Category: Isaac

Jacob and Esau;

8/15/2022

Who Were Jacob and Esau in the Bible? Story and MeaningRead the Bible account of Jacob and Esau and discover their significance in the Old Testament.

"And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." ~ Genesis 25:23

In this prophecy from the Lord, it is Esau, the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah, who would serve Jacob, his younger brother. The Bible account of Jacob and Esau includes Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and Jacob misleading his father Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau.

Read the Bible account of Jacob and Esau and discover their importance in the Old Testament.

Who Were Jacob and Esau?The prophecy of Jacob and Esau shows that God's purpose in salvation stands on the basis of His calling, and not on the basis of works, either good or bad (Romans 9:11). For God foreknew which of the two sons would believe the word of promise given to Abraham. Jacob embraced the faith of Abraham, whereas Esau rejected it. Both were called, but Jacob alone responded to the call through faith.

The Jews came from Jacob, and those who respond to God's calling, as Jacob did, are the children of God. Those who do not embrace Abraham's faith are like Esau. Christ came through the genealogy of Isaac and Jacob, as found in Matthew 1:2, "Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers."

The Book of Genesis talks of the relationship between fraternal twins Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis 25:26 states that Esau was born before Jacob, who came out holding on to his older brother's heel as if he was trying to pull Esau back into the womb so that he could be firstborn. The name Jacob means he grasps the heel which is a Hebrew idiom for deceptive behavior.

"When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob."~ Genesis 25:24-28

Esau Sells His Birthright to JacobEsau was the older son. so the right of the firstborn was his. This right taught the firstborn to embrace Abraham's faith. But he despised this faith, because of his fear of death. He despised the very faith that could save him from death. "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears." (Hebrews 12:15-17)

"Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." ~ Genesis 25:29-34

Isaac Blesses JacobThe Lord is present everywhere and fills all things. Thus Isaac would give the blessing of the firstborn in His presence. The blessing of the firstborn gave the eldest son a double portion of his father's inheritance. He would also become the ruler and head over his brethren upon his father's death, and be responsible for the welfare and administration of the family.
"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." ~ Genesis 27:1-4

Rebekah hears the blessing intended for Esau.
"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." ~ Genesis 27:5-10

Jacob pretends to be Esau in order to receive his blessing.
"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." His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me." So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob." ~ Genesis 27:11-17

"So he went in to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am." ~ Genesis 27:18-24

Jacob receives his father Isaac's blessing.

Then he said, "Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son." So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!" ~ Genesis 27:25-29

Esau's Lost Blessing"As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me." His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." ~ Genesis 27:30-32

Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed." As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing." Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" ~ Genesis 27:33-36

Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck." ~ Genesis 27:37-40

Read related articles about the life of Jacob and Esau:
Rebekah sends Jacob to Mesopotamia to avoid Esau's intention to kill him. In his travel, the Lord visits Jacob in a dream known as Jacob's Ladder.

In Mesopotamia, Jacob meets Haran and his daughter Rachel. Read the Bible Story of Jacob and Rachel.

0 Comments

Ezekiel 38

7/20/2022

0 Comments

Ezekiel 38:7–14 records that after the army of Gog gathers, their purpose will be to attack what they think is the defenseless kingdom of Israel. This prophecy refers to the great battle commonly referred to as the battle of Armageddon, which will precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 38

38 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

The Lord told Gog, the satanically inspired ruler of end-times events, that a day is coming when he will be summoned to invade the Promised Land of Israel. Together with a vast army of allies from Persia, Ethiopia and many clearly identifiable nations, he will march against God's people and this invasion is to happen at the 'time of the end.' The Lord told Gog that He would 'put hooks in his jaw' and give him and his allies, an irresistible urge to flood into the Land, at a time when God's people were living securely.

The aim of Gog and his co-conspirators will be, 'to take a spoil'. Their evil plan will be to plunder Israel of its great wealth. They will come like a great cloud covering the land. But the Lord, Who knows the end from the beginning, reveals that this is an oracle of judgement against Gog. Although he and his allied troops will rapidly advance through the land like a thunderstorm, they will all be judged and punished, because of their evil ways.

Just as the Lord raised up Pharoah to demonstrate His almighty power to the people, so the Lord will use Gog to show the nations that the Lord is God, and sovereign over all the earth. "You will come up against My people Israel. You will come like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about, in the last days, that I will bring you against My land, so the nations may know ME when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog."

This great leader called Gog, is told by the Lord, WHAT he is going to do, "You will come up against My people Israel", HOW he will come, "like a cloud to cover the land", WHEN it will take place, "It shall come about in the last days", WHERE this will happen, "I will bring you against My land", and WHY it is happening, "so that the nations may know Me and I will be sanctified through YOU, before their eyes, O Gog."

From the beginning, the enemy of our soul has sought to hide God from us, to distort His character, to disrupt His plan of salvation, to deceive the nations, to destroy His Anointed and to shipwreck the faith of those that put their trust in Him. He has taken control of corrupt minds and used men like Gog, as his puppets to counteract the Lord's glorious plan of redemption, which was planned before the foundation of the world.

Down through the corridors of time, we see a succession of evil men, like Gog, with the spirit of antichrist. The enemy of our soul manipulates their minds to carry out attacks on God's people. He uses evil rulers to deceive the world of the truth about God's goodness and grace. Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning who used Cain to slay his brother in an attempt to destroy, "the Seed of the woman who will crush the serpent's head."

Nimrod, Pharoah, Herod, and Jezabel, the wife of wicked King Ahab, were biblical characters that the enemy has used in his attempt to thwart God's plan of redemption. More recent history also records many dictators, who have the evil spirit of antichrist, such as Emperor Nero, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong and Adolph Hitler. But God used their wicked work to forward His perfect plans for mankind. And the satanically inspired Gog from the land of Magog, is the coming tyrant of Ezekiel 38, whom the Lord will use to show the nations that God is the Lord.

God knows the end for the beginning, and although Gog from the land of Magog, will be prompted by the enemy to attack the beautiful land of Israel in the last days, his assault will be used by the Lord, to overturn Satan's plans, punish the evildoers and reveal Himself to the world, so that the nations may know Him and be sanctified before Gog. On that day, the Lord will exalt Himself and demonstrate His holiness. On that day, He will make Himself known to many people, and all the people of the earth will learn that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the LORD.

There are many that speculate about Gog of the land of Magog, and try to pinpoint the time when this will happen. But perhaps the more urgent thing to consider is that there are still family members, work colleagues, neighbours and people we pass in the street each day, who have not yet trusted Christ as their Saviour.

Let us remember that Ezekiel's prophecy was given to Israel, to encourage them at the time when Gog and a great army with him, sweep into the beautiful land of Israel, like a cloud covering the land, "to take a plunder." God is jealous for His people, and when Gog invades Israel, the Lord has determined to execute judgment on him. He will send a plague on the evil people and bloodshed. The Lord will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone on Gog, as on all his troops and the many people who are with him.

It is not only the nations that will know that God is the Lord, but Israel will see that God Himself has come to their defence, and rescued them from their enemies, as He did in olden days. Today, Israel is in the land in unbelief, but the invasion of Gog will help to wake up God's people to the truth.

But while the age of grace is still here, let us tell as many as we can, the glorious gospel of Salvation and warn of the wrath to come. Let us be diligent to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, as we wait expectantly for Christ to come in the clouds and take us to be with Himself. And let us have mercy on lost sinners, and those who doubt the truth - let us help to save some by snatching them from the coming fires of judgement, so that they too may know that God is the Lord.

My Prayer
Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, thank You for alerting us to the coming judgement of the world and the many deceptions that seek to distort the gospel, disrupt Your plan of salvation, deceive the nations and shipwreck the faith of those that put their trust in You. Thank You, that You have told us the end from the beginning and that a day is coming when evil will be punished, and the world will know that You are the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth, and that Jesus is coming back to rule this world in righteousness. Have mercy on those that do not yet know You and bring many into the Body of Christ before that time of terrible tribulation, when judgement is poured out on the wicked. Hear my prayer I pray, in Jesus' name, AMEN.

Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/ezekiel-38-16

0 Comments

What Does It Mean that God Is Jehovah-Jireh?

7/10/2022

0 Comments

Jehovah Jireh means “the Lord will provide,” and it’s one of the most popular names for God. To understand this name for God more fully, we need to go back to the story where we first hear this name for Him. Jehovah-Jireh is first used in the Old Testament with a story of Abraham.
I
Jehovah-Jireh in the Bible: Abraham and Isaac Abraham received a fresh set of instructions from God: “Take Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him on the mountain I will show you” (Genesis 22:2). The word sacrifice in Hebrew means “a whole or burnt offering.”

This passage may present questions and struggles for many readers. The very core of this direction feels contrary to other known truths about the Lord.
The Complete Jewish Study Bible notes that while the “binding of Isaac” passage or the Akedah, is read during every Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) service it is “by far the most difficult passage of the Torah.”

A superficial reading of the story may leave the reader with an ugly sense that God led Abraham on an emotional wild-goose chase.

Abraham went to an undisclosed location to sacrifice his son, only to have God stop him at the last moment. Then Abraham saw a ram caught in some thorny bushes, sacrificed it, and called the place, "Jehovah-Jireh" - "The Lord will Provide." Why would God treat them like this?

But that interpretation reveals more about the reader than it does the text or God Himself. One of the crucial details missing in that reading is the trust displayed by both Abraham and Isaac.

Scripture doesn’t tell many details about the private thoughts and feelings of Abraham or Isaac in this story. But in Hebrews 11:19, we are told that Abraham knew God’s character and power enough to trust that if God took Isaac at that moment, because of all God’s other promises about Isaac, Abraham knew God would fulfill His word even if He had to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham was doing this difficult task with assurance in his heart.
The Meaning of Jehovah-JirehAbraham calls the place, “God will provide.” The word there is richer than our English denotes.

“Provide” in Hebrew is also “see to it,” which is similar to the name a woman named Hagar calls the Lord in Genesis 16:13 – “The God who Sees.”
That Hebrew word also means “perceive” and“experience.”

When Abraham calls God Jehovah-Jireh, he isn’t just saying, “God gives the goods!” He is saying, “You see/experience all this need of mine and make provision for it.” It is deeply personal.

God’s provision isn’t automated like a paycheck deposited into your bank account. And it isn’t far removed as if He doesn’t feel the need.

Jehovah-Jireh’s Ultimate and Daily ProvisionProvision for eternity.

This passage of Scripture is one of the clearest foreshadowing stories of the work of Jesus Christ. God not only provided for Abraham, but He also provided his only son so “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” (John 3:16). Jesus is the Provision.

While God amazingly provided for the big needs like eternity, He is also present in the “littler” needs.

Provision in the daily details. The very next words after the story of Abraham and Isaac abruptly switch to genealogy information. It feels weird to read after such an intense experience. But the genealogy information lets us know that even when Isaac was a young boy, God had a plan for his future wife because her family is mentioned in the genealogy.

God had a plan for Isaac’s family, and He had a wife specifically for Isaac. Years in the future, when Isaac is approaching 40, he was meditating (praying) in a field when his wife Rebekah came to him. And the Lord filled Isaac’s heart with love for the young woman who would become his wife. The two became part of the lineage of Christ.

The Lord had made promises to Abraham about this young man. Not only did God provide for Isaac’s life, but also for his future as part of God’s promise to bring Christ into the world.

From the great needs of our soul for issues like salvation and forgiveness to the yearning of our heart for a spouse, God Provides - He is our Jehovah-Jireh. God Sees. God is with Us. It is His promise and His character. It is His very name!

0 Comments

God's Tough Love for Us

6/30/2022

0 Comments

Hosea: Unbroken Love From A Broken Heart

by Doug Goins

"Think about His love, think about His goodness.
Think about His grace that's brought us through.
For as high as the heavens above
so great is the measure of our Father's love.
Great is the measure of our Father's love."
(Integrity's Hosanna! Music)

Chapters 11 and 12 of the book of Hosea press our hearts next to the loving heart of God. These chapters describe a profound quality of love that is beyond any human understanding, bringing to life our series title, Unbroken Love from a Broken Heart. Perhaps the greatest anguish that a loving heart can experience is the pain of estrangement; the pathos of longing to love someone; yet having its love manipulated, resisted, taken advantage of, or totally rejected.

I have a dear friend here at PBC whom I respect very much, a widow with grown children. She came to know Jesus Christ later in her life, and now she aches for each one of her grown children to come into a personal relationship with the Savior. We have prayed together for each of her children's salvation, but she struggles with a sense of separation from them. She is concerned about the self-destructive patterns in their life. She agonizes over their resistance to spiritual reality that she would love to share with them. She said to me at one point, "I've tried everything. I can't affirm their lifestyles or values, and I anguish over what they are becoming, but I'm trapped. They won't accept my love or involvement. I feel a terrible helplessness."

When we get in touch with that kind of frustration over people we want to love, care for, and encourage but who respond only with rejection or manipulation, then we are able to understand God's anguish over the nation Israel. Hosea 11 and 12 are two of the most moving, tender chapters in the Bible. They allow us to feel the heartbeat of God's yearning love for his people. Both of these chapters are set in the context of family life. In chapter 11, the first eleven verses, the picture is drawn of a rejected father who exercises tough love---a suffering, enduring, "in-spite-of" kind of love---toward his son. God is that Father, and the nation Israel is the son who won't return to his Father's love. Look at the first four verses:
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and burning incense to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.

I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one
who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
Innocent first steps

This passage recalls the innocence of the early days of the nation's deliverance from bondage. God graciously loved his son Israel and helped him leave Egypt. Verse 2 tells us that Israel responded with rebellion: They chose new gods, violating the most basic responsibility of their covenant relationship with him: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). Verse 3 stresses how quickly Ephraim turned---as soon as he was taught to walk by his loving heavenly Father, he immediately walked away after other gods.

Don't miss the innocent delight that the Father and his child have over these first steps. Last week I looked back through photo albums of our four children to find pictures that we had taken of their first lurching attempts to walk. The thing that struck me, on all their faces as well as Candy's and mine, was the incredible grins stretching from ear to ear. Do you remember the first staggering steps of your children into Mama's and Dada's arms, and how fun it was to catch them, pick them up, and affirm their first steps?

Throughout the Scriptures, the picture of walking with God is always synonymous with trusting and obeying him. Yahweh had called Ephraim to be like Enoch, Noah, and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had all learned to walk with God.

A vital part of God's teaching in their life was to bring them back to health after the bondage they had experienced for four hundred years in Egypt, so that they could walk in strength. Verse 4 is a beautiful image of how their Father God lifted that yoke of bondage and led Ephraim with a compassionate, guiding hand and with a band of love, not the control of a harness with a bit. We also see the picture of their heavenly Father stooping down to their level to meet their needs, feeding them tenderly---remember how God provided the manna in the wilderness.

But these memories of Ephraim's early years couldn't deny the reality of what the grown children had become. So verses 5-7 deal with the painful necessity of judgment or punishment---the reality of the consequences that sin always has:
They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.

The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them in their fortresses [or because of their schemes or counsels].

My people are bent on turning away from me;
so they are appointed to the yoke,
and none shall remove it.
Growing up and facing the consequences

As we have seen before in our studies in Hosea, Egypt is a symbol of re-entering bondage. Because of the nation's disloyalty to the covenant, they will be returned to the kind of slavery to sin from which they have already been delivered. The reason for judgment is not just the sin of apostasy with the Baals, nor their schemes or counsels (verse 6), but their persistent refusal to return or repent; their commitment to turning away from God. There is only sadness in Yahweh's description of this forthcoming doom and destruction. As I was working through this I could see the invasion unfolding, the Assyrian armies wiping out city after city; and God standing as a lonely figure, watching with hands clasped behind his back, biting his lip in self-imposed restraint. He is refusing to invade their stubbornness with some sort of hasty intervention that would deny his people the opportunity to grow up through facing the consequences of their rebellion and sin.

God's forgiving grace

In verses 8-9 God directly and personally appeals to his people. The emotion and pent-up grace in his heart are expressed in beautiful poetry:
How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
How can I make you like Admah!
How can I treat you like Zeboiim!

My heart recoils within me,
my compassion grows warm and tender.

I will not execute my fierce anger,
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come to destroy.
Here is the glory of God's grace at work. That is why he doesn't give up on Israel, or on us. Our hope is based on the faithfulness of God regardless of our unfaithfulness to him. The words of these two verses weave together strands of his unqualified grace into a band of love, a cord of compassion that slips around our wandering hearts. God is relentlessly loving, and his love won't let his people go. Although he does have to judge and punish them, he can never finally give up on them or hand them over to total destruction. He can't do to Ephraim what he did to the two cities mentioned, Admah and Zeboiim. These were cities that were totally destroyed on the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 14; 19). The people aren't going to receive the obliteration they deserve. After the destruction of the land by the Assyrians, the Lord will begin the process of restoring his people.

This passage tells us that God's holiness is foundational to his love. God isn't vindictive, but righteous in his judgment. His punishment is remedial. And overwhelmingly his forgiving grace is at work. His purpose in all the circumstances is reconciliation. And he says it is because he is not like man; he is not controlled by the "quid pro quo" of human nature. His holiness and forgiving love will ultimately bring his people back to the land.

God will bring his children back

There is a picture of the full return in verses 10-11:
They shall go after the LORD,
he will roar like a lion;
yea, he will roar,
and his sons shall come trembling from the west;
they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria;
and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.
Here is the loving heart of God reaching into the future, when his people will live in obedient, trusting, faithful relationship with him. They will express a wonder and reverence before his powerful, loving roar of return, and they will gratefully accept his providential care. I thought of the picture that we see a number of times in The Chronicles of Narnia of the loving roar of Aslan and of the children trembling with hope before that roar.

The picture in verses 10-11 has the millennial kingdom in view. There has not yet been the complete return to the land that is described here. And Israel today is certainly not a nation that trembles in awe and reverent worship before the Lord.

These eleven verses paint a picture of the tough, suffering, "in-spite-of" love of a rejected Father. Israel is a prodigal son who won't return to his Father's love. And yet there is a wonderful window of hope for the future, a day coming when Israel will return wholeheartedly to their heavenly Father.
I was thinking about the spiritual reality of this in my own life. There was a season in my life at the end of my high school years and in my early college years when I was a prodigal, consciously making choices to turn away from the Lord. I had been raised in a wonderful Christian home, but I rejected the Lord my folks loved and submitted their lives to. There was a consistent pattern of active rebellion in my life. Finally God used some wonderful, godly seniors in my dorm to turn me back to himself. I remember a night I spent on my knees by my bed, weeping before the Lord, saying, "I give up. I want to come back. I don't like the way I've been living."

When I went home and told my dad where I'd been and what I'd been through, he wasn't surprised. I was kind of shocked that he knew so much, because I had worked hard to protect him from all that. But he said, "Yes, I knew the struggles." I asked him, "Dad, how come you didn't beat up on me about it? How did you get through those three or four years of rebellion in my life?" He told me he claimed Philippians 1:6 for me, where Paul says, "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Dad said, "I've prayed that almost every day for you, waiting for you to come back." And God in his faithfulness did bring me back.

Manipulation and schemes

Starting with verse 12, the theme of family continues, but now the issue is not rejected love but love that is taken advantage of and manipulated. In verse 6 God's judgment came because of their "false counsels or schemes" for survival. That issue of dishonesty is expanded now. And pictured for us is the love of the Father in response to Israel's deceit and manipulation. Again, it is tough love that initiates confrontation. In this section Israel's national life is mirrored in the life of Jacob the schemer and manipulator. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, the son of Isaac, and the father of the twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of the nation. His name was changed to Israel, and the nation itself became his namesake. At the heart of the passage is a call for the nation Israel to return to his Father's love. Let's read chapter 11 verse 12 through the end of chapter 12:
Ephraim has encompassed me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit;
but Judah is still known by God,
and is faithful to the Holy One.

Ephraim herds the wind,
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a bargain with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.

The LORD has an indictment against Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
and requite him according to his deeds.
In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.

He strove with the angel and prevailed,
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with him---
the LORD the God of hosts,
the LORD is his name:
"So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God."

A trader, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.
Ephraim has said, "Ah, but I am rich,
I have gained wealth for myself";
but all his riches can never offset
the guilt he has incurred.

I am the LORD your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.

I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
If there is iniquity in Gilead
they shall surely come to nought;
if in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
their altars also shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.
(Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
there Israel did service for a wife,
and for a wife he herded sheep.)

By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was preserved.
Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his LORD will leave his blood-guilt upon him,
and will turn back upon him his reproaches.
The story of Jacob highlighted in this narrative is detailed in Genesis 25-36. Hosea uses it to communicate what the Lord wants to see happen to the nation that he loves so greatly. Let me sketch some of the details of Jacob's life to dramatize this picture. The first phrase in verse 3 recalls that from the moment of birth and into manhood, Jacob had been a conniver and a deceiver: "In the womb he took his brother by the heel...." Even before he came out of his mother Rebekah's womb, he tried to cheat his twin brother Esau; he was born with his hand clutching Esau's heel. His birth name means, "He is at the heel," though the root really means "deceive." And he lived down to his own name, stealing his brother's birthright after they were grown and then manipulating his father Isaac to give him the blessing of the first-born.

Understandably, there was terrible conflict between the two brothers as a result. Jacob, fearing for his life, left home and ran for Aram to live with his uncle Laban, as it says in verse 12. One night on that trip, Jacob had a dream. He saw a ladder from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending. In that dream he was lifted up to God's presence, and God assured him of a greater birthright than he had manipulated from his brother Esau and from his father. It was a mind-blowing birthright! (see Genesis 28:13-17). Jacob had not expected to meet God there. He wasn't searching for God, and he certainly had done nothing to deserve the blessing that God wanted to give him. Jacob was deeply moved by this dream, and he built an altar and called the place Bethel, "house of God." Hosea 12:4:
"He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with him---
the LORD the God of hosts,
the LORD is his name...."
Jacob the manipulator was confronted by the sovereignty and majesty of God. And God was getting him ready for still another confrontation that would come twenty years later.

The boomerang effect

When Jacob arrived in Aram, he met his match in his uncle Laban, who was probably a bigger operator than he was. Jacob fell in love with Laban's daughter Rachel and struck a bargain with Laban. The bargain is described in verse 12:
"(Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
there Israel did service for a wife,
and for a wife he herded sheep.)"
He offered to work seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage, and Laban agreed to that, but he had a trick up his sleeve. When the seven years were up, Jacob asked for his beloved Rachel, and Laban gave a wedding feast. But then late at night Laban sent his older daughter Leah instead of Rachel into Jacob's tent as his wife. Jacob must have had more than enough to drink at that wedding feast, because he didn't even know until morning that it was Leah and not Rachel with whom he had consummated his marriage. There is a strange irony in this: It was like his own deception when he falsified his identity to his nearly-blind father in order to get the blessing of the first-born. It reminded me of God's promise to the nation in verse 14: "[He] will turn back upon him his reproaches." Life does have a costly kind of boomerang effect on the deceptive.

Laban had outmaneuvered Jacob the manipulator, and he persuaded Jacob to work another week to marry Rachel. But then Jacob had to stay seven more years beyond that to keep her, and somehow Laban convinced him to work another six years beyond that. He ended up spending twenty years in Aram achieving much evidence of physical blessing in his life. But he was restless. There was unfinished business in his soul. Verse 8 describes his predicament, "but all his riches can never offset the guilt he has incurred." He couldn't forget what he had done to Esau, and he longed to return home. Although Laban double-crossed him one more time, so that he had to rebuild his flocks and herds, he secretly escaped with great material wealth, leaving full of self-confidence because of all his resources. Laban came after him with an army, and they negotiated a truce. The only reason that happened was because God intervened; he appeared to Laban and said, "You must deal fairly with Jacob." So Jacob could take no credit for the truce.

In the Genesis narrative it says over and over again, "God was with Jacob," just as he had promised twenty years earlier he would be. Jacob had been oblivious to that presence and activity in his life, but God was preparing him for a very decisive encounter with Esau and, more importantly, with God himself. Jacob headed back toward Canaan, he felt a growing sense of dread and panic at the thought of meeting Esau after all he had done to him. The fleshly patterns of manipulation kicked in again, and he sent messengers ahead to assure Esau that he had great flocks to share with him. He went to elaborate lengths to prepare for this encounter.

God's blessing, our greatest need

In a telling comment in Genesis 32:20, Jacob said to himself, "I may appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterwards I shall see his face; perhaps he will accept me." This issue of acceptance was central in Jacob's life. That was what he longed for. He had never really experienced it from his father Isaac, and he certainly had no right to expect it from his brother Esau because of the way he had treated him. What Jacob didn't understand was that only God could give that precious gift. When we receive God's gift of acceptance, we finally have a chance to get free of manipulating people to assure its flow to us. That was exactly what happened to Jacob during the night before he met Esau in Genesis 32. That account is summarized in our text beginning in verse 3:
" ...in his manhood he strove with God.
He strove with the angel and prevailed,
he wept and sought his favor."
The Genesis 32 text makes it very clear that God initiated this confrontation in which he wrestled with Jacob all night at the ford of the brook Jabbok. Jacob called the place Peniel, which means "the face of God." He said, "...I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30). As that crucial night of confrontation was coming to an end, God dislocated Jacob's hip (perhaps broke it); and Jacob limped the rest of his life because of that dislocation. God did that so he couldn't fight anymore; because he wouldn't let the Lord go until he blessed him. The deepest need in Jacob's life was to know God's blessing, and it is the deepest need in all of our lives.

The lack of a sense of God's blessing was the real cause of his deceptive, manipulative life. In that wrestling match with God, Jacob had to face the man he had been and relinquish the control of his life to God. As that struggle persisted it must have included soul-searching honesty, a confession of sin against God. All of us have to have a Jabbok encounter, a time when we come to an end of trying to manipulate life, other people, and especially God himself. Our Jabbok is when we are completely honest with God and we confess our patterns of duplicity, compulsiveness, impatience, and pretending to be things we're not. Our real self meets the true God, and we go to the mat over who is going to run our life.

As a result of Jacob's encounter with God, he was given a new name. No longer was he "the deceiver," or "the manipulator." Now he was Israel, "God strives" (or "exalted one with God"). This became the issue for the new man emerging in the old Jacob. God would always strive on behalf of him and his spiritual descendants. God would exalt him out of his brokenness and new-found humility before him. God gave the blessing that Jacob longed for because it is God's nature to bless us; that patriarch did nothing to earn it or deserve it. And now he would have a limp for the rest of his life to remind him that God hadn't just touched his hip, but he had also touched the secret places of his heart. God's strength had to be shown in Jacob's weakness.

When morning came it was the beginning of a new life, and we meet the new man Israel. And we do see a change in him in terms of how he related to his brother. The deceitful, willful manipulator had become willing to be molded by God. There was a new compassion in him, a gentleness and tenderness that we have never seen before. When he went to meet Esau, Esau ran to him and fell on him and embraced him. And listen to what Jacob said to his brother now: "...Truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God, with such favor have you received me. Accept, I pray you, my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me...." (Genesis 33:10-11). For the first time in his life he understood God's gift of love and the blessing that God wanted to give.

Before and after

The transformation of Jacob is exactly what Hosea sees that both the northern and southern kingdoms need. Both kingdoms are mentioned in our passage; both are equally guilty of deceit and manipulation. He wants them to be like their forefather in turning to the Lord and being honest before him, in meeting God the way Jacob did. Verse 6:
"So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God."
In other words, "Your name is Israel; therefore Yahweh is your God. So learn to live like your forefather---after the Jabbok encounter with God, not before. Alexander the Great said to his cowardly son who bore his name, "Either change your character, or change your name." But that is not what Hosea says to the nation Israel. He says, "Claim your name, claim your identity in the Lord. Live with mercy and justice rather than with lies and manipulation. Return to God, stop wrestling against him and let him strive for you on your behalf. Wait for your God to bless you. You will find your true identity and purpose and hope and survival only in your God.

There are two key phrases in verse 6. The first one is, "...by the help of your God, return...." It is an incredible relief to know that even our returning to the Lord, our repentance, is dependent on his help. It is impossible to return to him without his enabling us by his grace. And the other key phrase is, "...wait continually for your God." It is hard to learn how to wait on the Lord continually as a lifestyle. But the Old Testament says that those who wait for God will never be frustrated. God will act in his own time to effect his purpose. Those who wait for God to act will be renewed in their strength. The Lord is good to those who wait for him.

Meekness---trusting the Lord

We are called back to our heavenly Father's heart of love today, whether we are a prodigal who has completely rejected God's love and gone away from him, or a schemer who tries to manipulate God's love and commitment to us for our own purposes. We as Christians can be like Jacob, persistently striving against God, and the issue is our will. Willfulness is a distortion of the gift God gave us of being able to make choices. It is turning that against God. It is being demanding of those around us, and manipulating others so that we are the center of attention. It expresses itself in inflexibility and a need to be in charge. It is comparing ourselves to others as a way of life; driven by covetousness, we become competitive and combative. We are impatient with people and with circumstances we find ourselves in. We can spiritualize willfulness by calling it confronting in love or being proactive in other people's lives, but it is the Jacob syndrome of striving and wrestling. The ultimate issue is control; power and influence. We have to be in charge at all costs, and the price is really high.

I know, because I have lived periods of my Christian life without the blessing of God, without his guidance and peace, because I wouldn't give in and I wouldn't give up my rights to him. I have spent a good part of my adult life dealing with the Jacob in me (and my best friends will say amen to that) and learning to claim my identity as Israel. Praise God, I am learning that the opposite of willfulness, with its peculiar blend of false self-sufficiency and posturing, is meekness. We talked about meekness in our study of chapters 9 and 10 (see Discovery Paper 4399). Jesus lived this quality of meekness. He said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle [meek] and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). Jesus made meekness one of the sure signs that we have accepted our blessedness of being chosen, called, and cherished by the Lord.

Jesus also said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). He probably had Psalm 37 in mind in that beatitude. In verse 9 it says, "But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land." Consider the opening nine verses of Psalm 37, in contrast to Jacob's lifestyle of striving, in contrast to the schemes of the nation Israel, and in contrast to our own manipulative egocentricity:
"Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And fade like the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.
For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land."

0 Comments

Ministry spreading the goodnews...

3/2/2022

0 Comments

Most of the public ministry of Jesus was conducted in Jewish territory. Under the circumstances, the number of personal contacts with Gentiles recorded in the Gospels is surprising. He healed a Gadarene (Gentile) demoniac (Matt8:28-34). Among 10 lepers healed, one was a Samaritan- and Jesus remarked that only the foreigner returned to thank Him (Luke17:12-19). A Samaritan woman was the sole audience for one of Jesus’ greatest dialogues. She received assurance that the time was near when God would be worshipped, not just in Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim- but all over the world “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:5-42). A Canaanite woman’s faith was rewarded when her daughter was healed. Much has been made of Jesus’ challenging remark at the beginning of the encounter: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” He declined to heal her because His mission was first to the Jews. The woman understood and humbly submitted herself to Jesus, asking for His mercy. The point is that Jesus did minister to this woman and praised her faith in the presence of His disciples and Jewish onlookers (Matt15:28). This echoed forward to Romans that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. Another example of Jesus reaching the Gentiles involved a Roman centurion whose servant was healed. Commander of a band of 100 foreign soldiers quartered at Capernaum to keep the peace, this Roman leader was despised by the Jews who resented this “army of occupation.” Conscious of his own authority as a military man, he humbly assured Jesus that it would not be necessary for Him to go to his house to heal his servant (and thus render Himself unclean — because He was a Jewish man — by entering a Gentile home). “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed,” he declared with genuine faith; Jesus announced to the crowd following Him: “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” He continued with this solemn prediction: “I tell you, many such foreigners shall come from the east and the west to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But many others who thought they were ‘sons of the kingdom’ (the chosen people of Israel) shall be shut out.”

0 Comments