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Now, let's get into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. I believe what we need more than anything else is just a reminder of what God already said. Because I don't know about you, but I've read the Bible a long time and I forget an awful lot of it. I don't need anything new. I just need a fresh application of the old.
Is that right? Isn't that exactly what Jesus did when he appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus? And it says, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them all the things. in the scriptures that were written of him. It said, did not our hearts burn within us as he spoke to us?
Oh, why why why did they have such heartburn? Was it a new revelation? No. Was it new information? No.
They were Jewish. They were raised, weaned, taught those scriptures in synagogue all their lives. But it was a fresh application. of the old revelation. Their hearts burned.
As will ours. Dear Jacob, But now you're Israel. Not any new information. But the affirmation of the old. Yeah.
I heard a great story about William Randolph Hearst. The wealthy billionaire who had his mansion in California, it's still there to this day, it's a museum. Yeah. William Randolph Hearst had heard of and then seen a picture of a piece of art that. fascinated him, drew his attention in.
In seeing the photograph, he said, I must have that piece of art. He ordered his purveyors to. Go throughout the world and all the private collections and find out who had it to see if he could buy it. And so they. They looked for it and they looked for it, and they came back about a week later and they told him that he already owned it and that it was in one of his storage facilities.
Boy, that's pretty rich when you don't even know what you own. You know what? No different than us. The Bible says we're blessed. With all blessings, all riches in Christ Jesus, in heavenly places.
And here we are going, I need more. No, you don't. You just need to read the bank book. And find out what you already have. You have it.
God has given us, 2 Peter 1, all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us. by glory and virtue.
Now at verse twelve. Oh, something I didn't mention. God appears to Jacob, right? God appeared to him. Keep this in mind because this is the last occasion.
Of such an occurrence. Doesn't happen anymore here. In the book of Genesis, God will stop appearing.
Now, what you're going to see in the next person that's highlighted, Joseph, is God doesn't speak through. an apparition, but through dreams. God decided to do that. A vision is what you see when you're awake. A dream is what you see when you're asleep.
God can speak through Either or.
So God appeared, and now that's done. Verse 12: The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you, and your descendants after you, I give this land.
So whose land was it? Gods That's the dispute today.
Well, who whose land is that? Does that belong to Israel or the Palestinians? Whose land is it? Answer, short answer. It's God's land.
And because it's God's land, God decides who gets to occupy it. And so he promised it to Abraham. But Abraham had many sons. The two most notable were Ishmael and Isaac. God didn't promise it to Ishmael, but he did promise it to Isaac.
Now Isaac had a couple of boys, Esau. And Jacob, he didn't give it to Esau, but he did give it to Jacob. and the twelve tribes of Israel.
So, this land is pretty important because God will reiterate this covenant to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. As they occupy that land. I won't get too political, though. I could wander away.
So, verse 13: Then God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
So, Jacob set up a pillar in that place where he talked with him. A pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured it out. This is the first mention in the Bible of a drink offering. And Jacob called the place or the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel. Yeah.
Now later on when we get to Exodus, if we get to Exodus. Leviticus and Numbers. The next three books in the Pentateuch, you're going to read about drink offerings and how they're regulated in the laws of Moses. But those will be very different. This is a drink offering or a libation offering, which is the oldest type of offering that we can find in history.
It is as simple as taking a drink. A jar or a cup of fluid like water or wine or whatever you would have, and pouring it out, either on a stone altar like this or on the ground. And it was a symbol of being poured out, or pouring one's life out, or into or over to the Lord. That language appears later on. When Paul the Apostle Writes his last book to Timothy, 2 Timothy, and he knows he's about to die.
He says, I am already being poured out as a drink offering. and the time of my departure is at hand. My life is about to be poured out completely physically. It's also a picture of Jesus Christ, in a sense. For in Psalm 22, The prediction is that he would be poured out like water.
Isaiah 53 predicts Jesus the Messiah being poured out. for our sense.
So here he is pouring out his drink offering to the Lord, saying, Lord, everything I have is yours. I'm not holding anything back any longer. A revival man. Total commitment. Yet, in the midst of these blessings and revival, you'll notice.
What happens in the next verse? Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, will die. Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go, to Afroth Rachel labored in childbirth. And she had hard labor.
Now I'm convinced men don't get this. We read this. But we don't get this. Would you say so, ladies? I watched my wife in labor.
I didn't get it. All I know is, man, that must really hurt. And this is an extraordinarily hard labor that will take her life. Bill Cosby years ago used to say, Man, if you want to get an idea of what childbirth is like, try taking your lower lip and stretching it backwards over your head. And you'll get some idea of what it would feel like.
Now it came to pass. When she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, Do not fear You will have this son also.
So it was, as her soul was departing, for she died. that she called his name Ben-Oni, which means son of my sorrow sorrow. Ben Ani, son of my sorrow, But his father called him Ben-Yamin Benjamin.
Son of my right hand she said, This is so painful, so hard. His name is Son of My Sorrow. Dad was smart. Getting over temporarily the emotion of the moment, seeing his wife die, he renamed him Son of my right hand.
Now, this had to be heartbreaking for Jacob because this was the woman he loved. Remember, from the very first time he saw her, he lifted up his voice and he wept. He was loved at first sight. And he worked for her for seven years and then another seven years. And thus The two boys that are born, Joseph, which we'll start seeing next time, I hope.
And Benjamin, his younger brother, the two born of Rachel, become the favorites to Jacob. And that is what creates the problem and the rivalry with the rest of the siblings.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephroth, that is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, Which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day. This is the first mention of Bethlehem in the Bible. And see the word Ephroth? That means it's down in Judah.
It's the southern Bethlehem. There were two. That's why when you read in Micah chapter 5, verse 2, it says, But you Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, yet out of you will come forth to me the one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from everlasting, etc. Prophecy of the Messiah. That's the Bethlehem.
Here's the first mention of it. This is the place. Where Naomi was from. This is the place where Ruth will glean in the fields of Boaz. This is the place where King David will be born.
This is the place where Jesus Christ will be born and the angels will be singing. And here's the first mention of it. By the way, if you go to Bethlehem today, They will show you a little area, a little. Domed area, which they call the Tomb of Rachel. Then Israel, notice, first time he's not called Jacob, but Israel.
Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent. Beyond the Tower of Eder, I don't know where the Tower of Eder is. No tour guide ever pointed that out to me. But wherever that is, it's just beyond that. And it happened when Israel dwelt in that land.
that Reuben went and laid with Bilhah his father's concubine. Remember, he had two wives, actually four, that bore him children, and Bilhah was one of them.
So his son, his eldest son Reuben, went and lay with or had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. We don't exactly know, but it could be that Reuben was trying to usurp the authority of his father or at least get in line to be the one who would. Be sure to be the patriarch of the family, maybe even before his father died. We're not quite sure. But This is what we do know.
Because he did this, whatever he wanted he lost. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skip's teaching, in his powerful book, Beyond the Summer of Love, Pastor Skip Heitzig helps you understand God's plan and his rules for relationships that flourish and reflect his own love. And when you give a gift of $25 or more this month to support the Worldwide Ministry of Knectvoskip-Heitzig, we'll send you Beyond the Summer of Love. This resource is for anyone interested in having a successful relationship.
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Now, let's get back to Skip for more of today's teaching.
Now the inheritance and the birthright. will not go to him as firstborn.
Now this is important. Remember how last week I had to turn to Genesis 49? To see what happened to Levi and Simeon? As Jacob was on his deathbed and he prophesied to all his twelve boys, So now again, turn to Genesis chapter 49, and let's see what happens to. first on the list.
which is Reuben, Genesis 49, verse 2. Jacob is on his deathbed, gathers his sons together in verse 1, Genesis 49. But now look at verse 2. Reuben. You are my firstborn.
My might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water you shall not excel. Because you went up to your father's bed. Then you defiled it. And then it's as if Jacob turns to all those around him and says, He went up to my couch.
So Reuben forfeited the place of preeminence and inheritance. But also, number two and number three, Simeon and Levi, as we saw last week, also forfeited that right. They were cursed for anger.
So now go down to verse 8 and notice who's next on the list. Third on the list is Judah. That should ring a bell to some of you. Because Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, he's the lion of the tribe of. Judah.
And it says in verse 8, Judah. You are he whom your brothers shall praise. Judah means praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's children shall bow down before you.
Now, Jesus will come from the tribe of Judah.
Okay. And Paul will say of Jesus Christ, He is the firstborn. Over all creation. The prototypos in Greek, the preeminent one. And that language is hearkening back to this event when number one, two, and three forfeited the inheritance, and Judah was the uppermost.
And really The patriarchal mantle falls upon Judah. in a spiritual sense or the blessing of the Father upon Judah. Verse twenty three The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Ben Yameen, Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naptali.
The sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob. Who are born to him in Padan Aram.
So Reuben did a bad thing. He scratched off the Christmas list? Off the inheritance list, he does really nothing except make sandwiches, I guess, later on. Reuben sandwiches.
Sorry, forget it. But here's the thing, here's the thing you don't realize. Every now and then I let out those dumb things, you don't know how much I restrain. That's just what leaks out. Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre or Kiriath Arba, that is Hebron.
where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.
Now the days of Isaac were a hundred And 80 years That's one old dude.
So watch this.
So Isaac breathed his last and died. and was gathered to his people.
Well, what did he die of? Being old. And full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Okay. Isaac died, but he was wrong about his death, wasn't he? Chapter 27, remember what he said to his son Esau? Go out and get me that savory food, and let me bless you before I die. Before I die.
He lives another 43 years.
Now he may have felt bad and thought he was going to die. But he didn't. You know what Job said? I'll paraphrase it. He says that Man's days are in God's hands.
and the number of his months are with him. Only God knows. He thought, this is it. I'm gonna die. Forty three years later, he's still kicking.
And he finally dies.
So three deaths in this chapter. Three deaths in his family. But at the same time, great blessing because of the revival.
Now, chapter 36. Yes, we have time to get through it. We'll do it very quickly. Chapter 36, as you look at it, you're going, uh-oh, no. We're not going to like study this chapter, are we?
Because you're looking at all those names, right? That's really what it is. It's a list of names, it's a genealogy of Esau and his descendants.
Now after this chapter The genealogical record, as far as we're concerned, or the biblical record is concerned. is done. The focus will be on the lineage of Jacob. And his twelve sons The nation of Israel will go on, and God will be very selective about his genealogy.
So, after this, Esau is done. Let's at least read through the chapter and pay our last respects. Verses 1 through 8 is a list of Esau's wives and sons that were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Now, this is the genealogy of Esau, who was Edom. Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan, Ada, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite. Aholy Obama, the daughter of Anna. The daughter of Zebion the Hivite. And Bas Simoth?
Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebiot, you're looking for biblical names for your children. Stay away from this.
Now Adda bore Eliphaz to Esau, Bossamoth bore Rauel. A holy Obama bore, all the rest of these people were born, verse 8.
So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir.
Now look. Esau is Edom.
Okay, so we know about Esau, right? We know that Esau didn't really care about spiritual things, didn't care about his blessing. His brother did, he didn't. You can have it. He sold it for a bowl of beans.
But God kept his promise to him. God made good on his promise to him. He didn't care about God, but God cared about him. And even as he was in his mother's womb with his twin brother, The Lord said, two nations are in your womb. And indeed a nation comes from Esau.
And what nation is that? Edom. Edom is from the Dead Sea, east of the Dead Sea, all the way down to the Gulf of Aqaba, which is that. That western leg of the Red Sea.
So all of southern Jordan Is the land of Edom. Later on, The Edomites Because of war and oppression, will migrate to Judah, that is southern Israel. And the Edomites will cease to be as a nation, as a distinct people group.
Some of them will be called I domains, but they're still really From the land, they're Edomites. There is one notable Edomite, in fact, the last Idomaian or Edomite we know about, and after that we lose complete track, is a guy by the name of Herod. The Great He was an Edomite. One of the enemies of the Jews became an Idumaeum. His father, Antipater, called himself the king of the Jews.
So when his son, who took that name also after his dad died, When he heard that the king of the Jews was born in Bethlehem, He went ballistic. There's a rival. Enough said, we'll get to that by the time we get to the New Testament. Yeah. Verse 9 through 19 is a list of the grandsons and other powerful men who are.
with Esau when he's down in Seir or Saudi Arabia. This is the genealogy of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in Mount Seir. There's a whole list of them, and I want you to look at verse 11. And the sons of Eliphaz were Timon, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Canaz.
Now, Timan becomes an area in Jordan that is known for wise people. In the book of Job, Eliphaz the Timanite. is one of the so-called friends of Job. The chair's deep but unscriptural wisdom with his friend Joke. Verse 13, these were the sons of Reuel, and they're listed.
And then verse 20 through 30 are the seven sons of Seir, the Horonite, or the Horite, whose descendants married with Esau's descendants. And so it says, verse 20: These were the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land, and a whole bunch of names are given. Verse thirty-one. kings and chiefs, Who lived, who died? What their weird names were.
Verse 40 through 43. Are the 11 chiefs? or chieftains or sheikhs that Came from Esau. These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places by their names, chief Timnah. Chief Alva.
Chief Jeff F. What's your name, Jeff F. I'm sorry. Chief of Holy Bama. Interesting because that was a woman's name.
Earlier in this chapter, now it's one of the chief's names. Chief Elah, Chief Pino, not Pinion. That'd be nuts. Chief Keenas, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar. Chief Magdiel, Chief Iram, these were the chiefs of Edom according to their dwelling places.
In the land of their possessions, Esau was the father of the Edomites So, a great nation came, and the Lord is giving honor to the promise that He made to Edom by saying, Look how great it was, and look at who these people were, and the chiefs, and the amount of children, and the land that they occupied, and the wisdom that came from that.
However, Historically, And traditionally the Edomites As time goes on, they become archenemies of the Israelites. And because of that, God reserves special wrath for the Edomites. Did you know that? Did you know that the entire prophecy of the book of Obadiah is one long diatribe judgment On Edom. That's the theme of the book.
The prophet Obadiah outlines what will happen to them.
So there's the legacy of a man who sold his birthright. for a bowl of beans. Mm-hmm. Yes, physically he prospered, spiritually he declined, and we are left in the New Testament. It is only fitting that we end his tribute.
With a New Testament passage. This is Hebrews 12, verses 15 through 17. Let me read it to you. See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral.
Or is godless? Like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, When he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. We're glad you joined us today.
Before you go, remember that when you give $25 or more to help reach more people with the gospel through Connect with Skiff-Heitzig, we'll send you Beyond the Summer of Love, Relationships in the Real World by Pastor Skiff-Heitzig, to help you build biblically healthy relationships or repair ones that have been damaged by sin. To request your copy of Beyond the Summer of Love, call 800-922-1888. That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. For more from Skip, be sure to check out the many resources available at connectwithskip.com slash store.
Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, never fall. Of the crossing, cast your burdens on his wood. Make a connection. Connection.
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