Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000048S
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01:14 Father in heaven, we thank You so much for the awesome
01:16 privilege of coming into Your presence on Your Holy Sabbath. 01:21 Father, we know that this privilege is going to come to an 01:25 end, sooner rather than later, but we thank You that we can 01:30 still meet freely to open Your word and to study it. 01:33 We ask that as we study this morning the story of Jacob and 01:38 Esau, that Your Holy Spirit will help us learn the lessons 01:42 which will help us in our personal walk with Jesus. 01:46 We thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in the 01:51 precious name of Your beloved Son, Jesus, Amen. 01:59 During the course of this seminar we have been studying 02:04 stories in Genesis which have a prophetic dimension. 02:09 And our theme verse in this series has been Genesis 3:15, 02:17 that famous text that speaks about the warfare between the 02:22 serpent and the woman, and between the serpent's seed 02:26 and the woman's seed. 02:28 Now, you've probably noticed that the book of Genesis has a 02:32 series of twosomes. 02:35 You have the serpent and the woman. 02:38 You have the serpent's seed and the woman's seed. 02:42 You have Cain and Abel. 02:44 The sons of God and the daughters of men. 02:47 Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. 02:55 Basically the book of Genesis is an amplification 02:59 of Genesis 3:15. 03:02 The story of Esau and Jacob is actually a microcosm 03:12 that illustrates the issues in the great controversy between 03:17 good and evil on planet Earth. 03:21 I would like us to notice how this controversy is introduced 03:26 in Genesis 25:22, 23. 03:31 You see, this story is more than about Jacob and Esau. 03:35 Jacob and Esau are typological, they're symbolic. 03:40 They represent two worldwide groups at the end of time. 03:44 Their characters illustrate the characters of two classes 03:48 of people that will exist till the end of time. 03:51 And we catch this from the very beginning of the story, 03:56 from the moment of their birth. 03:57 Notice Genesis 25:22, 23. 04:07 Was there a great controversy from the womb? Absolutely! 04:39 Now we find very clearly from the very beginning that the 04:44 strong will lose, and the weak will win in this battle, 04:50 or this controversy. 04:51 We'll notice a little bit later on in the story that Jacob 04:57 acquired the birthright, whereas Esau, to whom it originally 05:03 belonged, lost it. 05:05 Jesus, by the way, expressed this same principle 05:08 when He said, The first shall be last, 05:11 and the last first. 05:14 In other words, in this battle between good and evil, 05:18 between righteousness and unrighteousness, 05:21 those who appear to be strong will be the losers, 05:25 and those who appear to be weak will be the winners. 05:29 Now I want you to notice the difference of the characters of 05:35 Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25:27. 05:40 We're told there in Genesis 25:27: 05:53 In other words, he was hardened by his experiences. 05:57 And our second text book, Patriarchs and Prophets, 06:00 says that he loved to go and hunt, and when he came back 06:04 he would tell his father about all of his encounters with wild 06:08 animals, and all of his wild experiences while he was 06:11 out in the field. 06:12 He was kind of a barraging type of an individual. 06:17 But notice Jacob. 06:19 It says, but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 06:25 One mild mannered man, and another a wild, 06:30 raging individual. 06:32 Two different characters. 06:35 In the book, Story of Redemption, page 97, 06:39 we find these very significant words: 06:55 Now the whole controversy in the story of Jacob and Esau 07:00 is found in the issue of the birthright. 07:04 Now, more properly, this can be called the primogeniture. 07:09 It's a word that we don't use much in English. 07:12 In Spanish the word is used. 07:13 It's the word primogenitura. 07:16 The individual who was born first had certain duties, 07:21 and certain responsibilities, and certain privileges, 07:26 I might say. Basically, the pimogeniture, or the firstborn, 07:31 had three privileges: 07:32 1. He was going to be the ruler of his father's household 07:38 when his father should die. 07:39 2. He was going to be the priest. 07:43 He was going to be the spiritual leader of the family. 07:47 And in the 3rd place he would have the privilege of being 07:51 the progenitor of the Messiah. 07:54 Three huge privileges: govern his house according to the 08:00 will of God, lead his household spiritually, 08:04 and have the privilege of eventually bringing the Messiah 08:09 into the world from his lineage, or from his line. 08:14 Now lets read about one day that Esau came in from the field, 08:20 and was just starving, at least in his concept. 08:26 Lets go to Genesis 25:29-34. It says here: 08:35 Evidentially he was a good cook, according to scripture. 08:38 You would expect so because he was a home boy, if you please. 08:43 In other words, he was docile. 08:45 He enjoyed being with his mother. 08:47 And, of course, he learned culinary skills from his Mom. 08:50 And so now Jacob cooked the stew, and Esau came in from 08:55 the field and he was weary. 08:58 And Esau said to Jacob: 09:11 By the way, the name Edom means red. 09:13 In a moment we're going to find out that everything related 09:16 to Esau is red, and there's a very specific purpose for that. 09:21 And now Jacob sees his moment of opportunity. 09:27 But Jacob said,: 09:33 Now if Esau had been in tune with the Lord 09:37 what would he have said? 09:38 No way, I would rather starve than not have the privilege 09:43 of leading my family in the fear of the Lord, 09:45 being the spiritual leader, being the ruler, and having the 09:48 privilege of, from my line, bringing the Messiah 09:50 into the world. I can't sell my spiritual privileges. 09:53 But notice the type of person that Esau was. But Jacob said, 10:08 Of course, that was hyperbole, that was an exaggeration. 10:41 He didn't give it a second thought! 10:49 You see, the problem with Esau is that he looked at the 10:52 privileges of the birthright, but he did not understand 11:00 the responsibilities involved. 11:04 In other words, Esau wanted the power without the necessary 11:08 character. Now Ellen White, in Patriarchs and Prophets, 11:13 page 178... By the way, this is the second textbook that we've 11:17 used in this seminar. 11:18 The first is the Bible. 11:19 ...says this about the character of Esau: 11:43 In other words, being the leader of the household, 11:47 being the spiritual leader, bringing the Messiah into 11:49 the world; he had no interest in that. 11:52 He wanted the power, the rulership, yes, but not the 11:57 responsibilities and the duties. 11:58 She continues saying: 12:11 How did he look at the law? as a what? as a yoke of bondage. 12:44 He believed the law of God was a yoke of bondage. 12:49 He wanted to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, he said, 12:56 I will die, and that's it. 12:59 Now we can catch a glimpse of what Esau was like when he 13:05 decided whom he was going to marry. 13:07 You see, his father said, when you marry, marry women not from 13:14 Canaan, but from our own parentage. 13:17 And I want you to notice what Esau did in his father's face. 13:21 Notice Genesis 28:6-9. 13:26 He was defiant, and disobedient to his father, 13:29 as well as to God's prescription, that he needed 13:32 to marry someone from the household of faith. 13:35 He became unequally yoked, and to more than one, I might say. 13:39 It says in verse 6: 13:49 Because she was from the household of faith. 14:04 And now notice what Esau does. 14:25 And if you go to chapter 36, you'll find that he married four 14:29 women from Canaan, in his father's face! 14:33 In other words, he was defiantly disobedient to the will of God, 14:38 and to the will of his father. 14:40 He did not want any restraint. 14:42 He lived for this present life, with no regard whatsoever 14:47 for the future life. 14:48 Now I mentioned that the color red is very closely linked 14:53 with Esau. The reason why is because Esau lived by the sword. 14:59 He was a violent man. 15:02 I want you to notice the following examples from 15:06 scripture. We're not going to read them, but we're going 15:08 to just mention them. 15:09 Genesis 25:25 says that when Esau was born, 15:13 he was born red all over. 15:15 Evidentially he was hairy, and his hair was red. 15:18 And that's the reason why his parents called him Edom. 15:24 He was called Esau, of course, but another name of his was 15:29 Edom. And do you know what Edom means? 15:31 Edom means red. 15:33 Not only that, we just read in Genesis 25:30 that Esau 15:40 sold his birthright for some red lentils. 15:46 Furthermore, we find that the name Bozrah, 15:51 another name for Edom, means ripe grapes. 15:57 Significant! And if you go to Isaiah 63:1-5 you'll find that 16:05 both Edom and Bozrah are mentioned in the context 16:11 of the sufferings of Christ, and trampling the wine press, 16:15 and blood splattering all over his clothes. 16:17 In other words, the color red emphasizes bloodshed. 16:21 And this was the type of person that Esau was. 16:25 And eventually he would come against his brother 16:28 to try and destroy him. 16:31 Now as we look at the Bible, and other places where the 16:35 Edomites appear, we discover several characteristics of what 16:40 Esau's descendents were like. 16:41 I'm only going to share these with you in passing. 16:44 All of these characteristics show an impulsive, 16:49 violent people. For example, they were proud and arrogant, 16:55 according to Jeremiah 49:6. 16:58 They were cruel, Obadiah, verse 3. 17:01 They were vengeful; they liked to get revenge, Isaiah 26:12. 17:07 They were idolatrous, 2 Chronicles 25:10, 14. 17:13 They were superstitious. 17:15 In other words, they were involved in spiritualism. 17:19 Jeremiah 27:3, 9. 17:21 They were wheeler-dealers. 17:24 They were very much involved in commerce, 17:27 according to Ezekiel 27:20. 17:31 And one of the worst characteristics is that they 17:33 were traitors to their brothers, in other words, 17:37 to the Israelites, according to Ezekiel 35:5, 10-15. 17:43 And so we begin to catch a glimpse of what this first son 17:51 represents. He represents people who live for the present 17:55 time, without any regard for the future; 17:58 who could care less about their birthright of beings kings 18:03 and priests, and having their lives linked with the Messiah; 18:06 people who live for the present moment, 18:10 who only live for pleasure, with no regard to what's going to 18:15 take place in the future. 18:17 And, of course, we all know the story. 18:21 Jacob's mom, Rachel, said, We cannot allow Esau to have 18:30 the blessing. And so she prepared this plot where Jacob 18:37 deceived his father. 18:38 I'm not going to go over that story. 18:40 Because Rachel said, If we allow Esau to have the birthright, 18:46 it's going to be a disaster. 18:47 By the way, Esau had already sold his birthright. 18:51 So Jacob wasn't really taking anything from him that Esau 18:55 had not already sold. 18:56 But the conniving methods that he used were wrong, 18:59 and Jacob committed this terrible sin of lying, 19:04 of hiding his identity. 19:09 And, of course, God would have worked it out in His own way 19:14 if Jacob and his mother had just been patient. 19:18 By the way, this shows that the end does not justify the means. 19:24 You've heard the expression, All's well that ends well? 19:27 No way! Not if you use the wrong methods. 19:32 You see, situation ethics is off base. 19:36 The idea that you can do something that's wrong, 19:40 as long as what comes from it is right. 19:43 I call it Robin Hood ethics, because it's okay to steal from 19:51 the rich, as long as you give it to the poor. 19:54 No way! God would have worked it out according to 19:59 His own calendar, but Jacob and his mother jumped the gun, 20:03 and Jacob committed this terrible sin that caused 20:07 separation between him and his father, between him and his 20:10 household, between him and his brother. 20:14 Now when Esau came back from hunting and brought the venison 20:20 to his father, and his father told him that he had already 20:25 blessed Jacob, we find Esau crying out with bitter tears. 20:34 In fact, let's notice that in Genesis 27:34, Genesis 27:34. 20:43 It says: 20:59 Notice also chapter 27, and verse 38: 21:19 Was he repentant? Was he sorry? 21:25 He was sorry of the consequences of his decision, but he was not 21:33 sorry that he had made the wrong decision. 21:35 He was sad about the results of sin, but not the sin itself. 21:43 You know, in my Sabbath School class today, I was mentioning 21:45 the case of Judas and Peter. 21:48 You know they are very similar in some ways. 21:50 Both of them betrayed Christ, didn't they? 21:55 Both of them betrayed Christ. 21:58 Both of them repented, according to scripture. 22:03 The word repentance is used for both. 22:05 Where was the difference between the repentance of Peter, 22:09 and the repentance of Judas? 22:11 Judas repented of the fact that his plan backfired. 22:14 He repented that things didn't work out the way he wanted. 22:19 By the way, he wanted Jesus to retaliate, and to escape, 22:23 and to sit on the throne. 22:24 In other words, he wanted to push Jesus into 22:28 proclaiming Himself king. 22:29 When it didn't work out, the Bible says that he threw 22:32 the money down, and he went and he hung himself. 22:35 That's the type of repentance of Esau. 22:39 In fact, we find a reference to this in the book of 22:43 Hebrews 12:14-17. 22:47 Let's read those verses: Hebrews 12:14-17. It says here: 22:58 By the way, Esau was just the opposite. 23:00 He was at war with his brother, he was at war with everyone. 23:35 Like Esau. How was he described? 23:36 a fornicator and a what? a profane person. 24:02 He had crossed the line of no return. 24:07 Concerning this, we find in Patriarchs and Prophets, 24:11 page 181, the following words about the repentance of Esau. 24:36 In other words, he was sorry that he made the wrong choice, 24:41 because of the results, not because the choice 24:44 in itself was wrong. 24:45 This is a counterfeit repentance. 24:48 Now it's interesting to notice that this vile, profane person, 24:53 fornicator, violent, idolatress, arrogant, living for this 24:58 present moment, for the here and now, rather than for the 25:01 sweet by and by; when he saw that Jacob had taken 25:05 his birthright he said, I am going to get even, 25:11 and I am going to kill my own brother. 25:14 By the way, do you notice that this is a battle 25:16 between brothers? 25:18 It's not an outsider versus an insider; both are brothers. 25:23 Do we find this constantly in Genesis? 25:26 We most certainly do! 25:28 Cain and Able were brothers. 25:30 Joseph and his brothers. 25:32 Isaac and Ishmael were brothers. 25:36 And in every case the older brother wants to do what? 25:40 The older brother wants to destroy the younger brother. 25:45 Now I want you to notice here, Genesis 27:41. 26:15 And so, from the very beginning he pronounces the death sentence 26:18 against his brother Jacob. 26:20 Now as a result of his sin, Jacob had to flee from his home. 26:26 Lets notice that in Genesis 27:43. 26:33 This is by recommendation of his mother. 26:35 He now has to leave his happy home because of his sin. 26:39 He has to go to a far away land. 26:41 And as he's traveling, undoubtedly, he's shedding tears 26:45 because he's lost his home because of his sin. 26:48 Notice Genesis 27:43. 27:02 And now I want you to notice something which is of critical 27:05 importance in this story. 27:06 As Jacob is traveling to the household of Laban, 27:11 God now gives Jacob a dream, because at this point Jacob is 27:19 feeling like God has forsaken him because of his sin. 27:22 That God cannot forgive what he's done. 27:25 And he's fleeing from home. 27:27 He's agonizing, he's saying, Has God forsaken me? 27:31 But when he lays down to sleep, puts his head on some stones, 27:35 and God gives him a dream. 27:39 I want you to notice Genesis 28: 12 and following. It says: 28:02 God is saying, See, you're not separated because of your sin. 28:05 At this point Jacob was repentant. 28:07 He had cried out to the Lord for forgiveness. He says: 28:20 Does God promise to give him the land back, 28:23 to bring him back to the land? Absolutely! 28:42 Do you see the same promises that God gave to Abraham? 28:44 He's saying, first of all the land; 28:49 you will have the land back. 28:50 Secondly, you will have an innumerable posterity that 28:56 will live in the land. 28:57 In the third place, all of your descendents will be blessed. 29:02 And then there's a fourth promise. 29:03 Notice verse 15: 29:15 Did God give Jacob definite promises? Yes, He did. 29:20 He said, You've sinned, yes, but you are not forsaken. 29:24 I promise that someday you will have the land, 29:27 an innumerable prosperity, the blessing, and I will protect you 29:32 and I will keep you from the power of your enemies. 29:34 Jacob could take these promises to the bank, and he was going to 29:39 need them later on in this story. 29:41 He's going to remind God of these promises that God gave 29:45 as he left home. 29:47 So notice that when he has to leave home because of his sin, 29:49 his happy home because of his sin, God gives promises, 29:52 and he says, You'll be coming back. 29:54 I have not forsaken you. 29:56 And, of course, that ladder represents whom? 30:00 It represents Christ. 30:03 Through whom will all of these blessings be gained? 30:07 Not the land of Canaan, but the earth. 30:10 Through whom will we have an innumerable host of saved people 30:15 that cannot be numbered, according to Revelation 7? 30:18 Through whom will all of the human race be blessed 30:21 when the curse is removed? 30:23 There will be no more curse. 30:24 And who will deliver His people from their enemies? 30:27 It wasn't Jacob, it wasn't Abraham, it wasn't Isaac, 30:34 it was a prophecy about what Jesus would do on a global, 30:39 worldwide scale. And then, of course, Jacob leaves home. 30:42 He has these promises when he leaves home that God says, 30:45 I'm going to restore you. 30:46 Someday you're going to come back. 30:47 And he ends up in Laban's house. 30:51 There is no more satanic figure in the Bible than Laban. 30:56 When you read the character of Laban, it's just like you're 31:01 reading about the devil. 31:02 Now let me mention a few things about Laban. 31:06 He was a hypocrite. 31:07 He feigned love for his daughters when Jacob left. 31:12 He could care less about his daughters. 31:14 He was a liar, he was a deceiver, he was an accuser, 31:23 he was a thief; all characteristics that are 31:28 mentioned in scripture about the devil. 31:30 In other words, Jacob ends up in the household of an individual 31:35 who has a character just like the devil, and makes the life of 31:38 Jacob what? miserable while he's away from home. 31:43 In fact, notice Genesis 31:7. 31:58 Notice the episode about his daughters, Genesis 31:26-29: 32:34 What a hypocrite! He was only concerned with appearances. 32:40 Notice Genesis 31:41, 42, the dishonesty of this man, 32:46 self-serving, that made the life of Jacob difficult. 32:51 By the way, was this experience in Laban's house 32:53 useful to Jacob? Did he learn to be industrious? 32:58 Did he learn to trust evermore in the Lord? 33:01 He most certainly did. 33:03 So it wasn't wasted time to live in the house of this 33:06 conniving, self-serving individual. 33:09 It was actually helpful for him to keenly sharpen his powers 33:14 of discernment and his work ethic. 33:17 Notice Genesis 31:41, 42. 33:34 Every time he prospers he says, now we've got to reduce 33:37 your salary a little bit. 33:38 Now this sounds familiar in our world today. 33:56 And so Jacob spends twenty years in the house of this demonic 34:02 figure. But at the end of the twenty years, Jacob decides that 34:07 it's time to return to Canaan. 34:12 And here's where this story becomes very interesting, 34:15 and unless you come to our next lecture, you're only going to 34:18 have half of the story. 34:21 Because today we're just dealing with Jacob and Esau, 34:24 their characters, how Jacob had to leave home. 34:27 He ended up in the household of the enemy, and so on. 34:29 We're just going to briefly touch upon the events 34:33 that take place immediately before Jacob re-enters the land 34:39 of Canaan that lost because of his sin. 34:42 In Genesis 32:6 we find the story of Esau, still bent on 34:50 destroying his brother, because his brother had the birthright, 34:54 because his brother now was going to be the king, 34:56 and the priest, and the progenitor of the Messiah. 34:59 Now he's coming with four hundred men, with the intention 35:03 of killing his brother, and everybody with him. 35:06 In Genesis 32:6 we find these words: 35:27 What do we call this? 35:28 We call it the time of Jacob's trouble. 35:34 when his brother, who lived with only regard to this life, 35:40 is now preparing to come and destroy his own brother; 35:44 the one who has the birthright, the one who has the promises 35:50 and the blessings of the covenant. 35:52 He's now coming, and Jacob is now afraid, and he's distressed. 35:56 He's afraid that God is not going to be able to protect him, 35:59 or to take care of him, because of the great sin 36:02 that he had committed twenty years earlier. 36:07 Had God already told him that his sin was forgiven? 36:11 Had God told him that his sin was forgiven? 36:13 Why did God even bother to give him the dream? 36:15 God was saying, listen, you're forgiven. 36:19 You're going to get the land back. 36:20 You're going to have a large posterity. 36:22 The blessing is going to come upon you. 36:24 I'm going to take care of you. 36:25 I'm going to protect you. 36:26 Don't worry about it. 36:28 Your enemies are not going to have ascendency over you. 36:30 But here we find Jacob afraid. 36:33 He says, I'm afraid that my brother, along with these 36:36 four hundred men, is going to destroy me, 36:39 along with my family. 36:40 And so Jacob now pours out his heart in prayer to the God 36:46 who had spoken to him in the dream twenty years earlier. 36:50 Notice Genesis 32:9-12. 37:13 Do you notice what his attitude is? 37:16 He feels his what? 37:18 I want you to remember these details. 37:20 He feels his total unworthiness. 37:31 I have no right to pray to You. 37:34 I am a sinner. I have no right to claim Your protection. 37:37 It's only because I lay myself on Your mercy 37:42 that I even come and address You. 37:44 Verse 11: Deliver me, I pray from the hand of my brother, 37:52 not because I have any merit, but because of Your mercy. 37:55 Deliver me, I pray... 38:13 What is Jacob claiming during this period of agony, 38:18 and struggle, and prayer? 38:20 He's claiming God's what? God's promises. 38:26 In his unworthiness he's claiming the promises of God. 38:30 Remember that! You know, there's an interesting passage, 38:33 if I can get ahead of myself a little bit. 38:35 There's an interesting passage in The Great Controversy, 38:38 actually it's a whole chapter called, 38:39 The Time of Jacob's Trouble. 38:42 And all of the elements that we're looking at now, 38:45 plus what we're going to study more fully in our next lecture, 38:48 are found in that chapter of The Great Controversy. 38:52 In other words, what took place once with Jacob, 38:56 is going to take place at the end of time with God's remnant 39:00 people, as the wicked of the earth come to destroy 39:03 God's people from the face of the earth. 39:07 Now as Jacob is pouring out his prayer to God, 39:10 in his unworthiness... 39:11 By the way, the only way we can approach the throne of God 39:13 is in our unworthiness. 39:15 We can't make any demands on God. 39:17 We're sinners; He's Holy. 39:20 It's only because of God's mercy, and because God has 39:24 promised that we can claim His promises. 39:25 If God promises, we can claim them, because God never gives 39:29 a promise that He's not able, or willing to fulfill. 39:32 Now notice Genesis 32, as he's pouring out his soul to God 39:38 asking for forgiveness for a sin that he committed twenty years 39:40 earlier. And as he's asking God to protect him, we find that a 39:47 man caught up to him, and started wrestling with him. 39:51 Notice Genesis 32:24-26: 40:00 Quite a wrestling match! 40:08 That who didn't prevail against whom? 40:14 That the man could not prevail against him, 40:16 because it continues saying: 40:22 Who touched the socket of his hip? 40:24 The man that he was struggling with. 40:33 Do you think Jacob was in excruciating pain? 40:36 Have you ever had a dislocated hip, or a dislocated shoulder? 40:43 You're talking about an excruciating pain. 40:45 It would have been very easy... 40:46 By the way, at this point does Jacob know that he's not 40:49 struggling with a common, ordinary human being? 40:51 Oh, yes, he does. 40:53 Just by touching him dislocating his hip? 40:56 He says, there's something more than meets the eye here. 40:59 And yet in spite of the fact that he's in excruciating pain, 41:02 does Jacob let him lose? No! 41:06 Notice chapter 32 and verse 26, this being says to him: 41:29 Do you know that Jacob, at this point, had not been able to 41:32 to forgive himself? 41:35 Do we need to learn a lesson about forgiveness folks? 41:38 You know, sometimes we commit a sin, and after we've committed 41:44 the sin, we repent and we confess it to God, 41:48 but in the course of time we're never able to forgive ourselves. 41:52 We always keep bringing it up and remembering it. 41:55 I once had a parishioner, she came to me, she says, 41:58 Pastor Bohr, I have this sin, and I don't feel that God has 42:02 forgiven me for it. 42:03 I said, Oh really? 42:05 Have you repented of it? Yes. 42:06 Have you confessed it? Yes. 42:07 I said, If you've repented and confessed, the Bible says, 42:12 if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us 42:14 our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 42:18 I said, so you're forgiven. 42:22 She says, but Pastor, I don't feel forgiven. 42:24 And I said to her, listen, feelings have nothing 42:28 to do with it. You don't believe that you're forgiven, 42:31 because you feel it, but because God says so. 42:36 If God says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just 42:40 to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all 42:42 unrighteousness, you can take it to the bank, not because you 42:45 feel it, but because God says it. 42:47 We have to learn to live by what God says, 42:50 not by our feelings; by every word that proceeds 42:55 from the mouth of God. 42:56 And so He says, Let me go, and Jacob says, No way 43:00 until I have the assurance that I'm forgiven, and that You're 43:03 going to be able to protect me and my family 43:05 from the enemy who is coming. 43:07 And now notice Genesis 32:27, 28. 43:16 He says to Jacob... 43:18 By the way, the name Jacob means supplanter. 43:21 Do you know that Jacob actually tried to supplant his brother 43:26 from the moment that he was in the womb? 43:28 It says that he grabbed his brother by the heel, 43:32 because he was trying to pull Esau down so that he 43:36 could be born first. 43:37 And then, of course, he supplanted his brother 43:40 by taking his birthright. 43:42 But had the character of Jacob changed? 43:47 Yes, it had. He was a repentant man, claiming the promises 43:52 of God, humbled by his experience, having learned 43:56 for twenty years in the household of the enemy. 44:03 And so it says in chapter 32 and verse 28: 44:16 The name Israel means, Prince of God. 44:27 You have struggled with men, and with whom? 44:31 Who was that man that Jacob was struggling with? 44:35 That man was nothing less than Michael the Archangel. 44:43 You say, How do you know that? 44:44 Go with me to the book of Hosea 12:3, 4. 44:49 There it comes through very clearly. 44:50 Genesis says it was a man. 44:52 Hosea explains who this man was. 44:55 It says there in Hosea 12:3, 4, speaking about Jacob, 45:01 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, 45:05 and in his strength he struggled with God. 45:08 He struggled with whom? with God. 45:13 Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed. 45:17 He wept, and sought favor from him. 45:22 Favor from whom? from the angel. 45:26 Did you catch that or not? 45:28 It says he struggled with God, then it says that he struggled 45:33 with the what? with the angel, and he wept and sought favor 45:37 from him; that is from the angel. 45:38 Who is this angel? This angel is Jesus. 45:42 By the way, as we'll notice in our next lecture, 45:44 in Daniel chapter 3, when Nebuchadnezzar sees four men 45:49 in the furnace, he says, I see four men, and the fourth man 45:52 looks like the Son of God. 45:56 But a little bit later on, Nebuchadnezzar said that God 45:59 sent his angel to deliver His servants. 46:02 So who is the angel? 46:04 The angel is the Son of God. 46:06 This is Michael, the archangel; Christ in His 46:09 pre-incarnate state. 46:11 Who was Jacob wrestling with? 46:14 He was wrestling with Jesus. 46:16 By the way, is this story going to be repeated again? 46:23 Allow me to go now through this story very quickly 46:28 to see how it is going to be re-enacted in the end time 46:32 with God's people. 46:33 Are there going to be two groups in the world at the end of time 46:38 that manifest the characteristics of Jacob 46:42 Esau? Absolutely! 46:44 Is the final war going to be brother against brother, 46:49 spiritually speaking? 46:52 Is the weaker going to have ascendency eventually 46:57 over the stronger? Absolutely! 47:01 You can notice, for example, Revelation 3:9 where it says 47:04 that the synagogue of Satan, which are the powers 47:06 of the world that have ascendency, will come and they 47:10 will worship before the feet of those whom God has loved. 47:17 Has God promised those of His followers that they 47:21 will be kings and priests? 47:23 Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus has made us kings and priests. 47:29 Are we the firstborn then? Absolutely! 47:32 Do we have the privilege someday of living with the Messiah? 47:36 Absolutely! So the Birthright that belonged to Jacob actually 47:41 is our birthright in Christ. 47:43 The right, someday, of being kings and priests, and dwelling 47:48 with the Messiah, who gave us that birthright. 47:52 Will those who have the character of Esau in the end 47:58 time despise God's holy law? 48:01 Will they consider that the law of God is a yoke of bondage? 48:06 Will they live in this world as if there is no other world, 48:10 for the present pleasures of life, and sell their eternal 48:15 birthright as kings and priests, the privilege of living with the 48:19 Messiah forever; sell it, so to speak, for a plate of lentils, 48:24 for temporary, momentary pleasures, things in this life? 48:31 Absolutely! By the way, did we lose our home 48:35 as a result of our sin? 48:38 What was our home? Eden. 48:42 Did God promise Adam and Eve the very day that they sinned 48:46 that Eden would be recovered? 48:48 Did He give them a Messianic prophecy? Absolutely! 48:53 Genesis 3:15, He says, I'm going to send a seed to the world, 48:57 and He's going to do battle with the serpent, and He's going to 49:00 crush the serpent's head, and you are going to be restored. 49:04 So God's people receive a Messianic prophecy, 49:07 a glimmer of hope just like Jacob did when he had to flee 49:11 his home. Where did we end up when we left our Eden home? 49:16 In whose house? In Laban's house, so to speak. 49:22 What kind of a being is Satan? 49:25 Is he like Laban? He most certainly is. 49:27 Is he a conniver? 49:29 Is he a deceiver? 49:31 Is he a liar? He has all of those traits. 49:35 Is he self-serving? 49:37 Will he make it look like he's doing things for your good, and 49:42 someone else's good, when he's really doing it for himself? 49:44 He's just like Laban. 49:47 Will he want to keep us serving him forever to serve his own 49:52 purposes? Yes. In other words, we ended up in Laban's house. 49:59 Is it a blessing to be in Laban's house, 50:00 in a certain sense? 50:03 What does God want us to do while we're in Laban's house? 50:06 Work hard, occupy until I come, Jesus said, and keep our eyes 50:13 open to the possibility of deception, and not allow Laban, 50:19 so to speak, to gain the ascendency over us, 50:21 and have the assurance that God is going to bless us, 50:23 and He's going to keep us like He did Jacob, 50:26 even in the midst of being in Laban's conniving household. 50:32 Are God's people going to go through a severe time of trouble 50:36 shortly before we return to our home which we lost? Absolutely! 50:42 It's called the time of Jacob's trouble, and it's mentioned in 50:47 Daniel 12:1. We're going to study about 50:49 this time of trouble. 50:50 It's an amazing story; very profoundly biblical. 50:54 If you've wondered where Ellen White is getting her 50:55 information from when she has that chapter in 50:58 The Great Controversy, you've got to come to the next lecture, 51:00 because we're going to study this in detail. 51:03 The fulfillment is found in Daniel 11:44 where the powers 51:08 of the earth go out bent on destroying God's people 51:13 at the end of time. 51:14 And then it says, At that time Michael shall stand up. 51:19 That's the angel. 51:21 Michael shall stand up, that prince which stands watch 51:25 over the children of Your people. 51:27 And there will be such a time of trouble such as never 51:31 has been seen. But at that time Your people will be what? 51:37 delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 51:41 This story, once again, is going to be repeated. 51:47 What are God's people going to claim during this time 51:51 of severe trouble? 51:52 Will they in humility say to God, We depend on Your mercy, 51:57 we depend on Your promises? Absolutely! 52:00 And it will be only thing that will sustain God's people 52:03 as the powers of the earth come with the intention of destroying 52:06 God's people. And, by the way, do you know that God's people, 52:12 will struggle in the time of trouble, struggle with Jesus 52:16 spiritually in prayer, because at the end we're dealing 52:19 with worldwide spiritual events. 52:22 That little microcosm back there, 52:25 that little maudlin miniature story, really illustrates 52:28 worldwide global events and spiritual issues. 52:32 It's no longer literal Israel, and literal Esau. 52:37 It is spiritual Israel, and people who have the character 52:41 of Esau. And, by the way, when God's people eventually prevail, 52:46 do you know that Revelation 3:12 says that they will 52:51 receive a new name? 52:56 Those who overcome will receive a what? a new name. 53:03 And then let me ask you, will God's people once again return 53:08 to the land which God promised? Absolutely! 53:12 The meek will inherit the earth. 53:15 Will God's people be in a land where there's no longer 53:19 any curse? Revelation 22:3 says the curse is gone. 53:22 All is blessing. Was that one of the promises that God made 53:26 to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob? Yes. 53:31 Will God's people have been delivered from their enemies, 53:34 and now be safe in the kingdom? Absolutely! 53:38 And will God's people be in the midst of a multitude 53:42 which no man can number? 53:43 According to Revelation 7, Yes. 53:47 All of these promises, claimed during the time of trouble 53:52 by God's people, will be eventually fulfilled on a global 53:56 worldwide scale with God's people. 53:59 Now before we bring this to a close, I need to ask 54:06 the question, are we living for this present age? 54:12 Are we living for the here and now, rather than looking to the 54:15 sweet by and by? 54:19 The houses we buy. 54:21 The automobiles we drive. 54:24 The money we keep stored in the bank, while the work of God 54:29 languishes. The luxurious clothing that we wear. 54:34 The expensive toys that we buy. 54:39 Is this, perhaps, telling us that maybe we're looking to the 54:45 here and now rather than to the sweet by and by? 54:48 Notice what the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18. 54:55 Are we selling our heavenly birthright for temporal, 54:58 present pleasures? 55:01 Could it happen to me? 55:03 It certainly could. 55:05 Notice what the apostle Paul says: 55:12 See, our affliction now is but for a moment. 55:19 See, our present affliction is light. 55:21 It's small compared to the glory that's going to come. 55:24 Notice this. 55:34 What do we look at? 55:36 Not what's seen, but what's not seen. 55:41 That's our houses, our cars, our money, our clothes, 55:45 our toys, whatever it is. It says: 55:59 One final story. We find in Hebrews 11 the story of Moses. 56:03 You know, Moses was in line to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt, 56:08 and God said to him, I want you to go to the desert 56:10 with a rebellious people who are always going to be 56:12 criticizing you. There's going to be heat, 56:14 there's going to be snakes, you know. 56:15 They're going to want to stone you all of the time. 56:18 Instead of becoming the next Pharaoh of Egypt, and have all 56:23 of the wealth, and all of the fame, and all of the power, 56:26 I want you to choose to go out into the desert 56:28 with this people. 56:29 What would you have chosen? Good question. 56:34 Better a bird in hand than two in the bush? 56:38 That's the philosophy of many. 56:41 But it says in Hebrews 11 that Moses preferred affliction 56:49 with the people of God, than having the temporary, 56:54 and momentary pleasures of sin. 56:57 In fact, he was sustained, it says in Hebrews 11, 57:02 by seeing Him who is invisible. 57:08 Invisible means you can't see it, but he was sustained seeing 57:12 Him who is invisible. 57:14 May that be our experience as well. |
Revised 2023-11-20