20260104 Sermon Genesis 25:19-34 God’s Election of a Deceiver

Introduction

Recap

The life of Jacob is the third big movement in the book of Genesis. It follows the Primeval History of Gen 1-11 and the life of Abraham in Gen 12-25. Gen 1-11 reveal God’s plan for the world, the meaning of life, the destructiveness of sin, God’s holiness to judge and his grace to save sinners.

While Genesis 1-11 left us with the problem of sinful humanity, Genesis 12-25 presented the solution. Through Abraham, God promised a New Edenic Land, a blessing for all the families of the world, and an offspring who would save the world. These promises anticipate the reversal the consequences of sin. Today, Christians inherit God’s promises to Abraham. Christ is the promised offspring. He provides the blessing of forgiveness of sins and inaugurated the New Eden available to all the families of the world who trust in him.

Importance of Jacob

Genesis 25 turns from Abraham to one called “deceiver,” or “trickster,” or “heel grabber,” or “Jacob.” According to Genesis 3:15, the savior would come through one who would bruise the head of the snake, while bruising his heel in the process. Jacob is the “heel grabber.” He’ll be more like the snake than the savior, and yet he is God’s chosen one in his generation. It is through his line that Jesus, the savior, will come.

Jacob’s life goes from Gen 25 to 50, so he takes up half the book of Genesis. He is an important individual. Jacob’s name gets changed to Israel and the names Jacob or Israel appear almost 3000 times in the Old Testament. So Abraham is the father of the faith but it is the life of Jacob that most shapes Israel’s understanding of herself.

Framework for Understanding the Jacob Narrative

The narrative of the life of Jacob revisits the foundational stories and themes of Genesis 1-11. Jacob will know blessing, deception, division, exile, violence, judgment, deliverance, and a type of new creation.

The life of Jacob revisits previous patterns while anticipating the future. The movements of Jacob’s life in Gen 25 to 36 are repeated in the life of the nation of Israel in Exodus to Deuteronomy. Jacob begins in the land then because of sibling rivalry he is exiled into a foreign land. While he is a slave, he becomes great in number. He flees from his oppressor who chases him. God protects him and leads him up to a mountain to make a covenant. On his way back into the promised land, Jacob rids himself of idols and fights foreign nations. Israel relives each of these movements as a nation from Genesis 37 to their return to the Promised Land in Joshua with sibling rivalry, slavery in Egypt, growing great in number, fleeing their oppressor, the Covenant at Mount Sinai, the idolatry of Golden Calf, and fighting foreign nations. Then, Israel's story in the rest of the OT is also simply repeating the life of Jacob. The kingdom is split in two, we have sibling rivalry, exile, a ridding of idolatry and conflict with foreign nations, before a return in the land.

We see that the life of Jacob is not just a biography but the patterns repeated reveal that Jacob’s life is a lesson for Israel and the church. Like Jacob, we are God’s chosen people to bring God’s blessing to the world. Like Jacob, we struggle to trust God. We fight and struggle within the church that can lead to separation. We rely on our own strength rather than believing God is Good and has a good plan. Even when we disobey and have to suffer the consequences of our sins, the life of Jacob comforts us with this truth, God remains faithful to his promises to preserve his chosen to the end.

This is the story of Jacob, the story of Israel, and now our story as well.[i] We have a faithful God who blesses his people. We can trust him and obey him.

Outline

The story of Jacob begins in Gen 25:19-34 with the election of Isaac and Jacob. With Gen 25:19-34, we look at God’s Surprising Election in three points: (1) the purpose, (2) the patterns, and (3) the working out of God’s Surprising election.

First, we look at the purpose of God’s election: The Blessing of Abraham is passed on to Isaac in Gen 25:11

Gen 25:11

Election is God's way of blessing the world. In Genesis, God wants to bless the whole world. God chooses or elects some in order to bless the whole world. When God chooses Abraham, his election is with the purpose of blessing all the families of the world. God chose the people of Israel to be a light to the nations so that they would bless the whole world. Jesus commissions his disciples, his chosen ones, to make disciples of all nations, to bless the world.

God chooses Jacob, and the nation of Israel for the sake of the world. God wants his blessing of his chosen to overflow to others. This is seen clearly in Isa 29. Isa 29: 24In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” If Egypt and Assyria two archenemies can become God’s people, then God’s blessing truly has extended to the ends of the earth. Rev 7:9-10, “No one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The way God blesses the world is by choosing some who will extend his blessing to the world.

God blessed Abraham to be a blessing to all the families of the world. In Genesis 25:11, the blessing of Abraham passes down to Isaac. This blessing includes all the elements of God’s covenant with Abraham. It is through Isaac’s line that God will bless all the families of the world and reverse the consequences of sin.

Application

Many of us do not like the idea of election or predestination. In Genesis, God chooses some for the sake of the world. In the NT, some text focus on God’s Sovereign choice to save individuals according to his purposes. Both God’s choices of individuals and a collective are for the sake of blessing the world.

Even when the NT speaks of God’s choice of individuals, election is connected with enjoying God’s blessing so the tone of those passages is worship. In Matt 11:25, notice the joy. Jesus says, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children 26 yes Father, for such was your gracious will.”

Now Paul, in Eph 1, again notice the joy. “Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace…”

Both Jesus and Paul could sing worship songs about the doctrine of election. We can as well. God’s election is his way of blessing. He always chooses some, for the sake of the others. God’s election begins in Genesis 3. God choses a son of Eve who will crushes the devil to reverse the consequences of sins and bring the forgiveness of sins. God chose Abraham to be the one through whom the blessing comes. Then he chose Isaac, and then Jacob. Once Christ comes, the blessings is fulfilled.

Today, God chooses the Church as it practices simple gospel ministries, to be the agent of God’s blessing for the world. God chooses the church and the individuals that make up the church. We are chosen to share the hope of the gospel in a world marked by sin.  Sin in this world separates us from God and others and makes us all liable to God’s judgment. We are chosen to share the Good News about Jesus. On the basis of his reign over sin and death, Christ saves those who trust in him. Christians are predestined or chosen to point to Jesus to bring peace, love, and joy. The purpose of God’s election is to spread God’s blessing.

Second, we look at the Patterns of God’s Surprising election in Gen 25:19-23

Genesis 25:19-23

According to Gen 25:21, Rebekah, Isaac’s wife is barren. This reminds us of Sarah. While Abraham and Sarah schemed with Hagar, Isaac prays and God answers. Rebekah conceives twins, but they are at war within her. God tells her in Gen 25:23 that the struggle in her womb anticipates the pattern for the nations which we come from her sons. Before their birth, before neither had done anything good or bad, God says, “the older will serve the younger.” God defies the natural order of things. The same way he accepted Abel over his older brother Cain, the same way he chose Isaac over his older brother Ishmael, so the pattern of God’s election continues, he chooses the unexpected.

Application

Throughout the Bible, God’s election takes unexpected twists concerning the descendants of Jacob. According to Rom 9:6, not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Hosea had already taught as much. God told Hosea to call his son “Not my people” to teach Israel not to presume on God’s election. A chapter later, God declares, “I will say to Not my people, “you are my people.” Paul writes in Rom 9:30, “Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith.” In Col 1:21, God speaks again of the twist of the election of the Gentiles. Paul writes, “You, who once were alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” The shocking nature of God’s election is that when we expect it to go according to the natural order, some of Israel are not chosen, and some of the Gentiles are chosen.

What matters most is not that we would speculate on the mysteries of God’s unsearchable mind when it comes to election, but if God chooses us and blesses us, we live for the sake of others. Until the birth of Christ, the primary role of the chosen was to be the people into which the Messiah would be born to bring salvation to the world. Now that Christ is born, the chosen preach the gospel to those who are not part of God’s people that God would continue to surprise us with his surprising election.

The pattern of God’s election is that God surprises us. When it comes to election, we do not speculate. If we are chosen, we must act for the blessing for all around us.

Third, we see the Working Out of God’s Surprising Election in Gen 25:24-34.

Genesis 25:24-34

God chose Jacob over Esau before they were even born. The fact that they were twins highlights that God does not choose based on merit but according to his purposes. Now, what is shocking is how this election works out.

In Gen 25:25, the first son comes out Red or Edom, which will be the name of Esau's descendants. Note, that in Hebrew, before vowels were added, the word “Edom” was the same as “Adam.” Because he was hairy, the first born was called “Hairy” or "Esau" in Hebrew.

According to Gen 25:26, Jacob came out holding Esau’s heel. This is the first time the word “heel” appears since Gen 3:15. According to Gen 3:15, a child would bruise the snake’s head, and the snake would bruise his heel. Since Jacob goes for the heel, he is more like the snake than the promised savior. This will play out a few verses later.

Further context to the working out of God’s election is the family division. The boys were fighting in the womb. God said Rebekah had two nations in her womb. Now, following their birth, there is more division. Isaac preferred Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob.

In Gen 25:29-34, following God’s choice of Jacob over Esau, the working out of God’s election occurs through ordinary means. There never would have been a point in which either Jacob or Esau would have felt that God had overridden their agency. Gen 25:29-34 is about a firstborn called Edom/Adam who gives up his firstborn right for a meal because he is deceived by a snake-like individual who goes for the heel. This is a repeat of Genesis 3, where Adam, the firstborn, gives up his blessing for a meal because of a deceiver who goes for the heel.

What is most striking in this replay is that the role of the snake in Genesis 25 is played by God’s chosen one. This is the surprising working out of God’s election. God even works out his purposes through people’s sin. He is not the author of sin, but he does use it.

 Application

The application cannot be act like Esau or act like Jacob. Jacob sinned and his sin is the means by which God confirms that he will inherit the promises of Abraham. Esau sinned by giving what was going to be his. The application is that if God chooses us, we must worship him and serve him humbly. God’s choice of Jacob teaches Christians about God’s choice of them. Being a Christian or God’s chosen does not in any way speak to our merit or worthiness. God chooses who he wills for his purposes. Our responsibility as his blessed people is to live for the blessing of others.

Conclusion

This foundational text of Jacob’s election over Esau teaches the nation of Israel about their special place in God’s plan to bring blessings to all the families of the world. The conflict between Jacob and Esau anticipates later conflict between Israel and Edom when Israel heads to the Promised Land in Numbers but also later when Israel returns from exile in Mal 1:2-5.

For us in the church, we see that what was true of Jacob remains true for us. God chooses us with the purpose of being a blessing to others. We should expect to be surprised at who God chooses to bless the world. When we see who God chooses, including ourselves, we know the success of God’s plan does not rest on our strength, ability, or skills. His purposes will work themselves out just as he intends because he is sovereign. Instead of concluding that it does not matter how we live, we should conclude the opposite. God’s sovereignty and election guarantee that the way we live matters. Because God guarantees to work out his plans, we can trust him and obey him, and participate in enjoying and sharing his blessing. The way God blesses the world is through his church and simple gospel ministries. These are prayer, gospel preaching, and the sacraments, the gospel signs and seals. As God’s chosen ones, we can leave our worship services with the intent of living out the gospel, turning from sin, forgiving others, offering the hope of the gospel when opportunities come up, and living out our lives for the glory of God and the love our neighbor. In these ways, we live in accordance with our election.

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[i] In Hosea 12:1-5, the prophet uses the story of trust to teach Israel that like Jacob, they are exiled for the lack of trust, but they will be restored. Isa 29:22-23 uses the life of Jacob to encourage Israel. There may be famines like in the life of Jacob, but God blessed Jacob in the end. Mal 1:2-3 recalls God’s choice of Jacob over Esau to assure Israel that he will never forsake his chosen ones. These lessons are still true for us from the life of Jacob.