Faith & God's Deliverance
Faith and God’s Deliverance
Main Idea: Faith embraces God’s surprising deliverance on our behalf & gives glory to him alone.
I. Our Problem Again (4:1-3)
Judges takes place between the Exodus & the beginning of the Monarchy in Israel. It tells of the devastating downward spiral of God’s people into greater & greater unfaithfulness. God raised up “judges” to be military leaders & deliverers to rescue the people from the consequences of their sin.
The key verse in Judges (4x): “In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”
The Judges Cycle:
Sin & False Worship
Oppression
Crying out for Help
God Raises up a Judge
Peace
Like the people of Israel, we too turn back sin “again” because there is a promise of comfort, control, security, and predictability. Idol worship is an attempt to control and manipulate ‘god’ to what we really want and what is “right in our own eyes.”
“An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” ~ Tim Keller
The oppression in the book of Judges is a physical picture of a spiritual reality that is true for everyone: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)
II. God’s Glory Alone (4:4-10)
The book of Judges reminds us over and over again that God’s grace is relentless toward the undeserving. He hears the cries of his people & raises us two people to lead them out of their bondage:
Deborah: prophetess & judge over Israel; the people came to her in order to settle disputes and for wisdom & guidance
Barak: called by God to lead the people in military victory over Sisera & his mighty army. Barak, however, wants assurance that Deborah will join him for this military conquest (4:8)
“What are we witnessing when Barak refuses to set out without this woman? Not cowardice – but faith: faith, that is, which is the glorious combination of a humble confession of his own inadequacy and a sure confidence in the grace of God.” ~ Michael Wilcock
Barak is the one who ultimately shows up in Hebrews 11 as acting in faith; he believes the word of the Lord, as communicated through Deborah, and is willing to lead a seemingly impossible military conquest where he will not receive the glory & where God will deliver his people in a surprising and unexpected way.
III. God’s Victory Accomplished (4:11-16)
The book of Judges reminds us that God is sovereignly in control, no matter what it might look like and even if we have a hard time seeing it. The victory of Sisera shows us this reality.
A seemingly random “re-location” (4:11) is going to led to the death of Sisera (4:17-22)
Deborah instructs Barak to go down from Mt. Tabor, down from their strategic advantage, to the chariots because “the Lord goes out before you” (4:14)
The Lord “routed” the Canaanites and they are defeated before Israel; Judges 5, a song of worship reflecting on this victory, tells us that God brought about a massive thunderstorm (5:4-5) & that the waters of the Kidron river became a flash flood (5:20-21)
Hebrews 11:33-34: “... who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises … were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”
The unexpected & surprising victory of God is meant to showcase his glory & to call his people out of their sin into an enduring faith. Since we also have been delivered in an unexpected & surprising way (the cross of Christ) from an even greater enemy (sin, death, evil, and Satan) to an even better victory, we are invited to turn to God in an enduring faith and repentance.
“Deborah sang concerning the overthrow of Israel’s enemies, and the deliverance given to the tribes: we have a far richer theme for music; we have been delivered from worse enemies and saved by a greater salvation. Let our gratitude be deeper; let our song be more jubilant. Glory be unto God, we can say that our sins, which were like mighty hosts, have been swept away, not by that ancient river, the river Kishon, but by streams which flowed from Jesus’ side. Our great enemy has been overcome, and his head is broken. Not Sisera, but Satan has been overthrown: the “seed of the woman has bruised his head” forever. We are now ransomed from the galling yoke; we walk at liberty through the power of the great Liberator, the Lord Jesus.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Faith and the Faithful One
Heb 11:30-31; cf. Josh. 2:1-14, 6:15-17, 24-25 | Because God is faithful, we can and should exercise bold faith.
Faith and the Faithful One
Main Idea: Because God is faithful, we can and should exercise bold faith.
Joshua 2:9-11
[9] and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. [10] For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. [11] And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
God’s Faithfulness in the Past (What He’s said and what He’s done)
Moses and the Exodus
Our Opportunity in the Present (Trust in Him or trust in self)
The Responses of Jericho and Rahab
Jericho
Rahab
Plea for mercy,
Joshua 2:12-14
[12] Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign [13] that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” [14] And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
Romans 2:3-5
[3] Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? [4] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? [5] But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
The Reality of the Situation
Romans 3:23
[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23a
[23] For the wages of sin is death,
“When I had young children, I heard a report that moved me to tears, then rage. The previous morning, a father and his young daughter were in their yard when a car jumped the curb and struck the child. The driver was drunk and had just been released from jail for drunk driving the night before. It was his fifth arrest, so the law required substantial jail time. But the judged chose to ignore the law and a child died as a result. My initial grief shifted to anger at a judge who failed to do justice. There are great evils in this world. People do terrible things, sometimes for generations. Canaan did great evil and God stopped it.”
-The Gospel Coalition
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
By faith, will you today, not presume on the kindness of God and through faith repent and believe?
Faith & The Water
Hebrews 11:29 & Exodus 14:10-31 | Faith moves forward safely through judgment, trusting God’s sovereign plan & steadfast presence.
Faith & The Water
Hebrews 11:29 & Exodus 14:10-31
Main Idea: Faith moves forward safely through judgment, trusting God’s sovereign plan & steadfast presence.
I. Fear Not (14:13a)
As the people leave Egypt victoriously (Ex. 12:35-36) and defiantly (Ex. 14:8), God does not lead them out by the quickest or sensible route. Instead, he leads them to what seems like a horrible location and a “trap” with an impassable sea in front & an unstoppable army behind.
Why is God leading his people to this place?
To showcase his power & his glory (14:4, 17-18, 31)
To work in the hearts of his people
“God will take you where you haven't intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. It is uncomfortable grace, but it is still divine, tender grace.” ~ Paul Tripp
Moses, the mediator between God and his people, exhorts the Israelites to “fear not” in this impossible situation because he trusts God’s sovereign plan and his steadfast presence.
II. Stand Firm (14:13b)
In the face of these circumstances, the Israelites are tempted to turn back to Egypt & their bondage. This is the exact temptation of the recipients of Hebrews: the author is urging them “not to throw away their confidence” (Heb. 10:35) by turning back to Judaism; he reminds them that they are not those who “shrink back and are destroyed, but are those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:39).
“We are often tempted to do the same thing [as the Israelites]. God wants to bring us all the way out of our sins. Our problem is that we only come out part way. We decide to follow Christ, but as soon as we start having problems, we get scared and go right back to our old ways of coping... No matter how much we used to hate it, there was security in the way we used to live.” ~ Philip Ryken
Galatians 5:1: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
III. Be Silent (14:14)
Before faith can “go forward” it must be silent & still. In our hurried, busy culture, this posture feels foreign and uncomfortable to us but it is necessary to “see the salvation of the Lord” (14:13).
“I dare say you will think it a very easy thing to stand still, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. I find that marching and quick marching are much easier to God’s warriors than standing still. It is, perhaps, the first thing we learn in the drill of human armies, but it is one of the most difficult to learn under the Captain of our salvation.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
The command to “be still” is a call to remember who God is and who we are (cf. Ps. 46); the Israelites had a mistaken identity crisis here: they were spectators not soldiers (“The Lord will fight for you”). The same is true in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
IV. Go Forward (14:15; Heb. 11:29)
The call to “go forward” in faith meant:
1. Leaving behind the bondage of Egypt
2. Crossing through the waters by God’s grace
The Lord “flanks” his people with his presence as a guard and a guide: the angel and the pillar of cloud behind them, the “staff” of the shepherd in the front, and the “wind” (lit. ‘spirit’) driving back the waters as a wall on each side.
3. Passing from death to life
The waters are simultaneously a place of death and life; the waters of judgment crash down on the Egyptians, but by God’s sovereign grace and power, the Israelites walk across on dry land to new life. Their “baptism” into Moses (1 Cor. 10:2) prefigures our baptism into Christ.
The life of faith is a life of “going forward,” trusting that we have crossed from death to life because Jesus has gone through the “waters of judgment” (Mark 10:38) on our behalf and was raised victoriously from the grave three days later.
Faith & The Blood of the Lamb
Hebrews 11:28 & Exodus 12:1-14 | Faith trusts the blood & beholds the lamb as our only hope for salvation.
Faith & The Blood of the Lamb
Hebrews 11:28 & Exodus 12:1-14
Main Idea: Faith trusts the blood & beholds the lamb as our only hope for salvation.
I. Faith & The Passover
Pharoah refuses to let God’s people go even after 9 devastating plagues & warnings from the Lord. God gives warning of a final, horrible plague: “every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die” (Ex. 11:5).
Exodus 4:22–23: Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
This haunting final plague is a reminder that sin is a serious offense before a holy & righteous God. Sin is not just something to “overlook” but is always associated with death itself, even from the Garden of Eden. Romans 6:23a: For the wages of sin is death…
For the Israelites, the Passover has massive significance from this moment forward; it becomes the paradigm for salvation in the Old Testament. It was so important that God instructs them to reorder their rendering of time itself around this event, allowing it to set the agenda (Ex. 12:1-2).
II. Faith & The Blood
Even though Israel is God’s chosen people, they are not exempt from the Destroyer & judgment. Judgment day will come for every single person (Heb. 9:27). There is no distinction between the “guilty” and the “innocent” ones; the only distinction is in the blood.
“The Israelites deserve the judgment of death just as much as the Egyptians. If this was simply a story of political liberation, then Israel would be the innocent victims. They wouldn’t need to fear judgment. But the truth is that they were sinners deserving of death. The Israelites had to daub the blood on the doorposts precisely because they were as guilty as the Egyptians... The blood is daubed around the doors not because God can’t tell who is inside the house, but because he can! He knows there are sinners inside” ~ Tim Chester
It was not Jewish blood that would save them from death, but only the blood of the lamb applied to their doorposts. The blood is:
Sacrificial: atonement is necessary to settle the debt of sin: “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb 9:22b)
Substitutionary: applying the blood to the doorpost is an acknowledgement of sin & recognition that someone needed to die in my place
“The concept of substitution may be said to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.” ~ John Stott
In all of this, Passover & the blood are only a “sign” (Ex. 12:13) pointing forward to a greater reality: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). The “shadow” of Passover is ultimately seen in the “substance” of Jesus Christ.
III. Faith & The Lamb
The Israelites were instructed to keep this Passover meal as “a memorial day… a feast to the Lord throughout your generations, as a statute forever.” (Ex. 12:14) The coming of Christ and his own administration over the Passover meal at the Last Supper give us a continuing memorial today to participate in with faith.
The lamb is noticeably missing from the Last Supper with his disciples because Jesus is the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29). Jesus, the firstborn of the Father, perfect, spotless one, is the Lamb of God who was slain as a sacrifice and substitute in our place (1 Cor. 5:7).
1 Peter 1:18-19: “… knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
If we want to endure in faith today, we must look backward to the sacrificial and subtitutionary death of Jesus, while we simultaneously look forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-10).
1 Corinthians 11:26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10 | The resurrection of Christ is an invitation to courageous hope in place of fear.
The Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10
Main Idea: The resurrection of Christ is an invitation to courageous hope in place of fear.
I. The Eyewitnesses (28:1-4)
The disciples are noticeably absent from the tomb on Sunday morning; even though Jesus had directly told them three times that he would be raised, they did not have the ability to comprehend and they are hiding in fear.
Those who were at the tomb include:
Mary Magdalene & the “other” Mary, who are coming to visit the tomb & anoint Jesus’ body for burial (cf. Mk. 16:1)
An angel, accompanied by an earthquake, rolls back the stone; the symbol of death is now merely a seat for the warrior-messenger of God.
Roman guards placed there by Pilate (27:55-56); though they were supposed to be guarding a dead man’s tomb, they themselves “become like dead men”
Acts 2:24: God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
No one was expecting the resurrection of Jesus, but in the midst of what was likely a quiet, ordinary Sunday morning outside of Jerusalem, everything was being changed.
II. The Empty Tomb (28:5-7)
The angel encourages the women (“Do not be afraid”), reflecting the gracious and sympathetic heart of God toward sufferers & sinners. The empty tomb is an invitation to a new life and a new hope instead of fear.
3 realities of the empty tomb:
1. He is risen “as he said” (28:6a)
The resurrection is the validation & authentication of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
John 10:17–18: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”
1 Corinthians 15:3–4: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
2 Corinthians 1:20: For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
“The truest fact of the universe is an empty tomb. The Resurrection is the only evidence that love triumphs over death, weakness prevails over strength, and beauty outlives ashes. If Jesus is risen in actual history, with all the palpability of flesh, fingers, bone, and blood, there is hope that our mourning will be comforted, and that death will not have the final word.” ~ Tish Harrison Warren
2. We are invited to “come and see” (28:6b)
“The reason the stone was rolled away on Jesus's tomb was not so that Jesus could get out, but so that we could get in.” ~ Tim Keller
3. We are commissioned & compelled to “go and tell” (28:7)
Even though women were not considered valid eyewitnesses in a courtroom during this time period, they are the first to receive the commissioning to bear witness to the greatest news the world has ever heard.
III. The Experience of Easter (28:8-10)
As the women depart from the tomb they are full of “fear” mixed with “great joy” (lit. ‘mega’ joy). Suddenly, Jesus meets them on their way and these women become the first people to encounter the risen Christ. They grab hold of his feet, which were pierced for their and for our forgiveness, in worship.
“These men he calls ‘brothers’ were at that very moment sniveling cowards at best and insurrectionists at worst. They were hiding in a room somewhere, listening for the sound of soldiers’ feet. They had walked away from Christ & him crucified. They were ashamed of the gospel. But he wasn’t ashamed of them.” ~ Russell Moore
The invitation to meet the risen Christ is extended to each of us today; because the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive, he beckons us right now to come to him in faith & repentance. As we come to him, we are invited to a life of courageous hope and faith in place of our fears.
1 Peter 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
The Crucifixion
Matthew 27:32-56 | Jesus victoriously endured the shame, mockery, & condemnation of crucifixion to accomplish salvation for us.
The Crucifixion
Matthew 27:32-56
Main Idea: Jesus victoriously endured the shame, mockery, & condemnation of crucifixion to accomplish salvation for us.
I. The Contempt of the Cross (27:32-44)
The mockery and contempt of Jesus are hauntingly ironic:
The man mocked as king is the King of all kings (27:37)
The one scorned by the religious leaders as a false Messiah is the ultimate temple of God (27:39-40)
The one who refuses to ‘save himself’ will be the Savior of many (27:41-44)
The jeering & mockery of the bystanders echo the temptations of Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4. They are participating in an ancient conspiracy with demonic origins even though they do not realize what is happening.
“Jesus could not save himself, not because of any physical constraint, but because of a moral imperative. He came to do his Father’s will, and he would not be deflected from it... It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will—and, within that framework, it was his love for sinners like me. He really could not save himself.” ~ D.A. Carson
II. The Cry of the Cross (27:45-50)
A supernatural darkness of divine judgment covered the land from 12pm-3pm, when the sun should be at its brightest; Jesus’ death is ultimately a sin-bearing death on behalf of a guilty humanity.
“Part of the whole point of the cross is that there the weight of the world’s evil really did converge upon Jesus, blotting out the sunlight of God’s love as surely as the light of day was blotted out for three hours… Jesus is ‘giving his life as a ransom for many’ (20:28), and the sin of the ‘many’, which he is bearing, has for the first and only time in his experience caused a cloud to come between him and the father he loved and obeyed, the one who had been delighted in him.” ~ N.T. Wright
Though the physical pain of crucifixion was immense, the gospel writers emphasize the existential & spiritual pain of Jesus on the cross. His cry from Psalm 22 is from a place of forsakenness as he “bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).
“[Jesus] is not on the cross by mistake… The crucifixion was not just an unfortunate thing that happened to Jesus on his way to the resurrection. It is not a momentary blip on the arc of his ascent to the Father. It is precisely on the cross that the work of Jesus is carried through to its completion.” ~ Fleming Rutledge
III. The Completion of the Cross (27:51-56)
Immediately after Jesus “yielded up his spirit” in death, three things occur:
1. The temple curtain is torn in two (27:51a)
Hebrews 10:19–22a: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
2. Death starts to work backwards (27:51b-53)
3. A Roman centurion confesses & cries out in faith (27:54)
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Faith & The Bigger Story
Heb. 11:22, Gen. 50:15-26 | Faith fights to see the bigger story God is writing while trusting his promises for the future.
Faith & The Bigger Story
Hebrews 11:22 | Genesis 50:15-26
Main Idea: Faith fights to see the bigger story God is writing while trusting his promises for the future
I. Faith & Forgiveness (Heb. 11:22a | Gen. 50:15-21)
Joseph’s brothers, motivated by their own guilt, ask for his forgiveness (again) after the death of their father Jacob. Joseph’s words & posture toward his undeserving brothers are a living picture of enduring faith.
His faith is seen in this offer of forgiveness in 4 ways:
1. He humbly refuses to take the place of God (50:19)
Romans 12:19: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
2. He honestly identifies sin as sin (50:20a)
3. He honors God’s sovereignty & faithfulness in the big story (50:20b)
Acts 2:22–23: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” ~ John Piper
4. He exhibits the heart of Christ (50:21)
Joseph uses his position of power & privilege to care for his brothers who are undeserving. It is better to view Joseph as a signpost to a greater reality rather than an example to follow.
“Each sentence of his threefold reply is a pinnacle of faith. To leave all the righting of one’s wrongs to God, to see his providence in man’s malice, and to repay evil not only with forgiveness but also with practical affection, are attitudes which [are] Christlike” ~ Derek Kidner
Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.”
II. Faith & The Future (Heb. 11:22b | Gen. 50:22-26)
Joseph had many moments throughout his life that showcased his enduring faith, but the author of Hebrews emphasizes this end of life scene. This is a moment of defining faith for a few reasons:
He looks in faith to his true home & identity
Joseph had spent nearly his entire life in Egypt; he was second in command at the right hand of Pharaoh, saved their country from famine, took an Egyptain wife and had Egyptian children. Despite being fully immersed in Egyptian culture, Joseph knew this wasn’t his true home nor his true identity.
Hebrews 11:13–14, 16a: These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland... But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
He trusts the promises of God in faith
Joseph confidently spoke of the Exodus because he had full confidence that God would keep his promises that he made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
“[Joseph’s] coffin was going to point subsequent generations forward, allowing them to recognize that the reason the coffin was being kept was not on account of some morbid interest in bones, but it was being kept in order that it may stand as a vital symbol to the provision of God in the past and to the prospect of a glorious deliverance in the future.” ~ Alistair Begg
He looks in faith to God’s coming
“God will surely visit you” (50:25) is the storyline of the Bible. Some 400 years after this moment, God does indeed visit his people in the Exodus from Egypt; some 1,500 years later, he visited his people in the incarnation of Jesus Christ; this creed is the same thing that those of faith still cling to today as we await the restoration of all things at the return of Christ.
Faith in the Face of Death
Hebrews 11:21 | We can face death full of faith by resting in the grace of God.
Faith in the Face of Death
Hebrews 11:21
MIS: We can face death full of faith by resting in the grace of God.
I. Dying by Faith (Hebrews 11:21, Genesis 47:29-30, 48:3,15)
Cropping God into His Past (48:3,15)
Recognizes God in the Present (47:29-30)
Cropping God into His Future (47:30, 48:21)
2. Blessing by Faith (Genesis 48:8-20)
1. Jacob’s Low Position (47:3-6)
2. Joseph’s High Position (48:1)
“Faith prefers grace to talent, and piety to cleverness; she lays her right hand where God lays it, and not where beauty of person or quickness of intellect would suggest. Our best child is that which God calls best; faith corrects reason and accepts the divine verdict.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exultation, and the rich in his humiliation.” (James 1:9)
3. God’s Riches (48:15-16)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3)
3. Worshipping by Faith
Jacob’s Gratitude (48:11)
Jacob’s Dependence (48:15)
Jacob’s Testimony (48:3-4)
Jacob’s Posture (48:12)
How does the heal grabbing, selfish, lying, manipulating, hollow, cowardly, shallow, vain, hedonistic, calculating … man Jacob die, bless, and worship by faith?
By grace, through faith. (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 9:11-23)
“By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.” Hebrews 11:21
“24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” (Genesis 32:24–30)
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
Faith & The Ultimate Blessing
Heb. 11:20; Gen. 27:1-13, 18-29 | The life of faith embraces God’s sovereign work of blessing the undeserving and redeeming the unlikely.
Faith & The Ultimate Blessing
Hebrews 11:20 | Genesis 27:1-13, 18-29
Main Idea: The life of faith embraces God’s sovereign work of blessing the undeserving and redeeming the unlikely.
I. The Unlikely Blessing
Isaac & Rebekah experienced infertility just like Abraham & Sarah, but after 20 years the Lord grants them their desire for children. The promises given to Abraham (Genesis 12:3) run through the line of Isaac, the promised child.
Genesis 25:23: And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
God is breaking the customary pattern and privileges of the firstborn son in this society. God often works in unlikely ways with unlikely people, turning upside down the values and standards of the world.
1 Corinthians 1:26–29: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
“If we were designing a movement to take over the world and claim dominion over the universe, you would not come up with Christianity… the beauty of the gospel is that you don't have to be great to wield its power… It actually helps if you’re not great. Because the gospel’s greatness is enough.” ~ Jared Wilson
II. The Undeserved Blessing
God’s choosing & working in this family was not only unlikely; they are also completely undeserving. Every figure in this dysfunctional family has their own contribution to this story:
Isaac: shows favoritism toward Esau (Gen. 25:27-28), is driven by his cravings, desiring to give Esau the blessing instead of Jacob
Esau: flippantly already “sold” his birthright for stew (Gen. 25:29-34), shirking responsibility to lead his people
Rebekah: shows favoritism toward Jacob & is the mastermind behind this deceptive plan
Jacob: name literally means “heel-grabber” & deceiver; his life is marked by behavior just like this story
“Fulfilling God’s plans is a family of faith and failure: Isaac who depends on his fallible senses and lacks resoluteness, Rebekah who acts by domination and deception, and Jacob who deceives and blasphemously lies. This is a message of hope for the church, for the irruption of the kingdom of God ultimately depends on God’s sovereign grace, not on human faithfulness. God’s promise of hope overrides all of this failure, ultimately using these fallible people to accomplish his good work.” ~ Bruce Waltke
The ‘blessing’ at the center of this story is more than just “well-wishes;” this fatherly blessing (lit. ‘eulogize’) had to do with the trajectory and destiny of their future. Isaac’s actions here are ultimately “by faith” (Heb. 11:20) because he trusts & yields to the promises of God for the future (Gen. 27:33).
III. The Ultimate Blessing
What does this story of faith in “future blessings” mean for us today as we seek to endure by faith? Two implications:
1. Our deepest desire for blessing has been offered to us in Jesus Christ, to be received by faith
We all crave the blessing and approval that is sought after in this story, but we often go about it in the wrong way. We either presume upon it (Esau), or we dress up like someone else, manipulate, and try to take control of what God has already promised (Rebekah & Jacob).
The life of faith comes just as we are to Jesus, the “firstborn” of all creation, who took on the curse of sin in our place (Gal. 3:13) so we might be blessed by his grace & mercy.
Romans 8:15–17: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
2. Our future blessings in Christ ought to produce present faithfulness and endurance
The content of the “future blessing” to Jacob (Gen. 27:27-29) included provision, power, and honor. The banquet table of the lamb awaits us in the future, where there will be no more sin, death, suffering, and we will commune with the Lord “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12).