Grandpa Isaac and Father Jacob

 Selections from Genesis 21-35

Welcome! Today we begin a new series on the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis, entitled “But the Lord was with Joseph”. With each new series, I ask for God to guide me, to make a timely decision that would help all of us to grow and be encouraged in the Lord. I don’t recall a time that we as a church have had a series focused specifically on the book of Genesis. I do remember a series we did called “Broken Vessels” that, each week, focused on a different important person in the Old Testament. This series from 2009 included single teachings on multiple people in Genesis, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, but in this series, we will spend about three months exploring Joseph in depth. 

 

I believe this series is appropriate and timely for us, for multiple reasons. First, I believe the past few years have been hard for all of us, as we have had to live with the uncertainty of what was going to happen next in a world seemingly gone crazy. In Joseph, we see someone living by faith despite personal hardship as he deals with family rejection, imprisonment, unfair condemnation, and victimhood caused by another’s carelessness. We also see someone living by faith despite a world going crazy, in Joseph’s case, due to severe famine. Now some of us come from much better family situations than others, but none of us come from perfect families, including the younger ones here, as none of us older ones are perfect parents. Joseph also teaches us about coming to terms with the failings of our families and overcoming them by the Lord’s help. Although these lessons, like all lessons from the Bible, are timeless, of value for all people at all times, I do think that they are perhaps especially valuable for us now.

   

Today’s message is entitled “Grandpa Isaac and Father Jacob”. Now it is important to understand that in the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are considered the big three “founding fathers” of the faith. God repeatedly refers to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the first five books of the Bible, and the phrase is often used by Jews to describe God even to this day. We see Peter use this phrase when addressing the crowd after healing a beggar who was lame, unable to walk. Here is what he says:

 

“Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over to be killed, and you disowned Him before Pilate, though He had decided to let Him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” – Acts 3:12-16

 

Our new series focuses on Joseph, not on Jacob and Isaac, but there is no question that the lives of “Father Jacob” and “Grandpa Isaac” (and even the life of “Great-Grandpa Abraham”) had significant bearing on the events of Joseph’s life. Each of us is significantly influenced by the people that raised us, and to a lesser extent, by the people who raised those who raised us.

 

You may wonder how your grandparents or even earlier generations can influence your life. The Bible tells us that this is so, as it says in Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:7, Numbers 14:18, and Deuteronomy 5:9.  Each say that God “visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations.”

 

Now, I do not think this means that God punishes people for sins that are not their own. In fact, the Bible says directly that the opposite is true:

 

The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. – Ezek. 18:20

 

So how do we interpret this idea that God visits the iniquity of the fathers on future generations? I believe it means that sin has intergenerational consequences. And even the secular world knows this to be true. You can look at crime data, abuse data, and so on, and see that the degree of dysfunction or abuse in a family has, statistically speaking, significant impact on the trajectories of future generations. And this makes sense logically – children who do not get to grow up in a loving, healthy family are damaged by these experiences. They tend to find coping mechanisms, either hardening themselves, or seeking unhealthy escapes for their pain, and, not knowing what a loving, healthy family life is like, are more likely to repeat the harmful patterns on their own children.

 

This is not to say that every child from a dysfunctional family suffers serious consequences in their own lives, and passes it on to the next generation, but it is more likely. On the flip side, people who grow up in God-fearing, healthy family environments are more likely to themselves be Christ followers and pass on good things to their children. But at the same time, it too is no guarantee. Each person is an individual, and sometimes, people from great families still choose to reject God and reap a lifetime of painful consequences.

 

I have mentioned this before, but my mother struggled with anger and with alcoholism, and I can see that is has had significant effects on my life and the life of my sister. My father did not have any of these particular issues, but he was somewhat emotionally distant, and I still struggle with this issue. My parents were not believers, and so I feel like, given this fact, they did a good job instilling good values in me – I know that my family life could have been 1000 times worse, and that countless people have had dramatically worse experiences growing up than I did. Yet, I also know that I see patterns between my parents’ struggles and my own.

 

Now, I don’t know exactly why my mother had the issues she had growing up, but our entire family was shocked when her father, my grandfather, passed away, and it came out that he had secretly had an affair with someone, had a child with her, and basically lived a double life for decades. The way the family found out was that the Social Security payments were too low after my grandfather’s death, and the reason for this was that the woman he had had this affair with had also filed for Social Security.  I could say a lot more, but we’ll leave it there. Did this behavior directly cause my mom to have the issues she had? I have no way of knowing, but it would not surprise me.

 

Today I want to look a bit at Joseph’s family. God calling Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a big deal. In some ways it reminds me of how, years ago, the Kennedys were viewed as an almost mythical family in America, often described as “America’s royal family.” Yet their family was filled with stories of tragedy and dysfunction. What about the family of Joseph?

 

Well, Joseph was the 11^th of Jacob’s twelve sons. There was more than one mom here; along with youngest son Benjamin, Joseph’s mom was Rachel. Now, I would say that the key defining event of Joseph’s life was what his brothers did to him out in the desert. If you haven’t looked at the account in a while, or you tend to remember the children’s storybook version, you might think that his brothers plotted to sell him as a slave to Egypt, but that is not what happened. They plotted to kill him, to actually kill their own brother. If it were not for Reuben, the oldest brother, they certainly would have killed him. As it was, Reuben only convinced them to throw him into a cistern that he could not get out of, one without water, and to abandon him there to die a slow “indirect” death due to exposure and lack of water. And this is what would have happened if it were not for Judah, the fourth oldest, who suggested that if they were going to get rid of Joseph, they might as well make a little money for it, leading to them selling him as a slave to Ishmaelites heading to Egypt.

 

If you have grown up hearing the children’s storybook versions, you may have not really stopped to think about how utterly horrible this is! The phrase “dysfunctional family” does not begin to do justice to this situation. This is the stuff of “true crime” documentaries, not the blessed royal family implied by God’s chosen description of Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

 

And in case you didn’t notice the further irony, who bought Joseph? Ishmaelites, that is, descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael. The extremely messy and sometimes ugly family relationships of great-grandpa Abraham come back to affect Joseph in an unimaginable way.

 

Now, I am not saying that there was nothing good about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As we have just seen in the book of Hebrews, each is commended for their faith in God. Hebrews has a lot more to say about Abraham’s actions of faith than it does about Isaac and Jacob. But there is no question that at least at certain points of their lives, each person did indeed trust God, believe in His promises, and act on those beliefs. But at the same time, each also did multiple things their own way, apart from God, and in terms of what they did in their families, each really made a mess and caused great harm.

 

Let’s look at the account of Isaac and his children from Genesis 25:

 

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. – Gen. 25:19-22

 

To Isaac’s great credit, he went to the Lord with this issue. The Lord answered the prayer by providing Rebekah with twins! As we know, there are many couples who wish to have children and are unable to. As with many challenges in this life, we do not often know the reasons that God permits this, but we do know that God always hears our prayers, and He also answers them, although His answer may be “No.” Today there are many options for those who cannot have children, including medical intervention, adoption, and serving in the foster care system. How a couple responds to this challenge is a highly individualized decision, hopefully guided by prayer and counsel. 

 

In the Old Testament, it is clear that the cultural perspective was that to be unable to have children was a source of shame, perhaps a result of some secret sin. But God never seems to promote this view, not on an individualized basis. He does threaten infertility to an entire people who are rebellious, but that is a different situation. Most often, God seems to use infertility among individuals as an opportunity to show His mercy and kindness to those who truly seek Him. Infertility also seems to be linked to children who are to have a major role in God’s story, leading up to and perhaps foreshadowing the ultimate miracle when Mary conceives the Lord Jesus despite never having been with a man.  

 

Now, upon God’s blessing of twins, it is Rebekah who turns to the Lord, wanting to know if there is a special meaning in this blessing. From the narrative, it seems that Rebekah does not know she has twins; she only knows that there is an excessive amount of movement in her belly. 

 

The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” – Gen. 25:23

 

The prophecy was reasonably clear about their being twins, but I am sure the rest of the prophecy was much less clear.

 

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. – Gen. 25:24-26

 

Isaac was not young! He had married Rebekah at age 40, so they remained childless for 20 years. The situation is not as extreme as what happened to Abraham and Sarah, but 20 years is an extremely long time. Now, there was seemingly a tradition to name children after events or physical characteristics. Today, I think psychology would say this is a bad idea, particularly if the characteristics could be perceived as negative. I don’t know if they knew this back then, or even if a name had the same cultural connotation then as it does now. I know that until recently there were some cultures, for example in China, where people would name their children names like “Ugly” because they feared evil spirits and thought that the evil spirits would leave unwanted children alone.

 

Now Esau probably means “hairy,” and it seems that Esau remained quite hairy throughout his life. Jacob means “he grasps the heel,” but this is apparently an idiom for “deceiver.” Jacob did turn out to be quite a deceiver, and so the name unfortunately was prophetic. Did either name affect the children negatively? We simply do not know.

 

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. – Gen. 25:27-28

 

Here, now, we have a clear indication that something is not right. We are to love all of our children, and to show obvious favoritism of one child over another is a pretty sure way to end up with serious issues later. Each child will become jealous of the particular parent’s higher affection to the other, and as a result, each child may come to resent the other (which is what seems to happen here). I would add that Isaac particularly bothers me in that he is letting his stomach dictate his affection.  It also seems to me that the fact that Isaac and Rebekah have different favorites means that the parents were also in conflict with each other.

 

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. – Gen. 25:29-34

 

Edom means “red.” Esau had the birthright because he was the firstborn. We do not for sure know what the birthright exactly entailed, but later in the Law we see that the firstborn would normally get a double share of the inheritance. It may be that the birthright was that additional share. Now there is no question that Esau was foolish to give up his birthright for a single meal, even if you couldn’t call for pizza delivery back then. But I want to instead focus on Jacob. Is this appropriate behavior? Is this how you should treat your brother? Of course not. It is clear that there is a lot of resentment between the two brothers, but Jacob’s action, once Esau realizes what he has done, will only increase dramatically. 

 

To see where this leads, let’s jump ahead to the end of Genesis chapter 26.

 

When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. – Gen. 26:34-35

 

I include this passage because it shows that Isaac was not happy with Esau in that he was choosing foreign women, and presumably, they were drawing Esau away from the faith of Isaac. Despite Isaac’s weaknesses, he did have faith. Yet, as we are about to see, he still intended for his greatest blessing to go to Esau.

 

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” – Gen. 27:1-4

 

Was Isaac being governed by his stomach, much like Esau? It is possible. It is also possible that Esau’s earlier weakness that led to his giving up the birthright was behavior copied from Isaac.

 

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” – Gen. 27:5-10

 

So here we have a continuation of the fact that the parents are not unified. Not only do they have different favorites, Rebekah even plots and schemes against Isaac. Again, this is a terrible family dynamic. Esau and Isaac are fully grown adults at this time, but it again indicates issues that probably affected the children when they were younger.

 

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” – Gen. 27:11-13

 

Is this a good and appropriate response for a full-grown man? No. A good response would have been to say that his father had a right to choose whoever he wished to bless, and to say that he will not trick his father whatever she says. But instead, his concern is not that this is wrong, but that he will be found out. I am also disturbed by his wording when he says “I would appear to be tricking him.” Appear to be tricking him? No, you would be tricking him! 

 

So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. – Gen. 27:14-17

 

He went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. – Gen. 27:18-20

 

This is the worst behavior we have seen. Beyond the deception and outright lie as to who he is, he lies about God! Some would classify this behavior as a form of blasphemy. I am also concerned about Isaac’s wording, which is in the Hebrew. He indeed describes God as “the Lord your God,” not as “the Lord my God” or “the Lord our God”. This implies that Jacob sees God as someone his father serves, but he does not.

 

Isaac is still not sure it is Esau, perhaps because of his voice. After additional questioning, and touching Isaac, tasting the food, and smelling his clothes, he finally becomes convinced. Here is the blessing:

 

May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” – Gen. 27:28-29

 

At this point, despite all the issues with Isaac, he still is to be commended for his faith, in giving this blessing fully believing that the Lord would honor his request. And indeed, Hebrews 11 brings this out. I think this blessing may have been a prophetic utterance – that is, the speaker didn’t know in advance or control the content of the messages. I think that they yielded to the Spirit of God in the same way that the prophets did later on in Israel’s history.

 

But as for Jacob, although he is successful in the sense that he actually received the blessing, his trickery has huge consequences in the relationship with his brother, and as I would argue with what we will see about Joseph, his future family. The passage goes on to have Esau return with his prepared game. At this, Isaac realizes that he has been tricked, but it is too late; the utterance has been made.  

 

Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?” Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?” – Gen. 27:36-37

 

Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.” – Gen. 27:38-40

 

I believe that if the utterance given to Jacob was prophetic in nature, then this hard statement too was a prophetic as well. 

 

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” – Gen. 27:41

 

And so we see the consequences of Jacob’s deception. Based on his mother’s advice, Jacob then flees to her brother Laban, a long journey estimated to be 500 miles in length. During his journey, Jacob had with the Lord through a dream, and he was told that he would receive the blessing promised to Abraham. Jacob committed himself to the Lord there. Jacob made his way to Laban, and lived with him for many years, separated from his parents and his angry brother.

 

I share this account today because I believe it is relevant when we look at the family dynamics that evolve in the account of Joseph. Understanding the past gives us greater impact into what is to come.

 

This passage can be somewhat depressing if we think on our own lives and see areas where we are negatively affected by things in our past, and perhaps even more discouraging, for those of us who are parents, is the thought that things we do wrong, or poorly, with raising our children can have long term effects on them as well.

 

But I would remind you that in Christ, everything changes. From 2 Corinthians 5:

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Cor. 5:17-21

 

This is profoundly good news! Not only are we no longer victims of our past, programmed by what happened to those before us, but we are also agents of God, offering the good news of Jesus Christ to those who have been hurt by others and even those whom we have hurt. We may know people who are estranged from their families, or from friends, or even former spouses, but even more importantly, we certainly know people who are estranged from God.

 

The secret to reconciliation with other people is to first experience reconciliation with God. We are powerless to change our “programming” apart from Christ, who makes us new. And so, as we close, I encourage you to think about two categories of people: First, think about people that you have a rift with, people that have hurt you or that you have hurt. Can you pray for them? If you cannot, pray that God would bring you newness of heart so that, in Him, you can. Also, if God puts on your heart an action He would have you take that could help to heal the rift, commit to Him that you will try it, and during our lunch together, tell someone what you have committed to the Lord to do.

 

Second, think about people you know that are separated from God. Yes, pray for them, but beyond this, pray for you that, as Christ’s ambassador, God would use you as one of the mechanisms, one of the instruments, by which God makes His appeal to them. And during lunch, tell someone who the Lord brought to your mind, so that the person you tell can pray for you and, if appropriate, gently keep you accountable to do what you have purposed to do.

 

As we shall see, healing the rifts between Joseph and his family was probably the hardest thing Joseph had to do, harder than enduring prison, harder than being falsely accused, harder than being neglected and forgotten. I pray that as we spend these next few months exploring in detail the life of Joseph, God would change relationship after relationship after relationship, and in the coming months we would have many stories of God’s miraculous healing and reconciliation, with others, and with Him.

Empowerer of Praise

 Hebrews 13:1-25

Today we wrap up our series in Hebrews with chapter 13. It has been quite a journey through this deeply theological but also very practical book on the greatness of Jesus and what our response should be to his claim on our lives. We have seen how Jesus is compared to the angels and to Moses and to Aaron and so on, but we have recognized how He is actually incomparable, supreme in every way. Most of the messages in our series have highlighted the unique roles that Jesus has, including the “pioneer of our salvation” in chapter 2, our “great high priest” or mediator between us and God, alluded to in nearly every chapter but a particular focus of chapters 7 and 8, and the “pioneer and perfecter of faith,” mentioned last time in chapter 12. So now in chapter 13 we recognize Jesus as the “empowerer of praise.” I’m not sure that empowerer is a real word, but it does describe so well what Jesus does in helping us fulfill our ultimate, God-designed purpose of giving Him glory. Praise should indeed be our response to all that we have seen and learned about our divine advocate and friend. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, we read in chapter 6. What hope is that? Our hope of salvation, in all its fullness – based on what Jesus has done for us.

Chapter 13 is indeed a “wrapping up” kind of chapter. The NIV entitles the first part as “Concluding Exhortations,” but the whole chapter is a real mix of various topics, almost as though the author kept thinking of “just one more thing” that he wanted to say. The challenge for us today is that each verse just about could warrant a sermon on its own – and there are 25 verses. So we will not be able to take a deep dive into each topic but may seem to be jumping around quite a bit, just as the author does. Let’s get started with verse 1.

 

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. – Hebrews 13:1

 

The author is addressing a family of believers. You may recall that the beginning of the book gives no clue as to its intended audience, unlike most of the other epistles. However, its traditional title and the way that it is written seems to indicate that it was a letter to one or more congregations of Jewish Christians, which may have included some Gentile believers too. This exhortation to “keep on loving one another” is a timeless and critical concern for Christians. Jesus said that we would be known as His disciples by our love for each other. Judging from all the divisions in His body we have not been very good at it.

 

There was a recent article in The Atlantic entitled, “How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church.” It talks about the political issues that are causing deep and acrimonious divisions among Christians who might otherwise agree on basic theological truths. Loving someone as a brother or sister means finding a way to bridge these divisions rather than building fortresses to defend ourselves from others who think differently from us. Neither Jesus nor the apostles took on the political issues of their day, but some churches now are being defined – and in many cases divided – by the political positions that they hold so passionately. Gathering around the basic truth of the gospel is actually treated with suspicion. The article quoted one pastor talking about politics as saying, “If you don’t take a side, you’re on the wrong side.” Brotherly love is replaced by scorn, derision, or even hatred. Jesus set a high standard for His disciples, echoed in this verse here. Love is our first responsibility, not being right.

 

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. – Hebrews 13:2

 

Our love in action should extend beyond other believers. We need to reach out to strangers and make them feel welcome in our homes. This has been largely lost in American culture, but I have enjoyed very generous hospitality in many other places in the world, even from people whom I had just met and was unlikely to ever see again. Abraham is a fine example of this in the Bible. Genesis 18 records how he welcomed and fed three strangers who turned out to have an important message from God for him and his wife. I’m afraid that in this day and age I tend to often view strangers in my own space with suspicion rather than considering first if they might be angels. I wonder if I am missing any messages from God as a result.

 

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. – Hebrews 13:3

 

Christians in the early church had a common expectation of being arrested and put in prison for what they believed. A later verse in this chapter references Timothy just being released from prison. This threat of imprisonment is still common in certain countries today but is outside the experience of most of us. I don’t think I have ever been mistreated solely for being a Christian. But persecution is indeed increasing in many places like India and China and Nigeria and Afghanistan, and we need to remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in those countries.

 

And in a more general sense, people are being mistreated all around us, so as followers of Jesus we need to take a stand for justice for anyone who is oppressed. He does not give us permission to stand up for our own rights but commands us to defend and care for the poor and weak, reaching out to victims of violence and discrimination as the Good Samaritan did. The parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 reminds us that when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit prisoners it is as though we are doing those things for Jesus Himself.

 

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. – Hebrews 13:4

 

As another expression of love, marriage should be held in high regard. Marriage models the relationship between Christ and the church, so sex outside of marriage equates to idolatry. Unfaithfulness in marriage or any kind of sexual immorality reflects a heart that is not fully committed to God. I am reminded of the verse in 2 Chronicles 16 that appears like a jewel in the story of Asa king of Judah: “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” That’s how the NASB puts it. The Lord will strongly support those whose hearts are completely committed to Him. And He will judge those who are unfaithful, whose loyalty is divided.

 

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?” – Hebrews 13:5-6

 

Here is another form of idolatry, perhaps not as frequently condemned in the church as sexual immorality. Who doesn’t love money? In America security is often measured in dollars and cents. How many of us feel a twinge of fear when the stock market takes another plunge? But if the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. Are we trusting Him to take care of us or are we relying on our bank accounts?

 

Be content with what you have. Clearly this is not suggesting that we should be lazy or unproductive. In the parable of the talents Jesus commended the servants who doubled their investment. It’s a question of motivation and purpose. Why are we trying to get ahead? Is it just to satisfy ourselves? Or are we plowing our resources back into service to God?

 

Because we live in a consumer driven economy we are continually encouraged to buy more, to get more stuff, whether we need it or not. Discontent frequently arises when we compare ourselves to others who have more than we do. We think that gaining material things will somehow make us happy. How many times have you heard or read of someone describing their childhood saying, “I grew up poor, but I didn’t know we were poor. We were just like everyone else.” But there are so many voices telling us now that we need more: more money, more things. It can be difficult to resist. But we need to remember where our true source of security and satisfaction lies: in God alone.

 

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. – Hebrews 13:7

 

We may consider emulating people who hold leadership positions in church bodies, but we should remember others as well who may not be considered formal leaders. Any Christian can be a spiritual leader, speaking the word of God into specific situations and leading by the example of their way of life, as it says here. We tend to admire and accept people who can speak well, but the outcome of their faith – the day-to-day evidence of how they are committed to and fully trusting God – is what we should really respect and imitate.

 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

 

Leaders who represent Jesus should aim to be as consistent as He is. We can trust Jesus because we know that He is faithful, never capricious or impulsive. In a world full of change and uncertainty we can rely on His constant presence and provision. He will never leave us nor forsake us, as it said earlier. His nature and his purposes are eternal. Our hope in Him is like that anchor for our soul that keeps us secure in all the storms of our lives.

 

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. – Hebrews 13:9-10

 

We don’t have the deep spiritual connection with food that many other cultures have, though we recognize that food has more than just a physical effect on us. There are still plenty of strange teachings related to diet that we may be tempted to put too much stock in. The question of eating food offered to idols was a concern addressed in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s principle there is to not do anything that cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble in their faith. We have a responsibility to make good choices in what we eat, taking care of the bodies that God has given us, while recognizing the greater benefit of being strengthened in every way by His grace. Our bodies will eventually weaken and wear out, but inwardly we can be renewed day after day, as it says in 2 Corinthians 4.

 

God’s grace is made available to us at the cross, the altar that those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. What does that mean? The sacrificial system of the tabernacle was based on performing certain rituals. Without faith, these would not give people access to God’s grace and forgiveness. Serving in the tabernacle should not be seen as a privileged position. Right standing before God always comes by faith in what He has done for us, not by what we have done to try to achieve His favor.

 

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. – Hebrews 13:11-14

 

The priesthood of Jesus, in the order of Melchizedek, is recognized here again, in offering His own blood for our atonement. Jesus has the unique position of being both priest and sacrifice, sanctified and shamed at the same time. What does it mean for us to go to Him outside the camp? Well, it says here that it is a place of suffering and disgrace. The wilderness, away from civilization, is a place of vulnerability and discomfort. Going outside the security of the camp means leaving certain things behind, stripping away certain things like our pride and status as we identify with Jesus in his disgrace. We can no longer hide in the crowd if we are serious about following Him. The city represents security and predictability and belonging. But here we have no enduring city. We look forward to having those things in heaven. In the meantime, on the positive side, we are not tied down, trapped by human expectations. We have the flexibility to move onward into whatever God would call us to.

 

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. – Hebrews 13:15-16

 

Offering a sacrifice implies that we are giving something up. A sacrifice costs us something. We give something up to gain something else. Praise to God can indeed be a sacrifice, especially when we do it when we don’t feel like it. We praise in submission to Him, as we give up our need to make sense of our circumstances or to satisfy our own desires. We give up ourselves to receive fulfillment in Him. The continuity of praise described here is related to Paul’s exhortation to “give thanks in all circumstances,” mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5. We can only do this “through Jesus,” not in our own strength. And openly professing His name, verbally giving God credit for the ways He is blessing us, may involve a cost. Giving God glory may not cost us anything in church, but if we do it publicly we may incur ridicule and opposition. But let us press on to acknowledge the Lord, as it says in Hosea.

 

Our life of worship should involve a second type of sacrifice mentioned here, in keeping with Jesus’ admonition to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to do good and to share with others. This involves sacrifice as well, as we give up our own desires to meet the needs of others. Service is a crucial component of worship, intensely practical, since actions always speak louder than words. The Message puts verse 16 this way: “Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.” That’s where the rubber hits the road, so to speak.

 

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. – Hebrews 13:17

 

Submission is another topic worthy of a separate sermon. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” it says in Ephesians 5:21. That is the overall principle. We submit to leaders not because they are necessarily right but because their authority has been given to them by God. That is why we have to submit to civil authorities who may not even acknowledge God. However, submission does not mean blind obedience. We are still individually accountable to God. Submission means that when there is disagreement and someone needs to make a decision, that the leader is allowed to decide and everyone else quits arguing. And the leader then needs to take responsibility for the decision, too. Leaders must give account to God, as it says here. This type of submission actually makes life easier for everyone. Again from the Message, “Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?”

 

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon. – Hebrews 13:18-19

 

This is an expression of sincerity. The author acknowledges a need for prayer and a desire to again be with the believers that he is writing to. His desire to live honorably in every way ought to be universal. There should be nothing deceptive or manipulative or insincere in the way we relate to others.

 

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. – Hebrews 13:20-21

 

This then is the closing benediction, similar to the ones Paul wrote in his epistles, including its appeal to “the God of peace” honoring His eternal covenant. Jesus is referred to as the great Shepherd, echoing Jesus’ identifying of Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Part of God’s care for us through Jesus is to equip us with everything we need to do His will as well as to transform us into what He desires. This inner transformation and outward change in behavior go together, as God’s work of grace in our lives. In the words of 2 Corinthians 9:8 that we frequently sing, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose, as it says in Philippians 2. So we can see that this is all of God’s grace, as we depend on Him.

 

Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.

I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.

Grace be with you all. – Hebrews 13:22-25

 

The author recognizes that there is so much more that could be said about all the topics in this letter. He reiterates his desire to see them and sends greetings, including from believers from Italy. Some commentators take this to mean that the letter was written to congregations in Italy. Others interpret it as being written from Italy. Many facts about this letter, including its authorship, will remain unknown to us.

 

The message of Hebrews however is clear. Jesus is Someone special, supreme over everything and at the very center of God’s redemptive plan. He is the one who gives us access to God. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Is Jesus worthy of our commitment and adoration? Hebrews gives a resounding yes.

 

In closing, I would like to return to where we started today: “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.” Siblings may not always get along, but family is what binds us together, within this body and with believers all around the world. The gospel is very simple. Romans 10 sums it up like this:

 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. – Romans 10:9-13

 

Therefore, anyone who declares that Jesus is Lord on the basis of their faith in His completed work on their behalf is my brother or sister in Christ. Salvation is so simple: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Some people may be like the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. All he said was, “Jesus remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus recognized his remarkable faith that looked beyond that awful death to the glorious kingdom to come and responded, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” We need to be careful not to add too many qualifications to the gospel of salvation, too many other things to believe or positions to take. The basic truths that should unite us as the body of Christ are much more important than the many smaller issues that we may disagree on.

 

Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ may differ in almost every way, but it is my responsibility to love each of them as my neighbor, namely to love them as I love myself. One of the unique things about the body of Christ is its amazing diversity. And 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that every part is important. We need everyone’s perspective, everyone’s insight, everyone’s participation.

Denominations and individual churches so easily become echo chambers where everyone says pretty much the same thing and feels obligated to agree with everyone else. We need to be challenged by people who think differently than we do. And we need to feel free to challenge them with our understanding of Scripture and how we live it out in the grace of God. Together we will be able to reach a slightly fuller understanding of our infinite God that none of us will ever completely comprehend. When we gather around His throne in heaven, there will be many different voices joining in perfect harmony, giving glory to the worthy empowerer of our praise.