There is so much going on in the world that, as a pastor, it’s hard to know what to speak to first. In just the past few weeks, we saw the murders of Almaud Arbery and George Floyd, which exploded into nation-wide protests. Among other issues, these events strain at our ability to judge the situation rightly. When I watched the run-down of Almaud Arbery, I could not help but gasp at the violence done towards a man who was obviously trying to avoid the situation. And, when I watched George Floyd pinned to the ground, gasping for air to call for his dead mother while being choked, I could not help but wince at the severity with which he was treated. It should have come as no surprise then that people would protest in his name. Yet it was equally terrifying to watch as buildings burned, stores were looted, and police were attacked.
You see, I think these events are difficult for us to judge because we typically have such a nice, neat way of judging things, especially here in America. We believe that if you work hard, pay your dues, live right, and have enough faith, then the world, and even God himself will reward you for your hard work. We believe that merit and position determine what you will be. Good work and a good name are the most important things for us. But, what if two men just assume that you are up to no good because you look out of place for that particular neighborhood? Does that mean you deserve to be hunted down? Or, what if all you’ve ever known is petty crime and street life? Does that mean you need to be choked out on the side of the street? And, what if you do your best to enforce the law in a just way but just happen to wear a badge? Does that mean you deserve rage and revenge?
We aren’t the first to believe that merit and position should determine your lot in life. In fact, that belief goes all the way back to Genesis 4. Cain was the best and brightest hope for humanity because he was the first born of Eve, the seed that would crush the head of the serpent. And yet, the only head he crushed was his innocent brother’s. Lamech believed that his power made him invincible, even to God. The People of Babel believed that they could build their way up to the heavens and fix their lot in life by peeking into the very throne room of God.
As we’ve marched our way through the book of Genesis, we’ve found time and again that God does not regard us based on our merit or position, but on his own purpose of grace. Abel, though he was the second born and a lowly shepherd, was favored by God while Cain, the firstborn craftsman, was rejected. Abraham was an old pagan from a foreign land who was married to a barren woman, and yet God promised to make him the father of a great nation. Ishmael was a “strong donkey of a man” born to a young, capable slave girl, and yet God said that Isaac would be the chosen line of the promise.
Now, we come to a transition in the story. Genesis 25 ends the story of Abraham’s life and begins the story of Jacob’s. All of Jacob’s life is one of striving. He will strive against his father, his brother, his uncle, and even God. But, from the very beginning we find out that God has a purpose for Jacob that cannot be changed by human conniving. There are three ways that you see that worked out in this text.
First, we find from verses 19-21 that God again accomplished the impossible by bringing about the conception of Jacob through Rebekah. Like her Mother-in-Law, Sarah, Rebekah too is barren. In fact, by the time she conceives Esau and Jacob, she has likely been barren for over 20 years. However, unlike Abraham, Isaac prays that God would bless his wife. God then takes that which is barren and makes life from it. This is the way God works. He takes the barren void and he makes this beautiful creation. He takes the barren wombs of Sarah and Rebekah, and he makes promised seeds. And, he will take the barren, faithless heart of Jacob, and he will make the great nation that he promised to Abraham nearly 120 years before.
Second, from the rest of the passage we find that God’s promise is not based on human will. Rebekah, in suffering under a painful pregnancy, pleads with God for understanding, and a prophecy is made about her pregnancy. This prophecy reveals that there are two nations within her, and that the younger will be greater than the older. We find out later that Esau was born first, and Jacob was born second. We also find out that Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. The love that Isaac had for Esau guaranteed that he would have the birthright. It was the way things were to be done. Tradition demanded it, and Isaac’s special love for Esau ensured it. Yet, God had purposed that Jacob would receive the birthright before either of them were born, and that would happen regardless of what intentions Isaac had.
Finally, we find that God’s promise is not based on human merit. The author sets up this stark distinction between the mighty Esau and the quiet tent dweller, Jacob. Esau is said to be hairy, tan, and a great hunter. Jacob is good at making stews. By all accounts, Esau deserves the birthright because he is the better-looking candidate. If you were wanting your lineage to continue, Esau would be your man. Yet, through the scheming of Jacob, Esau gives away his birthright just as the prophecy had promised he would. God didn’t care about his ruddy looks or his great hunting ability. And, it should be noted, he didn’t care about Jacob’s cunning or quietness, either. God’s purposes for Jacob were not based on whether he deserved it or not.
Yet, as the story of Israel continued, the Jews could not escape the idea that they could somehow merit the favor of God. During the time of the judges, they lost the Ark of the Covenant because they decided to carry it into battle like some sort of good-luck charm and were defeated by the Philistines. They gladly received Saul as their king because he was a head above everyone and looked the part, only to find out later that he was mentally insane. They came to believe that God chose Abraham because he was secretly righteous, and he chose Jacob because he did some good work in the womb.
This is why, when Christ was born, the religious leaders weren’t looking for him. They were held up with the puppet, King Herod, jockeying for what little power Rome would give them. It was the foreign wise men who came to look for the baby in the stable. All of Jesus’ life was foolish to the human way of thinking. His ministry didn’t start in Jerusalem, but in the backwaters of Galilee. He didn’t preach to those in high position or try to change government or political structures. He went to the lowly and healed the outcasts. Jesus had the position of eternal Son of God, and yet he made himself nothing so that he might suffer for us. And, Jesus gained power over sin and death by dying.
You see, brothers and sisters, what we find from beginning to end is what Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:27 – “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.” God takes what is barren and makes it fruitful, what is lowly and makes it great, what is outcast and makes it kin, what is despised and makes it holy.
But why? Paul deals with that very question in Romans 9. There he grapples with whether God has failed in his promise to Israel because so many Jews had rejected Jesus. But, he says that God has always remnant that he has chosen. In verses 10-13 he says,
“And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 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— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””
Paul uses this very story from Genesis 25 to say that God’s choice is not based on human works or position. He then goes on in verses 22-23,
“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory”.
In other words, God does all that he does that he might display his glory. Why does God save the lowly and despised? Because it brings him glory. Why does God reject the proud? Because it brings him glory. Why did God save you? Because it brings him glory.
Friend, if you think that your position or your merit will somehow gain you entrance into heaven, then you will be sorely disappointed. God’s purpose of grace is to save those who give up every hope of reaching heaven through their own power and fall helplessly upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Won’t you turn to Christ today?
Brothers and sisters, if we have been chosen in Christ in spite of our own unworthiness, then we should think differently about our fellow man. If I am only worthy of Heaven because God chose me and saved me - not because of my position and merit - then there is no way that I can say that I am better or more deserving than anyone else. And, if God in his mercy made me his child, then I should show mercy to others, regardless of their status or merit. I should seek out the foolish, the despised, the outcast, and the helpless, because God gains glory through his marvelous work of grace in the lives of those the world would find unworthy.
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