Part 8 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Joshua 2:1-24

Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn son with Jacob, was hated by his

brothers, sold into slavery, then rose to a place of prominence under the

providence of God just as he had dreamed would happen.  Joseph brothers conspired together to kill him,

but after their brother Reuben talked his brothers out of it, they threw Joseph

into a pit.  Instead of leaving Joseph in

the pit, Judah talked his brothers into selling him to anyone interested in

using him for slave labor.  

Thirteen years after his brothers thought they were permanently

rid of Joseph, as they sought food from Egypt during a great famine, Judah and

his brothers found themselves before Joseph, second to only Pharaoh himself.   After their meeting, Joseph’s brothers and

father moved into Egypt under Joseph’s care.  For the next 430 years, their children, and their

children’s children lived, but eventually became slaves of another Pharaoh.

During that time, God raised up a man by the name of Moses

to deliver his people from the slavery of Egypt to be His people in the land

promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In

the land of Canaan the Hebrew people would be called to serve the nations as

God’s Kingdom of priests.  After God

delivered the Hebrew people through the leadership of Moses, God commissioned

His people: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore

you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will

indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession

among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom

of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the

people of Israel”(Exodus

19:4–6). 

By the time we come to the book of Joshua, Moses was dead,

Joshua succeeded Moses, and all that separated them from Canaan was the Jordan

(Joshua 1:1-11).   However, before

entering Canaan, Joshua sent two men to spy out the land the previous

generation refused to take possession of under the leadership of Moses (Numbers

ch. 13-14).  The two men that were secretly

sent into hostile territory were the two most able and faithful men under

Joshua’s command. Unlike the report of the 10 unfaithful spies of Numbers 13,

the spies from a new generation understood that the God of Abraham, Isaac,

Jacob, and Moses was big enough to handle whatever Jericho and Canaan would

throw at them; there report was simple and direct: “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands.  And also, all the inhabitants of the land

melt away because of us” (2:24).  However,

the success of their mission was largely due to the faith of a Canaanite who

was would seem too dirty for the God of the Hebrew people.  The Canaanite was the infamous Rahab.

Rahab Was Far from God

I am stating the obvious by labeling Rahab a “sinner.”  However, the striking thing about Rahab is

that, of the citizens of Jericho, she was the furthest of all the citizens of

Canaan from becoming a Yahweh worshiper for two very big reasons.

The first reason was because she not only belonged to the

Canaanites, but she was an Amorite; which meant that God had particularly signaled

out her people group from destruction for their evil.  God had instructed His people in Deuteronomy

20, just what they were to do with the people when they entered the land: “But

in the cities of these peoples that the Lord

your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that

breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and

the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites,

as the Lord your God has commanded,

that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices

that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God”

(20:16–18).  Because she was an Amorite,

Rahab stood condemned to suffer both the violence of the Hebrew peop

Part 8 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Joshua 2:1-24

Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn son with Jacob, was hated by his

brothers, sold into slavery, then rose to a place of prominence under the

providence of God just as he had dreamed would happen.  Joseph brothers conspired together to kill him,

but after their brother Reuben talked his brothers out of it, they threw Joseph

into a pit.  Instead of leaving Joseph in

the pit, Judah talked his brothers into selling him to anyone interested in

using him for slave labor.  

Thirteen years after his brothers thought they were permanently

rid of Joseph, as they sought food from Egypt during a great famine, Judah and

his brothers found themselves before Joseph, second to only Pharaoh himself.   After their meeting, Joseph’s brothers and

father moved into Egypt under Joseph’s care.  For the next 430 years, their children, and their

children’s children lived, but eventually became slaves of another Pharaoh.

During that time, God raised up a man by the name of Moses

to deliver his people from the slavery of Egypt to be His people in the land

promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In

the land of Canaan the Hebrew people would be called to serve the nations as

God’s Kingdom of priests.  After God

delivered the Hebrew people through the leadership of Moses, God commissioned

His people: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore

you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will

indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession

among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom

of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the

people of Israel”(Exodus

19:4–6). 

By the time we come to the book of Joshua, Moses was dead,

Joshua succeeded Moses, and all that separated them from Canaan was the Jordan

(Joshua 1:1-11).   However, before

entering Canaan, Joshua sent two men to spy out the land the previous

generation refused to take possession of under the leadership of Moses (Numbers

ch. 13-14).  The two men that were secretly

sent into hostile territory were the two most able and faithful men under

Joshua’s command. Unlike the report of the 10 unfaithful spies of Numbers 13,

the spies from a new generation understood that the God of Abraham, Isaac,

Jacob, and Moses was big enough to handle whatever Jericho and Canaan would

throw at them; there report was simple and direct: “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands.  And also, all the inhabitants of the land

melt away because of us” (2:24).  However,

the success of their mission was largely due to the faith of a Canaanite who

was would seem too dirty for the God of the Hebrew people.  The Canaanite was the infamous Rahab.

Rahab Was Far from God

I am stating the obvious by labeling Rahab a “sinner.”  However, the striking thing about Rahab is

that, of the citizens of Jericho, she was the furthest of all the citizens of

Canaan from becoming a Yahweh worshiper for two very big reasons.

The first reason was because she not only belonged to the

Canaanites, but she was an Amorite; which meant that God had particularly signaled

out her people group from destruction for their evil.  God had instructed His people in Deuteronomy

20, just what they were to do with the people when they entered the land: “But

in the cities of these peoples that the Lord

your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that

breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and

the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites,

as the Lord your God has commanded,

that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices

that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God”

(20:16–18).  Because she was an Amorite,

Rahab stood condemned to suffer both the violence of the Hebrew peop

Part 7 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 38

Of all the stories we

have looked at so far in this sermon series, the story of Judah and Tamar is

the most shocking.  When reading through

Genesis, this story seems to come out of nowhere.  In Genesis 37, Judah and his brothers

conspired together to sell their brother Joseph into slavery to get rid of him

and then in Genesis 39-48, we learn of Joseph’s love for God, moral purity, and

humility in contrast to his brothers, especially that of Judah.  Old Testament critics of the Bible used to

suggest that because the story of Judah and Tamar is placed where it is in

Genes, it must have been added later with no real purpose in the overall

Genesis narrative.  The reality is that

Genesis 38 is right where it is supposed to be and is placed in the story

purposefully and deliberately.

If there was ever a circumstance

that grace seemed unable to overcome, it is in the lives of Judah and Tamar.  Genesis 38 begins, “It happened at that time that

Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite,

whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose

name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a

son, and he called his name Er” (Genesis 38:1–3). 

Judah’s Sins Were Great (vv. 1-11)

Judah grew up under

the faith of his father Jacob, Isaac and Abraham.  Abraham forbade Isaac from marrying any

Canaanite women.  Isaac forbade Jacob

from marrying any Canaanite women.  Throughout

the Old Testament the Hebrew people were warned of the cultural and religious

practices of the Canaanites and the danger of such people leading the them away

from the worship of Yahweh.  The Bible

specifically stated to the Hebrew people: “You

shall not intermarry with them [the Canaanites], giving your daughters to their

sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your

sons from following me, to serve other gods” (Deut. 7:2-3). 

For background,

permit me to share just a little bit of kind of gods that the Canaanite people

worshiped.  El, which means: god most

high, is the head of the Canaanite gods. 

El is known for dethroning his father (Uranus), the murder of his

favorite son, the and the beheading of his daughter.  El is also known for seducing two women and

allowed them to be driven into the desert after the birth of their children,

Dawn and Sunset.  With the character of

the chief god of the Canaanites being what it is, can you imagine what kind of

behavior characterized the priests and worshipers of El? 

We know that Judah

was headed down the slippery slope of moral compromise towards spiritual

apostasy because he not only married a Canaanite, but looked for Canaanite

women for his children to marry beginning with Er when he was of age.  A secondary problem was that Er was already

part Hebrew and part Canaanite with a nominally religious father and a pagan

worshiping mother.  A third problem we

encounter in the story is that Er was already wicked.  By the time Judah found Tamar as a wife for

his first born son, Er was so wicked that God had to intervene by killing him

because what was at stake was the promise of Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to

him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” 

So, let’s take a look at verses 6-11 for the purpose of getting a

clearer grasp on Judah’s sin and Tamar’s shame:

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring

Part 7 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 38

Of all the stories we

have looked at so far in this sermon series, the story of Judah and Tamar is

the most shocking.  When reading through

Genesis, this story seems to come out of nowhere.  In Genesis 37, Judah and his brothers

conspired together to sell their brother Joseph into slavery to get rid of him

and then in Genesis 39-48, we learn of Joseph’s love for God, moral purity, and

humility in contrast to his brothers, especially that of Judah.  Old Testament critics of the Bible used to

suggest that because the story of Judah and Tamar is placed where it is in

Genes, it must have been added later with no real purpose in the overall

Genesis narrative.  The reality is that

Genesis 38 is right where it is supposed to be and is placed in the story

purposefully and deliberately.

If there was ever a circumstance

that grace seemed unable to overcome, it is in the lives of Judah and Tamar.  Genesis 38 begins, “It happened at that time that

Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite,

whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose

name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a

son, and he called his name Er” (Genesis 38:1–3). 

Judah’s Sins Were Great (vv. 1-11)

Judah grew up under

the faith of his father Jacob, Isaac and Abraham.  Abraham forbade Isaac from marrying any

Canaanite women.  Isaac forbade Jacob

from marrying any Canaanite women.  Throughout

the Old Testament the Hebrew people were warned of the cultural and religious

practices of the Canaanites and the danger of such people leading the them away

from the worship of Yahweh.  The Bible

specifically stated to the Hebrew people: “You

shall not intermarry with them [the Canaanites], giving your daughters to their

sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your

sons from following me, to serve other gods” (Deut. 7:2-3). 

For background,

permit me to share just a little bit of kind of gods that the Canaanite people

worshiped.  El, which means: god most

high, is the head of the Canaanite gods. 

El is known for dethroning his father (Uranus), the murder of his

favorite son, the and the beheading of his daughter.  El is also known for seducing two women and

allowed them to be driven into the desert after the birth of their children,

Dawn and Sunset.  With the character of

the chief god of the Canaanites being what it is, can you imagine what kind of

behavior characterized the priests and worshipers of El? 

We know that Judah

was headed down the slippery slope of moral compromise towards spiritual

apostasy because he not only married a Canaanite, but looked for Canaanite

women for his children to marry beginning with Er when he was of age.  A secondary problem was that Er was already

part Hebrew and part Canaanite with a nominally religious father and a pagan

worshiping mother.  A third problem we

encounter in the story is that Er was already wicked.  By the time Judah found Tamar as a wife for

his first born son, Er was so wicked that God had to intervene by killing him

because what was at stake was the promise of Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to

him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” 

So, let’s take a look at verses 6-11 for the purpose of getting a

clearer grasp on Judah’s sin and Tamar’s shame:

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring

Part 7 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 38

Of all the stories we

have looked at so far in this sermon series, the story of Judah and Tamar is

the most shocking.  When reading through

Genesis, this story seems to come out of nowhere.  In Genesis 37, Judah and his brothers

conspired together to sell their brother Joseph into slavery to get rid of him

and then in Genesis 39-48, we learn of Joseph’s love for God, moral purity, and

humility in contrast to his brothers, especially that of Judah.  Old Testament critics of the Bible used to

suggest that because the story of Judah and Tamar is placed where it is in

Genes, it must have been added later with no real purpose in the overall

Genesis narrative.  The reality is that

Genesis 38 is right where it is supposed to be and is placed in the story

purposefully and deliberately.

If there was ever a circumstance

that grace seemed unable to overcome, it is in the lives of Judah and Tamar.  Genesis 38 begins, “It happened at that time that

Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite,

whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose

name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a

son, and he called his name Er” (Genesis 38:1–3). 

Judah’s Sins Were Great (vv. 1-11)

Judah grew up under

the faith of his father Jacob, Isaac and Abraham.  Abraham forbade Isaac from marrying any

Canaanite women.  Isaac forbade Jacob

from marrying any Canaanite women.  Throughout

the Old Testament the Hebrew people were warned of the cultural and religious

practices of the Canaanites and the danger of such people leading the them away

from the worship of Yahweh.  The Bible

specifically stated to the Hebrew people: “You

shall not intermarry with them [the Canaanites], giving your daughters to their

sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your

sons from following me, to serve other gods” (Deut. 7:2-3). 

For background,

permit me to share just a little bit of kind of gods that the Canaanite people

worshiped.  El, which means: god most

high, is the head of the Canaanite gods. 

El is known for dethroning his father (Uranus), the murder of his

favorite son, the and the beheading of his daughter.  El is also known for seducing two women and

allowed them to be driven into the desert after the birth of their children,

Dawn and Sunset.  With the character of

the chief god of the Canaanites being what it is, can you imagine what kind of

behavior characterized the priests and worshipers of El? 

We know that Judah

was headed down the slippery slope of moral compromise towards spiritual

apostasy because he not only married a Canaanite, but looked for Canaanite

women for his children to marry beginning with Er when he was of age.  A secondary problem was that Er was already

part Hebrew and part Canaanite with a nominally religious father and a pagan

worshiping mother.  A third problem we

encounter in the story is that Er was already wicked.  By the time Judah found Tamar as a wife for

his first born son, Er was so wicked that God had to intervene by killing him

because what was at stake was the promise of Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to

him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” 

So, let’s take a look at verses 6-11 for the purpose of getting a

clearer grasp on Judah’s sin and Tamar’s shame:

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring

Part 6 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 29:14-35

The Bible is so real, so raw, and relevant to life! It does

not paint a pretty picture of what happens when you bring multiple sin-cursed

people into a relationship together.  The

people who comprise Jesus’ family tree were real, historical people.  Genesis 29 introduces us to a self-centered

and deceitful man by the name of Jacob, and a girl no-one wanted that wound up

being Jacob’s wife. 

When God told Abraham that he would bless him, He promised

that through Abraham’s descendants, a child would be born who would bless the

nations. Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac who later married Rebecca and

was blessed with a set of twins of whom God made the following promise:

“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.” (Gen. 25:23)

God told Isaac and Rebecca, specifically, that the seed of

promise would not be the older son, but the younger.  When Rachel gave birth to her two babies, we

are told: “The first came out red, all

his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.  Afterward his brother came out with his hand

holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob” (vv. 25-26).  Jacob literally means “heal grabber.”  Yet, regardless of what God said of Jacob, Isaac

favored Esau more. 

Culture demanded that Isaac bless his first-born, but God

had decreed that Jacob would be the recipient of what was entitled culturally

to the Esau.  Esau was a “man’s man”; he

was strong and had a natural gift for hunting. 

Jacob, however, was a mama’s boy who grew up “a quiet man, dwelling in tents” (v. 27).  The tone of the Isaac and Rebekah’s family

dynamics is illustrated in verse 28, “Isaac

loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” 

The sad thing about the way Isaac and Rebekah treated their

sons is that Esau grew up to be a willful, proud, self-centered man, who

exercised little self-control.  Jacob

grew up to be a self-centered liar, deceiver, and manipulator.  We see Esau’s lack of self-control and the

manipulative skill of Jacob in the last paragraph of Genesis 25,

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29–34)

These verses highlight Esau’s dismissive attitude towards the honor of being the first-born as a descendant of Abraham.  Esau cared more about his stomach than he did his identity in Abraham; he was willing to trade in what was eternal for what was temporary—a bowl of stew!  Jacob was no better, for he manipulated his brother in a moment of weakness.[1]  Jacob’s lying, deceiving, manipulating character reached its climax when he and his mother conspired together to deceive Isaac after he planned to give Esau the blessing of the firstborn in spite of what God said of Jacob:

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Genesis 27:1–4)

After Esau went out as instructed by his father, Rebekah

pulled Jacob aside and plotted against her oldest son and her husband:

Now Rebekah was listenin

Part 6 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 29:14-35

The Bible is so real, so raw, and relevant to life! It does

not paint a pretty picture of what happens when you bring multiple sin-cursed

people into a relationship together.  The

people who comprise Jesus’ family tree were real, historical people.  Genesis 29 introduces us to a self-centered

and deceitful man by the name of Jacob, and a girl no-one wanted that wound up

being Jacob’s wife. 

When God told Abraham that he would bless him, He promised

that through Abraham’s descendants, a child would be born who would bless the

nations. Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac who later married Rebecca and

was blessed with a set of twins of whom God made the following promise:

“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.” (Gen. 25:23)

God told Isaac and Rebecca, specifically, that the seed of

promise would not be the older son, but the younger.  When Rachel gave birth to her two babies, we

are told: “The first came out red, all

his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.  Afterward his brother came out with his hand

holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob” (vv. 25-26).  Jacob literally means “heal grabber.”  Yet, regardless of what God said of Jacob, Isaac

favored Esau more. 

Culture demanded that Isaac bless his first-born, but God

had decreed that Jacob would be the recipient of what was entitled culturally

to the Esau.  Esau was a “man’s man”; he

was strong and had a natural gift for hunting. 

Jacob, however, was a mama’s boy who grew up “a quiet man, dwelling in tents” (v. 27).  The tone of the Isaac and Rebekah’s family

dynamics is illustrated in verse 28, “Isaac

loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” 

The sad thing about the way Isaac and Rebekah treated their

sons is that Esau grew up to be a willful, proud, self-centered man, who

exercised little self-control.  Jacob

grew up to be a self-centered liar, deceiver, and manipulator.  We see Esau’s lack of self-control and the

manipulative skill of Jacob in the last paragraph of Genesis 25,

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29–34)

These verses highlight Esau’s dismissive attitude towards the honor of being the first-born as a descendant of Abraham.  Esau cared more about his stomach than he did his identity in Abraham; he was willing to trade in what was eternal for what was temporary—a bowl of stew!  Jacob was no better, for he manipulated his brother in a moment of weakness.[1]  Jacob’s lying, deceiving, manipulating character reached its climax when he and his mother conspired together to deceive Isaac after he planned to give Esau the blessing of the firstborn in spite of what God said of Jacob:

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Genesis 27:1–4)

After Esau went out as instructed by his father, Rebekah

pulled Jacob aside and plotted against her oldest son and her husband:

Now Rebekah was listenin

Part 6 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 29:14-35

The Bible is so real, so raw, and relevant to life! It does

not paint a pretty picture of what happens when you bring multiple sin-cursed

people into a relationship together.  The

people who comprise Jesus’ family tree were real, historical people.  Genesis 29 introduces us to a self-centered

and deceitful man by the name of Jacob, and a girl no-one wanted that wound up

being Jacob’s wife. 

When God told Abraham that he would bless him, He promised

that through Abraham’s descendants, a child would be born who would bless the

nations. Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac who later married Rebecca and

was blessed with a set of twins of whom God made the following promise:

“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.” (Gen. 25:23)

God told Isaac and Rebecca, specifically, that the seed of

promise would not be the older son, but the younger.  When Rachel gave birth to her two babies, we

are told: “The first came out red, all

his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.  Afterward his brother came out with his hand

holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob” (vv. 25-26).  Jacob literally means “heal grabber.”  Yet, regardless of what God said of Jacob, Isaac

favored Esau more. 

Culture demanded that Isaac bless his first-born, but God

had decreed that Jacob would be the recipient of what was entitled culturally

to the Esau.  Esau was a “man’s man”; he

was strong and had a natural gift for hunting. 

Jacob, however, was a mama’s boy who grew up “a quiet man, dwelling in tents” (v. 27).  The tone of the Isaac and Rebekah’s family

dynamics is illustrated in verse 28, “Isaac

loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” 

The sad thing about the way Isaac and Rebekah treated their

sons is that Esau grew up to be a willful, proud, self-centered man, who

exercised little self-control.  Jacob

grew up to be a self-centered liar, deceiver, and manipulator.  We see Esau’s lack of self-control and the

manipulative skill of Jacob in the last paragraph of Genesis 25,

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29–34)

These verses highlight Esau’s dismissive attitude towards the honor of being the first-born as a descendant of Abraham.  Esau cared more about his stomach than he did his identity in Abraham; he was willing to trade in what was eternal for what was temporary—a bowl of stew!  Jacob was no better, for he manipulated his brother in a moment of weakness.[1]  Jacob’s lying, deceiving, manipulating character reached its climax when he and his mother conspired together to deceive Isaac after he planned to give Esau the blessing of the firstborn in spite of what God said of Jacob:

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Genesis 27:1–4)

After Esau went out as instructed by his father, Rebekah

pulled Jacob aside and plotted against her oldest son and her husband:

Now Rebekah was listenin

Part 5 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 13, 14 & 19

Entitlement is the belief that one is inherently deserving

of privileges or special treatment. 

Entitlement looks like the kid who threw a fit because he received

thirty-seven gifts for his birthday last year, and only received thirty-six

this year.  Entitlement looks like the

ungrateful child whose grandmother gave him a $20 gift card, but rather than

saying “thankyou” she said: “That’s it?” 

Entitlement looks like the new college student who is devastated to

learn that there is no one on campus who will wash his dirty clothes or clean

his room. 

Entitlement chains a person to their victimhood and blinds that

person from seeing the good within their reach. 

The daughters of Lot were such people.

Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Where Abraham’s life ended

with hope, redemption, and encouragement for all who read this, Lot’s story ends

tragically and leaves its reader with a sense of pity, fear, and disgust.  The conclusion of Lot’s story is found in Genesis

19:30-38:

Afterward Lot left Zoar because

he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the

mountains with his two daughters. One day the older daughter said to her

sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get

married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have

children. Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with

him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” So that

night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had

intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up

again. The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had

sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight,

and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line

through our father.” So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the

younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was

unaware of her lying down or getting up again. As a result, both of Lot’s

daughters became pregnant by their own father. When the older daughter gave

birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now

known as the Moabites. When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named

him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

(Genesis 19:30–38, NLT)

Lot’s life ended so horribly, I believe, for four reasons.

Lot Trusted His Own Wisdom over God’s Promise(Gen. 13)

Genesis 13 states that because growing flocks, herds, and

tents, the relationship between herdsmen that worked for Abram and the herdsmen

that worked for Lot began to grow tense. 

  To settle the escalating

tension, Abraham made the following suggestion: “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen

and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.  Is

not the whole land before you?  Separate

yourself from me.  If you take the left

hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will

go to the left” (vv. 8-9).  So it

happened: “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered

everywhere like the garden of the Lord,

like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar.”  Lot

saw that the grass was greener in the Jordan Valley and chose the better land

for himself (Genesis 13:10–13).

Lot, no doubt, knew of God’s promises to Abraham.  There were other ways for the two men to

resolve the disputes between their herdsmen, but instead, they thought it best

to part ways.  Abraham gave Lot the opportunity

to choose what he wanted, but rather than relying on his uncle for wisdom, Lot chose

the option that would best benefit him.

There are two hints

in Genesis 13:10 that tell us Lot’s choice had little to do with God: The first

thing we learn from verse 10 is that Lot chose selfishly: “Lot lifted up his ey

Part 4 of “The Tree” – a study of Jesus’ family tree.

Genesis 12-23

Before discussing Abraham’s story, I’d like to begin with

anecdote.  A man named Jack accidentally fell

of the edge of a steep cliff. On the way down he was able to grab hold of a

branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down, and to his horror, discovered

that there were hundreds of feet between him and the bottom of the cannon. He

couldn’t hang there forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep

wall of the cliff.  So Jack began yelling

for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him. “HELP! HELP! Is anyone

up there? HELP!” He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was about

to give up when he heard a voice.

“Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?”“Yes, yes! I can hear you. I’m down here!”“I can see you, Jack. Are you alright?”“Yes, but who are you, and where are you?“I am the Lord, Jack. I’m everywhere.”“The Lord? You mean, GOD?”“That’s Me.”“God, please help me! I promise if, you’ll get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person. I’ll serve You for the rest of my life.”“Easy on the promises, Jack. Let’s get you off from there, then we can talk.”“Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully.”“I’ll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do.”“Okay. Let go of the branch.”“What?”“I said, let go of the branch… Just trust Me. Let go.”There was a long silence.Finally, Jack yelled, “HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?”

The definition of faith, according to the Bible is, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).  I am not sure what Abraham was hoping for, or to what sort of convictions he held, but his family’s home was in the City of Ur, where Nanna, the Mesopotamian Moon god, was worshiped.  Although childless, Abraham was prosperous, settled, and old.  What he may not have known was that he was a descendant of Shem, ten generations removed, and the last time God spoke to anyone directly was with Shem and his brothers.  

Abraham Heard God’s Call

Before Abraham had

an encounter with God, he was known as “Abram,” which means: “Exalted

Father.”  As the story unfolds, God

eventually renamed him Abraham which means, “Father of many.”  Both names are all well and good for people

with children, but Abraham was childless. No matter how hard he and his wife

tried, Sarah could not get pregnant. 

When he first heard

God’s voice, Abraham was seventy-five (75) years old and his wife Sarah was sixty-five

(65).  Although old, God promised

Abraham, “I will make of you a great

nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a

blessing.  I will bless those who bless

you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the

earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3). Through this statement, God promised

three things to Abraham: (1) Land, (2) descendants, and (3) that through him

the nations would be blessed (redemption).

At this time, Abraham

was oblivious to God; all he knew was the gods his ancestors worshiped.  Yet, God pursued him, and Abraham responded

to God in faith and obedience:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he

was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was

going.  By faith he went to live in the

land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob,

heirs with him of the same promise.  For

he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and

builder is God. (Heb.

11:8-10).

Abraham Eventually Obeyed God

When Abraham decided

to move his wife and her family to famine struck Canaan, he first took a detour

to Egypt.  However, knowing that his wife

was beautiful and that others in Egypt would kill him in order to take her, Abraham

said to his wife,  “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the

Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’  Then they w