that 388 00:19:54,566 --> 00:19:56,833 Jacob finds a place to rest. 389 00:19:56,966 --> 00:19:57,400 Verse 11. 390 00:19:57,599 --> 00:20:00,599 He came to a certain place, and spent the night 391 00:20:00,599 --> 00:20:03,599 there because the sun had set, and he took one of the 392 00:20:03,599 --> 00:20:06,599 stones of the place, and put it under 393 00:20:06,599 --> 00:20:09,833 his head, and lay down in that place. 394 00:20:09,966 --> 00:20:13,133 That certain place where he found a 395 00:20:13,166 --> 00:20:16,266 stone to make a pillow, he would later call 396 00:20:16,266 --> 00:20:19,266 Bethel, and it would become a major part 397 00:20:19,266 --> 00:20:22,500 of the Hebrew geography 398 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:25,266 in cities, as we'll see later. 399 00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:28,700 But Jacob must have been extremely 400 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:30,866 tired from his journey. 401 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,966 This is about 55 miles away from 402 00:20:33,966 --> 00:20:37,099 where he started in Beersheba, and so this 403 00:20:37,099 --> 00:20:40,500 is probably three days journey, walking around 55 404 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:42,299 miles to where he's ended up. 405 00:20:42,366 --> 00:20:46,099 So how do we know that he was probably tired? 406 00:20:46,166 --> 00:20:49,200 Because when he went to lay down, he used a stone 407 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,533 as a pillow. 408 00:20:50,666 --> 00:20:53,666 Now, I'm an old man now, 45 years 409 00:20:53,666 --> 00:20:56,666 old, and I don't need an alarm clock to wake up because 410 00:20:56,666 --> 00:21:00,266 when I wake up, I wake up because my back hurts, right? 411 00:21:00,299 --> 00:21:03,599 I cannot imagine laying down and 412 00:21:03,599 --> 00:21:06,733 using a stone for a pillow, and how 413 00:21:06,733 --> 00:21:07,933 he must have woke up. 414 00:21:08,700 --> 00:21:10,766 But he must have slept really well. 415 00:21:10,799 --> 00:21:14,033 Because as he was sleeping, God 416 00:21:14,066 --> 00:21:16,400 caused him to have a dream. 417 00:21:16,466 --> 00:21:19,566 And in this dream, he 418 00:21:19,566 --> 00:21:22,500 sees a strange, very strange thing. 419 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,900 But the NASB here calls a ladder. 420 00:21:26,900 --> 00:21:30,033 The word means more like a staircase, 421 00:21:30,033 --> 00:21:33,366 or a stairway, up to heaven, no 422 00:21:33,366 --> 00:21:35,466 pun intended with Led Zeppelin. 423 00:21:36,599 --> 00:21:39,966 And so going up and down this staircase to 424 00:21:39,966 --> 00:21:43,200 heaven are angels going 425 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,866 to heaven and coming from heaven and going to earth. 426 00:21:47,733 --> 00:21:51,799 And so just like Esau marrying his 427 00:21:51,799 --> 00:21:55,400 half sister, or half brothers, 428 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,400 however that worked out, was doing it in his own 429 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,400 way, kind of was a call back to 430 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,000 Abraham and Hagar and Ishmael. 431 00:22:05,066 --> 00:22:08,833 This is kind of a callback earlier to Genesis, 432 00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:11,966 to the Tower of Babel, because you 433 00:22:11,966 --> 00:22:15,066 remember why they were building the Tower of Babel, 434 00:22:15,066 --> 00:22:16,133 they weren't able to complete it? 435 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,099 because they were trying to build a building themselves to 436 00:22:20,099 --> 00:22:22,066 reach heaven for themselves. 437 00:22:22,166 --> 00:22:25,400 So here we have a call back to it, but 438 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,033 God's counter to it. 439 00:22:28,099 --> 00:22:29,966 Jacob wasn't trying to reach heaven. 440 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,233 He was just trying to get as good a night of sleep as he could on a stone. 441 00:22:33,366 --> 00:22:36,366 God built the staircase down to 442 00:22:36,366 --> 00:22:39,799 Earth so that we could go up to heaven. 443 00:22:39,866 --> 00:22:43,400 That is the picture that is going on here. 444 00:22:43,466 --> 00:22:46,466 The Tower of Babel was man's way to try to make it 445 00:22:46,466 --> 00:22:47,500 to heaven and to God. 446 00:22:47,533 --> 00:22:50,833 And the Jacob's ladder, or Jacob's 447 00:22:50,833 --> 00:22:54,900 staircase, is God's way of combing down to us. 448 00:22:54,966 --> 00:22:58,133 And so this is ultimately a picture of the incarnation 449 00:22:58,166 --> 00:23:00,200 of our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ. 450 00:23:01,133 --> 00:23:04,333 So, Yahweh made this staircase that came 451 00:23:04,333 --> 00:23:06,433 down to earth. 452 00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:07,333 He built it for us. 453 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,533 And he stood above the ladder, and he called down 454 00:23:11,533 --> 00:23:14,666 to Jacob, and he repeated the same promises 455 00:23:14,666 --> 00:23:18,366 that he made to Abraham, and to Isaac, 456 00:23:18,366 --> 00:23:21,500 and that Isaac that had just blessed Jacob with, 457 00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:24,566 he told him the promise that he 458 00:23:24,566 --> 00:23:27,566 would give him in verse number 15, behold, I am with you, 459 00:23:27,566 --> 00:23:30,566 and we'll keep you wherever you go, and we'll bring you back to 460 00:23:30,566 --> 00:23:33,566 this land, for I will not leave you until I have 461 00:23:33,566 --> 00:23:35,233 done what I have promised you. 462 00:23:35,299 --> 00:23:38,299 Now, can you imagine, this promise 463 00:23:38,299 --> 00:23:41,599 being made to you, by Yahweh 464 00:23:41,599 --> 00:23:45,599 himself, standing in the clouds on this staircase, 465 00:23:45,599 --> 00:23:48,733 this ladder that went up to heaven, and just 466 00:23:48,733 --> 00:23:52,500 imagine the booming voice that he must have heard in 467 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:55,966 this dream, saying that I'm going to keep you, that 468 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,633 I'm going to bring you back to this land? 469 00:23:57,733 --> 00:24:01,200 Remember, he's leaving the land running for his life. 470 00:24:01,333 --> 00:24:04,766 That was supposed to be his inheritance and all that he had. 471 00:24:04,799 --> 00:24:07,866 Isaac just promised him that land, 472 00:24:07,866 --> 00:24:11,000 but he doesn't know if he's ever going to be able to go back here, but God is 473 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,633 promising that he will be. 474 00:24:12,666 --> 00:24:15,733 But lastly, he promises, I will not 475 00:24:15,733 --> 00:24:18,799 leave you until I have done what 476 00:24:18,799 --> 00:24:20,166 I have promised you. 477 00:24:20,233 --> 00:24:23,466 I'm going to be with you the entire way until 478 00:24:23,466 --> 00:24:26,700 every single one of these promises will 479 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:30,000 be kept for you, which means God will never 480 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,633 leave him nor forsake him. 481 00:24:32,700 --> 00:24:35,866 What sounds like the same promise that God made 482 00:24:35,900 --> 00:24:39,433 to Moses, that the author of Hebrews quoted 483 00:24:39,433 --> 00:24:42,500 in chapter number 13, being content with what 484 00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:46,166 you have, for he himself has said, I 485 00:24:46,166 --> 00:24:49,633 will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. 486 00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:52,966 So that is the promise that he made to Jacob. 487 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,400 That's the promise that he made to Moses, and that 488 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,400 is the promise that he made to us, that 489 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,066 we can live our lives knowing that he will never, ever desert 490 00:25:03,066 --> 00:25:06,066 us, and he'll never, ever forsake us. 491 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,366 And that is a promise worth living your 492 00:25:09,366 --> 00:25:10,799 life anchored to. 493 00:25:12,099 --> 00:25:15,099 But wait, there's a little bit of an issue. 494 00:25:15,133 --> 00:25:18,266 See, Grace can be offensive 495 00:25:18,266 --> 00:25:19,299 to us. 496 00:25:19,333 --> 00:25:20,599 Can it not be? 497 00:25:20,666 --> 00:25:22,633 If you don't know, think about it. 498 00:25:23,599 --> 00:25:27,133 Jacob was a rascal, a rogue, 499 00:25:27,133 --> 00:25:30,566 a mess, a great sinner, a liar, 500 00:25:30,566 --> 00:25:33,866 a schemer, a heel grabber, all these things, and 501 00:25:33,866 --> 00:25:37,266 he did nothing to this point, that could 502 00:25:37,266 --> 00:25:40,566 be ever looked at or perceived as 503 00:25:40,566 --> 00:25:41,933 something that was good. 504 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,766 But God came to him out of nowhere and 505 00:25:45,799 --> 00:25:47,833 made these promises to him. 506 00:25:47,966 --> 00:25:50,966 Grace can be very offensive to 507 00:25:50,966 --> 00:25:52,099 our sensibilities. 508 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,500 But if you don't think so, I 509 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:59,099 read the story studying for this message, and 510 00:25:59,099 --> 00:26:02,233 it was about Henry Gorecki, any World War 511 00:26:02,233 --> 00:26:04,200 II historians here that recognize that name. 512 00:26:04,333 --> 00:26:08,166 There's not many of us that Christian 513 00:26:08,166 --> 00:26:09,833 historians of World War II. 514 00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:12,733 He was a Lutheran minister from St. 515 00:26:12,733 --> 00:26:15,733 Louis, and originally, he was 516 00:26:15,733 --> 00:26:18,433 from Germany, so he spoke German. 517 00:26:18,500 --> 00:26:21,566 And so when he joined the army, he became a 518 00:26:21,566 --> 00:26:23,500 chaplain for the army. 519 00:26:23,533 --> 00:26:26,700 And his post was 520 00:26:26,700 --> 00:26:30,433 to the German prisoners that 521 00:26:30,433 --> 00:26:33,799 were facing the Nuremberg trials. 522 00:26:33,866 --> 00:26:36,933 These were the worst of the Nazis, who oversaw the slaughter 523 00:26:36,933 --> 00:26:40,200 of thousands of Jews, and committed 524 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,566 heinous war crimes against the Allied 525 00:26:43,566 --> 00:26:46,566 forces, and they were going to be condemned to death 526 00:26:46,566 --> 00:26:49,633 or to be marooned and left in prison 527 00:26:49,633 --> 00:26:50,666 for the rest of their lives. 528 00:26:50,766 --> 00:26:54,133 He was the chaplain for 529 00:26:54,133 --> 00:26:57,799 these men facing these charges and what they had done. 530 00:26:58,633 --> 00:26:59,900 So he questioned them. 531 00:26:59,966 --> 00:27:02,966 He was a minister, that he counseled with 532 00:27:02,966 --> 00:27:06,299 them, he prayed to them, and he witnessed to them the 533 00:27:06,299 --> 00:27:08,099 glory of the gospel. 534 00:27:08,833 --> 00:27:11,833 Not all of them, but several of those Nazis 535 00:27:11,833 --> 00:27:15,500 seemed to be genuinely repentant to him. 536 00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:16,866 He was no softy. 537 00:27:16,933 --> 00:27:20,299 His previous ministry experience was with criminals themselves. 538 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,066 Some of those he examined, he even admitted to the Lord's Supper. 539 00:27:26,099 --> 00:27:29,566 And so near Christmas, of 540 00:27:29,599 --> 00:27:32,966 1945, he wrote in his diary, and 541 00:27:32,966 --> 00:27:36,033 I'm not going to read the names, I can't pronounce German names, but many of them were 542 00:27:36,033 --> 00:27:39,666 some of the worst heinous Nazi criminals, there, 543 00:27:39,666 --> 00:27:42,900 that they seem to have a genuine change, 544 00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:45,533 and repentance seemed to come over their lives. 545 00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:49,099 And all of this continued until 546 00:27:49,099 --> 00:27:52,766 his career as an army chaplain ended in 1950. 547 00:27:53,900 --> 00:27:56,900 He came back to the States and was a Lutheran 548 00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:59,766 minister until he died in 1961. 549 00:28:00,733 --> 00:28:03,966 After he died, his oldest son was going 550 00:28:03,966 --> 00:28:07,033 through his things, and he found a secret compartment in 551 00:28:07,033 --> 00:28:10,033 his desk, and in that compartment, was a thick 552 00:28:10,033 --> 00:28:13,099 stack of letters that hundreds of 553 00:28:13,099 --> 00:28:16,233 people had written to Henry Corecki, calling 554 00:28:16,233 --> 00:28:19,866 him a Jew hater, and a Nazi lover, and 555 00:28:19,866 --> 00:28:23,333 calling for him to be hanged, just like the Nazis 556 00:28:23,366 --> 00:28:25,599 at Nuremberg. 557 00:28:25,633 --> 00:28:28,700 They were all written in the most hateful 558 00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:31,233 language management. 559 00:28:31,266 --> 00:28:31,500 Why? 560 00:28:32,799 --> 00:28:35,666 because grace can be offensive. 561 00:28:36,633 --> 00:28:39,666 Because we don't understand the amount 562 00:28:39,666 --> 00:28:42,833 of grace that we need for salvation. 563 00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:46,033 We think we need less grace than 564 00:28:46,033 --> 00:28:48,966 those evil Nazis needed. 565 00:28:49,033 --> 00:28:52,033 But the fact is, we all 566 00:28:52,033 --> 00:28:55,200 need all of the grace that God has given, 567 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,733 and by the way, he has an overflowing amount 568 00:28:58,766 --> 00:29:01,633 of grace to all of us who have been saved. 569 00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:04,766 And so if we ever get offended by 570 00:29:04,766 --> 00:29:08,099 the grace God chose to our enemies, to the most hateful 571 00:29:08,099 --> 00:29:11,400 people, they deserve to their punishment and the hanging, 572 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,466 but Christ can save any of 573 00:29:14,466 --> 00:29:18,799 us, and if he can save us, he can even save Nazis 574 00:29:18,799 --> 00:29:21,433 that are on their way to capital punishment. 575 00:29:22,233 --> 00:29:26,166 We are all Jacobs in a way, if that makes sense. 576 00:29:26,233 --> 00:29:29,466 Jacob had done nothing, in himself, 577 00:29:29,466 --> 00:29:33,200 to build this ladder, this staircase, to 578 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:34,266 heaven. 579 00:29:34,333 --> 00:29:36,366 Yahweh built it all for him. 580 00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:40,166 Jacob wasn't worthy of God's promises that he made. 581 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,733 We aren't worthy of the promises of Yahweh either. 582 00:29:43,799 --> 00:29:46,966 God made him out of his own grace, and 583 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,099 his own love, and out of his own will for 584 00:29:50,099 --> 00:29:51,533 him and for us. 585 00:29:51,666 --> 00:29:54,900 But Jacob received that grace, 586 00:29:54,900 --> 00:29:58,066 and this became the pivotal moment 587 00:29:58,099 --> 00:29:59,900 in Jacob's life. 588 00:29:59,966 --> 00:30:02,066 This is where everything changed. 589 00:30:02,099 --> 00:30:04,266 He woke up a new man. 590 00:30:04,333 --> 00:30:07,500 And we can tell because of the way that 591 00:30:07,500 --> 00:30:10,666 he responded to Yahweh's 592 00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:11,733 grace, verse 16. 593 00:30:12,733 --> 00:30:15,900 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely the 594 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:17,700 Lord is in his place, and I did not know it. 595 00:30:17,833 --> 00:30:20,900 He was afraid, and said, How awesome 596 00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:21,933 is this place? 597 00:30:21,966 --> 00:30:24,500 This is none other than the house of God. 598 00:30:24,566 --> 00:30:26,200 And this is the gate of heaven. 599 00:30:26,299 --> 00:30:29,400 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took 600 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,466 the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as 601 00:30:32,466 --> 00:30:35,000 a pillar, and poured oil on its top. 602 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,933 He called the name of this place Bethel. 603 00:30:38,066 --> 00:30:41,133 However, previously, the name of the city had been lus. 604 00:30:41,233 --> 00:30:44,833 Then Jacob made a vow saying, If God will be with me, and 605 00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:46,466 we'll keep me on this journey that I take. 606 00:30:46,566 --> 00:30:50,099 And I will give 607 00:30:50,099 --> 00:30:53,099 me food to eat, and garments to wear, and I 608 00:30:53,099 --> 00:30:57,000 return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. 609 00:30:57,066 --> 00:31:00,433 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, 610 00:31:00,433 --> 00:31:03,500 will be God's house, and of all that you give me, 611 00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:05,599 I will surely give a tenth to you. 612 00:31:06,900 --> 00:31:10,166 I was asked recently by someone. 613 00:31:10,333 --> 00:31:13,866 What would I say to Jesus Christ when 614 00:31:13,866 --> 00:31:15,066 I see him face to face? 615 00:31:15,133 --> 00:31:18,433 What questions would I ask of 616 00:31:18,433 --> 00:31:21,266 Christ, and what would I like to know? 617 00:31:21,266 --> 00:31:24,933 I told him that my first response would 618 00:31:24,933 --> 00:31:28,666 not be any questions, or anything, but 619 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:31,799 to put my face on the ground and worship him for 620 00:31:31,799 --> 00:31:34,200 all that he's done for me. 621 00:31:34,333 --> 00:31:37,633 And that's kind of what Jacob does here. 622 00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:41,166 There's a holy fear that comes over him. 623 00:31:41,233 --> 00:31:45,200 When he wakes up from the stream, that Yahweh caused him to have. 624 00:31:45,266 --> 00:31:48,433 And he's utterly amazed at what he saw, 625 00:31:48,433 --> 00:31:51,433 not just at what he saw, but at 626 00:31:51,433 --> 00:31:54,066 what God had told him and promised him. 627 00:31:54,133 --> 00:31:57,366 Wouldn't all of us be waking up from that dream. 628 00:31:57,433 --> 00:32:00,599 When he went to bed on that rock pillow, 629 00:32:00,599 --> 00:32:04,200 he had zero idea, or intentions 630 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,200 of having a meeting with Yahweh, the creator of 631 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:08,833 the universe, that night. 632 00:32:08,900 --> 00:32:12,200 Grace came to him as 633 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:13,400 a complete surprise. 634 00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:16,500 He wasn't seeking grace, he 635 00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:19,500 wasn't looking for it, he wasn't following some 636 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:22,666 set of steps in order to find the grace 637 00:32:22,700 --> 00:32:24,366 of God or to get saved. 638 00:32:24,433 --> 00:32:28,033 He wasn't following pillars of religion 639 00:32:28,033 --> 00:32:30,900 or sacraments to get to his grace. 640 00:32:31,133 --> 00:32:35,400 His eyes were open to it, and he believed. 641 00:32:35,466 --> 00:32:38,633 And how do we know that he believed at this point? 642 00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:41,700 Verse 20, Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with 643 00:32:41,700 --> 00:32:44,766 me, and will keep me on this journey that I take, 644 00:32:44,766 --> 00:32:47,766 and will give me food and eat and garments to wear, and 645 00:32:47,766 --> 00:32:51,066 I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will 646 00:32:51,066 --> 00:32:52,099 be my God. 647 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,366 Now, he's not saying that he's 648 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,466 not negotiating with God here and saying, if you give me all these things, 649 00:32:58,466 --> 00:33:00,099 then I'll make you my God. 650 00:33:00,099 --> 00:33:03,299 What he's saying is, wow, if he's 651 00:33:03,299 --> 00:33:06,299 going to do all that for me, then he's going to be my God. 652 00:33:06,366 --> 00:33:07,099 Does that make sense? 653 00:33:07,166 --> 00:33:07,833 That's the difference. 654 00:33:07,866 --> 00:33:09,533 And he's only saying that. 655 00:33:09,666 --> 00:33:13,366 Think of Jacob Pre, this experience, 656 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,066 what God had done had completely changed him and 657 00:33:17,066 --> 00:33:18,200 his outlook on life. 658 00:33:18,299 --> 00:33:20,933 He stopped following his own schemes. 659 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,900 This no longer became a way to get away from his murderous brother. 660 00:33:24,966 --> 00:33:27,366 This became part of God's plan. 661 00:33:27,433 --> 00:33:30,599 And so he was going to go on to the next step in a different light. 662 00:33:30,666 --> 00:33:33,799 Now, obviously, as 663 00:33:33,799 --> 00:33:36,799 we go on to the next part, there is still 664 00:33:36,799 --> 00:33:37,866 some scheming going on. 665 00:33:37,933 --> 00:33:40,933 This is a planting going on with Jacob and 666 00:33:40,933 --> 00:33:42,599 with his uncle, Laban. 667 00:33:43,599 --> 00:33:47,166 He doesn't become a perfect man, but the direction 668 00:33:47,166 --> 00:33:49,333 of his life changes. 669 00:33:49,466 --> 00:33:53,233 The orientation of his life becomes 670 00:33:53,233 --> 00:33:56,666 reoriented towards Yahweh instead 671 00:33:56,666 --> 00:33:59,433 of his own benefit, if that makes any sense. 672 00:33:59,466 --> 00:34:03,066 He would take the stone that he made a pillow, 673 00:34:03,066 --> 00:34:06,133 anoint it with oil, and make a pillar out of it. 674 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,466 He wasn't making an idol of the stone. 675 00:34:08,533 --> 00:34:11,533 It was a memorial that what had happened 676 00:34:11,533 --> 00:34:14,699 to him would be remembered, and it 677 00:34:14,699 --> 00:34:17,099 would be remembered for a very long time. 678 00:34:17,166 --> 00:34:20,033 Verse 19, he called the name of that place Bethel. 679 00:34:20,099 --> 00:34:23,099 However, previously, the name of that city had been 680 00:34:23,099 --> 00:34:24,300 Lus. 681 00:34:24,433 --> 00:34:28,400 So Jacob called where he was Bethel, right? 682 00:34:28,466 --> 00:34:30,699 Bethel means house of God. 683 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,166 This is where he went, and met with God. 684 00:34:34,266 --> 00:34:37,333 And so, before this time, this city was 685 00:34:37,333 --> 00:34:40,500 called Luz, and probably, the 686 00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:43,500 other people in the area still called the 687 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:44,633 place Luz. 688 00:34:45,599 --> 00:34:48,633 But Jacob knew it wouldn't be long, because God 689 00:34:48,633 --> 00:34:51,666 had promised him this land, and that he 690 00:34:51,666 --> 00:34:52,800 had rights to name 691 00:34:52,933 --> 00:34:56,900 Even if they have, the other people haven't realized that yet. 692 00:34:56,966 --> 00:35:00,033 So this place, that God had 693 00:35:00,033 --> 00:35:03,533 promised Jacob, would become extremely significant 694 00:35:03,566 --> 00:35:05,666 in the future of the Hebrew people. 695 00:35:05,699 --> 00:35:08,866 It would become the future home of 696 00:35:08,900 --> 00:35:12,300 the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle before 697 00:35:12,300 --> 00:35:14,833 it was moved to Jerusalem. 698 00:35:14,900 --> 00:35:17,966 And this place here had made an indelible mark 699 00:35:17,966 --> 00:35:20,833 on Jacob's life, and his mind, and his heart. 700 00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:23,900 He would never forget what had happened here 701 00:35:23,900 --> 00:35:25,566 in Bethel. 702 00:35:25,699 --> 00:35:28,699 And that is exactly what saving grace does 703 00:35:28,699 --> 00:35:31,233 for each of us who are saved. 704 00:35:31,466 --> 00:35:34,933 We are changed by the reality that 705 00:35:34,933 --> 00:35:38,066 God is working in us, that God has promised us 706 00:35:38,066 --> 00:35:40,466 salvation in the end. 707 00:35:40,566 --> 00:35:44,000 Sometimes that change, that 708 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,166 outward change is absolutely revolutionary. 709 00:35:47,300 --> 00:35:50,699 But no matter how drastic the outward 710 00:35:50,699 --> 00:35:54,000 change is, every single person that faces 711 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:57,466 Christ and saving grace is changed 712 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:00,633 to the core, and everything that God 713 00:36:00,633 --> 00:36:03,733 does for us, is done out of 714 00:36:03,733 --> 00:36:07,800 overflowing grace that He has for us. 715 00:36:07,933 --> 00:36:11,066 This journey started out, like we said, 716 00:36:11,066 --> 00:36:14,233 as another scheme for his own good and his 717 00:36:14,233 --> 00:36:15,433 own self protection. 718 00:36:15,566 --> 00:36:18,566 But it would end up by God's grace and in his 719 00:36:18,566 --> 00:36:21,733 sovereignty, being the most important journey of 720 00:36:21,733 --> 00:36:23,000 Jacob's life. 721 00:36:23,066 --> 00:36:26,400 He wasn't on a religious pilgrimage 722 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,633 to find God, but in God's 723 00:36:29,666 --> 00:36:33,266 timing, and in God's way, God found Jacob, 724 00:36:33,266 --> 00:36:35,500 instead of Jacob finding God. 725 00:36:36,066 --> 00:36:39,433 The main thing about this is 726 00:36:39,433 --> 00:36:42,666 that as we go through life, and we have loved ones, 727 00:36:42,666 --> 00:36:45,733 that we pray for, as we have those 728 00:36:45,733 --> 00:36:48,866 around us, that haven't been found by the grace 729 00:36:48,866 --> 00:36:52,400 of God yet, we can remember that 730 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,000 God's grace comes sometimes in the most surprising, 731 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,133 unexpected ways, how 732 00:36:59,133 --> 00:37:02,233 many of us were expecting to find God's grace 733 00:37:02,233 --> 00:37:04,166 when it found us, right? 734 00:37:04,266 --> 00:37:07,400 Not many, or not any, really. 735 00:37:07,466 --> 00:37:11,300 Jacob responded to the promises of God, by faith. 736 00:37:11,366 --> 00:37:15,066 When he started this trip, he had zero ideas that 737 00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:16,199 God was going to meet with him like this. 738 00:37:16,266 --> 00:37:19,866 You never know, how God is working in 739 00:37:19,866 --> 00:37:23,699 the lives of those around you, those that don't know him, what's 740 00:37:23,699 --> 00:37:26,833 going on with the trials and tribulations in their lives, in 741 00:37:26,833 --> 00:37:30,366 our lives, and how God is going to use that, in 742 00:37:30,366 --> 00:37:33,366 order to pour his grace on us, to 743 00:37:33,366 --> 00:37:36,800 change our lives, and to make us more like Christ either way. 744 00:37:36,866 --> 00:37:40,466 So make sure the next time you 745 00:37:40,466 --> 00:37:43,466 have a loved one who needs Christ and that you're 746 00:37:43,466 --> 00:37:47,199 praying for, the next time that life takes you on 747 00:37:47,199 --> 00:37:50,900 a trip that you weren't expecting to have, remember 748 00:37:50,900 --> 00:37:54,733 Jacob's ladder, or Jacob's staircase, and 749 00:37:54,733 --> 00:37:58,466 remember this story, and ply that to your life, and 750 00:37:58,466 --> 00:38:02,000 have faith in God, that he will keep every promise that 751 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,800 he's made to us in every single day. 752 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,033 And most importantly, in the end, 753 00:38:07,566 --> 00:38:11,300 He will always keep his promise until all his promises are kept. 754 00:38:11,366 --> 00:38:11,833 Let's pray. 755 00:38:11,966 --> 00:38:15,333 Happy Father, we love you, Lord, and thank you for your mercy, 756 00:38:15,333 --> 00:38:19,033 your word that you've given us here in the Old Testament, what a blessing. 757 00:38:19,099 --> 00:38:20,366 It is. 758 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,533 I thank you for writing down Jacob's life and not cleaning 759 00:38:23,533 --> 00:38:27,066 it up for us, but it's given us all the details, even 760 00:38:27,066 --> 00:38:28,933 as bad as they are. 761 00:38:29,166 --> 00:38:32,833 I pray that we'd all be able to apply this to 762 00:38:32,833 --> 00:38:36,066 our Christian lives, and we'd grow closer to you, and whatever 763 00:38:36,066 --> 00:38:39,533 happens, you would use it in our lives for your glory, and 764 00:38:39,566 --> 00:38:41,366 for your son's name, in Christ's name. 765 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:41,833 Amen. 766 00:38:42,533 --> 00:38:42,900 Amen.