What do we believe

 Read Genesis 33

Esau lived in an area that is present-day Jordan or Saudi Arabia.  By the chapter’s end, we see there is no bad blood between Jacob and Esau.  If you choose to keep on reading not only Genesis but the rest of the Torah, you will see that Esau’s descendants did not continue this warm reception.

Let’s look more than 400 years down the road.  The Israelites have been liberated from slavery in Egypt.  They were in the wilderness and much of it was near the land of Esau’s descendants—Edom. Moses had wanted to pass through Edom but Edom denied them passage and even brought forth an army to say that they meant business in this matter.

Edom—the land of Esau’s descendants—would be part of the southern border of the Promised Land.  Esau’s descendants were still descendants of Father Abraham, but not included in the land promised to him.

In today’s chapter, we see that all of Jacob’s worry was for nothing.  His brother did not intend to harm him.  His brother did not need his offerings of livestock and took them only at Jacob’s insistence.  His brother was not out for blood.

Some say that time heals all wounds.  I lean more towards God uses people—imperfect people—to accomplish his good and perfect plan.

Esau and his 400 men would not destroy Jacob and his family.  God had special plans for Jacob—Israel—and those who would come from his line.  So is that it?  Is that the story of this chapter?  Pretty much, but I want us to think on God’s plan, at least the part that has been revealed to us.

To do that, we spend a little time in Isaiah.  Isaiah is still a few centuries down the road in man’s time, but the word of the Lord is revealed through him and that word is for all time. Listen to verse 46:10.

I make known the end from the beginning,

    from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

    and I will do all that I please.’

I am pretty good at forecasting the future.  Any time that alcohol is being consumed and the words hold my beer are interjected into the situation, I can forecast that business will be good in the emergency room.

Anytime that there is a group of young Marines who are unsupervised for the moment and there is a red button on a wall with at least a dozen sign’s that read DO NOT TOUCH or TOUCHING THIS BUTTON WILL DETONATE A NUCLEAR DEVICE or anything along those lines, at least one of them will go touch the button.

I am pretty good at forecasting the future.

If I look at an online ad for lawnmowers, in short order my Facebook feed, my email, and the text messages on my phone will be blown up with ads for lawnmowers.

I am pretty good at forecasting the future, but God knows the future from the beginning.  In fact, just so we know that he is God, he tells us what’s coming.

It’s not like he is going to email me next week’s lottery numbers or who is going to win the World Series.  He does tell us as he told Abraham that he would be the Father of Many Nations. 

He did promise a land to a specific people and just to make sure that the children of Abraham would not be fighting the children of Abraham by God’s design, he parked Esau on the other side of what would be one of the borders of the Promised Land.

God will accomplish his plan.  Sometimes it makes sense to us.  Sometimes it is contrary to our own understanding.  Sometimes we are completely oblivious but God will do what God will do and we are often blessed that he tells us what that is.

When Isaiah spoke these words of God to his people, it was as if to answer the question, “Is the God of all the universe still there?”  His answer is that there is no other god of substance.  There are none like me. I am the one true God.

While we see a cordial reunion of brothers and camps separated by enough distance that the relationship might stay that way, the story here is that God will do what God will do and when he tells us what he will do we should believe him.

But what do you believe?  God is real.  God sent his Son to save us from sin and death. You must use the King James Bible?  Tom should work on his jokes more.

What do you believe?

This morning, I am going to ask us to state together what we believe.  We might call these core beliefs.  We might differ on what we eat or what day we worship, but we do have some beliefs common to most Christians.

You remember Proverbs 3:5.  I know you know it.  It gets most of the attention when it comes to the verse that follows.

Sometimes, especially today, we need that sixth verse. We need to acknowledge verbally and in the presence of others the ways of the Lord.  We need to acknowledge what we believe.

Most of you know this as the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell.

The third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy church universal,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

 

Amen.

 

God will accomplish his plan.  We are well served to live in accord with his plan and less by what we think we understand that is contrary to his plan. This is our Christian maturity.

We get there by growing in God’s grace.

To you, this might just be Old Testament history, but if you have eyes to see, it documents the things that God said he would do long before they happened.

Why is this important?  When we step out on faith, it’s more of a step than a blind leap for we know that God does fulfill his promises.  God does what God does and we are blessed when he tells us what he is going to do.

We are blessed to trust him.

Trust in the Lord with all of you heart…

Amen.

Two Nations are in Your Womb

 Read Genesis 25

Abraham took a wife in his old age but he was young enough to have some more kids.

The children of Ishmael are listed for us.  They grew into tribes and were hostile to other tribes including those of their relatives. Ishmael died at the age of 137 years.

Abraham died at the age of 175 years.  That’s a good run.  Both Isaac and Ishmael attended his funeral and he was buried in the cave of Machpelah, the place where his wife had been buried.

But the story has moved to Isaac and Rebekah.  They were childless.  Rebekah was barren.   It seems like we have heard this story before.

Isaac took this matter to the Lord and Rebekah became pregnant. Isaac was 60 when Rebekah gave birth to twins.

This was not your average pregnancy.  The twins seemed to battle each other, jostling for position in the womb. Rebekah, even though she had no previous children, thought that this couldn’t be the norm.  She asked God what was happening.

“Two nations are in your womb,

    and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

    and the older will serve the younger.”

We don’t know what Rebekah thought about this answer.  We don’t see her asking God to put these two kids in time-out until they were born.  We jump immediately to the birth. 

Esau came out first.  He was red and he was hairy. Some of your commentaries say that Esau means hairy.  You don’t get that in direct translation as Esau is just given to us as a proper name, but somehow the hairy name was attached.

Esau was born first.  He should have all the birthright blessings as first born.

Jacob came out next grabbing the heel of his brother.  Again, the direct translation has Jacob only as a proper name but most commentaries note that Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.

Imagine living with the moniker that says you are a deceiver. That kid is going to need a new name. Give it another 10 chapters. God will take care of that part.

The birth was a harbinger of the story that followed.

Esau was a country boy prone to hunting and fishing and the outdoor life.  He was his father’s favorite. Jacob was more of a homebody.  He was his mother’s favorite.

One day, Esau had been out doing his outdoor thing and came home very hungry.  Jacob was cooking some lentil stew.

Have you ever been watching what you eat and then walk by a bakery?  It’s game over.  The aroma overtakes your best intentions and the next thing you know you have purchased three croissants and two doughnuts and you are still looking at what else they have.

Have you ever gone to one of those big theme parks—Disney, Universal, Six Flags—and packed some snacks because you were not going to pay theme park prices to eat when you could bring some cheese crackers. C’mon, you came to ride the rides not eat overpriced sandwiches.

Then it hits you from a hundred yards away. You are defenseless.

What does?  What disarms you? The aroma of those turkey legs smoking—that’s what gets you.  The next thing you know, you have one in each hand wishing you had another hand.

Now you can empathize with Esau.  He was hungry for sure.  He was using hyperbole when he said he was about to die, but right in front of him was an MRE.  Yes, it truly was a meal ready to eat, not the 3 lies in one that soldiers and Marines get these days.

He was hungry.  There was food. It was ready. We talk about immediate gratification being all around us today, it was surely before Esau at this moment. He didn’t even have to wait the 70-80 seconds in the microwave.

Do you know what else was ready?  Actually, it’s who was ready.  Jacob was ready.

Sure bro, I will give you some of this tasty stew, just sell me your birthright.

There wasn’t even a negotiation.

Done.  Now give me that food.  What good is a birthright anyway if you are about to die of starvation.

Jacob didn’t get this agreement in writing but he did get his brother to swear an oath that he had sold his birthright to Jacob.

We are told that Jacob despised his birthright. The original word is בָּזָה bazah meaning not only despise but careless, contempt, and disdained.  He was surely careless with his birthright.

Who had been left out of this agreement?  Dad.  Isaac surely wouldn’t have blessed such a transaction between his two sons, but Esau had sworn an oath.  He did it carelessly, but he did it and the story of these two brothers continues at the end of the next chapter and the one that follows.

This Father of Many Nations business unfolds in this chapter.  Abraham had other sons after Sarah died.  Abraham had a son before Isaac was born and that son produced tribes that settled near Egypt.

Now Isaac has two sons.  They have separate paths to follow.  Jacob’s will bring us to a chosen people who one day will take possession of a Promised Land. Through these people will come the Law that God prescribed for his people.

Through these people will come kings and a kingdom, and through these people will come the Savior of the world.

Why do I need to know all of this?  Really, is there a final exam at the gates of heaven that includes history?

I get having to learn 77 counties in Oklahoma History.  If you stay in the state, you need to know where the tornado is and is headed, so you know when to go outside and look. We get that.

But who begat whom and how long people waited to have a kid and passing your wife off as your sister—really?  Unless I want to write Hollywood screenplays, why do I need this?

I have professed Jesus is Lord.  I believe that God raised him from the dead.  I have received the free gift.  I am saved by God’s grace and I received the gift by faith.

I seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness before what I want for me.

I take the good news of life in Jesus Christ to my part of the world.

I strive to be known as a follower of Jesus by my love.  Do I really need the history lesson?

You don’t need it for your salvation.  You might need it for the fullness that you want from life. You might need it to help you understand that God takes everything and uses it for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

You might need it to affirm and confirm that God selects people with flaws and shortcomings and uses them for his purposes.  He uses us for good.

You might need it to know the answer to the question:  Is anything too hard for God?

When we get near the end of Genesis, we will read what Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery.

What you intended for evil, God used for good.

Have you ever read a book that was really, really good.  You were so satisfied with the story.  You wish there was more to the story.  You go online to see what else that author wrote.

You didn’t just jump to the end to see how it all came out.  The story was important to the ending.  It was essential to the satisfaction you got from the book.

Genesis is about beginnings.  It’s not just the beginning of the world but the beginning of God’s relationship with us, so hang in there.

Have eyes to see the flaws in the people that God used, but God used them anyways.  Have eyes to see the blessings that he bestowed upon the people called according to his purpose.

Sometimes a good story requires you to suspend reality to get into the story.  The story that we are given in Genesis asks you to suspend your daily demands for a short time to read and understand and yes, even enjoy knowing the beginning of the story that has brought all of us to an eternal relationship with God.

Remember, that we are in the part of the story titled Beginnings.

So today, take in the story.  There is more to Jacob and Esau and even some more to Isaac and Rebekah.  But know that we are headed to a good place.

God loves you.

God will never stop loving you.

God wants you to enjoy him for all of eternity.

We all have a God-given purpose in life. 

We are all called to love one another.

I hope that these sound familiar.  They should be affirmations of God’s love for us and that we all have God-given purpose in our lives.

God takes whatever happens to us and uses it for good.  That doesn’t mean that everything that happens is good, but God will use it for good in our stories because we love God and have been called by him to do his will.

I get it that you don’t get it.  Birthrights, selling birthrights, and patriarchic order don’t seem to mean much today. Twins jostling in the womb foreshadowing the story of two brothers going separate ways seems to be a stretch.

But this is the story of God and his creation.  It’s the beginning of the story through which we get to know ourselves and our God.

He is a God who is holy and just.  He is righteous.  He judges the wicked. He expects obedience.

We also get to know the God who loves us and shows mercy time and time again. He is a God who loves to bless us, often in spite of our less-than-perfect performance.

He is our God and this course that he set Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob upon is also part of our story now. We have been brought into God’s family by the blood of Jesus.  This history is our history now.

I get it that the affirmations are more obvious on the right-hand side of your Bibles.

I get it that knowing what chapter is next in our study and homiletics creates an obligation that you might not want. I should read it but I was so comfortable with the Forrest Gump box of chocolates approach.  There is no preparation expected of you when you never know what you are going to get.

I get it but I ask you to get this.  We are all called to be a workman approved ready for every good work.  We don’t all have to be biblical scholars, but we need to know enough to put God’s words into practice.

I get it but I will ask something of you and set a standard that you should expect of me.

Hang in there through Genesis.  Read your chapter in advance.  Study to show yourself a workman approved. Genesis may not be your favorite book and it has some chapters that just don’t do much for you, but hang in there.  Press on towards the goal.

I will continue to include affirmations of God’s love and our God-given purpose in the weekly messages.  I want to balance challenge and support.

I want to set the framework for growth.  The cool beans thing here is that we get to grow in God’s grace. He will never kick his children to the curb.  Once we have come to know God through Christ Jesus his son, we are his.

What I will not do is preach to itching ears.  I will not take some worldly theme, no matter how popular it may be, and try to pass it off as the word of God.

I know that you will hit some points in your reading when you say who cares who dug the well?

I know that reading that Judah went to see a prostitute doesn’t sound like good church reading.

I ask you to trust God when his word says that all scripture is God breathed—given by the inspiration of God.

I ask you to know that God’s word will accomplish its purpose.

I need to revise what I said.  I don’t want you to hang in there through Genesis.  I want you to dig into Genesis and reap the rewards of being a workman approved by God.

We did not forsake the New Covenant when we began Genesis.  We embrace it now more than ever.

We are saved by grace through faith.  Know it.  Believe it. Live it, and dig into your chapter this week.

Consider an eternity in hell, not the hell that we are saved from but the earthly hell in which we sometimes find ourselves.

The kid that did not study at all for his algebra exam but who hopes to graduate high school spends an eternity in hell though the only exam only lasts 40 minutes.

The kid that studied, did his homework, and paid attention in class but still struggles, has some sense of accomplishment because he did the work.  She did the work. The exam is challenging but it is not hell on earth.  It is not something to dread.

You will grow and be able to sense some growth when you do the work.  Right now, that work is in Genesis.  Did into it.  It will be worth it.

I will keep the affirmations coming.  I know my nature is to challenge you and Genesis has been challenging for some of you. Some of you are eating this up.  I know there is no one size fits all.

So, I will remind you over and over that you matter, that your prayers are received and answered by God, and that God in his very essence is love.

God loves you and will never stop loving you.  Now, go read your chapter.

Amen.