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Esau's Birthright - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And Jacob said, Swear to me this day. And he
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  Speaker 1: swore unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
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  Speaker 1: Genesis 25.33 Dear Lord, through the eyes of this text,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for opening my eyes to ways of being
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  Speaker 1: that could derail my future. I declare that I will
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  Speaker 1: be mindful to cherish and to honor the inheritance you
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  Speaker 1: have for me as your child. I decree that I
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  Speaker 1: will not settle and sell myself short for the things
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  Speaker 1: in life that offer temporary pleasure and relief like Esau.
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  Speaker 1: Help me, Lord, to stay mindful and sober when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to the schemes of the enemy. I will guard
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  Speaker 1: my future and my promise with wisdom and wise counsel.
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  Speaker 1: I will not compromise my stance or my values. when
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  Speaker 1: opportunity is within reach. Instead, I will hold fast to
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  Speaker 1: that which belongs to me, for I know that you
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  Speaker 1: are my provider. Heavenly Father, man can only give what
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  Speaker 1: you allow. From this moment on, I guard what's mine.
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  Speaker 1: I stay alert at all times, and I wait for
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  Speaker 1: my promise to come to pass. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Esau's Birthright Before this story, we learned about Sarah passing away.
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  Speaker 2: and God's faithfulness to continue His promises through Isaac. He
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  Speaker 2: provided Isaac with a wife, Rebekah, and the two loved
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  Speaker 2: one another deeply. Now we will learn about the passing
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  Speaker 2: of Abraham and Isaac and Rebekah's sons, Jacob and Esau,
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  Speaker 2: as inspired by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, Simply go
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. In our previous passage, we learned
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  Speaker 3: of Sarah's passing and Abraham's quest to find a wife
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  Speaker 3: for Isaac, his son. A woman to help him carry
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  Speaker 3: on the family line and fulfill God's prophecy regarding Abraham's descendants. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we come to the end of Abraham's life. Far from
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  Speaker 3: being a perfect man, he was full of contradictions, faith
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  Speaker 3: and failings, trust and trepidation. God has been with him
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  Speaker 3: through it all, however, never wavering in his promise. Now
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  Speaker 3: his legacy is established. Abraham is ready to go to
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  Speaker 3: the Heavenly Father. Notice how, as he knows his time
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  Speaker 3: is nearing, Abraham continues to lead his family, seeking to
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  Speaker 3: establish for them a future and a fulfillment of God's plan.
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  Speaker 3: You'll hear how two brothers, Isaac and Ishmael, come together
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  Speaker 3: for the sake of honoring their father. We'll then hear
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  Speaker 3: about Isaac and Rebekah in a story that in many
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  Speaker 3: ways echoes that of Isaac's father and mother. The struggle
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  Speaker 3: to bear children, the patient waiting on God until finally
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  Speaker 3: God grants their greatest desire. But not just one child.
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  Speaker 3: God gave them twin boys. And as you probably have
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  Speaker 3: come to expect by now, when brothers are involved, strife
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  Speaker 3: is not far behind. Today's passage is no different, but
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  Speaker 3: listen as the struggles start before Rebecca even gives birth.
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  Speaker 3: This will not be a harmonious relationship, but it is
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  Speaker 3: made even worse by the parents who each choose a favorite.
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  Speaker 3: The seeds are being sown early for a difficult relationship
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  Speaker 3: and a conflict that divides a family. This theme of
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  Speaker 3: close family conflict is one that keeps getting repeated, and
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  Speaker 3: it's one that many of us know all too well
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  Speaker 3: from personal experience. What can we learn from this story
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  Speaker 3: to help us in our own situations with our own families?
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen to today's passage and see.
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  Speaker 2: In the last years of Abraham's life, he was married
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  Speaker 2: to a woman named Keturah, a young woman who bore
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  Speaker 2: him six sons. Abraham was blessed in his final years,
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  Speaker 2: getting to see more of God's promises unfold before his eyes.
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  Speaker 2: When he knew the time was near, He gathered gifts
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  Speaker 2: for his wife and sons and commissioned them to the
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  Speaker 2: east to be fruitful and start their own families. Yet
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  Speaker 2: Isaac was to remain in his land with Rebekah. Abraham,
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  Speaker 2: the father of nations and God's chosen inheritor of the covenant,
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  Speaker 2: departed from the earth at age 175. His life was
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  Speaker 2: filled with riches and woes, peaks and valleys, faith and failure.
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  Speaker 2: His life was a beacon of hope to all those
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  Speaker 2: who follow God and proof that the Lord keeps his
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  Speaker 2: promises despite our foolishness. After Abraham had passed, Ishmael returned
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  Speaker 2: to his brother Isaac and the two buried him together
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  Speaker 2: beside Sarah. The God of Abraham looked to Isaac and
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  Speaker 2: became the God of Isaac. The promised covenant given to
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  Speaker 2: Abraham was passed to Isaac. and he would bless Isaac
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  Speaker 2: and his descendants as he did with his father. Twenty
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  Speaker 2: years of marriage had passed for Isaac and Rebekah. The
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  Speaker 2: two lived in the love of the Lord and one another,
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  Speaker 2: expanding their land and influence. Yet Rebekah in twenty years
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  Speaker 2: was unable to have children. The two found themselves in
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  Speaker 2: a similar situation as Abraham and Sarah once did. Yet
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  Speaker 2: they waited on the Lord, entrusted in him to provide.
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  Speaker 2: They came before God daily, waiting for him to move.
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  Speaker 2: They knew he would, and he did. When Isaac and
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  Speaker 2: his wife Rebecca had reached 20 years of marriage, Isaac
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  Speaker 2: prayed to God that she would become pregnant because she
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  Speaker 2: was unable to bear children. God blessed Rebecca and answered
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  Speaker 2: Isaac's prayer. That is when Rebecca became pregnant with twin boys. Lord,
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  Speaker 2: what is happening to me? she prayed. The Lord responded,
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  Speaker 2: You have the makings of two nations inside you. Two
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  Speaker 2: people groups will come from the children in your womb.
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  Speaker 2: One will be stronger and the older will serve the younger.
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  Speaker 2: As the Lord had promised, Rebecca became pregnant. A few
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  Speaker 2: months into pregnancy, Rebecca felt a wrestling in her womb. Concerned,
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  Speaker 2: she asked the Lord what was happening to her. The
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  Speaker 2: Lord prophesied over her and told her that she was
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  Speaker 2: having twins. He said, You have the makings of two
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  Speaker 2: nations inside you, two people groups that will be divided.
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  Speaker 2: One shall be stronger than the other, and the older
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  Speaker 2: will serve the younger. Rebecca kept these things close to
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  Speaker 2: her heart, for she would watch them unfold as her
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  Speaker 2: children grew older. When Rebecca came to term and gave
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  Speaker 2: birth to her twins, She was surprised to see the
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  Speaker 2: oldest baby was red, and his whole body was covered
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  Speaker 2: in hair. She named him Esau. The second child came
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  Speaker 2: out grasping the heel of his brother Esau. They named
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  Speaker 2: him Jacob, which means heel grabber. Isaac was sixty years
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  Speaker 2: old when Esau and Jacob were born, and the two
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  Speaker 2: children grew up together in the promises of God. Esau
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  Speaker 2: grew up to be a skilled hunter. He was a
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  Speaker 2: man of the field. strong and filled with dignity. He
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  Speaker 2: often left for weeks to find meat for the family
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  Speaker 2: and became skilled in the craft of hunting and killing.
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  Speaker 2: Jacob grew up to be a mild and quiet man,
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  Speaker 2: spending most of his time with his mother among the
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  Speaker 2: tents away from the elements. Esau was loved by his
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  Speaker 2: father because he was a provider and hunted wild game
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  Speaker 2: and the firstborn son. Therefore, he was the inheritor of
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  Speaker 2: Isaac's birthright. Jacob was loved by his mother, yet Jacob's
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  Speaker 2: mildness was not to be mistaken for weakness. Jacob was
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  Speaker 2: a man of ambition and wit. His clever tongue and
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  Speaker 2: opportunistic attitude would be overlooked by his father and brother,
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  Speaker 2: to both their humiliation. Esau once returned from weeks out
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  Speaker 2: in the wilderness. He was hunting, traveling, and running towards
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  Speaker 2: the point of exhaustion. Starvation had led him back home,
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  Speaker 2: and near the point of death, he stumbled his way
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  Speaker 2: back to camp. Jacob was awaiting his brother, with a
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  Speaker 2: fresh pot of stew simmering on the fire. Esau, gasping
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  Speaker 2: out of starvation, groveled towards Jacob, saying, Let me eat
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  Speaker 2: some of that red stew, for I am exhausted. Jacob,
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  Speaker 2: with a sly grin that can barely be seen through
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  Speaker 2: the smoke of the firewood, said, Sell me your birthright.
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  Speaker 2: Confused and exhausted, Esau said, What use is a birthright
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  Speaker 2: to me if I am about to die? Swear it
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  Speaker 2: to me, Jacob said swiftly. So Esau swore over his
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  Speaker 2: birthright to Jacob and ate of the stew Jacob prepared.
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  Speaker 2: Ravenously devouring the red stew, Esau was the first victim
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  Speaker 2: of Jacob's ambition. He ate and drank and then went
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  Speaker 2: his way. Ever since, Esau despised his place in life.
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  Speaker 2: And bitterness would be the bond between Esau and Jacob
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  Speaker 2: for years after.
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  Speaker 3: We open the story today with Abraham remarrying his wife,
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  Speaker 3: giving him more sons. These will not be the men
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  Speaker 3: who will make up the great nation of Israel, but
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  Speaker 3: as sons they would be blessed and fruitful. Before we
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  Speaker 3: move on to their story, I want to point out
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  Speaker 3: something that happens. When Abraham dies, Isaac does not bury
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  Speaker 3: his father alone. He is joined by a familiar character
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  Speaker 3: who we last saw wandering in the wilderness with his
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  Speaker 3: mother after he mocked a young Isaac in jealousy. Ishmael
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  Speaker 3: returns and together with Isaac bury their father. This relationship,
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  Speaker 3: which was so strained, beyond repair really, is at the
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  Speaker 3: very least able to be reconciled for a time to
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  Speaker 3: lay their father to rest. You may be living through
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  Speaker 3: a very difficult situation today or having experienced one where
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  Speaker 3: it seems there is no reconciliation possible. But with God,
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  Speaker 3: all things are possible. And today we see these two brothers,
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  Speaker 3: who you may never have expected to speak again, coming
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  Speaker 3: together to honor their fathers. righteous Abraham, a man who
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  Speaker 3: left each with a powerful legacy of faith in God.
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  Speaker 3: And then there is this. Isaac and Rebekah, like Abraham
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  Speaker 3: and Sarah, must wait for many years for a child.
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  Speaker 3: But they remain faithful, and after 20 years, Isaac goes
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  Speaker 3: to God and asks him to give Rebekah a child,
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  Speaker 3: and the Lord answers. So she becomes pregnant with twins. Early,
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  Speaker 3: it's obvious that the brothers will be at odds. Even
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  Speaker 3: in the womb, they wrestle with one another. They couldn't
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  Speaker 3: be more different. Esau, the oldest, is a powerful hunter,
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  Speaker 3: a man of the land. Jacob is mild and peaceful,
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  Speaker 3: not made for outdoor living. He is also cunning and sharp-witted.
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  Speaker 3: But the real problems arise because of the attitude of
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  Speaker 3: the parents. Listen to what Genesis 25, 28 says. Now,
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  Speaker 3: Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for game,
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  Speaker 3: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Sibling rivalries are common and may
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  Speaker 3: be even expected, but when parents play favorites, the results
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  Speaker 3: are disastrous. You shouldn't be surprised to see now that
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  Speaker 3: Jacob tricks Esau, his brother, to give up his birthright
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  Speaker 3: for a bowl of stew. This birthright would have given
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  Speaker 3: Esau claim to a much larger portion of his father's estate.
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  Speaker 3: This was his right as the firstborn son. But in
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  Speaker 3: his hunger and exhaustion and in his inattention, And in
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  Speaker 3: his self-indulgence, he gave it all away for something that
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  Speaker 3: lasted no more than a day, a bowl of food.
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  Speaker 3: We should be very careful not to give up the
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  Speaker 3: treasures of God for the pleasures of man. Jacob took
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  Speaker 3: advantage of his brother, and his own selfish ambition took
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  Speaker 3: hold in his heart. This was the first, but certainly
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  Speaker 3: not the last, of his injuries to Isaac. As the
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  Speaker 3: story goes on, these brothers would, just as God told Rebekah,
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  Speaker 3: be in a lifelong struggle with each other. It was
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  Speaker 3: a struggle with no real winners. And at the center
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  Speaker 3: of this are two parents who chose to pick a
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  Speaker 3: side and choose a child that they love more than
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  Speaker 3: the other. We will continue to see the downward spiral
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  Speaker 3: of this relationship and the explosive consequence of Jacob's deceit
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  Speaker 3: in our next passage. Dear Lord, thank you for this
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  Speaker 3: story that shows us how we can mend relationships as
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  Speaker 3: in the case of Isaac and Ishmael. And thank you
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  Speaker 3: for the story of Jacob and Esau because it teaches
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  Speaker 3: us how we can avoid the danger of favoritism among
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  Speaker 3: parents and the destructive effects of unresolved conflicts among siblings.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to apply these lessons to our own lives
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  Speaker 3: and relationships. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I wanted to let you know that the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries, and
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: can only come to you each week through the support
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: of listeners like you. Your support today is so important
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: that we want to thank you for your gift by
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: giving you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: can better read and understand the Bible and how God's
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Word transforms our lives. So to get your copy of
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: The Jesus Book, Simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.