March 25, 2007

Gen 25:19 - 28

Commentators note that it is a characteristic of Genesis that significant sections of a narrative are marked off by the word “generations”. The NIV translates this word “account.”

Last time we investigated this chapter we saw the generations of Ishmael and now we see the generations of Isaac. Abraham’s life has come to an end. It is natural that their descendants should be listed side by side here, these two sons of Abraham, actually there are other sons and daughters too, and they were listed first, then Ishmael, then the last place given to the most important son, the heir.

But there is probably a spiritual reason that the two major sons are listed side by side. That reason is seen in the contrast. On the one hand we have Ishmael. God had told Abraham that He would bless Ishmael, making him the father of twelve rulers: v 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

We have seen that this was exactly what God did. Ishmael the son of passion had twelve sons as we noted last time, and they became princes in the land.

Now we look at the son of promise Isaac. He was 40 years old when he married Rebekah and we see that for 20 years she was barren (vv20-21) and then finally when Isaac was 60 years old Rebekah gave birth to twin sons and the line of PROMISE continued (v.26).

Scripture doesn’t record what Isaac’s thoughts were in this period of childlessness, but we can imagine how he may have wondered at God’s workings or even cried out to God to ask why his brother should prosper so abundantly while he continues childless.

Abraham, you recall, had waited until he was 100 for Isaac to be born. Isaac is 60. Why is God doing this,” Isaac might have asked. Could he understand that God was teaching him patience throughout this childless time? Could he see that God was building him into a man of faith and trust as he had his dad?

We don’t know, but in one sense he had learned, he didn’t try to “help God out” with a child of passion as Abraham had. Instead we note in verse 21 that He PRAYED TO GOD on behalf of his bride Rebekah.

Just a thought here...Maybe you are going through a barren time in your life? A time when you are not prospering. Maybe your career seems to have reached a dead end? Maybe it has been a long time since God moved in your life in a dramatic way. Maybe you have felt left behind in growth while others seem to have surged ahead.

Take heart, this does not mean that God has abandoned you, or even that you are less well off than others. God is teaching you to depend on him. He is showing you that He is more interested in what is happening inside of you than what is happening around you.

Now we come to another thought, a teaching of this passage...

Something that we need to consider a little more deeply than the rest of the narrative.

There is a story of a family who heard a knock on the door one fine Wednesday Morning just at 8 and a smiling faced man stood on the step. He handed this family an envelope and without a word went away.

The family, with puzzled faces, opened the envelope and it contained $1000 dollars in twenty dollar bills. There was a note that said: Just because.

The family was in debt and scraped around to make a living and so this money was urgently needed.

The next Wednesday morning at 8 AM there was a knock at the door and as they answered it they were surprised to see the same man, same smiling face, same envelope. They tried to thank him but he waved and walked away. Sure enough the envelope contained 50 crisp twenty dollar bills, and more bills were paid.

When the knock came the next Wednesday morning at 8 AM they were expectant and they were not disappointed as the same scene was reenacted.

Wednesday after Wednesday at 8:00 AM for many months this happened and then one Wednesday morning there was no knock on the door.

The family paced a bit then peered out through the drawn blinds just in time to see their smiling friend walking up the walk of their next door neighbor. They watched agitatedly as he knocked on the door and wrung their hands in anger as they saw him hand their money to their next door neighbors.

Outraged the man of the family strode out onto the step and hollered: HEY what's going on here? Why are you giving them our money? For the first time the smiling man spoke: Oh friend, it isn’t your money . . .you did nothing to earn it, it was a gift just because I wanted to do it. You are not correct in your anger.

Sometimes when we are unhappy about our lives we complain to God and the essence of our complaint is that God owes us more than we are getting. We feel as if he isn’t treating us fairly. If that is the case, we need to learn the lesson that everything God does for us is ONLY by grace.

Turn with me to Roman’s 9 if you will. Here is the New Testament account of the birth of these two boys of Isaac’s and Rebekah’s.

In Genesis the idea is that Esau was more vigorous than Jacob and was therefore born first, but he was not God’s choice for carrying on the line of the Messiah. He was the natural choice, being the first born. He was daddy’s choice as later events tell us, but he was not God’s choice. GOD chose Jacob.

This fact teaches us that GOD has a right to sovereignly choose whoever he will and reject whoever he will. Paul refers to it in Romans to explain why God has dealt with the Jewish people as he has and to show that salvation is always the work of God’s grace.

This chapter of Romans is where Paul deals with the general unbelief of Israel . Earlier in Romans he had explained the gospel, ending up with the great affirmation of Romans 8:28-39 that God’s purposes are not frustrated and that nothing in heaven or earth can separate a believer from God’s love. But this leads to a problem. God had made promises to Israel . Israel had not believed the gospel. Did this mean that God had broken his promises? That it was possible to be the sovereign choice of God and be LOST?

Paul explains in this chapter that promises were not made to mere physical Israel , not just to those physically descended from Abraham. They were made to Spiritual Israel, those whom God had chosen-some from Physical Israel, some gentiles.

You can imagine that The Jewish readers wouldn't really like this teaching much. They had a problem with this.

They associated their hope of salvation with their physical descent. Recall in John 8:33 they said “we have Abraham for our Father...”and Jesus replied that even thought they were physically Abraham’s children, they were not true spiritual descendants, if they were they would not try to kill him. Actually they were of their father the devil (vv39-41) .

Paul makes the same point. Not all who are descended from Jacob are Israel . Nor because of their physical descent are they all Abraham’s children. (9:6-7). He makes this biblical appeal here to oppose what his opponents are claiming.

We’ll look at Paul’s response here to them in three parts: First, God had chosen Abraham apart from any merit on his own. Paul doesn’t give any scriptural documentation here but we know that Abraham was chosen while he was living in Ur and the Bible does not attribute any spiritual or moral good to him at the time.

The opponents would counter: Yes, but we are Abraham’s children not Abraham, we are claiming our rights as His children. We know that God didn’t have to choose Abraham or make promises to him, but once he did, the benefit passes to his children.

Paul answers this argument in the second part of his argument, reminding his Jewish opponents that Abraham had many sons-one by Hagar-others by Keturah-but the promise was reckoned only through Isaac. In other words, God made a choice of one son out of many.

Paul quotes Genesis 21:12 (its through Isaac your seed will be called” and then he comments

Rom.9: 8-9 That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this [is] the word of promise, at this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.”

There was one last argument. Paul’s opponents could argue that Ishmael was born of Hagar so she wasn’t pure blooded as they’ or the sons of Keturah were born later and so could not qualify.

Paul’s response is to show them that in the second generation after Abraham, the choice was made between twin sons -when they were in the womb of the SAME Jewish mother, and that the choice was actually of the one who came from that womb last.

He puts it this way:9:10 -13 And not only [this]; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac; (For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

The Late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse writes of this passage:” The text flatly states that the choice of God was not dependent on their birth or their character. The choice was in the heart of God and based entirely on his sovereign authority. He decided that Jacob was the child who was to carry the line of Messiah and be heir to blessing, and in the same way, he determined that Esau was not to carry the line nor inherit the blessing. This was Gods divine purpose. The works and characters of the individuals had NOTHING to do with the choice.”

All of Grace

It is significant that this point is made where biblical history begins the lives of Isaac and Jacob. When Adam and Eve sinned and stood quaking in the Garden of Eden in anticipation of God’s judgment, grace took over instead.

In Gen 3:15 they heard the promise of a deliverer who would come. When the world was about to be destroyed by a flood, Noah in Ch 6:8 found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Later when the world had drifted away from the knowledge of the true God entirely, Abraham was called by grace and sent into a land of promise (Gen 12:1-3); and he in turn had a son through whom would come Jesus the Christ.

It is the same here with Isaac and Jacob. They were the children of Abraham, but they were not entitled to favors of God on that account - any more than Abraham was entitled to them. God continued the line of Abraham through Isaac by GRACE according to the promise. And when a choice was made between the twin sons of Rebekah, it also was BY GRACE and not by works or merit on Jacob’s part.

That bears repeating people: ALL OF GRACE. All that you are, all that you will become. All you have or will ever attain is due ONLY to God’s grace. Above all, salvation is due entirely to God’s grace so that it depends on NOTHING in human beings.

I guess this teaching stirs up more debate than any other in the Bible. But it is a true teaching for by GRACE are you saved. Some have taught that the grace of God in choosing people is a dangerous teaching. They say that it encourages irresponsibility or sin. Really though it doesn’t.

Esau was passed over in the choice of the line to produce the Messiah, but it doesn’t excuse his total disregard for his birthright, as we will see later. People are responsible to God for what they do no matter if they are called to salvation or not. Each of us is responsible to God for a proper use of the life and talents he has given us. As far as believers are concerned, there are many benefits that come as we understand the teaching that our salvation is sourced in God and God alone.

First one is that this teaching eliminates boasting. You cannot be smug and self righteous if you remember that all you have is a free gift. Recalling that we are saved totally apart from what we deserve and totally by his mercy and not by our merit or works can be and should be a humbling thought (Eph 2:8-9).

If we were saved or kept by anything in us, no matter how small, we’d have a reason to brag.

Even if God is the source of the greater part of our salvation we would in the final analysis be in Heaven by a lot of God and a little of us. BUT there is NOTHING in us , not even our own faith for that too is given in measure to every man.

Salvation is totally of grace so that the glory goes to God and God alone.

The second practical benefit of this belief in grace is that it encourages love for God.1 John 4:19 says we love him because...he first loved us. If we had a part in salvation then our love for God is diminished by that much.

If its all of God then our love for him ought to be boundless. We didn’t seek HIM he looked for us. When he looked for us we ran from him. When he came to us in the person of his son we killed him, but still he came and called a great number of rebels to share in his salvation. People, that is love, great love. Rm 5:8

The third thing that the teaching of grace can encourage us in is evangelism. He actually chooses to use US in carrying out his great plan. Rom 1:16 -17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL IS THE MEANS OF SALVATION. Also God’s sovereign grace is the only hope of success as we proclaim the gospel. If the heart and mind are as opposed to God and mans ways are like the Bible says they are and if God doesn’t bring an individual to faith then what other hope is there? We can then boldly evangelize knowing that when God draws men to himself, they come...and we get to be part of that. Are you a partaker of this grace? Has God drawn you, convicted you of sin?

Has his Spirit tugged at your heart and said “Come home, repent of your unbelief and ask me in and I will come?

Where is your heart today?

You think on these things, OK?