396: Richard Morgan – Exhortation: Jacob’s Redemption

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Welcome to good Christophian
talks.

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Thank you for joining us this
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are sharing the talk.
And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
Hello all and welcome back.

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This is Brother Benji.
This week’s talk will be an

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exhortation given by Brother
Richard Morgan at the Semi

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Hills, Ecclesia, California, USA
on the 19th of January 2025 to

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the theme Jacob’s Redemption.
This exhort entails a brief tour

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through Jacob’s life,
particularly focusing on his

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relationship and encounters with
his family.

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Brother Richard does such an
excellent job drawing out the

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sense of the text.
I’ll admit I have a soft spot

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for Jacob, yet you’d be hard
pressed to find anyone who’s not

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moved by his story and
redemption.

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I pray this talk will inspire
you, move you, and encourage you

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for the week ahead.
With that said, I’ll give you

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over to our brother Richard for
his exhort Jacob’s redemption.

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Good morning everyone.
Do you ever feel when you come

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to the breaking of bread, You
come here every week, you break

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bread and you drink wine, but
something just doesn’t seem

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right.
You know that in the Lord Jesus

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Christ you have the forgiveness
of your sins, but something

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doesn’t feel right.
You don’t feel at peace.

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Well, if you’ve ever felt like
that, and perhaps you feel like

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that right now, or maybe you’ll
feel like that in the future,

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then you have something in
common with Jacob.

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Jacob was a man who lost peace
in his life, but God worked with

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Jacob.
He worked to to transform him

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and for him to find peace again.
So we’re going to talk about the

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redemption of Jacob this
morning.

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And hopefully, brothers and
sisters, it will be an

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encouragement for us if any time
in our life we feel that we’re

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not at peace.
Now, I want to start towards the

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end of our story and the reading
we just had in Genesis chapter

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32.
Here, Jacob is returning from

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exile.
He’s been in exile for at least

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20 years, probably more.
While he’s on his journey home,

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he sends a message to his
brother Esau.

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And it’s a little bit odd.
Let’s read about it.

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What we just read through Lucas
in chapter 32 verse three, it

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says that Jacob sent messengers
before him to Esau his brother

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in the land of sea of the
country of Edom, instructing

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them thus shall you say to my
Lord Esau.

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This says your servant Jacob,
I’ve sojourned with Laban and

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stayed until now.
I have oxen, donkeys, flocks,

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male servants and female
servants I’ve sent to tell my

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Lord in order they may find
favour or grace in your sight.

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So he wants to find grace in the
sight of Esau.

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Last he knew Esau wanted to kill
him.

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So he sends this message.
Note note a couple of things

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here.
He he calls Esau my Lord, and he

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describes himself as Esau’s
servant.

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So he’s establishing some kind
of hierarchical relationship

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here with his brother.
And the message itself is

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strange.
He wants to tell Esau, I have

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lots of animals and servants.
OK, why does he do this?

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Why does he send this message to
Esau?

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If you carry on reading, it says
in verse 6 that the messengers

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returned to Jacob saying we came
to your brother Esau and he’s

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coming to meet you and there are
400 men with him.

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Then Jacob was greatly afraid
and distressed.

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He divided the people with him
and the flocks and herds and

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camels into two camps, thinking
if Esau comes to the one camp

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and attacks it, then the camp
that is left will escape and

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he’s scared out of his mind.
Last he knew Esau wanted to kill

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him and now he’s coming with 400
men.

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But Jacob only has himself to
blame here, doesn’t he?

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He didn’t have to send this
message.

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Just just think about the
geography of the situation.

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He’s come from Haran, way up in
the north in modern day Syria,

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and he’s made the long journey
South.

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And he’s about halfway down on
the east side of the Jordan,

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next to the land of promise.
And all he has to do is find a

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way across the River Jordan and
he’s home safe.

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But instead, he goes completely
out of his way to send this

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message to Esau.
Miso’s in the land of Edom, way

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down South, miles and miles
away.

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So Jacob sends his message.
Why did he do this?

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Why does he?
Why does he pause before

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returning home?
Well, let’s go to the beginning

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of the story, shall we?
Back in Chapter 25.

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This is the first interaction.
Well, really, it’s the second

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interaction, 1st after he’s born
with his brother Esau.

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This is where Esau sells his
birthright for a bowl of Stew.

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You know the story.
Esau’s been out hunting and he

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comes home absolutely exhausted,
starving, hungry.

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And he sees that Jacob is making
some Stew.

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And he says, I’m exhausted, give
me some of that Stew.

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And Jacob says, sure, yeah, I’ll
give you some Stew if you give

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me your birthright.
And Esau said I’m about to die.

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What use is a birthright to me?
And he sold his birthright for a

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bowl of Stew.
Now, Esau was wrong to do that.

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But we’re not here to talk about
Esau this morning.

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We’re here to talk about Jacob.
And Jacob was no better, was he?

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I mean, he could have done the
brotherly thing.

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He sees Esau coming in
absolutely exhausted, famished,

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and he could have been kind to
his brother and say here, have

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some Stew.
But instead of showing kindness,

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he took full advantage of the
situation.

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He took advantage of a man in a
very vulnerable state, probably

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knowing how Esau would react,
and he basically stole the

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birthright from his brother.
And things didn’t get better

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between them, did they?
They got a lot worse.

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So if you turn over to chapter
27, this is where now Jacob

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steals the blessing from his
brother and he does the same

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thing.
He takes advantage of a man in a

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very vulnerable state, and this
time it’s their dad, Isaac, poor

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old blind Isaac.
Jacob takes advantage of a man

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with a disability and he
deceives him with the help of

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his mother Rebecca.
He puts the goat skins on his

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neck and on his arms to make it
appear like he’s Esau.

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He lies, he cheats, he steals.
There’s nothing good that could

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be said about Jacob in either of
these incidents.

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So let’s read the record show
he’s in chapter 27 here and

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verse 26.
Then his father Isaac said to

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him, come here and kiss me, my
son.

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So he came here and kissed him
and Isaac smelled the smell of

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his garments and blessed him and
said, see the smell of my son is

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the smell of the field that the
Lord is blessed.

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And as as Jacob leant down and
embraced his father, Isaac would

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have felt the roughness of the
goat skins and the smell making

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it appear that this was Esau.
And Isaac gives to Esau, sorry

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to Jacob, the the blessing that
he reserved for Esau.

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And Jacob steals that blessing
through deceit from poor old

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blind Isaac.
So what did he steal?

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Well, if you look at the
blessing in verses 28 and 29, it

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can be summarized as prosperity
and power.

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The verse 28, May God give you
the dew of heaven and the

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fatness of the earth, and plenty
of grain of wine.

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May God make you prosperous.
And in verse 29, it’s all about

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power.
Let people serve you and nations

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bow down to you.
Be Lord over your brothers, and

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may your mother’s sons bow down
to you.

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So you’re going to be Lord.
People are going to serve you.

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People are going to bow down to
you, including your mother’s

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sons.
That’s the blessing that Jacob

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stole from his brother.
What was Esau’s reaction?

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Well, he went out and wept.
Verse 34 As soon as Esau heard

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the words of his father, he
cried out with an exceeding

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great and bitter cry.
And Esau has had enough of his

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brother.
He’s up to hear with him.

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And, and no wonder, so it says
in verse 41.

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Now Esau hated Jacob because of
the blessing with which his

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father had blessed him.
And Esau said to himself, The

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days of mourning for my father
are approaching.

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Then I will kill my brother
Jacob.

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And their relationship is
absolutely torn apart at the

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seams.
Jacob has wronged his brother.

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He sinned egregiously against
him.

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Esau hates him for it, and he
wants to kill him.

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So Jacob has to flee.
And that’s exactly what he does.

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He flees into exile.
Next chapter, chapter 28, verse

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10, Jacob left Beersheba and
went toward Haran.

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And isn’t that what sin does?
Brothers and sisters?

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Doesn’t sin put us into exile?
It creates A separation between

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US and God.
It creates A separation between

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us, a distance between US and
those that we’ve hurt.

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And it feels like we’ve gone
into exile.

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So Jacob heads towards Haran and
it’s while he’s on his journey

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that he has his first encounter
with God.

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We’re going to look at 3
encounters that Jacob had with

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God this morning.
This first one when he’s going

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into exile, the second one when
he’s in exile, and the third one

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when he’s returning home from
exile.

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And it’s through these
encounters with God that God is

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going to work with this man to
change him, to redeem him.

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So let’s have a look at this
first encounter with God, shall

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we?
It’s in this chapter, chapter

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28.
This is where Jacob has the

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dream of the angels ascending
and descending on the ladder, a

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message to Jacob that God is
going to be with him, and that’s

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exactly what God says to him in
the dream.

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If you look at verse 15 of
chapter 28, God says, behold, I

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am with you and will keep you
wherever you go, despite the

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kind of man you are, Jacob,
despite what you did to your

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brother, I’m going to work with
you.

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I’m going to refine you.
I’m going to redeem you.

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And then it says carrying on in
verse 15.

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And I will bring you back to
this land.

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I’ll bring you home.
And isn’t that what we want,

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brothers and sisters, when we go
into our spiritual exile, we

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want to find our way home.
So what was Jacob’s reaction to

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this first encounter with God?
Well, he makes a vow.

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In fact, it’s the very first
recorded vow in Scripture.

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If you look down at verse 20, it
says Jacob made a vow saying if

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God will be with me and will
keep you in this way that I go

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and will give me bread to eat
and clothing to wear so that I

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come again to my father’s house
in peace, then the Lord shall be

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my God, and this stone which
I’ve set up for a pillar shall

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be God’s house, and of all that
you give me, will give a full

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10th to you.
So this is Jacob’s vow.

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It’s a covenant he’s in with
God, right?

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And in this covenant, yes, God
has God promised to be with him,

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to look after him and to give
him the necessities of life, as

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it says at the end of verse 20
there, to give him food and

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clothing.
And then significantly in verse

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21, so that I come again to my
father’s house in peace, because

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that is what Jacob has lost.
This is a man in turmoil.

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He’s estranged from his father.
He’s on the run from his

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brother.
His life is a mess and he wants

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to come home, but he wants to
come home in peace.

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And then he says, if if you do
this for me, if you provide me

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with food and clothing, it says
at the end of verse 22 there of

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all that you give me, I will
give a full 10th to you.

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So do you think Jacob kept his
vow?

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Oh, So we carry on readings for
the next few chapters.

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Jacob comes to Haran, to his
uncle Laban’s house.

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He marries Leah and Rachel.
He’s there for at least 20

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years, probably more.
So what did God do for Jacob

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00:13:47,440 –> 00:13:51,200
while he was in exile?
What would you do if you were

216
00:13:51,200 –> 00:13:55,760
God dealing with this rogue,
dealing with this man who’s lied

217
00:13:55,760 –> 00:13:58,080
and cheated and stole his way
through life?

218
00:13:59,600 –> 00:14:04,680
What would you do to refine him?
Well, what God does for Jacob,

219
00:14:06,120 –> 00:14:08,120
it’s a little bit strange if you
think about it.

220
00:14:09,360 –> 00:14:13,920
He makes Jacob prosperous.
He takes many of the flocks and

221
00:14:13,920 –> 00:14:17,440
herds that belong to Laban and
he gives them to Jacob.

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00:14:18,880 –> 00:14:23,280
Why does God do that?
If you turn over the excuse me,

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00:14:23,280 –> 00:14:27,640
if you turn over to chapter 31,
Jacob acknowledges this.

224
00:14:30,600 –> 00:14:36,240
So chapter 31, it says in in
verse 9, Thus God has taken away

225
00:14:36,240 –> 00:14:38,200
the livestock of your father and
given it to me.

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00:14:38,360 –> 00:14:43,120
He’s made me prosperous.
It’s almost as if God is

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00:14:43,120 –> 00:14:47,360
confirming the blessing that he
stole from Esau.

228
00:14:48,640 –> 00:14:50,960
Remember the first half of that
blessing that God will make you

229
00:14:50,960 –> 00:14:56,160
prosperous, and now God is
making Jacob prosperous

230
00:14:57,840 –> 00:14:59,960
according to the blessing that
he stole.

231
00:15:01,440 –> 00:15:07,640
Why does God do this now?
This is at the time where Jacob

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00:15:07,640 –> 00:15:12,880
now has his second encounter
with God and it’s in the form of

233
00:15:12,880 –> 00:15:17,000
another dream.
So in verse 11, it says, then

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00:15:17,000 –> 00:15:19,440
the Angel of God said to me in
the dream, Jacob and I said,

235
00:15:19,440 –> 00:15:21,560
here I am.
And he said, lift up your eyes

236
00:15:21,560 –> 00:15:24,360
and see all the goats that mate
with a flock of stripes spotted

237
00:15:24,360 –> 00:15:25,840
the muddles.
See what I’ve done for you,

238
00:15:26,280 –> 00:15:28,080
Jacob.
I’ve taken the flocks and herds

239
00:15:28,080 –> 00:15:30,400
that belong to Laban.
I’ve given unto you, I’ve made

240
00:15:30,400 –> 00:15:36,880
you prosperous.
And then very significantly, God

241
00:15:36,880 –> 00:15:43,440
reminds him of his vow.
So if you look at verse 13, God

242
00:15:43,440 –> 00:15:46,560
says I am the God of Bethe where
you anointed a pillar and made a

243
00:15:46,560 –> 00:15:49,760
vow to me.
Remember that, Jacob, over 20

244
00:15:49,760 –> 00:15:53,280
years ago you made a vow to me
of all that I give you.

245
00:15:53,360 –> 00:15:57,600
I’ll give a full 10th to you and
I’m keeping the covenant.

246
00:15:57,600 –> 00:16:01,040
God says I’ve given you food and
clothing.

247
00:16:01,640 –> 00:16:04,440
In fact, I’ve gone above and
beyond.

248
00:16:05,760 –> 00:16:12,320
They’ve made you prosperous.
So Jacob, do you remember your

249
00:16:12,320 –> 00:16:16,880
vow?
And then it says at the end of

250
00:16:16,880 –> 00:16:21,600
verse 13, now arise.
God says to him, now arise, go

251
00:16:21,600 –> 00:16:25,120
out from this land and return to
the land of your kindred.

252
00:16:25,560 –> 00:16:31,200
It’s time, Jacob, you’re ready.
It’s time to go home.

253
00:16:33,000 –> 00:16:37,960
Jacob wants to go home, but he
wants to go home in peace.

254
00:16:40,040 –> 00:16:43,400
So Jacob takes his wives and his
children and all this

255
00:16:43,800 –> 00:16:46,240
prosperity, all these animals
that God has given to him, and

256
00:16:46,240 –> 00:16:49,880
he he leaves the House of Laban
and he heads on home.

257
00:16:50,840 –> 00:16:54,120
And that brings us to our
readings in chapters 32 and 33,

258
00:16:56,480 –> 00:17:01,240
where Jacob pauses at the River
Jabak on the east side of the

259
00:17:01,240 –> 00:17:04,800
Jordan.
Before he crosses the Jordan and

260
00:17:04,800 –> 00:17:09,400
arrives home, he stops and and
sends this message to his

261
00:17:09,400 –> 00:17:13,960
brother Esau.
And Esau’s coming now with 400

262
00:17:13,960 –> 00:17:16,960
men and he is scared out of his
mind.

263
00:17:19,000 –> 00:17:23,920
So what does Jacob do?
Well, the first thing, the first

264
00:17:23,920 –> 00:17:26,200
thing he does is he prays to
God.

265
00:17:27,680 –> 00:17:29,720
So that’s in verses 9 through
12.

266
00:17:32,080 –> 00:17:35,880
We won’t, we won’t look at the
we will look at the prayer.

267
00:17:35,880 –> 00:17:40,960
But what this prayer illustrates
in verses 9 to 12 is that Jacob

268
00:17:40,960 –> 00:17:45,600
is a changed man.
He’s now somebody who puts his

269
00:17:45,600 –> 00:17:51,160
trust in God.
And Jacob does something else

270
00:17:51,160 –> 00:17:54,760
here.
He puts together a present for

271
00:17:54,760 –> 00:17:59,280
his brother Easel, and his plan
is that he’s going to send this

272
00:17:59,280 –> 00:18:03,480
present on the head with some
servants in the hope that when

273
00:18:03,480 –> 00:18:06,800
Jacob comes on the scene, Esau
having received the present,

274
00:18:06,800 –> 00:18:10,960
will be amenable to Jacob and
won’t want to kill him, but will

275
00:18:11,000 –> 00:18:15,080
will accept him.
So let’s read about the

276
00:18:15,080 –> 00:18:17,080
instructions then he’s given to
his servants.

277
00:18:17,080 –> 00:18:21,000
If you look at verse 20 of
chapter 32, he tells his

278
00:18:21,000 –> 00:18:23,960
servants, you shall say when you
hand over this present to Esau,

279
00:18:24,400 –> 00:18:26,600
moreover, your servant Jacob is
behind us.

280
00:18:26,800 –> 00:18:29,320
And then we get some insight
into what Jacob is thinking.

281
00:18:29,840 –> 00:18:33,280
So carrying on in verse 20.
For he thought I may appease him

282
00:18:33,280 –> 00:18:34,960
with a present that goes ahead
of me.

283
00:18:35,200 –> 00:18:37,160
And afterward I shall see his
face.

284
00:18:37,320 –> 00:18:39,920
Perhaps he will accept me.
And this is what Jacob was

285
00:18:39,920 –> 00:18:41,920
worried about, right?
He’s worried about a face to

286
00:18:41,920 –> 00:18:44,160
face meeting with his brother
Esau.

287
00:18:44,760 –> 00:18:48,120
In fact, the word face is there
in the Hebrew a number of times

288
00:18:48,280 –> 00:18:51,920
in that verse where it says I
may appease him literally, I may

289
00:18:51,920 –> 00:18:55,920
appease his face, where it says
at the end of the verse, perhaps

290
00:18:55,920 –> 00:18:59,120
he will accept me literally,
perhaps he will accept my face.

291
00:18:59,480 –> 00:19:01,200
So this is what Jacob is worried
about.

292
00:19:01,320 –> 00:19:04,720
He’s going to have a face to
face meeting with his brother

293
00:19:04,720 –> 00:19:11,680
Esau, a face to face meeting
with his past, a face to face

294
00:19:11,680 –> 00:19:17,560
meeting with his sins, a
confrontation with his demons.

295
00:19:18,720 –> 00:19:23,440
And he’s scared.
But there’s something

296
00:19:23,440 –> 00:19:25,760
significant going on here,
brothers and sisters.

297
00:19:27,080 –> 00:19:30,480
You see that word appease there
in verse 20.

298
00:19:31,720 –> 00:19:33,600
I may appease him with a
present.

299
00:19:34,640 –> 00:19:37,200
That happens to be the very
first occurrence of the word

300
00:19:37,200 –> 00:19:41,280
atonement in the entire Bible.
It’s the word used all the way

301
00:19:41,280 –> 00:19:45,080
through the law of Moses for the
way in which the the sacrifices

302
00:19:45,080 –> 00:19:51,640
provided atonement.
So this present then is it’s a

303
00:19:51,640 –> 00:19:57,680
gesture of atonement.
And I think that Jacob

304
00:19:57,680 –> 00:20:00,240
understood something very
fundamental.

305
00:20:01,640 –> 00:20:05,680
Remember, he wants to go home,
but he wants to return home in

306
00:20:05,680 –> 00:20:09,600
peace.
But I think Jacob understood

307
00:20:09,600 –> 00:20:14,640
something that we all understand
innately, what the prophet

308
00:20:14,640 –> 00:20:21,160
Isaiah says, that there is no
peace to the wicked, or as

309
00:20:21,160 –> 00:20:23,680
Isaiah says elsewhere in the
verse that we have on the

310
00:20:23,680 –> 00:20:25,760
screen.
Excuse me?

311
00:20:26,800 –> 00:20:31,800
The effect of righteousness
shall be peace.

312
00:20:32,480 –> 00:20:35,880
You see, under the law of Moses,
the peace offering had to be

313
00:20:35,880 –> 00:20:39,040
offered on top of the burnt
offering, the offering of

314
00:20:39,040 –> 00:20:41,640
righteousness.
And the principle is you cannot

315
00:20:41,640 –> 00:20:45,200
have peace without
righteousness.

316
00:20:45,560 –> 00:20:49,560
You cannot find peace without
making things right.

317
00:20:51,000 –> 00:20:52,440
And I think Jacob understood
this.

318
00:20:52,440 –> 00:20:55,400
He wants to return home in
peace, but he knows the only way

319
00:20:55,400 –> 00:21:01,080
to find that peace is to make
things right.

320
00:21:02,680 –> 00:21:06,920
And so this present is a, is a
gesture of, of wanting to make

321
00:21:06,920 –> 00:21:12,160
things right.
So he puts together this

322
00:21:12,160 –> 00:21:16,840
present.
Now it’s quite the present if

323
00:21:16,840 –> 00:21:18,720
you just come back to verse 13.
Let’s have a look at it.

324
00:21:18,720 –> 00:21:21,800
Verse 13 says he stayed that
night and from what he had with

325
00:21:21,800 –> 00:21:24,400
him, and he had a lot with him.
Remember, God has made him

326
00:21:24,400 –> 00:21:25,880
prosperous.
He’s given him many of the

327
00:21:25,880 –> 00:21:28,800
flocks and herds and other
animals that belong to Laban.

328
00:21:29,560 –> 00:21:32,120
So from what he had with him, it
says there in verse 13, he took

329
00:21:32,120 –> 00:21:35,920
a present for his brother Esau.
And then in verses 14 and 15, it

330
00:21:35,920 –> 00:21:39,520
lists all the animals that make
up that present and there’s a

331
00:21:39,520 –> 00:21:43,920
lot of them.
There’s 580 animals.

332
00:21:46,480 –> 00:21:50,880
So I thought to myself, how much
would these animals cost in

333
00:21:50,880 –> 00:21:54,040
today’s markets if I was to put
this present together today?

334
00:21:54,400 –> 00:21:56,800
How much would it cost me?
Just to give an idea of the

335
00:21:56,800 –> 00:22:02,240
scale of this present.
Now animal prices, they have a

336
00:22:02,240 –> 00:22:05,880
range because of the pedigree of
the the animals.

337
00:22:05,880 –> 00:22:09,880
So I went with a more
conservative estimate and this

338
00:22:09,880 –> 00:22:14,840
is what I came up with.
So it starts in verse 14 with

339
00:22:14,840 –> 00:22:20,040
200 female goats.
If you were to buy 200 female

340
00:22:20,040 –> 00:22:22,240
goats in today’s markets, how
much do you think that would

341
00:22:22,240 –> 00:22:25,480
cost?
Conservatively?

342
00:22:26,120 –> 00:22:32,040
That would set you back about
$50,000 and it carries on. 20

343
00:22:32,040 –> 00:22:38,480
male goats 5000 dollars 200 U
$70,000.20 Rams $5000.30 female

344
00:22:38,480 –> 00:22:45,040
camels with their young 450,000
dollars 40K was $140,000 10

345
00:22:45,040 –> 00:22:49,680
bulls $60,000 Twenty female
donkeys $30,000.10 male donkeys

346
00:22:49,680 –> 00:22:55,120
$15,000 for a grand total of
$825,000.

347
00:22:55,120 –> 00:22:58,400
It’s ridiculous.
I was trying to remember the

348
00:22:58,400 –> 00:23:03,240
last present I gave my brother.
I think it was a book of dad

349
00:23:03,240 –> 00:23:06,760
jokes or something.
I mean this, this is, this is

350
00:23:06,760 –> 00:23:10,200
crazy, but it’s not.
It’s not just the monetary

351
00:23:10,200 –> 00:23:12,840
value, is it, Brothers and
sisters, Think about what Jacob

352
00:23:12,840 –> 00:23:16,400
is giving his brother here with
the milk from the various

353
00:23:16,400 –> 00:23:20,840
animals and the meat the the
wolf from the sheep of the

354
00:23:20,840 –> 00:23:24,720
animal hides.
He’s giving Esau here enough

355
00:23:24,720 –> 00:23:28,800
resources, basically a farmer
factory whereby Esau might

356
00:23:28,800 –> 00:23:33,000
provide for himself and his
family food and clothing for the

357
00:23:33,000 –> 00:23:37,800
rest of their lives.
Remember, Jacob’s just been

358
00:23:37,800 –> 00:23:41,120
reminded of his vow.
You think Jacob’s keeping his

359
00:23:41,120 –> 00:23:43,400
vow?
Remember, all he asked for was

360
00:23:43,400 –> 00:23:47,280
food and clothing.
God provided him in abundance,

361
00:23:47,280 –> 00:23:49,720
and out of that abundance he now
gives this present to his

362
00:23:49,720 –> 00:23:52,280
brother.
I think Jacob is keeping his

363
00:23:52,280 –> 00:23:56,640
vow.
So he puts together the the

364
00:23:56,680 –> 00:24:00,680
these flocks and herds and
cabals and so on, and he sends

365
00:24:00,680 –> 00:24:02,640
them on a head with some
servants.

366
00:24:04,640 –> 00:24:07,800
And in the meantime, this is
where Jacob now has his third

367
00:24:08,160 –> 00:24:11,600
encounter with God.
Is this where he wrestles with

368
00:24:11,600 –> 00:24:14,320
the Angel?
It’s recorded for us at the end

369
00:24:14,320 –> 00:24:16,920
of chapter 32.
From verse 22 to the end, you

370
00:24:16,920 –> 00:24:21,440
remember the story how the Angel
blessed him and changed his name

371
00:24:21,440 –> 00:24:24,640
from Jacob to Israel and and
touched the hollow of his thigh.

372
00:24:25,400 –> 00:24:29,600
But what did Jacob learn from
this encounter with God?

373
00:24:29,600 –> 00:24:36,200
Well, we have that in verse 30.
It says that so Jacob called the

374
00:24:36,200 –> 00:24:39,160
name of the place where he
wrestled with the Angel Penny

375
00:24:39,160 –> 00:24:43,520
Al.
It means the face of God saying,

376
00:24:44,280 –> 00:24:48,720
for I have seen God face to face
and my life has been delivered.

377
00:24:48,720 –> 00:24:54,920
My life has been saved.
You think there’s a message in

378
00:24:54,920 –> 00:24:58,080
here for for Jacob?
You think this is a sign for

379
00:24:58,080 –> 00:24:59,760
Jacob?
Remember, this is what he’s

380
00:24:59,760 –> 00:25:01,760
worried about.
A face to face meeting with his

381
00:25:01,760 –> 00:25:07,040
brother Esau and now coming face
to face with God, he finds

382
00:25:07,160 –> 00:25:11,440
salvation.
And I think as we move into

383
00:25:11,440 –> 00:25:14,520
chapter 33, that Jacob now
approaches this face to face

384
00:25:14,520 –> 00:25:17,880
meeting with his brother Esau,
no matter how scared he might

385
00:25:17,880 –> 00:25:22,800
be, he approaches it now with
renewed confidence that

386
00:25:22,800 –> 00:25:26,880
everything’s going to be all
right, that things will be made

387
00:25:26,880 –> 00:25:29,960
right.
There will be atonement, there

388
00:25:29,960 –> 00:25:35,440
will be reconciliation and he’s
going to be able to go home in

389
00:25:35,440 –> 00:25:39,240
peace.
So let’s read about this face to

390
00:25:39,240 –> 00:25:42,440
face meeting, shall we?
It’s in chapter 33 verses 4

391
00:25:42,440 –> 00:25:46,800
through 11.
It says in chapter 33, verse 4.

392
00:25:46,800 –> 00:25:49,960
But Esau Ranter meet him and
embraced him and and fell on his

393
00:25:49,960 –> 00:25:51,800
neck and kissed him and they
wept.

394
00:25:54,080 –> 00:26:01,480
Over 20 years previously, it was
Jacob who embraced his father

395
00:26:03,360 –> 00:26:09,120
and kissed him with a kiss of
deceit and stole the blessing

396
00:26:09,800 –> 00:26:13,600
from his brother.
And Esau wept.

397
00:26:14,960 –> 00:26:23,080
But now, now the two brothers
come together, they embrace,

398
00:26:24,080 –> 00:26:28,720
they kiss one another, and they
weep together.

399
00:26:31,200 –> 00:26:35,000
Verse 5 And when he saw, lifted
up his eyes and saw the women

400
00:26:35,000 –> 00:26:36,440
and children, he said, who were
these with you?

401
00:26:36,440 –> 00:26:41,040
Jacob said the children whom God
has graciously given your

402
00:26:41,040 –> 00:26:44,240
servant.
You see, there’s something

403
00:26:44,240 –> 00:26:46,560
significant going on here,
brothers and sisters, we met the

404
00:26:46,560 –> 00:26:50,480
very first occurrence of the
word atonement in chapter 32.

405
00:26:50,600 –> 00:26:52,680
Well, this happens to be the
very first occurrence of the

406
00:26:52,680 –> 00:26:57,120
word to be gracious.
And God had been gracious with

407
00:26:57,120 –> 00:27:00,080
Jacob, hadn’t he?
Despite the kind of man he was,

408
00:27:00,080 –> 00:27:04,440
despite what he done to his
brother, God had poured grace

409
00:27:04,440 –> 00:27:08,440
into the life of Jacob.
You’ve gone above and beyond,

410
00:27:09,960 –> 00:27:13,840
and Jacob acknowledges this.
God has been gracious to your

411
00:27:13,840 –> 00:27:18,640
servant.
Verse 6 Then the servants drew

412
00:27:18,640 –> 00:27:20,640
near and their children and
bowed down.

413
00:27:20,880 –> 00:27:22,960
Leah likewise, and their
children drew near and bowed

414
00:27:22,960 –> 00:27:25,360
down and lost.
Joseph and Rachel drew near and

415
00:27:25,360 –> 00:27:27,080
they bowed down.
Esau said.

416
00:27:27,080 –> 00:27:28,440
What do you mean by all this
company?

417
00:27:28,440 –> 00:27:31,080
All these animals that I met?
There’s hundreds of them, Jacob

418
00:27:31,080 –> 00:27:35,160
answered.
To find grace in the sight of my

419
00:27:35,160 –> 00:27:39,520
Lord.
You see what Jacob’s doing here?

420
00:27:39,520 –> 00:27:43,960
Don’t you remember the blessing
that he stole from his brother

421
00:27:43,960 –> 00:27:50,200
20 years previously, How he
would be Lord over his brothers?

422
00:27:51,560 –> 00:27:55,520
And now Jacob calls Esau my
Lord, how people would serve

423
00:27:55,520 –> 00:27:57,480
him, and he says, I am your
servant.

424
00:27:58,520 –> 00:28:00,920
And how people would bow down to
him, including his mother’s

425
00:28:00,920 –> 00:28:04,400
sons.
And now the whole of Jacob’s

426
00:28:04,400 –> 00:28:08,520
family bows down to Esau, led by
Jacob.

427
00:28:08,520 –> 00:28:11,840
Verse three He himself went on
before them, bowing himself to

428
00:28:11,840 –> 00:28:17,840
the ground seven times.
I think you see what Jacob is

429
00:28:17,840 –> 00:28:23,120
doing here in this gesture of
wanting to make things right.

430
00:28:24,960 –> 00:28:29,560
Verse 9 But Esau said, I have
enough my brother, keep what you

431
00:28:29,560 –> 00:28:32,200
have for yourself.
Jacob said no, please, if I

432
00:28:32,200 –> 00:28:35,800
found favour in your sight, then
accept my present from my hand,

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00:28:36,200 –> 00:28:41,000
for I have seen your face, which
is like seeing the face of God

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00:28:41,800 –> 00:28:47,440
and you have accepted me just as
he learned from that face to

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00:28:47,440 –> 00:28:53,720
face meeting with God, you find
salvation.

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00:28:55,680 –> 00:29:02,200
And then verse 11, please accept
my blessing that is brought to

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00:29:02,200 –> 00:29:06,480
you because God has dealt
graciously with me, because I

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00:29:06,480 –> 00:29:10,520
have enough that he urged him
and he took it and he calls that

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00:29:10,520 –> 00:29:16,280
present that gesture of wanting
to make things right.

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00:29:17,000 –> 00:29:23,400
He calls it a blessing.
What we have here, brothers and

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00:29:23,400 –> 00:29:30,480
sisters, is a beautiful picture
of atonement and of two brothers

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00:29:31,160 –> 00:29:38,640
torn apart by sin and now
brought together by the grace of

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00:29:38,640 –> 00:29:44,840
God.
And Jacob, well now he can

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00:29:44,840 –> 00:29:50,320
return home in peace.
Says in verse 18 that Jacob came

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00:29:50,320 –> 00:29:53,400
safely.
The word is Shalom.

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00:29:54,480 –> 00:30:01,040
Jacob came in peace to the city
of Shechem, which is in the land

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00:30:01,040 –> 00:30:05,360
of Canaan.
Well, this morning, brothers and

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00:30:05,360 –> 00:30:08,520
sisters, we have an encounter
with God.

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00:30:10,000 –> 00:30:16,160
Here we see our Lord face to
face and in the bread and the

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00:30:16,160 –> 00:30:20,720
cup we have a reminder that God
has gone out of His way.

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00:30:21,560 –> 00:30:29,400
God has gone above and beyond in
pouring grace into our lives.

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00:30:31,000 –> 00:30:32,920
The question is, what is my
response?

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00:30:35,800 –> 00:30:42,680
Am I willing to, to go out of my
way to to go above and beyond

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00:30:44,240 –> 00:30:48,760
and seeking to, to make right
what has gone wrong?

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00:30:51,600 –> 00:30:54,800
Maybe, brothers and sisters, the
message in the the bread and the

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00:30:54,800 –> 00:31:00,520
cup this morning is it’s time.
We’re ready.

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00:31:00,520 –> 00:31:06,160
It’s time to go home.
It’s time to find peace.

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00:31:20,720 –> 00:31:22,840
Thank you for listening to the
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00:31:22,840 –> 00:31:25,400
podcast.
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00:31:25,400 –> 00:31:26,920
your walk and brightened your
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00:31:28,120 –> 00:31:30,160
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week.