Isaac and Jacob The Gospel in the Old Testament

1. Isaac and JacobThe Gospel in the Old Testament Man on the Run Meets God Lesson 2 October 3, 2010

2. Outline • Introduction • A Tale of Four Sinners (Gen 27) • The Ruse unfolds • The Four sins • Jesus Christ, the answer for sin • Jacob Meets God (Gen 28) • The Significance of Bethel • The Response to Bethel • The Decay of Bethel

3. Introduction Gen 28:16, 17 - “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! It is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’” “In yonder province of conviction, where hard-hearted ones are weeping penitential tears, where proud ones who said they would never have this man to reign over them are bowing their knees to kiss the Son lest he be angry; where rocky, adamant consciences, have at last begun to feel; where obdurate, determined, incorrigible sinners, have at last turned from the error of their ways—God is there, for were he not there, none of these holy feelings would ever have arisen, and the cry would never have been heard—‘I will arise and go unto my Father.’ And in yonder province which shines under a brighter sun, where penitents with joy look to a bleeding Savior, where sinners leap to lose their chains, and oppressed ones sing because their burdens have rolled away; where they who were just now sitting in darkness and in the valley of the shadow of death have seen the great light—God is in that place, or faith had never come and hope had never arisen.” (“Jacob’s Waking Exclamation”, by Charles Spurgeon, Sunday Morning, July 21, 1861)

4. A Tale of Four Sinners The Ruse Unfolds Gen 27:1-12 – “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, ‘My son’; and he answered, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.’ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, ‘I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.’ But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.’ Gen 27:13 - “His mother said to him, ‘Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.’”

5. A Tale of Four Sinners The Four Sins • Rebekah – planning the shortcut • It appeared to Rebekah that Isaac would defy the will of God • So, she committed a lesser sin for the greater good • This is one of Satan’s frequent ploys – ‘How can it be so wrong when it brings about such good?’ Matt 4:1, 9 – “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil…And he (Satan) said to him (Jesus), ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” “Our calling is to be obedient to God and let him take care of fulfilling his promises in his way at his time…The issue for Rebekah boils down to the choice of faith and unbelief…There are no ‘less important’ laws in God’s Word that can be broken in order to bring about good ends. The solution to one person’s sin can never be another sin on our part. God will take care of the ends that he has purposed, according to his promises.” (“Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob”, by Iain Duguid, p. 36, 37)

6. A Tale of Four Sinners The Four Sins • Jacob – believing he could get away with sin • Jacob tells his mother that he fears he will be caught in the ploy • She tells him not to worry, for she will take the blame if he is caught • Another of Satan’s frequent ploys is convincing us that we can sin and not be hurt – and people fall for this all the time! Num 32:23 – “…be sure your sin will find you out.” • The end result is that he had to run from his brother, he would be in exile for over twenty years, and would never see his mother again.

7. A Tale of Four Sinners The Four Sins • Isaac – refusing to submit to God’s will • Isaac simply opposed God’s will and attempted to give his older son the blessing. • Ironically, the author of Hebrews commends Isaac for his faith in blessing Jacob. How is this so? Heb 11:20 – “By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.” • When he realized his plan had been overturned, he did not try to thwart God a second time. And, he did repeat the blessing to Jacob as he left. (Gen 28:3, 4)

8. A Tale of Four Sinners The Four Sins • Esau – stung by the consequences of sin, but refusing to repent • While Esau wept over the loss of his blessing, he might have still found blessing in Jacob Gen 27:29- “…Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” • Instead of swallowing his pride and seeking to reconcile with him, he planned to kill Jacob. “Isn’t this a vivid picture of the way of the heart without God? Even when such persons try to do the things that are moral and upright, they increase their sin, because they don’t understand the nature of God or the depth of their natural depravity…in Romans 1, their minds are darkened and cannot perceive God’s truth. They are blind to spiritual realities, a blindness that only God can remove.” (“Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob”, by Iain Duguid, p. 51) • And many sinners, realizing the mess they have made of their lives, will not come to the only one who can make them new – Jesus, Jacob’s descendent.

9. A Tale of Four Sinners Jesus Christ – the only remedy for sin • God’s people are in need of a redeemer • Jesus took our curse upon Himself • He remains the answer for cleansing and renewal “A deep grasp of the gospel also means that every time you do sin, every time your depravity is revealed afresh, you will run once again to the cross to seek renewed forgiveness and cleansing. You will seek again the love of Christ stretched out to you, a sinner, in the midst of your sin. You are no longer to ask who’s to blame, but instead you are to carry your justly deserved blame to the one who bore it for us. At the cross, there is grace sufficient to cover all your sin, no matter who you are.” (“Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob”, by Iain Duguid, p. 44, 45)

10. Jacob Meets GodThe Significance of Bethel • The long dark night of exile from the land • As he enters his exile, Jacob receives assurance from God that He will ever be with him – his sins would not separate him from God • Jacob’s sin would have significant consequences, but the promises remained • At Beth-el, the house of God, God revealed himself to Jacob in a dream. • Jacob dreamed of a stone staircase between heaven and earth, with angels going up and down between God and man.

11. Jacob Meets GodThe Significance of Bethel • Comparison to Babel • The stone staircase is a Ziggurat, a stepped-pyramid temple, which was very similar to that seen in Babel in Gen 11. “The stairway-tower of Jacob’s dream was God’s answer to the tower of Babel. The top of it did reach to heaven, for God was the builder, not man. God alone establishes communication between heaven and earth. True religion does not come from man’s quest, but from God’s intervention. Rebellious mankind has not sought the Lord. People seek instead to escape Him, erecting towers, temples, and idols after their own imaginations.” (“The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament”, by Edmund Clowney, p. 64) • And here (Gen 28:13-15) God repeats the covenant he gave to Abraham, promises his presence during the long exile, and promises to bring him back to the land.

12. Jacob Meets GodThe Significance of Bethel • Jesus is the stairway to heaven John 1:46-51 – “Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered him, ‘Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’” “Jesus promised a revelation that would far surpass Jacob’s dream. The stairway of Jacob’s dream was a symbol of the communication that God provides between heaven and earth…The stairway was a picture in Jacob’s dream. But what the dream promised became a reality in Christ’s incarnation. God came down in the person of His Son to dwell on earth. Christ is the link between earth and heaven. He is the true Bethel, the House of God, Immanuel, God with us.” (“The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament”, by Edmund Clowney, p. 67)

13. Jacob Meets GodThe Response to Bethel Gen 28:20-22 - “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.’” • Since God is committing Himself to Jacob, Jacob will also commit himself to God • Commitment • And this should be our response to God as well • Giving • When Jacob realized the magnitude of the grace he had received, his heart desired to give to God • Is this not our response to the grace that has been shown to us?

14. Jacob Meets GodThe Response to Bethel Worship • Jacob poured oil on the stone in worship – This is the house of God, the gate of heaven – where blessing is poured out from above. • Worship to the believer is not felt to be an obligation, but comes out of a deep sense of gratitude for the grace found in Jesus Christ. “In Christ, we are able to ascend the heavenly Mount Zion, to approach and enter the throne room of God, there to bow down before him and to worship him acceptable with reverence and awe (Heb 12:22-29). In view of that privilege, how can our hearts be so slow to worship?” (“Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob”, by Iain Duguid, p. 58) Psa 42:1,2 - “As a deer pants for flowing streams, My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.’”

15. Jacob Meets GodThe Decay of Bethel Later in the history of Israel, Bethel, the house of God, became of place of idolatry rather than a place of worship to the true and living God. Amos 5:4, 5 - “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” “The problem was that the place where God once met with his people had become an alternative to meeting the living God. The house of God had been turned into a house of idolatry…Traditions, ancient and modern, can so easily replace our worship…” (“Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob”, by Iain Duguid, p. 59)