I. God Confirms His Choice of Jacob
Genesis 27:46-28:22 (ESV)
How many of you have been around a gifted Christian leader, and
after you got to know their personal character, you asked “Why would
God choose a person like this for leadership?”
Unbelievers often feel that way about Christian they know.
Today’s text should cause the same response in us. It is about
God confirming his choice of Jacob to be the heir of Abraham’s
promises and the father of the twelve sons of Israel. Why would God
choose a man like Jacob to be the father of the chosen race? We
don’t know. However, it should encourage us, for we are all as
unworthy as Jacob.
The point of todays text is that God confirmed his election of
Jacob by revealing himself to him.
A. GOD CONFIRMS HIS REJECTION OF ESAU
Throughout Genesis God has repeatedly chosen the most unlikely
sibling. He has done this to emphasize his Grace. For example, God
chose Abel not Cain. God chose Shem, not Japheth. God chose
Isaac not Ismael. Romans stresses God’s right to make these
choices.
(Romans 9:10–12) "10 When Rebekah had conceived children by one man,
our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing
either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not
because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older
will serve the younger.”"
God has chosen, but the big question is this. How does God’s
choosing manifest itself in a time-space world? Answer: Faith is
God’s gift. Esau does not believe. His unbelief shows that he is not
one of God’s elect. Esau’s unbelief is everywhere.
1. Esau “despised” God’s promises to Abraham
(Hebrews 12:15–17) "15 See to it that no … one is … unholy like Esau, who
sold his birthright for a single meal.
2. Esau Despised God’s Threat to Judge the Canaanites
(Genesis 26:34) "34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the
daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon
the Hittite,"
28:8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his
father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had,
Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
3. Summary
Phil 3:19 best describes Esau.
(Philippians 3:18-19) "18 Many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 …
their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly
things."
Esau merely received what he deserved.
(Malachi 1:2–3) "2 “I have loved you [Israel],” says the LORD. But you say,
“How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD.
“Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated.”"
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B. GOD CONFIRMS HIS CHOICE OF JACOB
Two confirmations of God’s Choice of Jacob
1. The First confirmation of God’s choice of Jacob is that
God Reveals Himself to Isaac
God makes his calling and election clear by revealing himself to
the person in question.
God has already made it clear that Jacob, rather than Esau, is his
choice. His self-disclosure to Jacob in this passage confirms that
choice.
God is the initiator. He reveals himself to those he chooses. That
is how we know that God has chosen us. So, this begs the important
question: What does it mean to have God reveal himself to us?
When God wants to make his presence known he does so by
revealing himself to that person.
Anecdote: He gives us spiritual antennas. The proof of the
antenna are three specific fruits–––Conviction, Assurance, and
Confidence in God’s goodness.
(Hebrews 11:1) "1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:6) "6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever
would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who seek him."
Gen 28:2 “And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were
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ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and
said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The
land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring
shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and
to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring
shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will
keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not
leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
God communicates with Jacob through a dream. Later he will
speak to Joseph through a dream. Although they are not very
common, God still communicates with spiritual dreams or visions.
Ancedote: 1949 Revival in The Hebrides.
“Peggy Smith was 84 years old and blind. Her sister Christine, 2 years
younger, was almost doubled-up with arthritis. Yet, in the early hours of a
winter's morning in 1949, in their little cottage near Barvas village on the Isle of
Lewis in the Scottish Hebrides, they were to be found in earnest prayer. That
morning, God visited them in a special way, giving them an unshakeable
assurance that the revival they and others had been praying about for months,
was near. Peggy, speaking in Gaelic (for they could not speak English) told her
sister, "This is what God has promised: 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty
and floods upon the dry ground', and we are dealing with a covenant-keeping
God".
Some months previously, Peggy had received a dream from God in which she
was shown that revival was coming and the church would be crowded again
with young people.
After her dream, Peggy sent for her minister, James Murray MacKay, and told
him what she believed was a revelation from God. She asked him to call the
church leaders to prayer. This man of God responded, and for months he and
others met to do business with God 3 nights a week in real prayer.”
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The communication that confirms our election s almost never this
dramatic.
God’s Choosing, and the revelation that always confirms his
choosing, is never merited. This is especially true of Jacob. Last
week, Dave spent some time on Jacob’s character.
Jacob was a weasel. He was born clutching his twin brother’s
heal. He was fearful. Fearful people try to control their environment.
Jacob was a major controller/manipulator. He controlled by lying,
deceiving, or manipulating. In the words of RC Sproul, “he was the
fellow who deceived his father, conned his brother, and entered into
an ungodly conspiracy with his mother. It is…hard to imagine that he
could be so corrupt.”
In addition, he was a “mamma’s boy.” (Rambo or Woody Allen)?
In addition he responds to God’s self-disclosure in a way that is
most troubling. The same kind of manipulation and deceit that he has
tried on his relatives he now tries on God.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in
this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that
I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22
and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all
that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Jacob is not really convinced that God is good, that he can be
trusted. “OK God, if you do what you have promised then I will serve
you.” It is like a fox-hole conversion on the battle field. God, if you will
just let me survive this battle then I will serve you all the days of my
life.
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Kent Hughes, “if” and “then” are not the language of faith. Faith does not
bargain with God, saying that “If God will do thus and so, then I will make him
my God.”... Jacob is a piece of work, a work in progress who has a long way to
go… “Jacob is still more scoundrel than saint” 1
These kinds of conversions are not ideal, but sometimes God
uses them. Martin Luther tried to make a similar deal with God.
Application: Jacob’s faith is immature. Conviction, Assurance, and
confidence in God’s goodness have begun, but they are a long way
from completion. In the meantime God commits himself to love
Jacob, to not leave him or forsake him.
We have said that God identifies those that he has chosen by
speaking to them, that he spoke to Jacob through a dream, that
God’s choosing is rarely this dramatic, and that none of this was
merited.
Let’s look at the essential elements of God’s communication to
Jacob.
1st A ladder connected earth and heaven. The angels were going
up and down on that ladder.
2nd At the top was “the Lord,” the God of his grandfather,
Abraham. God repeated to Jacob the promises that he had given to
his grandfather.
1. To your descendants I will give this land.
2. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth.
1
Hughes, Kent R. (2004-10-26). Genesis: Beginning and Blessing (Preaching the Word) (Kindle
Locations 7014-7020). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.
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3. In your “Offspring” all the families of the earth will be blessed
In other words, you, Jacob, are the grandson through which the
promises will come.
3rd God added one additional promise. This is its first appearance
in the Bible.
15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring
you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you.”
This promise, that God will be with Jacob and never forsake him,
has been the hope of God’s people from this day forward.
(Exodus 3:12) "12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for
you, … you shall serve God on this mountain.”"
(Joshua 1:5) "5 Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave
you or forsake you."
(Isaiah 7:14) "14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
(Hebrews 13:5) "5 For [God] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”"
God’s promise to be “with us” is not a promise to keep us from
pain and suffering. Rather, it is a promise to be with us despite our
pain and suffering. God confirms his presence with us by speaking to
us.
2. The Second confirmation of God choice of Jacob is his
Response
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this
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place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of
heaven.”
Jacob responded to God’s self-disclosure with fear. His fear was a
sign that he had really and truly contacted the living God.
“Throughout scripture,” writes Gordon Wenham, “the encounter with God
brings fear; when sinful man meets the holy God, he is overawed and often
becomes acutely conscious of his sin and unworthiness to stand in the divine
presence.”2
Here are some biblical examples.
Isaiah, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty…Woe is Me”
Ezekiel, “When I saw it I fell on my face” (1:28).
John, “When I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead” (Rev 1:17).
Daniel, “When he came near I was frightened and fell on my face” (Dan 8:17).
Peter, James, and John: “And when they heard this they fell on their faces and
were terrified” (Matt 17:6).
My conversion…
So, in summary, God confirmed his choice of Jacob by revealing
himself to him.
The important point is this: His fear draws him to God. He builds a
stone monument, and pours oil over it. He does not want to run away
from this experience. He wants more of this fear. He wants to
commemorate it and remember it. He is attracted to the God that he
fears. He is not repulsed.
2
Genesis 16-50, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000) pg 223
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C. APPLICATION: THE CROSS IS THE MEASURE OF GOD’S
ELECTING LOVE OF JACOB
Jesus told his disciples that he was Jacob’s ladder.
(John 1:49–51) "49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God!
You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I
saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than
these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven
opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of
Man.”"
Why did Jesus say that he was Jacob’s ladder?
God is holy. He is utterly unapproachable.
Jacob is unholy. He is a sinner. He is deceitful, manipulative, and
unbelieving.
Jacob’s sin has created an immense gulf between himself and
God.
Grand Canyon Anecdote (7 miles).
So, how can Jacob close the gulf, bridge the gap? He can’t!
Only God can close the gulf, and in Jacobs case the bridge/ladder
that closed it was infinitely costly. In Jacob’s case how did this work?
How can God choose Jacob? God is and must always be inscrutably
just. He must punish all sin with the punishment it deserves. So, how
can God be righteous and choose to relate to someone like Jacob
and reject Esau when both are equally guilty?
Answer: the Cross.
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The cross is God’s ladder.
Jesus death erected a ladder between heaven and earth,
between God and Jacob. It was unfair of God to God to do this.
Jesus took Jacob’s sins upon himself.
Because of his faith, as imperfect as it was, Jacob received
Christ’s righteousness.
God’s revelation to Jacob confirmed his choice of Jacob, and
God’s redemption of Jacob paid the price for his choice of Jacob.
God’s self disclosure, if real, always produces fruit according to its
kind.
Maybe you are not sure that God has ever revealed himself to
you––that you in fact have spiritual antennae. How would you know?
 Conviction
 Assurance
 Confidence that God is good.
How does one get more of this? The spiritual disciplines––Prayer,
Bible reading, Attendance at church, etc.
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