1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,960 If you have a copy of your Bibles this morning, if you 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,600 would please turn to Genesis chapter 33. 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:13,040 We good to follow along in the text as we continue to advance 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,320 this series and title Legacy of Blessing. 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,680 We have been in suspense all week to wonder how this is going 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:30,080 to resolve, as we have heard that Jacob's brother Esau has 7 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,600 400 men to meet him. That is military language that 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,240 is very scary. The last time they were 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,640 together, he saw was murderously angry with his treacherous 10 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,600 younger brother who stole the blessing. 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,480 So we come into this place and continue to ask, as we do every 12 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,680 week, our most basic questions, fundamental human questions, 13 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,680 fundamentally religious questions. 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,000 What am I? What does it mean to be human, 15 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,600 created in the image of God? Who am I, Where does my identity 16 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,920 come from, and why am I here anyways? 17 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,640 Is there a purpose or a meaning to life? 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,760 As we read through Genesis, we hear God's promises repeated to 19 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,600 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promises to give them the land, 20 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:22,160 to make them a great nation, and to give them the means to bless 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,240 the nations, that they will be a blessing to the nations. 22 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,200 And we can note that these promises apply to us as well, 23 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,080 that the Lord has promised to give us a place to make of us a 24 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,800 great people and to give us holy work to do and give us a 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,640 purpose. We note as we read through 26 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,840 Genesis that sin has a devastating effect in all three 27 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,400 of these areas. We see Adam and Eve exiled from 28 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,840 their home, and in the Jacob narratives we see Jacob on the 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:58,120 run out of the promised land to flee from his angry brother Sin 30 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:04,680 Rex home. We also see sin make the closest 31 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,960 relationships war against one another as this. 32 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,720 As was the case with Cain and Abel, Cain murdered his brother. 33 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,400 And in this text, Esau is murderously angry. 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,000 Or at least that's the last we knew of him. 35 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:24,760 And so instead of having close brotherly love, we have threats 36 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,400 of murder. And instead of being a blessing 37 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:38,440 to one another, our sin makes us selfish, deceptive, greedy, 38 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:45,080 hesitant to reach out, to give, to bless, to heal. 39 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:48,520 So we have curses instead of blessings. 40 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,680 As we said, Jacob thieved twice, and finally his brother's so 41 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,640 angry he has to run away. But God comes to him in his 42 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:01,200 great need and gives to him a vision, a stairway to heaven, 43 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:06,040 and an Oracle that repeats the blessing, promising to be with 44 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,480 Jacob wherever he goes as he leaves the promised land. 45 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:14,440 And it's in spends 20 years in exile with his wicked uncle 46 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,200 Laban. But in that text, before any of 47 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,040 that happens, Jacob swears A vow. 48 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,080 This is what it looks like. Then Jacob made a vow saying, if 49 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,240 God will be with me and will keep me means protect me in this 50 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,120 way, that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to 51 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:40,400 wear so that I come home again, so that I come again to my 52 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:47,480 father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 53 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,680 And so we see that because of God, because of his grace, 54 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,040 because of his grace, gracious purposes in our lives that these 55 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,720 things can be restored, that He will give us a home, that He 56 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,040 will give us a people or a family where we belong, and He 57 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,480 will allow us to bless instead of curse. 58 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,040 Friends, we, we desperately need peace, don't we? 59 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,800 We'll give up just about anything to have peace on the 60 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,519 one hand, and yet we war against one another in our sin and our 61 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:24,440 selfishness. On the other hand, we 62 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:29,600 desperately need peace. Think of that relationship that 63 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,560 broke. Think of those people that you 64 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,480 just can't talk to without misunderstanding. 65 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,240 Think of those people that you just can't engage with without 66 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,520 it going off the rails. Maybe it just happened. 67 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:56,760 Maybe it's been decades. We need peace, but we also need 68 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,640 a place to call home, don't we? When Dorothy says there's no 69 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:03,480 place like home, there's no place like home, there's no 70 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,200 place like home, that's not sentimental drivel. 71 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,680 It's true. Think about it. 72 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,560 Home is where you experience or you should experience peace, 73 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:20,600 unconditional love, belonging, mutual knowing, table, 74 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:25,320 fellowship, laughter, joy, celebration. 75 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,000 We need home. We need home. 76 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,480 And these two ideas, these ideas of peace and home go together so 77 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,400 tightly, don't they? We need peace. 78 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,400 We need home. Our sin makes these things 79 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,280 impossibly difficult. But praise be to God, he gives 80 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:51,000 us peace and he gives us home. Let's talk about peace first. 81 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,520 As we look at the text together, verse one, you're getting the 82 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,800 scary setup. It's reminding you where we are 83 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,920 in the story. Jacob lifted up his eyes and 84 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:00,640 looked and behold, he saw was coming. 85 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,080 And 400 men with him. That's scary. 86 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:15,320 Those are armed soldiers. It's a reason why Jacob in the 87 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:19,960 earlier text was terrified. And he sends wave after wave of 88 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:25,240 gifts to precede him meeting his brother to hope to appease him. 89 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,320 Remember the story? Then he spends the night 90 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,920 wrestling with a mysterious visitor and is given a new name 91 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:39,240 and a hip injury. And he engages now in this scary 92 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,640 situation. But perhaps he's a new man. 93 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,040 So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two 94 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,520 female servants, and he put the servants with their children in 95 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,840 front. Then Leah with her children and 96 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:59,240 Rachel and Joseph, last of all. Perhaps you see favoritism even 97 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,520 in the ranking of the way he orders these people, and it 98 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:04,720 foreshadows the Joseph narratives that are coming. 99 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,640 But for now, you see him putting them there. 100 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:12,320 This is the last group and before where we saw Jacob in the 101 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,520 back. Now the text says that he goes 102 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,640 on before. Perhaps he's gained courage 103 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:21,200 through his encounter with the Lord with his new name and the 104 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:26,640 reiteration a blessing because now he goes in front of them. 105 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:32,240 Verse three, he himself, Jacob, went on before them, bowing 106 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,040 himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his 107 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,240 brother 7 times as a number of completion. 108 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:45,200 He is going to fully humiliate himself toward his brother. 109 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,080 Where he was the grasping, deceitful younger brother. 110 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,240 Now he is bowing down before his older brother as he approaches. 111 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,880 What's going to happen? Will there be a slaughter? 112 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,800 Is Esau still mad? You get to verse 4 and you have 113 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:12,720 a stunning plot twist. And as you've been reading 114 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,560 Genesis, you don't know what to expect because remember Cain did 115 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:23,080 kill Abel verse 4, but Esau ran to his, ran to meet him and 116 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,400 embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they 117 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:35,880 wept. It's a very warm text. 1 118 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,200 commentator said. It's one of the warmest texts in 119 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:44,039 all of Scripture where you have two bitter enemies after 20 long 120 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:47,720 years. You're in suspense about how 121 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,880 this is going to go. And they embrace one another as 122 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:59,320 brothers continues in warm tone. Verse 5, when he saw lifted up 123 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,320 his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, who are these 124 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:03,360 with you? I love that. 125 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,440 I love that because it reminds me of family reunions where I 126 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:12,200 met grand aunts and uncles who didn't know me but who love my 127 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,920 parents. And we all come up in a group to 128 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,120 be introduced and they say, now who are these? 129 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,960 What's your name? So you have Uncle Laban saying, 130 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,960 who are these? And Jacob answers so warmly, the 131 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,680 grasper, the greedy one, the one who does things for himself. 132 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:37,560 He says this how he introduces them the children whom God has 133 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:44,320 graciously given your servant. Something's happened to Jacob 134 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:49,600 over 20 long years and divine oracles, and to 20 years of 135 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,680 getting a taste of his own medicine, taste of his own 136 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:58,200 medicine, dealing with an abusive uncle who's a bigger 137 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,760 trickster than he is, and dealing with the rivalry in his 138 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:08,360 wives, the rivalry in his own heart for the taker. 139 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,600 And the liar now says, I receive God's grace. 140 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:19,400 The children are from God. Then the servants drew near, 141 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:21,320 they and their children, and bowed down. 142 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:24,440 Leah likewise, and her children drew near and bowed down. 143 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,360 And last, Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 144 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,680 Interesting text. It's as though Jacob is trying 145 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,520 to make amends for the crime he committed against his brother. 146 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,120 And if you remember the language of Isaac, their father, when he 147 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,600 thought he was blessing Esau, but it turned out to be Jacob in 148 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,920 disguise. He said your children will bow 149 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,760 down to his children and hear Jacob has his whole family bow 150 00:10:54,760 --> 00:11:01,320 down to his brother. He's making amends and it's 151 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,760 going to continue and it's going to be expensive. 152 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,840 Keep reading, Esau said. What did you mean by all this 153 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,520 company that I met? Remember wave after wave of 154 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,400 gifts of livestock? Jacob answered. 155 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,080 To find favor in the sight of my Lord, Notice how he uses that 156 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,800 humble language refers to Esau as my Lord. 157 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,160 But Esau said I have enough for my brother, keep what you have 158 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:27,080 for yourself. Jacob said no please, if I have 159 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,920 found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. 160 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:36,000 This is offering language. It's language of restitution, 161 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,280 like someone who's bringing an offering before the Lord, asking 162 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,160 for forgiveness and repentance. Jacob brings an offering to my 163 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,640 Lord, Esau. Asking for his favor is a sign 164 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,600 of repentance. Please accept my present from my 165 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,240 hand is a sign that we are reconciled. 166 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,720 And then, my friends, this next phrase resounds with biblical 167 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:07,080 echoes throughout the Bible. For I have seen your face, which 168 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:12,360 is like seeing the face of God. Remember, face to face, we've 169 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,800 seen this before. It's a sign of reconciliation 170 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:19,760 because when you are upset with somebody, you don't want to see 171 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,480 their face. The floor suddenly becomes 172 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:31,960 interesting, or the ceiling anywhere but eye to eye, super 173 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,440 uncomfortable. To reconcile is to see face to 174 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:40,880 face, to weep with joy and a warm embrace. 175 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,360 And it's like seeing the face of God. 176 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,600 And you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that 177 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:51,400 is brought to you because God has dealt graciously, graciously 178 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,920 with me. That's the second time God's 179 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:58,840 grace is mentioned because God has dealt graciously with Jacob 180 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,520 in the vertical relationship. Now Jacob can extend this grace 181 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:08,880 to his brother. Because I have enough. 182 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,560 Then he urged him, and he took it. 183 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:16,160 Jacob has enough. Greedy grasping. 184 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:21,120 Jacob finally has enough. Finally, he has learned that the 185 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,760 reconciled relationship with his brother is more important than 186 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:29,840 all the things. It's so interesting to contrast 187 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:31,280 him with Laban. Uncle Laban. 188 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,720 And their final parting says all of this stuff that you see is 189 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,760 mine. Your wives, your children, it's 190 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,760 all mine. And they have a meal together 191 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,080 and patch up a boundary, and that's the best they can do. 192 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:49,280 They have to leave. But here Jacob doesn't say all 193 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:56,280 this is mine. He says I have enough Luther, 194 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,360 Martin Luther, that Luther so beautifully comments on this. 195 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:06,160 He says it's as though Jacob is saying, because I have God and 196 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:14,720 you my brother as friends, I am rich, I have enough. 197 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,960 Thus he urged him and he took it. 198 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:23,240 He received it. Verse 12 Then Esau said, Let us 199 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,200 journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you. 200 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,240 But Jacob said to me, My Lord knows that the children are 201 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,320 frail and that the nursing flocks in herds are a care to 202 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,120 me. If they are driven hard, for one 203 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,440 day all the flocks will die. Let my Lord pass on ahead of his 204 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,800 servants, and I will lead on slowly at the pace of the 205 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,440 livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of their 206 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,160 children, until I come to my Lord in Seer. 207 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,520 So Esau said, let me leave with you some of the people who are 208 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,400 with me, But he said Juanita's there. 209 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,160 Let me find favor in the sight of my Lord. 210 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,920 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seer. 211 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,760 But Jacob journeyed to Sakoth and built himself a house and 212 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,120 made booze for his livestock. Therefore he named the name of 213 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:09,880 the place is called Sakoth. Esau graciously offers escort 214 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,800 with these armed men. Perhaps the place is dangerous. 215 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,680 Jacob says we're slow, go on ahead. 216 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,240 He said, well, I can leave some men with you. 217 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,760 Will you come down to see her with me? 218 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,320 And some, some will interpret this to wonder if they don't 219 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,640 quite trust each other yet. And that's a possible reading. 220 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,680 But the text doesn't say that they didn't eventually meet 221 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,760 together there, and the text will deliberately show that 222 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:41,160 Jacob is returning home first. The overall tone is very warm 223 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:46,840 and good in my opinion. So let's talk a little bit about 224 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,200 the fact that God has given Jacob peace so that he can give 225 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,520 his brother peace. I want you to know that that's a 226 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,720 gracious and bilateral miracle. God has been working in Jacob, 227 00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:59,280 and God has obviously been working in Esau. 228 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,920 Somehow. Often reconciliation takes time 229 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,800 because our hearts are hard. In this case it takes 20 years. 230 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,720 We see speeches of reconciliation and expensive 231 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,120 gifts. Reconciliation is expensive. 232 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,680 The sacrificial language in here reminds us that the 233 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:25,200 reconciliation that it cost God to have reconciliation between 234 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,120 himself and humans cost him his Son. 235 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:32,600 And often reconciliation in these horizontal relationships 236 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:41,280 is extremely expensive as well, humbling ourselves sometimes 237 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:49,000 financially expensive as well, to miraculous exchange and 238 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,120 miraculous change in both brothers. 239 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,760 In both brothers, but especially for the Grasper. 240 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,840 Indeed, his grief and envy in this text seem to be totally 241 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:03,240 gone. As I mentioned, Laban said all 242 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,480 this is mine. Jacob instead says I have 243 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:07,560 enough. Why? 244 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:15,680 Only because of God they are face to face. 245 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:25,599 And this, this phrase about how Esau ran to meet Jacob and 246 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:28,520 embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they 247 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:33,760 wept, is probably repeated or alluded to by the words of our 248 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:38,400 Lord and possibly his most famous parable of all. 249 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:39,360 Do you know what I'm thinking of? 250 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:50,320 The story of the prodigal son? The younger brother leaves home. 251 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,240 He wastes everything. The father can't follow him 252 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:55,720 there. There are boundaries that have 253 00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,760 to be kept, but eventually son comes to his senses, comes down 254 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,520 the road. The father's been watching and 255 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,800 the text says, Jesus says, and he arose and came to his father, 256 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,560 but while he, the younger brother, was still a long way 257 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,200 off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced 258 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:22,280 him and kissed him. This vertical reconciliation 259 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:24,480 leads to horizontal reconciliation. 260 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,800 Receiving forgiveness means that we extend for forgiveness. 261 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,400 As Hudson was praying. Therefore, the Second 262 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,080 Corinthians chapter 5, Second Corinthians chapter 5, beginning 263 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:37,440 in verse 17. Let me read to you. 264 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,840 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 265 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,400 The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. 266 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:51,080 All of this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to 267 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,680 Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 268 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,120 That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to 269 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,120 Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and 270 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,440 entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 271 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:09,840 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His 272 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,720 appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of 273 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,760 Christ, be reconciled to God for our sake. 274 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,200 He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might 275 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:28,040 become the righteousness of God. Jesus has more to say. 276 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,480 Matthew chapter 5. Beginning in verse 22 and 277 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,840 following Jesus says, I say to you that everyone who is angry 278 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,240 with his brother will be liable to judgement. 279 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,560 Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council and 280 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,160 whoever says you fool will be liable to the fire of hell. 281 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,800 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there and 282 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:50,960 there, remember that your brother has something against 283 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:52,520 you. Leave your gift there before the 284 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,320 altar and go first. Be reconciled to your brother 285 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,280 and then come and offer your gift. 286 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,720 Reconciliation may take a long time because our hearts are 287 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,280 hard, but friends, there is urgency to do everything that 288 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:12,640 you can, as much as it depends on you, to reconcile quickly. 289 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,960 To be a Christian that keeps short accounts, that doesn't 290 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,040 hold grudges, that can do whatever they can to reconcile 291 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:25,640 why it's because of God. First John chapter 4 verse 19 292 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,120 and following we love because he first loved us. 293 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,720 If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he's a liar 294 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,960 for he who does not love his brother, whom he has not seen, 295 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,320 whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen in 296 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,040 this commandment we have from him. 297 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,840 Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 298 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:51,200 We have tremendous resources in the gospel to extend the 299 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:52,760 forgiveness that we have been given. 300 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,000 Now the Bible is very careful and qualified in the way it 301 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,800 presents this doctrine. As we noticed even in these 302 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:09,560 nearby texts, the the closest reconciliation that the abusive 303 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:15,600 Uncle Laban can have with Jacob is a separation, A contractual 304 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:22,440 agreement to not harm. But if both parties are willing 305 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,640 and able, we can have so much more than a boundary and a 306 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:31,960 separation. We can have true reconciliation 307 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,880 like what we see here. Paul says in Romans chapter 12 308 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:44,080 verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live 309 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,440 peaceably with all. Sometimes it's not going to be 310 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,360 possible my friends, and you're going to experience relational 311 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:52,960 brokenness that you can't change. 312 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,760 But we are still obligated to do whatever we can on our side to 313 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:02,680 live peaceably with all. You may need counsel to know how 314 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,560 to navigate very difficult, tricky situation. 315 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:15,880 Seek that counsel. We receive his peace so that we 316 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,440 can be peacemakers. We receive his peace so that we 317 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:24,240 can be peacemakers. Second part of this text has 318 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,560 Jacob coming safely home. This is true for us as well. 319 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:33,320 He brings us home. God brings us home. 320 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,200 So Esau said, Let me leave with you some of the people who are 321 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:40,720 with me. But he said, What neat is there, 322 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,560 Let me find favor in the eyes of my Lord. 323 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,120 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seer. 324 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,280 But Jacob returned to Sukkoth and built himself a house and 325 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,400 made booths for his livestock. Therefore he named that the name 326 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,040 of that place is called Sukkoth. And Jacob came safely to the 327 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,680 city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way to 328 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,440 Padan Aram. And he camped before the city. 329 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,200 And from the sons of Haymore, Shechem's father, he bought for 330 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,280 100 pieces of money build the piece of land on which he had 331 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,720 pitched his tent. There he created an altar and 332 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:16,600 called it El Alohi Yasrael. What's going on here? 333 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:21,480 Jacob once again is in his father and his grandfather's 334 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,200 story. If you check the names of the 335 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:27,280 places, Father Abraham is in this place erecting altars. 336 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:32,720 Remember with these stories are our stories often with so much 337 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,920 similarity. He purchases, He finally returns 338 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,600 home in peace. And if you remember as he was 339 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,240 making his vow, if the Lord protects me and gives me 340 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,160 provisions and I return home in peace, then the Lord will be my 341 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,400 God. And here he erects an altar. 342 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,760 And what does he call it? El Alohae. 343 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,520 And then he uses his own name here, Yesrael. 344 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,640 Why is that significant? If you look earlier, Jacob 345 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,640 refers to God, the God of Abraham, in the fear of Isaac. 346 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,360 And he says if I return here, the Lord will be my God. 347 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:11,040 Here he uses his brand new name. Name's the altar L Elohi Israel, 348 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,160 God, the God of Israel. So the text is taking you full 349 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:21,600 circle and it's a beautiful high point, but it's also a hinge for 350 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,320 the next section where we descend into madness once again 351 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,840 and terrible dysfunction. Because this is Jacob and not 352 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,960 Jesus. He'll give us glimpses of our 353 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,960 Lord, but it's not the high def image we have in the glory of 354 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,440 the Son. Let's talk for a couple of 355 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:47,400 minutes about Jesus. Jacob had to leave home, didn't 356 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,200 he? Chased out by an angry brother. 357 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:56,640 Jesus too left home, chased by no one, out of his own volition, 358 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,200 sent by his Father, he left his home. 359 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,120 Jacob for a time was homeless and had to be taken care of by 360 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:09,800 his uncle. Jesus too stylizes himself as 361 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,640 homeless. The Son of Man doesn't have a 362 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:18,200 place to lay his head. Jacob's returning home. 363 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,280 Our Lord, after his death, burial and resurrection, 364 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:30,760 ascended home to heaven. Now you see in this text Jacob 365 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,760 building a house for his family. And we are told in Holy 366 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,080 Scripture that Jesus is preparing a place for us, 367 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:42,160 preparing a home for us in the new heavens and the new earth. 368 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:48,360 We need peace. We need home because of sin. 369 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,880 We experience a type of homelessness, a type of 370 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,240 wandering, a type of exile, don't we? 371 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:58,160 Which means conversion is a homecoming, a type of return. 372 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,760 Because of sin, we are homeless, but because of God we are 373 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,960 homeward bound. And the Bible introduces and 374 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,280 give us gives to us kind of a strange paradox Christian, 375 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:16,160 because we're supposed to be just a passing through as aliens 376 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,240 and strangers going through a strange place in a strange land. 377 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,440 This land is not our true home. And we're just a passing 378 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,200 through, as the old song says, And yet. 379 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:32,200 And yet, because we don't make idols out of our homes, and 380 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,400 because we are longing for the unshakeable Kingdom, our true 381 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:40,920 home, because of those interesting truths, we are able 382 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:49,120 to make our homes a foretaste of heaven, aren't we? 383 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,880 Have you ever been in a home of peace? 384 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,320 You walk into the door and you sit down and the wave of 385 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,920 hospitality just makes you feel at rest and you think, ha, this 386 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:09,040 is beautiful, We're just a passing through. 387 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,200 But this isn't. This is a glimpse of heaven. 388 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,360 And you don't have to be rich to do this. 389 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,520 One time Deidre and I were so poor in seminary. 390 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:22,920 So poor. But the environment of home is a 391 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,320 relational reality. And so when people came in and 392 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:32,000 they felt attended to, they would say remarkable things 393 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,160 like, your home is so peaceful. I'm like, well, that's weird. 394 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:42,000 Why did you tell me that? Probably because the tragic 395 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,480 reality is because of sin. For many, many, many people, 396 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,360 home is not a peaceful reality at all. 397 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,240 It's broken, it's dysfunctional. There's abuse, there's 398 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:59,600 hostility, there's the most emotionally racked, problematic 399 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:08,240 situation imaginable. And Christians with our high 400 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,840 view of home are able to make this little place of respite. 401 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,360 And if it isn't that way, we ask God to fix it. 402 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,400 But more importantly, when we enter into this house, this 403 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:25,080 sanctuary, hopefully by God's grace, you enter into a whole 404 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:28,440 new home. So no matter what you're 405 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,200 experiencing behind your closed door, when you come into these 406 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:39,000 open doors, there's warmth and belonging, hospitality, the food 407 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:44,520 of reconciliation and fellowship so that you can lay your burdens 408 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:50,800 down, so that you have the resources to reconcile with your 409 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,960 enemies. So you can pray for them, though 410 00:28:54,960 --> 00:29:00,920 you hate them, begging God to do a work in your heart as you need 411 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,640 them to also have a miracle on them as well in order to make 412 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:11,080 peace. So in the first movement we have 413 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,160 to receive his peace so that we can be a peacemaker, and in the 414 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,160 second movement we receive his home or His hope of home as we 415 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:26,920 sojourn so that we can make be home makers like Jesus be 416 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:32,160 peacemakers and home makers. Let us pray. 417 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,160 Father in Heaven, we need you more than we can possibly 418 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:40,080 imagine. You've been so generous to us to 419 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,560 offer us peace by the blood of your Son. 420 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,560 Lord Jesus, thank you for sacrificing yourself on our 421 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,160 behalf. We receive your peace now. 422 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,400 We pray that you would do the work of making us peacemakers in 423 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,880 our relationships. Lord, we need home. 424 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,800 We look forward to our future home, and we pray as we're 425 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,080 passing through that You would help us to be people of 426 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,240 hospitality and peace, warmth of kindness and belonging. 427 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,000 Do it in us. By your Holy Spirit, we pray one 428 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,360 God forever blessed. Amen. 429 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:16,520 Would you please?