Sermon
#631 Hebrews
Notes
Title: Blessings?
Text: Hebrews 11:20
Subject: Isaac’s Blessings Upon His Sons
Date: Tuesday Evening –
Tape # W-60b
Introduction:
What a sad day this has been for our nation! Our
nation ought to be utterly enraged at those cowardly animals who engage in
terror. We ought to be resolved to bring them to justice; and by justice I mean
swift, well-publicized execution. The strongest, wealthiest nation in the world
ought to strike terror in the hearts of terrorists. If our elected public
officials have any backbone at all, if they are anything more than
will-o-the-wisp self-serving politicians, that will be their response to the
attack upon our nation today.
But there
are more important things for us to learn from today’s events. Judicially,
morally, politically, the terrorists must be blamed and brought to justice for
the infamous slaughter of human beings. But we must not fail to recognize the
hand of God in this, as in all other things.
(Amos 3:6) "Shall a trumpet
be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a
city, and the LORD hath not done it?”
(Isaiah 45:7) "I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things.”
The fact
is, we almost always judge God’s providential acts wrongly. We almost always
mistake evil for good and good for evil. We almost always mistake God’s curse
for his blessing and God’s blessing for his curse.
Without question, what we
have seen and experienced today is a manifest display of the providential
judgment of God upon a nation that has persistently turned his back upon him
and despised him. Let us be warned. This is but a foretaste of things to come.
Indeed, this is but a foretaste of that great and terrible day when God brings
us all to stand before his bar.
Having
said that, we must never imagine that God’s providential acts of judgment upon
this nation or any other are acts of judgment against his own elect. Those
things that appear to the natural mind to be God’s judgments are, in reality,
God’s blessings upon his own.
(Proverbs 12:21) "There
shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with
mischief."
(Jeremiah 32:38-42) "And
they shall be my people, and I will be their God: (39) And I will give
them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of
them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to
do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not
depart from me. (41) Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and
I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole
soul. (42) For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this
great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have
promised them."
The title
of my message tonight is – “Blessings (?)”. You will find my text
in Hebrews 11:20.
(Hebrews 11:20) "By faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."
Here the
Holy Spirit tells us that Isaac blessed both his sons, Jacob and Esau,
concerning things to come by faith. The blessing of Isaac upon Esau
was, in reality the curse of God upon him. God gave him all that his heart
desired of this world. He was “blessed” as the world would say, in health,
prosperity, power, influence and family; but God had set the world in his
heart, and that reprobate man whom God hated was and is forever cursed by his
blessings.
(Ecclesiastes 3:9-11) "What
profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? (10) I have
seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in
it. (11) He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he
hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that
God maketh from the beginning to the end."
Isaac knew that was what he was doing by the
blessing he pronounced upon Esau. He knew God had justly rejected his beloved
son. When the old patriarch was dying, he acted in faith, bowing to the will of
God. Esau was cursed, though he appeared to be blest. It looked like God loved
Esau, though he hated him.
Jacob was blessed, though he
appeared to be cursed. It looked like God hated Jacob, though he loved him. Jacob’s life, to
all outward appearance, seems to have justified his cry, “all these things
are against me” (Gen. 42:36). In reality, though, all the things he
experienced, bitter and painful as they must have been, were working together
for his everlasting good.
Turn with me to Genesis 33. Let me once more give
you the background while you are turning. You will recall that when Isaac was
about to die he called Esau and told him to go out, kill a deer, and make a
batch of his favorite stew, and promised when he returned that he would pass
along to him the patriarchal blessing, the blessing of God’s covenant. But Esau
had already sold his birthright and the blessing of it to Jacob.
Rebekah overheard the conversation between Isaac and Esau.
Therefore she called Jacob and urged him to pretend to be Esau that he might
deceive Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau. Because Isaac was an old man
and nearly blind, their scheme worked. By the time Esau returned to Isaac,
Jacob had already obtained the blessing.
Esau was so angry that he swore he would kill Jacob as soon as
Isaac died. So Jacob fled from his brother and took refuge under the roof of
Rebekah’s brother Laban. Laban was probably the only man living more conniving
than Jacob. But that is another story. Jacob spent fourteen years serving his
uncle Laban, married his daughters Leah and Rachel, and was greatly blessed of
God in everything he touched. The Lord gave him a huge family, tremendous herds
of sheep and cattle, and great wealth.
After serving Laban for fourteen years, Jacob said, “I’ve had
enough of this” and resolved to return to the land of his fathers. Always the
schemer, on his way home, he began to make plans to appease Esau. He sent huge
presents, one on the heels of another. Yet, when he heard that Esau was coming
with four hundred men to meet him, he was scared to death.
Now, let’s read Genesis 33:1-11 together.
Genesis 33:1-11
"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came,
and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto
Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. (2) And
he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children
after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
(3) And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven
times, until he came near to his brother.
(4) And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him: and they wept. (5) And he
lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The
children which God hath graciously given thy servant. (6) Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and
they bowed themselves. (7) And Leah
also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph
near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
(8) And he said, What meanest thou
by all this drove which I met? And he said, These
are to find grace in the sight of my lord. (9) And Esau said, I have
enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. (10) And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee,
if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for
therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast
pleased with me. (11) Take, I pray
thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously
with me, and because I have enough (Margin
“all things”). And he urged him, and
he took it."
I call your attention to the fact that both Esau and Jacob
declared themselves content with that which they possessed. What a rare
sight this is. Seldom in my life have
met with men or women who were content, who had enough to satisfy them.
Here are two men who were content. More than that, these two men were brothers.
Yet, the only thing in the characters of these two men which they had in common
was the fact that they were content with what they possessed. In every other
way, these two brothers were as unalike as two brothers could be. Both said, “I
have enough.” I want us to look at these two content men and ask God
the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher, as we do.
Proposition: I want to show you that there is a contentment to be dreaded and
a contentment to be desired, the contentment of damnation and the contentment
of faith.
Divisions: Here are
the divisions of my message.
1.
Esau was a lost, reprobate
man, but a content man.
2.
Jacob was a believing man
who was content.
3.
What was the difference
between Jacob and Esau?
I.
ESAU WAS A LOST, REPROBATE
MAN, BUT A CONTENT MAN.
Esau had many faults, but
greed was not one of them. He was a content man. When Jacob brought all the
droves of gifts to him to appease his anger and wrath, Esau said, You keep all
these things. I have enough. There are some important lessons for us to learn
here.
A.
Moral excellence and spiritual grace are not the
same things.
Esau was a moral man, in
many respects far more moral in his behavior than Jacob. That is sometimes the
case. Men and women who do not know God at all are often very moral, very
respectable, and very impressive.
That is not commonly the case in our day. We are living in a
society that is striving hard to redefine morality. These days fornication,
adultery, and homosexuality are considered matters of individual preference. We
are hearing from the news media everyday that it is all right to commit
adultery, as long as a person doesn’t lie about it! Still, even in this base age, lost, unregenerate men and women are
often very moral in their behavior. When that is the case, morality
itself is a commendable thing.
1.
Morality promotes charity,
philanthropy, and works of compassion for the sick, the needy, and the
impoverished.
2.
Morality helps to preserve
society.
3.
A sense of moral
responsibility keeps people from abusing and misusing one another.
B.
Yet, morality does have its evil side.
I have known some very moral
men and women whose morality was positively abominable because their morality
was utter self-righteousness. They made the mistake of imagining that since
they lived in a moral manner, they were indeed good.
Do not be so foolish! “The
Lord looketh upon the heart!” You, my friends, who are very moral
outwardly, are yet as corrupt within as the rest of us. Your heart is a
cesspool of iniquity. Your heart, like mine, is deceitful above all things. I
am here to tell you that there is no goodness in you, none. The sooner you
learn it, the better.
Esau learned many things which made him a man of exemplary
moral character. He learned contentment. He learned to
forgive injuries done to him. He learned to be a man of a
magnanimous spirit. He not only forgave Jacob, he did everything he
could to help and benefit him. Read the rest of this chapter, and you will see
that Esau was a man of magnanimous character. I have known few like him. But Esau did not know the Lord!
He was a lost, unregenerate, reprobate man, a man whom God had left to himself!
He was content without Christ!
I have said all that to say this…
C.
It is absolutely impossible for any man to know the
heart and spiritual condition of another man.
There is a terrible tendency
in us all to presume that we are smarter than God and that we really can
discern between wheat and tares, that we really can distinguish sheep from
goats. We cannot do so. We must make no efforts to do so. We need to quit
trying to determine who is saved and who is lost, and seek to know the Lord
ourselves.
I have said all that to say this as well…
D.
We must have something better than our own morality
and righteousness to find acceptance with the immaculately, infinitely holy
Lord God (Matt.
5:20).
Matthew 5:20
"For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
You and I can never be accepted of God until we are made
perfectly righteous in Christ, made righteous by the work of God’s free grace,
by…
·
Satisfaction.
·
Imputation.
·
Regeneration.
·
Glorification.
II.
JACOB WAS A BELIEVING MAN
WHO WAS CONTENT.
As we shall see in just a
minute, Jacob’s contentment was altogether different from Esau’s. But before I
get to that, let me remind you that Jacob represents all of God’s elect.
In fact, believers are frequently called “the
sons of Jacob.”
·
We are the sons of Jacob who are the redeemed of the Lord (Ps.
77:15).
Psalms 77:15
"Thou hast with thine arm
redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah."
·
We are the sons of Jacob to whom the Word of the Lord has been sent (1 Kings 18:31).
1 Kings 18:31
"And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying,
Israel shall be thy name."
·
We are the sons of Jacob who are kept and preserved in grace and life
and faith in Christ by the power and grace of our unchanging God (Mal. 3:6).
Malachi 3:6
"For I am the LORD, I
change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
The words that Jacob used, when he said, “I have enough” and the words Esau used
were completely different words. When Jacob said, “I have enough”, he was referring to much more than his earthly,
material riches. In fact, those things really had nothing at all to do with
what he was talking about. If you have a marginal translation in the center
column of your Bible, you will notice that Jacob said what Esau could
never say. He said what every true believer can and should say, but it
was something the unbeliever can never say. Jacob said, “ I have all things” (Gen. 33:11).
Truly, that person who has all things has enough!
John Gill, in
his commentary says that Jacob’s words here mean I have “a sufficiency of all
good things,…or ‘I have all things’, all kind of good things, everything that
was necessary for him; the expression is stronger than Esau's; and indeed Jacob
had besides a large share of temporal mercies, all spiritual ones; God was
his covenant God and Father, Christ was his Redeemer, the Spirit his
sanctifier; he had all grace bestowed on him, and was an heir of glory.”
My brother, whatever your outward circumstances may be, my
sister, whatever your present condition is, I want you to understand that Jacob’s
lot is your lot, and a good lot it is. Be sure you understand these two
things. Oh, may God be pleased to seal them to our hearts!
A.
“All things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18).
Proverbs 16:4
"The LORD hath made all things
for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."
Proverbs 16:33
"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD."
Romans 8:28
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Romans 11:36 "For of him, and through him, and to
him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Illustration: The Throne, The Rainbow, The
Book, and The Lamb (Rev. 4, 5, and 10).
B.
“All things are yours” (1 Cor. 3:21).
1.
All Things Temporal -- Good and Evil (Rom.
8:28; Pro. 12:21; Ps. 57:2-3).
Proverbs 12:21
"There shall no evil happen to the just."
Romans 8:28
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Psalms 57:2-3
"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. (3) He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall
send forth his mercy and his truth."
2.
All Things Spiritual (Eph. 1:3-6).
Ephesians 1:3-6
"Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in
Christ: (4) According as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love: (5) Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved."
3.
All Things Eternal (Rom. 8:16-17)
Romans 8:16-17
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: (17) And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be
also glorified together."
“The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
III. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JACOB AND ESAU?
When you understand the
difference between Jacob and Esau, you will understand the difference between
God’s elect and the unbeliever in all ages, times, and circumstances.
A.
Esau was a lost,
unregenerate, reprobate man, a man who found everything he wanted in the world.
I understand the teachings
of Holy Scripture regarding the sovereign, eternal, unalterable purpose of our
God and rejoice in it. I will deal with that in a few minutes. For now, let me
just say this -- Esau was a lost man, not because God would not save him,
but because he chose the world and the lusts of his flesh rather than Christ. --
And, my friend, if you perish in your
sins, if you die without Christ, it will be your own fault alone, no one
else’s. You will not be able to blame your eternal ruin on the purpose of God. If you are saved, that will be God’s
fault and God’s fault alone. If you are lost, that will be your fault and your
fault alone!
1.
Esau despised Christ and the
gospel of God’s free, saving grace in Christ. -- That is what was
represented in the birthright which he despised (Gen. 25:30-34).
Genesis 25:30-34 "And Esau said to
Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint:
therefore was his name called Edom. (31) And
Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
(32) And Esau said, Behold, I am at
the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? (33) And Jacob said, Swear to me this
day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. (34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread and
pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way:
thus Esau despised his birthright."
2.
God left Esau to himself.
Because Esau despised God’s
birthright, because he despised God’s Son, because he counted Christ a common worthless
thing, God left him to himself.
3.
Moreover, the Lord God put
the world in Esau’s heart to blind him (Ecc. 3:11).
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"He hath made every thing beautiful
in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that
no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to
the end."
B.
Jacob was a man blessed of
God as the everlasting object of his free grace in Christ.
I remind you, all that the
Scripture says about Jacob as the object of God’s grace is true of all God’s elect. We are the sons of Jacob.
As such, we gladly acknowledge that the only difference between Jacob and Esau
is the difference that grace has made. “By the grace of God I am what am!” This
is the difference between Jacob and Esau. This is the difference between you
who believe and those who do not believe. See that you get it (1 Cor. 4:7).
1 Corinthians 4:7
"For who maketh thee to differ from
another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst
receive it, why dost thou glory, as if
thou hadst not received it?"
1.
God loved Jacob (Rom. 9:10-26).
Romans 9:10-26
"And not only this; but
when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac; (11) (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;) (12) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) As it is written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. (14) What
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid. (15) For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.
(16) So then it is not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (17) For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my
power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. (18) Therefore hath he mercy on whom he
will have mercy, and whom he will he
hardeneth. (19) Thou wilt say then
unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? (20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that
repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? (21) Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto
dishonour? (22) What if God, willing
to show his wrath, and to make his
power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction: (23) And that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore
prepared unto glory, (24) Even us,
whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (25) As he saith also in Osee, I will
call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not
beloved. (26) And it shall come to
pass, that in the place where it was
said unto them, Ye are not my people;
there shall they be called the children of the living God."
2.
The Lord chose Jacob (Ps. 135:4; 2 Thess. 2:13;
John 15:16).
Psalms 135:4
"For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure."
3.
The Lord stopped Jacob in
his way and revealed himself to him at Bethel.
You will recall that back in
Genesis 28 Jacob was running away. But he ran smack into God! He ran into
God because God put himself in the way! God met Jacob at Bethel (the
house of God) and revealed himself, his grace, his mercy, and his glory in
Christ. Oh, how I thank God that he crossed my path, stopped me in my mad rush
to hell, and revealed his Son in me!
4.
God our Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, wrestled with Jacob, made him confess who and what he was, and
gave him a new name (Gen. 32:24-31)
Genesis 32:24-31
"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until
the breaking of the day. (25) And
when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with
him. (26) And he said, Let me go, for
the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (27) And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. (28) And he said, Thy name shall be
called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and
with men, and hast prevailed. (29) And
Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said,
Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. (30) And Jacob called the name of the
place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (31) And as he passed over Penuel the
sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh."
·
Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
·
In Christ, all things are new. Christ has given us a new name, put us
in a new family, and made us partakers of a new covenant!
5.
The Lord God led Jacob all his life.
He said, “I am
with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, for I will not
leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of!” Child of God, that is precisely God’s promise
to us (1 Thess. 5:24; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 13:5).
Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ:"
1 Thessalonians 5:24 "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye
have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Application:
1.
This is your responsibility
-- You must believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. You must choose him!
2.
This is your only hope and
mine -- GRACE!
3.
Here is the thankful
testimony of every true believer. Every son of Jacob testifies, “By
the grace of God I am what I am.”
Psalms 115:1
"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy, and for thy truth's
sake."
AMEN.