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Genesis

"If God is for us..."

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May 26, 2024
Genesis 33:1-20
Jared Compton
Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College and Seminary

The Sovereignty of God

Forgiveness

Faith

Transcript

0:19Well good morning. I've been looking forward to this since last year about this time. I wanna say my own special good morning to our preschoolers who are with us today. I, uh, concur, agree with Pastor Steven. This is your church too. We want you to know that this isn't just your mom and dad's church, it's your church and you are welcome here and we are so eager for you to grow up and love this place. And the Lord Jesus, just like your mom and dad do. So we are glad you're here. I got a little something for you to do today, preschoolers. I can't see you out there, but in a minute maybe I'll have you wave those sheets.

0:59I got something for you to do. It won't be too hard, but you gotta listen. I'll tell you about it here in just a minute. Everybody else, make sure you keep your bibles open to Genesis chapter 33. We're right at the end of Genesis Act three. So there are four acts. If you break down Genesis, you can break it down into four Acts, four big parts. We're at the end of act three and there's one more act to come, act three. This part of the story that we're in is all about this guy named Jacob. And today Genesis 33 is the climax. It's the high point of Jacob's story. It's the high point of act three of Genesis.

1:44And there's a huge surprise. I kind of wish we hadn't read the text already. There's a huge surprise. Kind of forget what you heard, okay? There's a huge surprise that I wanna make sure we feel that we see. So when I was in fifth or sixth grade, my parents sent me to basketball camp. They would send me away for the summer for a couple of weeks. And one of those weeks I got center away to basketball camp. I went with my brother and with my high school basketball coach. And I remember two things about that week. First I had a big old temper tantrum that week and that's for another sermon. I'm not gonna talk about that this morning.

2:23Second, there was this old school, six nine basketball player turned pastor who preached to us all week at camp from Romans 8 31 all week. He preached to us from that verse, which goes, if God is for us, who can be against us? He must have said that verse that week like a thousand times. And he had this kind of unusual way of saying it. He had, he had, he had say kind of towering over all of us little fifth and sixth graders. I mean he was six nine, his nickname was Sticks Tall six nine drink of water. He'd say kind of towering over us little boys. He'd say, if God is for us men, and he'd kind of raise his voice at the end like he was asking a question.

3:14He'd say, if God is for us men, and sometimes he'd add, huh? It'd say if God is for Usman, huh to which we boys we're all supposed to respond in unison, then nothing can be against us. And he would ask and we would respond that way. Like I say all throughout the week as an elementary school, boy I thought it was odd, but of course elementary school boys, they think everything is odd. I thought it was odd, but I never forgot it. I never forgot him. I can't read Romans eight without hearing coach Bolton's voice kind of ringing in my ear. And what Coach Bolton wanted us to get, what God tells us in Romans is a glorious reality.

4:06It's a glorious reality. If God is for us, if that is true, if he is for us, then honestly what can stand against us? If he's for you, if his posture is towards you, then what could possibly stand against you? What God tells us in that glorious truth. In Romans eight, he shows us, he illustrates for us in Genesis 33 what, what Romans eight just tells us. God illustrates for us in our chapter from Genesis this morning. So if you got a Bible and a pen and not the pew Bibles, okay, but if you've got a Bible and a pen, you might wanna jot down. In fact, I'd encourage you jot down next to Genesis 33 in your Bible or on your app, jot down next to Genesis 33.

5:04Jot down Romans 8 31. You want to connect that truth to this passage in your Bible right after that heading in your Bible that reads, Jacob meets Esau, just jot Romans 8 31 because that's exactly what God wants us to hear this morning. It's what he wants us to see. If he's for you, then nothing can be against you. If this God of Jacob is for you, then nothing can be against you. Nothing can get in the way of God's good plans for you. I wanna show us that from Genesis 33 this morning. But before I do, let me pray for us and let's ask God for his help. Lord, we've got a, a story in front of us that we need your help to see you in.

5:52We need your help to push through the story to the reality to which it's pointing us. Your your face is looking out at us from this story and it's asking us, are we gonna listen? Are we gonna see? Are we gonna hear what your voice? Are we gonna pick up on what your posture is towards us? And this little story tucked away in our bibles, we need you. We love the truth that you are so, so more willing to meet us than we are ever willing to meet you. You are so eager to give us grace upon grace. And it's in that truth with that promise that we say, Lord, give us our daily bread today. Give us grace for the next week. Give us sustenance.

6:42That's why we've come and that's why we call on you and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So if God is for us, if God is for us, if Christian, if God is for you, then who can be against you? That's what God wants us to see this morning and to see it, to kind of get our eyes on it. Let's look back at the story that we read and let's begin by looking at Jacobs big problem. Jacob's big problem. Take a look at Genesis 33 verse one. Jacob's big problem. Genesis 33 verse one, first sentence. And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and behold Esau was coming and 400 men with him. So after a long night, Stephen talked about it last week, Genesis 32, after a long night, Jacob lifts up his tired eyes and there meeting his gaze from a distance is Esau.

7:49And he sees Esau coming with 400 guys with him. Yikes. Esau is Jacob's brother, which if you're at all familiar with the Bible's story tells you almost all you need to know about Jacob's problem at this point. Or if you have a brother that may tell you all you need to know, the first person I ever fought was my older brother. Kids don't do this. But the first person I ever punched in the face was my older brother. Most of the faults in that instance did rest on him. I will say sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry is as old as the Bible's first book. It starts with the very first brothers ever. Cain and Abel.

8:41Cain murders his little brother Abel. And then just a few scenes later, we got the twins, Jacob and Esau and Esau is ready to do the same thing. In fact, when their mom, when Rebecca hears about Esau's plan to kill his brother Jacob, she sends Jacob away because she's afraid that if Esau kills his brother, she would be, this is how she puts it. She would be Genesis 27, 45. She would be bereft of you both in one day. She would lose both in one day. She's afraid she'll be just like Eve one boy lost, killed like Abel, another boy lost, exiled just like Cain. That was Genesis 27 and friends. That was the last time we saw Jacob's older brother Esau, six chapters and 20 years ago.

9:46And at the time Jacob had been really easy to hate. He had tricked his brother twice. And those are just the two times we know about. He had stolen his brother's birthright and he had stolen his brother's blessing and Esau was fed up. He'd had enough, he wanted his brother dead. So Jacob to save his skin had run away from home. Alright, kiddos, here's your first assignment. Listen, if you're a preschool and you got one of those sheets lifted up so I can kind of see where you are nice and high, okay, like it's a flag. Wave it up there. Let me just see. Okay, we got a cluster of them over in this area.

10:26We got some in the middle. Alright, see one over there. Okay, listen, this is what I need you to do on that sheet. Pastor Aaron has set it up nicely with two big boxes, right? You can put it down, you go ahead, put it down. I like the rest of the service. I know where you are. So Pastor Aaron put two squares on the front of that sheet. I want you to draw something in the left square. I got two points for my sermon today and I got a picture I want you to draw for each one. And at the end, if your mom and dad say it's okay at the end I'm gonna be up here. Listen, I would love to see the drawings you did.

11:00I'll be up here in the front. You can bring it up and I just want to see it If mom and dad say that's okay. So here's the first thing I need you to draw preschoolers. It goes with the first point. Jacob's big problem. I want you to draw a stick figure. That's pretty simple. Stick figure, a little circle with, you know how that goes. Okay, stick figure with a big frowny face. So frowny face, I want you to draw a stick figure on the left with a big, big frowny face. And just so you know, it's Esau right above the frowny face. I want you to put a big old thick mustache 'cause he's the hairy one and he's angry at his brother.

11:41So that's the first picture I want you to draw right there on the left side of your paper. And I got one more for you coming up here in a second. So stay tuned. So listen, Jacob has got a big problem. He's back. He's almost back. He's returned home and here at a distance comes his angry brother, but but not just his angry brother. After all, Esau wasn't alone, he was Look again at Genesis 33 verse one. He was coming with 400 men, 400 guys. Jacob Scouts had told them about these guys the day before. And when Jacob heard the report, he was scared. This is Genesis 32, verse seven. Were told that when Jacob heard about Esau and his band of brothers that Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

12:34He's afraid that his brother is coming with backup to finish him and his family off 401 angry dudes against Jacob, his four wives, his 11 little boys and just a handful of servants. Now making matters even worse is that Jacob isn't the man. He once was like 12 hours ago, like yesterday when we first meet Jacob back at the beginning of Act three, back in Genesis 25, he kind of sounds like a weak little mama's boy. No offense to mamas, he's soft. Jacob is and he's hairless. Plus, while his brother's out killing stuff, Jacob is at home cooking. But as the story progresses, our assessment of Jacob progresses too.

13:35For starters, he travels 500 miles from home to his uncle's house by himself and he later tells us, with only a walking stick, that's a pretty tough thing to do. 500 miles all alone. And when he gets there to his uncle's house, he moves a huge stone that was covering up the opening of a well. And he moves this huge stone all by himself. And while they're at his uncle's house, he does hard labor outside rain or shine for 20 years. And last but not least, just the day before our story in Genesis 32, we see Jacob wrestle an angel all night long. I mean wrestling for 10, Steven is right. Wrestling for 10 minutes is tough.

14:30Wrestling all night against an angel. So however soft Jacob May have appeared at first, he's a pretty tough dude. By the time he gets to this point in his story, at least that is until that angel at the 11th hour touches Jacob's hip. And what does he do? He puts it outta socket. I once tore a ligament in my hip. I don't ever wanna do that again. I was in severe pain for days trying however I could to find some comfortable fetal like position where it didn't hurt. And that was Jacob. This morning when he gets up, his hip is out of socket, he's hurt and he's totally outnumbered. Here comes Esau and 400 guys.

15:23So look at the end of verse one. When, when Jacob sees all this, what does he do? End of verse one. He divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants and he put the servants with their children in front and then Leah with her children and Rachel and Joseph last of all. Then we can almost picture the scene. Jacob gingerly, I mean the end of 32 said he was limping. Jacob gingerly limps to the front of the pack. He himself were told in verse three, went on before them somehow with his bad hip. Then managing to bow. I mean if you've ever hurt your hip, one of the hardest things you can do is just sneeze.

16:12But bowing, bowing to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother. Now whether Jacobs I'll go first act was rooted in courage or maybe just resignation. It's kind of hard to say, but the tension in our story couldn't be higher. Sibling rivalries in and outside of the Bible, they don't often end well. So we expect the worst, which is why we almost can't believe what happens next. That was Jacob's big problem. Number two, Esau's big change. Esau's big change. We see this beginning in verse four. Esau's big change. Take a look verse four. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept that same smooth neck that Jacob had once deceptively covered to take Esau's blessing.

17:18Esau now kisses that same Jacob who had run away from his brother's wrath. Esau now runs toward and embraces friends. What we read here in verse four is one of the most surprising things we've read in the Bible story to this point. Don't miss that. Don't be so familiar with it that you say, oh, I expected that you didn't expect that. This is one of the most astounding, surprising things we've seen in the Bible story to this point, right up there with that surprise ram that saves Isaac's life. The murderous brother has changed completely neatly 180 degrees. So kiddos, I want you to draw this. This is the second thing I want you to draw. Preschoolers.

18:17Are you listening Guys with the sheets second box. I want you to draw this. I want you to draw Esau's big change. So if you got a sheet in that second box right side, I want you to draw Esau's big change. That's what I'm looking for right across the page from frowny face. Esau, I want you to draw another stick figure, same size in everything. 'cause it's Esau, same size except this time below the mustache I want you to draw a big smiley face stretching from ear to ear. So frowny face, Esau on the left, smiley face, Esau on the right. Esau has changed. And notice everybody notice that Esau doesn't just eagerly run toward, doesn't just embrace, doesn't just kiss, doesn't just then weep with his brother.

19:11But in that longish middle part of the story that feels like it's kind of customs we're not familiar with in that longish middle part of the story, like verses five through 17, Esau shows his big surprising change in two more ways. He shows that he's at a complete reversal in two more ways. He shows an interest in his brother's family. Esau does murderous. Esau shows an interest in Jacob's family. Look at verse five. Who are these with you? Esau asks in verse five, growing up with only one sibling and having been blessed with five sons himself, Esau wonders about these 11 sons that Jacob parades before him.

20:08He even offers his men, those 400 guys, he offers those men to protect Jacob and his family on the final leg of their trip home. That's what we see in verse 12. Now it's an offer that Jacob declines, but don't miss the fact that Esau offered it. Esau also shows a decided lack of interest in Jacob's stuff and Jacob's gifts Notice look at verse eight. Notice Esau asks, this is ver ver verse eight. What do you mean by all of this company that I met? What do you mean Jacob? What do you mean by all this company I met? He had been told that they were gifts, but he still seems kind of confused why presence like this would even be necessary.

21:05So Jacob spells it out in verse nine, the presence Jacob insists they were meant to help him, help Jacob find favor in Esau's sight. To which Esau replies, look at verse 10. I got enough. Keep your stuff. That's my paraphrase. I got enough. Keep your stuff. Esau refuses Jacob's gifts. Now granted, it's a refusal. Jacob declines, but don't miss the fact that Esau refuses the story from start to finish is designed to show us one thing. This story in your Bible is designed to highlight just one thing. It begs us to ask one question, what happened to eol? What happened to this guy? Isn't that what we wanna know?

22:00You read this story and you think that is bonkers. I did not expect that. Verse four, I did not expect he's a hundred percent Esau, a hundred percent not the guy he was when we last saw him. That murderous guy in Genesis 27 isn't the same guy we meet in Genesis 33 and we want to know, the Bible wants us to ask what caused Esau's big change. And we know what it wasn't. We know it wasn't Jacob. I mean bowing was nice if kind of over the top a bit obsequious seven times. Come on Jacob. So too were Jacob's gifts. They were nice, but none of these things was responsible for changing Esau's heart, friends.

22:53None of those things can explain what we read in Genesis 33 verse four. Huge respect, big old bribes. They might pacify your enemy, but they're not gonna change your enemy's heart. They won't make him run and they're certainly not gonna make him weep. Jacob's actions had nothing to do with Esau's transformation. And you know what? Jacob knows it. When we read the story earlier, did you notice? Maybe you did. Did you notice after the shock of verse four? Verse four Is that big turn in the story after the shock of verse four, did you notice how many times Jacob talks about God? Verse five, look at verse five.

23:51Who are these with you? Esau asks, Jacob replies, they are the children whom God has graciously given me. Now verse eight, Esau asks, what do you mean by all of this company that I met? They are gifts. Verse 11, they are gifts. Jacob explains given verse 11, because God has DW doubt graciously with me, Jacob, he finally sees, he finally gets it. He finally sees that all the good that filled his life didn't owe to his own strength and it certainly didn't owe to his cunning. Everything. Everything that Jacob had was a gift given him graciously by the Lord. And this is what Jacob means when he says that kind of strange thing in verse 10.

24:53This is what Jacob means in verse 10 when he talks about Al's face and God's face. Look at verse 10, right in the middle, verse ten four, I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God. This is what Jacob is saying. When Jacob saw Esau's face, when he saw Esau's smile, Esau's tears, he got it. He knew what he was really seeing. Only God could turn Esau's frown upside down. Jacob saw and Esau's changed face the gracious face of God. He knew he looked into Esau's face and he knew what explained that smile and those tears. It was God, only God could do this. Which is why all of this leads kind of inexorably to the very last climactic confession that Jacob makes right at the end of the story.

26:01And the stories last three words, we don't wanna miss it. Look at verse 18, Jacob parts company with esol and he comes verse 18, he comes safely. This is verse 18, safely to the city of Sheko, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Payden, Arum. And he camped before the city, the very same Jacob who had run for his life and from his home in Canaan 20 years back, the same Jacob who run 500 miles away from his brother and who'd wrestled with his conniving uncle and with God, that very same Jacob whom God had promised again and again and again, that God would bring him safely home here. That Jacob arrives back at home, safe and sound just as God had promised.

27:16In fact, safe in verse 18 translates this lovely Hebrew word that you know, Shalom, Shalom. It's the kind of safe at home. Everybody on the planet longs for whether they recognize it or not. Shalom, everybody, all of us have this shalom sized hole in our hearts that only God can fill. We've got a shalom sized home that only God can build and Jacob knows it. Which is why in verse 20, after he buys that plot of land in Canaan, Jacob builds an altar and proclaims in the last three words of our story, El elo. Hey Israel, mighty is the God of Israel. He's talking about himself. That's his name. He's saying, mighty is my God. It's a personal confession.

28:18He's declaring that my God is mighty. What explains Esau's big change? This 180 degree turn. How did Jacob get safely home? How did he experience Shalom God? That's the only explanation. God did it. God, the mighty one was for Jacob, just as he said he would be Now. Now don't forget who's telling this story, who's writing Genesis? Who is it? Say it. Maybe say it. Moses. Moses. Moses is writing Genesis and he's telling this story to Jacob's, big old extended family right before they meet big, bad, scary, angry, Esau of their own right before they crossed the Jordan River and they meet the big old giants and those fortified cities that were filling their home and threatening God's promises.

29:23And Moses, he doesn't want Israel to forget what God did to Esau. Don't forget about that, just when you thought there was no possible way for you to arrive safe at home Israel, God made a way. He changed a heart and he did it just like that, changed a heart just like that. And friends, it's the same for us. If God is for you, if God is for you, if you know and love the Lord Jesus, then that if doesn't, he is for you. If he's for you, then who can be against you? Honestly, who can be against you? If this God is for you? No Esau. Hear what I'm saying? No Esau can stand in the way of God's promises coming true in your life.

30:15Nothing in this life. No threat right now. No threat in the future. Not death, not even an angel. Nothing can separate you from God's love or from God's promises. He will bring you safely home and he'll give you everything you need for the journey. LLO hey isn't just Jacob's God, it's not just Jacob's God. That language may not be our language, but that God, that is our God. LLO. Hey, the North church, or you put in your name, you should LO hey is our God. That's what God is showing us here in Genesis 33. If this God, if this God and this story is for us, then who's gonna stand against us? Alright, let me end with this.

31:15Let me remind you about something. The biggest problem any of us has ever faced is like a million times worse than Esau. A million times. It feels like too small, g zillion. It's the punishment we deserve for failing to honor God as he deserves. For failing to walk and follow in his good and right and beautiful ways. That's our biggest problem. And just when we thought there was no way around, think about this, be surprised by this afresh.

31:55Just when we thought, there is no way home for us. There's no way for God's story, for our story to reach a happy ending. God made a way. He made a way. He sent his only son to take away our sin. He gave his beloved son for us. Just when we thought I could never go home. Not after all that I've done, not after what I've said, how I've lived. I could never be accepted just when we thought that, that God would forever be against us. You know what our God did? He ran to us because that is who he is. If you know and love the Lord Jesus, then this God this way, making God, this is your God. Maybe some of you, this is the best news you could hear this morning.

32:54That God, he is for you. He's for you. His posture towards you is good. Nothing can stand against you, not even you, or your own sin if you doubt it. Remember Esau, that's what Genesis 33 is, kind of shouting. Remember Esau if you doubt it, friends, remember Jesus. Remember Jesus. Now, if this God isn't yet your God, maybe you've come in here today and Esau and Jacob, these are foreign concepts to you and LLO He, Israel is as foreign as can be. Listen, this God is alive and he's real. And his posture is one where he offers himself freely to any and to all who will simply call on him and say, God, rescue me.

33:47I'm not who I wanna be. I'm not who you want me to be. And I'm telling you, God is so eager, so eager to run to you and to be for you. Call on him and he will answer you and he will bring you safely home. Lord, we are so grateful to be sons and daughters of El Loh Israel. You are our mighty God and you have made a way for us to come safely home. Nothing can stand in the way of your good promises coming to fulfillment in our lives. And if we were ever to have doubted that we can turn our eyes to the cross of our Lord Jesus, who you did not spare but freely gave him up for us all. And how will you not with him freely give us all things.

34:45You will make a way. We praise you for that. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Sermon Text

Genesis 33:1-20

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