Please turn with me this morning to Genesis, as we read a portion of Genesis 27 and a portion of Genesis 36, and the text which may seem a bit odd, Genesis 37, verse 1. And as you turn, there are just a few words of introduction. It's been my desire and plan for quite some time to consider with you in a series of sermons, Genesis 37-50, and the history of Joseph. Of course, many love to hear the stories of Joseph. I know some of you here love to hear the stories of Joseph. And for many, Joseph is one of our favorite Bible characters. Maybe that's because we admire him for his honesty, for his integrity, for his patience, for his devotion to God. Maybe it's because of his forgiving spirit which he exercised toward his brothers, a spirit which many, if not all of us, must confess we might never be able to exercise if we had been in the same situation as Joseph, being thrust away by his brothers. Maybe we admire him for his wisdom. But whatever the reason, we must understand, of course, that all of these things, even for Joseph, beloved, were blessings from God. We cannot read the stories of Joseph without seeing the providence of God and considering what God was doing. If we read the stories without seeing those things, without looking for those things, without recognizing those things, we have failed. We have missed it. We cannot miss the sovereignty of God over all things, including evil and His sovereign power to use even evil to accomplish His will, to accomplish what is good. Our God is the God of history. He is the God of redemptive history. Since the beginning, since the fall of mankind, we know there have been two lines. The line of the woman and the line of the serpent. And throughout the history of Revelation, these two lines have been contrasted. And we know throughout that redemptive history, the line of the serpent constantly tried to wipe out, to destroy the line of the woman. And we might say that the line of the serpent can be described as those walking by sight. And the line of the woman can be described as those living by faith. And with Joseph, we see how God grew and how He preserved and how He advanced the line of the woman from which the Messiah would come. And He does this. He does this in ways and through situations and circumstances that really might not make sense to us, especially as we think of the jealousy and the imprisonment and the slavery and the lust and the lies and eventually the captivity involved. The congregation, before we look at the stories of Joseph over the coming months, the Lord willing, this morning. I want to consider with you these two lines contrasted in Esau and Jacob. First of all, from Genesis 27, we read verses 27 through 40, which is the portion in which we find Isaac's blessings to both Jacob and Esau. Of course, Jacob at this point deceiving his father. Beginning at verse 27, the word of the Lord says, so he went to him. That is, Jacob went to Isaac and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of heaven's due and of earth's riches an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, My father, sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing. His father Isaac asked him, Who are you? I am your son, he answered. Your firstborn, Esau. Isaac trembled violently and said, Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me. I ate it just before you came and I blessed him. And indeed, he will be blessed. When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me, me too, my father. But he said, Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing. Esau said, Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times. He took my birthright and now he's taken my blessing. Then he asked, haven't you reserved any blessing for me? Isaac answered Esau, I have made him Lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son? Esau said to his father, Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father. Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck. And then turning over to Genesis 36. Just the first eight verses. And then considering just a couple of details throughout the chapter. Beginning at verse 1. This is the account of Esau, that is, Edom. Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan, Ada, a daughter of Elan, the Hittite, and Oholibama, the daughter of Anna, and granddaughter of Zibion, the Hivite, also Basimath, daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth. Ada bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basimath bore Ruel, and Oholibam aboard Jush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in Canaan. Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock, and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too great for them to remain together. The land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock, So Esau, that is Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir. And then, of course, we are given the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, and all the sons and grandsons listed there. Verse 15 says there were chiefs among Esau's descendants. Verse 40 also speaks of the chiefs. Verse 43, these were the chiefs of Edom according to their settlements in the land they occupied. Verse 31, these were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned. And then to close the chapter, this was Esau, the father of the Edomites. And then chapter 37, verse 1, Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. Beloved in Christ the Lord, we know the genealogies of Scripture. You probably know them the best because they're difficult. As you're reading through the Bible, they are difficult to get through. All those names, hard to pronounce, even if you practice them. I stumbled myself. But all those names, and we tend to slide over the genealogies. But we're familiar with them. And we're especially familiar with the genealogies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are familiar with the covenant of grace God made with Abraham and God's promise to him to make of him a great nation as well. The promise of land and the promise that all the nations of the earth would indeed be blessed through him. And of course, this would be through Abraham's son Isaac, not Ishmael. In Genesis 26, God confirmed to Isaac the promise He made to Abraham. And then we know that of the two sons of Isaac, Jacob was chosen even before he was born to be the one through whom God's covenant promise would continue. In Genesis 25, verse 23, we read, The Lord said to her, To Rebekah, Two nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger. And then, of course, God confirms once again His promise to Abraham. he confirms it to Jacob in chapter 28 where Jacob is at Bethel and he has the dream of the ladder or the staircase and the angels ascending and descending on that ladder. We read in verse 13-15, There above it stood the Lord and He said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east to the north and to the south all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring i am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and i will bring you back to this land i will not leave you until i have done what i have promised you and of course we find god's promise to rebecca reflected in isaac's blessings to both jacob and esau as we read The older would serve the younger. Esau would serve Jacob. Jacob received the blessing of the firstborn, which we might say included power, prestige, position, prosperity, success. But then when we come to Genesis 36, it seems something is wrong. When we contrast the two lines of Esau and Jacob, it seems at first glance that a mistake was made. It seems that Jacob's blessing was being fulfilled in Esau. And Esau's blessing was being fulfilled in Jacob. Again, Esau's line we might describe as walking by sight. Walking according to the ways and the things of this world. And when we look at Esau's line, it seems that he was blessed beyond Jacob. That is when we initially look at it. Now Genesis chapter 36, which begins, this is the account of Esau, that is Edom, is filled with names. Again, names of wives, names of sons, names of grandsons, names of the ancestors of Esau. Again, God told Rebekah that there were two nations in her womb. And this is the account of one of those nations. And this one was supposed to serve the other. But if you read this closely, this chapter 36, it's somewhat impressive. You see, Esau enjoyed strength and wealth. He had power. And this was his already before, as we read beginning in verse 6, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too great for them to remain together. The land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. So Esau, that is Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir. The family of Esau, called the Edomites, took over the land they had entered. They took it over. They took it as their very own. And they made the people of that land subject to them. They overpowered them. They made the people become a part of them. We read about the chiefs of Edom, who again, as verse 43 says, were the chiefs according to their settlements in the land they occupied. And no doubt these chiefs were chiefs of tribes that made up Edom. But again, verse 31 also says, These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned. You see, we read all of this about Esau of land, of kings, of chiefs, and this points to power and success. And this certainly doesn't look like one who serves and who is ruled over. This looks like one who rules. This looks like one who is served. Indeed, Esau was blessed physically speaking. But these blessings would turn to curses for him and his line because he didn't see the Lord's hand of blessing in these things. He walked by sight. His heart followed the things that he could see. But in contrast to all of this, chapter 37, verse 1 again says, Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. Seems somewhat insignificant, doesn't it? Now we know, of course, that Jacob was blessed by God all the years he worked for his father-in-law Laban. He enjoyed many physical possessions of flocks and herds. Yet although he lived in the land of his father, the land of Canaan, he was basically a pilgrim. He was a sojourner. He did not yet possess it. He didn't own it. We know that would not come for another 400 to 500 years. You see, while Esau possessed the land that he had conquered, and he settled in it as his permanent home, Jacob did not yet possess the land of Canaan. Esau had kings. He had land. He had tribal districts. But Jacob had none of these earthly blessings that had been promised to him. In Genesis 35, verse 11, God said to Jacob, a nation and a community of nations will come from you. And kings will come from your body. And many, many years later, at the time of the exodus out of Egypt, the land of Jacob still had no land. They had no earthly king. And really, they could not yet call themselves a nation. But Jacob had something Esau did not have. Jacob had the blessing of knowing God by faith. And he was the inheritor of God's promise handed down from Abraham to Isaac. And now it was Jacob's. For all that Esau enjoyed, he was missing the most important part. He was missing a saving relationship with God. Matthew Henry in his commentary writes, the children of this world have their all in hand and nothing in hope. While the children of God have their all in hope and next to nothing in hand. And Henry goes on to say, But all things considered, it is better to have Canaan in promise than Mount Seir in possession. Now, of course, the wicked of this world don't see it that way. What counts is this life and the riches that one can accumulate on this earth. After all, the gospel, according to the bumper sticker, says, he who dies with the most toys wins. And we must confess that sometimes it's hard when we look at the world and those that we know who lie and cheat and steal to get ahead in life and they give evidence by their thoughts and their words and their deeds that they hate God. They have no regard for Him. They're not worried about their eternal well-being. And in some ways, we wait for lightning from the sky to strike them, but it never seems to happen. Instead, they prosper in this life. Their businesses grow. They've got more customers than time to serve them. It seems like they have wealth to burn and they enjoy elaborate vacations and all the weekend toys that one could ever imagine. Now, it's not to say that God's people are deprived of these things. We're not. We enjoy so many physical blessings of this life, but the point is, the things of this life are the things that drive the wicked. They're the things that motivate the wicked. They're the things that the godless live for. But yet, we must also confess that sometimes we are tempted to play their game, to try out their lifestyle, aren't we? You see, it just doesn't seem fair. That was Asaph's problem in Psalm 73. As you know, I think one of my favorite psalms. Beloved, I don't know about you, but I have to keep coming back to that psalm again and again. I need to be constantly reminded of the danger of walking by sight. And the truth that things aren't always as they seem to be. Looks, as we say, and in this case, the apparent happiness of the wicked in their prosperity, Looks can be deceiving. Turn with me to Psalm 73 as we read a fairly large portion of that psalm. Psalm 73. A psalm of Asaph. No doubt each one of us can find at least a bit of ourselves in what Asaph writes here, especially in the first 20 verses. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart, But as for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles. Their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man. They are not plagued by human ills. Therefore, pride is their necklace. They clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity. The evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff and speak with malice. In their arrogance, they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore, their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, how can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge? This is what the wicked are like. Always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure. In vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued, I have been punished every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground. You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors, as a dream when one awakes. So when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. Beloved Esau walked by sight. We're told he took wives from the women of Canaan. He had disrespect for the traditions of his father and grandfather. Both Abraham and Isaac desired for their sons to marry from within the family, from within the covenant community, but Esau cut himself off from the chosen people. Instead of separating himself from the sinful people around him, he came into the closest possible union with them at the expense of his soul. Young people, boys and girls, did you hear that? That's what happens. He came into the closest possible union with them at the expense of his soul. Don't play with the fire of the world. Even though we're told the land could not support the livestock of both Esau and Jacob, and therefore Esau went to another country, by leaving the land of promise, Esau demonstrated, he despised God's gift and the places that had become precious to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. He had despised the land of promise. He looked for present gain and advantage and he despised the divine promises and everything associated with God's revelation. He walked by sight. And when we look at Esau, beloved, we must hear the words of Jesus when he says, what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world? yet forfeits his soul. And we know the answer, don't we? There is no good in store for one like that. In fact, Esau would always be known as one who spurned the grace of God, who rejected God. Remember, Esau was also called Edom, which means red. Boys and girls, do you remember why? He sold his birthright to Jacob for some of Jacob's red stew. So he was called Edom, which means red. You see, he didn't care about his place and position in God's covenant community. Remember, Esau was a covenant child. He had the sign of the covenant. He was circumcised. He had baptism, as it were. But he wasn't interested in it. It meant nothing to him. And his rejection of God stayed with him in his name, read, all throughout his history. Hebrews 12, verses 15-17 says, See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. And the question that we must consider here is, what do the promises of God given to you in your baptism, what do they mean to you? Are those promises precious to you? Are you humbled by God's promise to you that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, All of your sins are washed away. You are white as snow. And you have eternal life. Are you humbled by such a precious, precious, the most precious gift one could ever receive, so undeserved by you and me, yet so freely given? Or don't you care? Are you more concerned about this life and what you can get out of it? And you simply don't care about what comes next. We are not to treat God's covenant blessings with contempt like Esau did. We are not to despise the Christian influences God has placed over and in our lives. It is a great privilege to grow up in a godly home, boys and girls, with believing parents who love you and who love your soul enough to punish you when you deserve to be punished and need to be punished. And to build you up as well. To teach you about the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a privilege to be taught the Bible by Christian teachers at school and in the church. And there's no greater privilege than to sit under the true preaching of the Word of God Lord's Day by Lord's Day to be fed with that means of grace through which God has chosen to save those who believe. There's nothing more powerful except for God Himself. Beloved, we are not to envy the prosperity of the wicked, but remember, as Asaph learned, their end is destruction. Their earthly blessings, and indeed they are blessings from God's hand of His common grace, those things they enjoy, those blessings they enjoy in this life will indeed testify against them one day on Judgment Day because they have not seen God's hand of provision in them. They have not turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance, seeking His forgiveness. They have not turned to God, the giver of every good and perfect gift for life. Edom was eventually destroyed, but Esau's name was immortalized, as we might say, as reminding us that he rejected God. But not Jacob. Jacob's name means deceiver, and we know why. But that name was overshadowed by and changed by the new name that he had been given, Israel, meaning wrestled with God. Indeed, Jacob lived by faith. He became a greater nation than Esau. He became the nation from which the line of Judah would come. Jacob had the promise of God's covenant of grace, which was even greater than any plot of land. It was greater than any amount of livestock. It was even greater than the greatest earthly king. Jacob never saw with his physical eyes the fulfillment of God's covenant promises. His life was a life of turmoil, as we know, but he saw the fulfillment by faith, through the eyes of faith. You see, Jacob was just as unworthy as Esau to be the recipient of God's promise, to be the chosen one from whose family line the Messiah would come. In Jacob and Esau, we see God's sovereignty in salvation, choosing of His own good pleasure those to be the heirs of Christ. Jacob, that is Israel, had to wait many centuries for the fulfillment of kings and land all along, all the time watching the prosperity of the wicked. He would receive all the promises given to him by God, but only after a long refining period and a time of proving their faith. And we know the history of Israel. We know her struggles. We know her sin. We know her captivity. We know that when it appeared there was no longer any hope when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Beloved, God tests our faith. He refines us as gold is refined by fire so that without a doubt we are brought to trust completely in Him. Israel enjoyed the complete realization of all of God's promises in Jesus Christ, the promised seed of the woman who defeated the ruler of this world and set up an everlasting kingdom. Whose land is the heavenly Canaan. Whose nation is the church. Spiritual Israel. All those, yet only those, but all those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Genesis 37, verse 2 begins, this is the account of Jacob. And then it begins with Joseph. Not Reuben the firstborn. Not Judah. The one who would be more directly the line of Christ. Not anyone else, but Joseph. And again, in Joseph, we see how God worked His purpose in growing and advancing the line, the family line, that would bring forth His Son, our salvation. And through the Joseph stories, beloved, we see the sovereignty of God and how no one can stop His plan. We see how God proves Himself to be worthy of our trust. Beloved, today we have been given the confidence of salvation. We live by faith. Yet we are still surrounded by so many things that we can see. And our sight and faith so often contradict each other. Creation out of nothing. We believe it by faith. But yet, when you look around, it's a little bit hard to understand. God's law makes no sense, especially in our day. Homosexuality, gay marriages, abortion, living together. In the sight of mankind, these things are fine. They're convenient. What's wrong with them? It makes the world a better place. But by faith, we know that God despises these things. Loving my neighbor as myself. That certainly doesn't get me ahead in life. That doesn't put bread on the table. That doesn't provide for my family, you see. It's survival of the fittest. We are surrounded by temptation as we still today see the prosperity of the wicked. And more and more we experience the danger of the church in this life. Many scoff at the church and ridicule us and our faith is tested, but we look forward to that great day when the author and the finisher of our faith, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, appears in all of His glory. And just as the promises to Jacob have been and continue to be fulfilled, all of God's promises to you and me will be fulfilled. Praise God, we don't have to walk by sight. Because that would be pretty depressing, wouldn't it? Just look around. Praise God, we live by faith. we know what has happened. We know what's going to happen. Stand firm, beloved. Jesus Christ is victorious. God is still faithful and will bring about His purpose for us. That was Asaph's confidence after the Lord brought him to his senses. We didn't even read the best part of Psalm 73. Go home and read it. He knew that he was protected by God's grace for this life. And he was assured of God's glory for eternity. Brothers and sisters, the kingdoms of this world seem to flourish and prosper at the expense of the kingdom of God. But even though our Lord tarries in coming, wait for it. Wait for His coming. Look for it. Expect it. Anticipate it. And be assured that the final announcement will be the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever. This world is ever-changing. It doesn't stay the same. It will not last forever. But praise God, our God is changeless. And His promises to you and me are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. Esau, whom God hated, as Scripture says, represents all those who walk by sight, who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and desire to live by their own terms. Jacob, whom God loved, as Scripture says, represents all those who live by faith, who have been chosen and called by God, and who by God's grace trust the promise of God in Christ. Those who side with Esau, though they may prosper in this life, It will not last. Obadiah 21 says, Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau and the kingdom will be the Lord's. And what is the end of all those who set themselves up against God and against His people? As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15-25, Then the end will come when He, that is Christ, hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power, for He must reign until He has put all, all His enemies under His feet. But what is God's promise for all who put their hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone? The Word of God is filled with it. But just one this morning, Isaiah says, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. they will walk and not be faint. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You that when our eyes deceive us, yet the faith You have given to us sees things clearly. We thank You, O Lord, for that gift of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for that precious gift of salvation. We thank You, Lord, that there is no question about the future, the eternal future of Your people. But we will live with You forever and ever. Father, we pray that You will continue to prepare us for that day. May we desire that day. And may you be praised. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.