Invitation to the Life of Jacob (Biblical Preaching for the Contemporary Church)

Winning Through Losing

Donald R. Sunukjian

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781683592273
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Invitation to Philippians:
Building a Great Church through Humility

Invitation to James:
Persevering through Trials to Win the Crown

Invitation to the Life of Jacob:
Winning through Losing

Invitation to Galatians
(forthcoming)

Invitation to Mark
(forthcoming)

Invitation to Joshua
(forthcoming)

Invitation to the Life of Jacob: Winning through Losing

© 2014 by Donald R. Sunukjian

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

First edition by Weaver Book Company.

All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [email protected].

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy ­Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Print ISBN 9781683592266

Digital ISBN 9781683592273

Cover design: LUCAS Art & Design

Editorial, design, and production:

{ In a Word } www.inawordbooks.com

/edited by Margaret Diehl/

To the faculty and staff at

Talbot School of Theology

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

Psalm 16:3

Contents

Series Preface

Introduction

A Twinkle in Your Parents’ Eyes
or a Star in God’s Plan

Genesis 25:19–26

“Gimme Some of That Red Stuff”

Genesis 25:27–34

Forsaking Family Flaws

Genesis 26:1–11

It Is “Wells” with My Soul

Genesis 26:12–33

Marry Christians, Merry Christians

Genesis 26:34–35; 27:46–28:9

A Good Thing the Right Way

Genesis 27:1–45

Unexpected, Overwhelming Grace

Genesis 28:10–22

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Genesis 29:1–14

Broken Bones Mending Stronger

Genesis 29:14–30

The Promise all over the Place

Genesis 29:31–30:24

Streaked, Speckled, and Spotted

Genesis 30:25–43

Against All Odds and Gods

Genesis 31

Two Camps, Two Camps, Two Camps

Genesis 32:1–21

The Magnificent Defeat

Genesis 32:22–32

Like Seeing the Face of God

Genesis 33

Series Preface

Some years ago I wrote a textbook—Invitation to Biblical Preaching—which has been translated into several languages and is being used rather widely to develop biblical preachers. This current series of volumes is being published as an Invitation to sermons on specific biblical books, individuals, or themes. The purpose of this series is to offer models of the principles presented in the textbook.

A sermon comes alive when it is true to the biblical author’s flow of thought, clear in its unfolding, interesting to listen to, and connected to contemporary life. Hopefully that’s true of the messages in this book.

These messages were originally preached before a congregation of God’s people, and then slightly edited to their present form in order to adjust from the hearing ear to the reading eye. But I’ve tried my best to retain their oral flavor—I’ve wanted them to still sound close to the way we talk. This means there will be incomplete sentences, colloquial and idiomatic language, and other features of the spoken word.

I’ve also occasionally included some stage directions, so that the reader can visualize any props or large physical movements that were part of a message.

May God speak to your heart through his Word.

Introduction

A fascinating man with a turbulent life—that’s Jacob.

Other than Samson, Jacob was probably the strongest man in the Bible. He lifted from the top of a well a flat rock that three teenage boys could not lift. He physically wrestled God to a draw, in whatever magnificent human form God took for the occasion.

His mind was always active, looking for the edge, the advantage. He manipulated, finessed, and deceived. And then received what he had sown as others did the same to him.

He immigrated penniless to a new country. Within twenty years, he was a multi-millionaire. And along the way he fathered twelve sons who became the Jewish people.

He came into the world with God’s irrevocable promise of blessing, but he never could trust God to make good on it.

Even after he seemingly gained a victory, with a new name to reflect it, he soon relapsed into fear and finagling.

Jacob is Everyman. Jacob is us.

1

A Twinkle in Your Parents’ Eyes
or a Star in God’s Plan

Genesis 25:19–26

“I knew you when you were just a twinkle in your parents’ eyes,” an older friend of the family sometimes said to a youngster in my family when being introduced. In other words, “I knew your parents even before you were born, when they were just twinkling loving eyes at one another.”

Is that simply what your life is? Are you merely the result of a twinkle in your parents’ eyes? Or is there some more meaningful reason for your birth, some greater significance to why you’re here? Is there some plan of God’s in which you play a starring role?

The life of Jacob tells us that the latter is true: God has a plan for your life, and intends to bless you beyond what you expect. Your existence on earth is not an accident; you were a “planned pregnancy.” God brought you into the world with a specific purpose and he plans to bless you and use you more than you know.

The question is: How do you receive this blessing? What response will enable you to enjoy his blessing and fulfill his purpose? The answer will emerge as we watch Jacob coming into the world. From the moment of his birth, we’ll see that God has a specific plan for him—a plan to bless him and use him. And we’ll learn what’s necessary to receive that blessing.

Jacob’s story begins in Genesis 25:19–26:

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.

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.”

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.

The opening line—“This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac”—immediately connects Jacob to God’s specific plan for his life. “This is the account of” is a special phrase in the book of Genesis; it organizes or structures the whole book. Appearing ten times in the book, it reveals God’s unfolding plan as he more specifically narrows and focuses on whom he will use to carry out his purposes in the world.

“This is the account of” means “This is what became of so-and-so.” It’s not so much about the person mentioned as it is about the family line that comes from him—the descendants who follow him, and what happens to them as God dismisses some from blessing and chooses others. Here are the ten occurrences of the phrase in Genesis, with the consequences that follow:

2:4	This is what became of the heavens and the earth—sin enters the world in the Garden.
5:1	This is what became of Adam—sin becomes rampant and universal.
6:9	This is what became of Noah—after a flood destroys a sinful world, God establishes his covenant with Noah’s descendants.
10:1	This is what became of Noah’s sons—his descendants rebel against God at Babel.
11:10	This is what became of Shem—his descendants lead to Abram, whom God will choose.
11:27	This is what became of Terah—his descendants, Abraham and Isaac, are chosen. ...

Table of contents

• Series Preface