WEBVTT 00:00:01.239 --> 00:00:04.500 Welcome to Journey from Jacob. From our first 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:07.419 breath to our last heartbeat, we are all on a 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.660 journey. Jacob was a biblical character whose 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:14.140 journey is documented for our benefit. Like all 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:16.579 of us, there were unforgettable moments along 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:20.359 the way which required decisiveness. One of those 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:24.140 decisions determined his destination. We will 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.160 not only discuss Jacob's journey, but Israel's 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.399 as well, right up to date. May this podcast inspire 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:34.380 you to make choices along your way that will 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.359 benefit others and guide you to the destination 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:44.600 we all long for. Welcome back to Journey from 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.219 Jacob, a podcast produced by Comfort My People. 00:00:48.619 --> 00:00:51.939 I want to take this story back to its origin. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:55.780 The from Jacob part kind of sounds confusing 00:00:55.780 --> 00:00:59.020 because you don't journey from and tell a story. 00:00:59.210 --> 00:01:02.590 you're turning in two to tell the story. But 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.950 the biblical story starts beyond the beginning 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:08.930 of the Bible even, because God created you and 00:01:08.930 --> 00:01:11.810 I in his mind before the creation of the world. 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:14.489 And so this story is known to him before it even 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:18.709 happens. So this story is an intersection between 00:01:19.199 --> 00:01:21.540 spiritual world and the natural world, the world 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:23.939 we live in and the world we don't see, but we 00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:26.340 experience it. And if you're born again, that's 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:28.840 the only way you can actually understand it according 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.780 to the New Testament. And the Old Testament bears 00:01:31.780 --> 00:01:34.219 it out because there's a frustration, there's 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:36.980 a tension there that people are being told something, 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:38.980 but they don't seem to get it. They don't seem 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:41.379 to get it deep enough to actually contribute 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:44.159 to the story. And then it goes off course. So 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:46.219 that's something common to men and we have to 00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:49.379 be very mindful of it. as we're following on 00:01:49.379 --> 00:01:51.560 this journey. So this journey has to be your 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:54.879 journey in order to make sense. So it's an intersection 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:58.659 between the seen and the unseen, the natural 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:01.959 and the supernatural. But it can't be told unless 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:05.140 there is this intersection and they travel together. 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.560 So we've seen some of the hardships already. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.139 We have seen over and over again, not just with 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:13.280 Jacob, but going back now into Abraham. But you 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.680 got to see something else that's going on is 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.879 that there's this affection that's coming from 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:20.900 God to the participants, the human participants, 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:23.259 like you and me. There's this affection he's 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:26.180 trying to communicate throughout the story. And 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:28.300 sometimes when we read the words or heard the 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:31.879 words spoken, taught or preached, it's this oftentimes 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:34.520 a harshness to it, like This is a command, this 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:36.740 is God speaking and He's authoritarian and you 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:38.900 better get it or you're going to end up in trouble. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.180 And that's not how it is. There's times when 00:02:41.180 --> 00:02:43.699 God is very strong. There's no doubt about it. 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:45.620 And there's times in the future when we're going 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.939 to see His arm unbeared. It's going to be just 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:51.159 visible. And He's muscular, let me tell you that. 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:54.039 It's spiritual, but we're going to see the effects 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:56.939 of His power. If you're a believer, you will 00:02:56.939 --> 00:02:59.379 see it and it won't be directed towards you. 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.879 But it will be directed to make final the opposition 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:06.439 in the spiritual realm that has caused us living 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.840 in the natural realm to suffer. Now, consequences 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:13.599 are the result of wrong choices. So it's not 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:15.979 just Satan. We don't do this. We don't start 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:18.939 blaming everything on him because we are responsible 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:21.719 for our actions. And we're going to see the decisions 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:25.069 that Abraham made. and Sarah made and Abraham 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:27.710 compliant with her, are going to cause trouble. 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:31.490 They do cause trouble. And it's not to our advantage 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:34.129 to just go over and say, boy, Abraham was a real 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:36.650 dunce. How could he do this? God speaks to him 00:03:36.650 --> 00:03:39.389 personally. And yet we miss the point because 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:43.289 we're supposed to be reflective as we read, not 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:46.080 condemning. Jesus did not come to this world 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:48.280 to condemn the world, but that this world, in 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:50.860 this world, we would have life and life more 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:53.979 abundant. So I want to take you back to the place 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:57.879 where the story really has its roots. Even though 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:01.659 we are going through Genesis right now, God makes 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.620 something very plain sometime later. I don't 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:07.379 know the exact number of years, but from Abraham 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:11.550 to Moses, He's living in the wilderness and God 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:14.710 approaches him and tells him about his task in 00:04:14.710 --> 00:04:17.389 this redemptive story, which is going to be the 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:19.810 revealing of the law, for one thing, main thing, 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:23.709 but also just living it out. He's 80 years old 00:04:23.709 --> 00:04:26.529 when God calls him and he spends 40 years in 00:04:26.529 --> 00:04:30.430 the wilderness before he dies. He saw the promised 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:32.649 land but never entering it. So this is what he 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:35.129 told him in the beginning when he first met Moses 00:04:35.129 --> 00:04:38.079 and Moses first met him and he said, This unto 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.339 Moses, you shall say to the children of Israel, 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:44.420 the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:47.899 Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:52.259 has sent me unto you. This is my memorial unto 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:56.079 you and your descendants for all generations. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:58.360 He mentions, this is what I want to point out, 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.399 that this is how I'm going to be known and this 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.420 is how I want you to let me be known in your 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.230 sons and daughters and grandchildren. that I 00:05:06.230 --> 00:05:09.790 am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This 00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:12.410 is my name forever, and this is what should be 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:15.629 told to all generations. And I just want to promote 00:05:15.629 --> 00:05:17.829 you to think about that. When's the last time 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:20.389 that you taught, whether you're a teacher or 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:23.069 just in conversation with a friend, a believer, 00:05:23.529 --> 00:05:27.730 or your own children, that the God of... We believe 00:05:27.730 --> 00:05:31.430 in Jesus. We believe Jesus is God. But he's the 00:05:31.430 --> 00:05:33.589 God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:35.949 of Jacob. He wants us to know that. And so in 00:05:35.949 --> 00:05:38.610 order to know that, we have to know the story 00:05:38.610 --> 00:05:42.629 regarding this continuity, this continuous sense 00:05:42.629 --> 00:05:45.350 of descendancy from Abraham, Abraham and Isaac, 00:05:45.370 --> 00:05:47.689 Isaac to Jacob. Because when he starts this, 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:49.709 which we already read about, God's saying, I'm 00:05:49.709 --> 00:05:51.750 going to bless you. I'm going to bless all those 00:05:51.750 --> 00:05:54.329 who bless you. I'm going to curse those who curse 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:57.730 you. But in you, all the families of the earth 00:05:57.730 --> 00:06:00.769 will be blessed. and your descendants forever. 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:03.649 So Abraham's had no kids by that point. He's 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:06.129 still called Abraham. So we're going to continue 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:09.810 on. If you have just starting with us, I recommend 00:06:09.810 --> 00:06:12.610 you go backwards. Start backwards a little bit, 00:06:12.889 --> 00:06:15.350 but hopefully this you can start right here as 00:06:15.350 --> 00:06:19.259 well and get it. So we went through this incredible 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:22.000 spiritual episode that Abraham went through in 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.220 Genesis 15, following on the heels of this satanic 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.680 meeting after he came back from winning a war 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.360 that he fought for his nephew -in -law. So here 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:35.800 we are in chapter 16, and it says here that Abraham 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:39.100 went into Hagar and she conceived. Now why would 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:40.920 he go into Hagar? He thought his wife's name 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.639 is Sarah. Well, the problem is, Abraham's been 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:47.579 living in the Promised Land now. for 10 years. 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.939 And Sarah said to him, look, this is, now I'm 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:54.899 paraphrasing my version. He says, she still has 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:57.240 no kids. They've been there 10 years. God promised 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:59.480 that I'm going to give you kids like the stars 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.120 in the sky and the sand in the sea, but they 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:04.100 don't have no kids. And it's 10 years. Think 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:07.000 of 10 years ago where you were with God. And 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:08.980 you're wondering, when is this promise, when 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.100 is his word going to materialize in my situations 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:14.379 I've been crying out to? And so Sarah was in 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:17.459 that place. And she said, Abram, go to Hagar, 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.939 my handmaid, and have kids with her. So Abram 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:24.980 did not argue with her. He just figured, OK, 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.079 I'll do that. So what was he doing, really, in 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.519 the sense of we step back a few yards, and Abraham 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.180 was not stopping to pray, number one. And the 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:37.920 other thing is he thought in his own mind, he 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:39.920 leaned on his own understanding that maybe this 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.699 is it, maybe this is why Hagar is here. And so 00:07:42.699 --> 00:07:45.480 he complicitly says, okay, now this is the same 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.300 scene that happened in the garden. When Eve was 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.839 tempted by the serpent, she bought into the apple, 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:54.759 it's not an apple, but she ate it and then she 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.420 gives it to Adam. Adam didn't say a word about 00:07:57.420 --> 00:07:59.839 not eating it, but they were commanded not to 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.959 eat it. So the whole story starts on the wrong 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.639 foot. So here we are, a similar thing happening 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:10.259 hundreds of years later, and Hagar conceives 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:14.399 and she bears a son. But before she had her son, 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:17.600 who will be named Ishmael, God told her that 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:20.399 his name would be Ishmael, because the Lord listened 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.579 to her affliction. Now this is important because 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:25.319 we're really not hearing much about Hagar's story, 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.769 but right now when he names her, who names her 00:08:28.769 --> 00:08:31.290 son, which is yet to be born, because I hear 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:33.490 him. Ishmael means I hear. The Lord hears. God 00:08:33.490 --> 00:08:36.830 hears. And so he wanted to comfort her. So God 00:08:36.830 --> 00:08:39.870 loved Hagar and he loved Ishmael. So this is 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:43.210 the story behind the story that God's love is 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:45.590 going to pour out promises into the people that 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:48.669 are not part of this covenant. So he went in 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:51.450 to Hagar. She conceived. But here's the big part. 00:08:51.590 --> 00:08:54.629 When she saw that she had conceived, she looked 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:57.500 with contempt. on her mistress. Who's her mistress? 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:00.200 Sarah. She had contempt for her mistress. What 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:02.620 did Sarah do? She didn't do anything. She just 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:05.120 said, why don't you just go into Yagar? She's 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:08.679 young, she's pretty, and maybe you'll have a 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:12.059 child through her. Abraham doesn't argue, and 00:09:12.059 --> 00:09:15.799 he has a son, and he names him Ishmael. So this 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:18.059 is 10 years after they're in Canaan. Ishmael 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:21.620 grows up. 12 years later he has another son, 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:24.690 but this one through Sarah. Now this is the crazy 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:28.110 thing is Sarah had given up. She's living a miserable 00:09:28.110 --> 00:09:30.690 life. I mean this is how I'm picturing it. For 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:33.909 12 years she's like, what? Why did we ever listen 00:09:33.909 --> 00:09:36.309 to God in the first place? I can picture that. 00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:38.610 Now I'm not condemning her for that, but there's 00:09:38.610 --> 00:09:41.820 a long period of time. Ten years, she has a son 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:44.279 that's not in her house now, who's not her own. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.700 And her mistress is basking in the fact that 00:09:47.700 --> 00:09:50.259 she's the one that the promise is coming through. 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:55.419 So, now we're in chapter 16 still, and this anger, 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:59.879 this hostility begins to grow between Hagar and 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:04.320 her mistress, Sarah, until God shows up. Now, 00:10:04.460 --> 00:10:07.919 that doesn't take place until the next chapter. 00:10:08.110 --> 00:10:10.649 But before that, I want to just say something 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:14.470 regarding her son Ishmael. Because this is going 00:10:14.470 --> 00:10:17.450 to tie in right till today, God describes something 00:10:17.450 --> 00:10:20.389 to Hagar. And it's a prophecy because he's not 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.929 born yet. He says, He shall be a wild donkey 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:27.830 of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's 00:10:27.830 --> 00:10:31.230 hand against him. And he shall dwell over and 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.429 against all his kinsmen. So what is that about? 00:10:34.710 --> 00:10:37.860 Now I've heard people say this. who are clearly 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:40.919 replacement theology teachers, and not all of 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:44.700 them, but Ishmael was the father of the Muslim 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:48.320 faith, and he was the promised son of Abraham. 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:51.460 This is how their Quran deals with this. And 00:10:51.460 --> 00:10:53.720 it doesn't deal with this part though, that he 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:56.600 shall be a wild donkey of a man. But when they're 00:10:56.600 --> 00:10:59.580 told this, this is the answer the Mullahs will 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:01.879 give, the Muslim teachers will say, This wild 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:03.940 donkey of a man means he's going to be a hard 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:06.159 worker. He's going to bear the burden. He's going 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:10.519 to live in difficult places, in wilderness, in 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:13.000 deserts where there's no water. And everyone's 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.419 hand is going to be against him. Now, oh really? 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:19.519 What a hard way to live. But that's not what 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:23.379 it's saying. His hand is being against everyone. 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:26.220 And in return, everyone's hand is against him. 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:28.850 Everyone means the people around him. And he 00:11:28.850 --> 00:11:31.289 shall dwell, and this is interesting and important, 00:11:31.509 --> 00:11:34.649 he shall dwell over and against all his kinsmen. 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:37.730 Now this isn't condemnation, this is biblical 00:11:37.730 --> 00:11:41.009 prophecy. If we fast forward thousands of years 00:11:41.009 --> 00:11:44.149 now into our day, the Muslim world, which are 00:11:44.149 --> 00:11:46.389 the descendants of Ishmael, have trouble getting 00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:48.309 along with each other, in case you haven't noticed 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:51.929 that. And a lot of the fighting is in -fighting 00:11:51.929 --> 00:11:55.190 within the different sects of Islam, even within 00:11:55.190 --> 00:11:57.740 their own sect. If you Look closely, which most 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.220 people don't, at what's going on in Gaza right 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:05.659 now is that Hamas is killing fellow Gazans who 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:09.440 are Muslims. Why? Because they disagreed with 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.620 them. Because there's fear that they have been 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.519 spying on them or giving intelligence about them. 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.179 And they just kill them in the streets. Like 00:12:18.179 --> 00:12:20.779 not an ounce of compassion. Why? Because Islam 00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:23.519 means submission. And so submission means you 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:26.370 who are in charge have to maintain your position. 00:12:26.570 --> 00:12:28.750 You can't give it up. And this is what we're 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:32.509 seeing. His hand is against everyone. But there's 00:12:32.509 --> 00:12:35.289 much more to be spoken about this. And so then 00:12:35.289 --> 00:12:39.870 if we go on to Genesis 17, God starts to make 00:12:39.870 --> 00:12:42.950 this clear. So Ishmael is 12 years old. Abraham 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:45.889 has a son through Sarah. And God says this to 00:12:45.889 --> 00:12:49.710 him in Genesis 17. I will establish my covenant 00:12:49.710 --> 00:12:52.529 between me and you. Now this is before Isaac 00:12:52.529 --> 00:12:55.559 is born. between me and you and your offspring 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:58.480 after you throughout their generations for an 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.320 everlasting covenant. To be God to you and to 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.659 your offspring after you. Now offspring there 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:07.879 is a wide term. So Abram is going to have a lot 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.120 of kids, but he has to be more defining for this 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.980 to be understood. So when God said this to Abram, 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.740 right before it, God appeared to him. Now Abram 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:21.629 is 99 years old and God appears to him now. After 00:13:21.629 --> 00:13:23.950 all this time, he's appeared to him previously, 00:13:24.250 --> 00:13:26.610 but after all this time he's starting to define 00:13:26.610 --> 00:13:29.409 this covenant with his son that's soon to be 00:13:29.409 --> 00:13:32.669 born. And when he said these words I just read 00:13:32.669 --> 00:13:36.029 to Abram, it says that Abram fell on his face. 00:13:36.309 --> 00:13:38.690 I mean, this is an incredible picture there. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:42.059 of humility and maybe answered prayer and so 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:45.100 he says behold my covenant is with you and you 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:47.120 shall be the father of a multitude of nations 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:50.620 now with you you can easily glance over that 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.879 but can also mean within you my covenant is already 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:57.080 within you i inserted it with the promise in 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:00.179 genesis 12 he doesn't have to quote where it's 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:03.259 located but i inserted that into you and into 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:05.659 your DNA that it's going to continue on through 00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:08.019 you. So he says, no longer shall you be called 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:10.639 Abraham, but your name shall be called Abraham, 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.960 for I have made you a father of a multitude of 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:16.240 nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.200 and I will establish my covenant between me and 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.740 you and your offspring after you for an everlasting 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:26.360 covenant. And I will give to you and your offspring 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:31.570 after you land and so journeys all the land of 00:14:31.570 --> 00:14:35.049 Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:37.889 be their God so this is future all the land that 00:14:37.889 --> 00:14:39.970 they conquer and this will be through Joshua 00:14:39.970 --> 00:14:42.210 and later David but it's even more than that 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:44.230 because they didn't fully conquer the land that 00:14:44.230 --> 00:14:46.590 God promised it's gonna be theirs forever their 00:14:46.590 --> 00:14:48.710 possession get this straight Abraham but none 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:51.929 of them are born yet and Abram's like okay well 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:55.309 it sounds good but um how's this gonna happen 00:14:55.450 --> 00:14:59.289 And so it's an honest question. So then this 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:02.450 interplay goes on, and Isaac is yet to be born, 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:06.610 but God says to Abraham, further down in chapter 00:15:06.610 --> 00:15:10.370 17, verse 15, God said to Abraham, and asked 00:15:10.370 --> 00:15:13.070 for Sarai, your wife. She shall not be called 00:15:13.070 --> 00:15:15.929 Sarai anymore, but Sarai, which is princess, 00:15:16.210 --> 00:15:18.990 shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:22.029 I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, 00:15:22.129 --> 00:15:24.470 and out of her shall become nations, kings of 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:27.409 people. shall come from her." And then Abraham, 00:15:27.549 --> 00:15:29.570 now remember, he fell on his face in the beginning 00:15:29.570 --> 00:15:31.950 of this conversation, and now this conversation 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:35.269 is continuing for a period of time, and it says, 00:15:35.509 --> 00:15:38.370 Abraham fell on his face. Same words, but what 00:15:38.370 --> 00:15:41.190 did he do? He laughed. He laughed and said to 00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:44.710 himself, shall a child be born to a man who is 00:15:44.710 --> 00:15:47.830 a hundred years old? And Sarah, she's ninety. 00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:50.549 How is she going to bear a child? And he's laughing. 00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:53.269 He thinks it's funny. So Abraham said to God, 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.100 Oh, let Ishmael live before you." And God said, 00:15:57.299 --> 00:16:00.360 No. Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son, and 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.259 you should call his name Isaac, and I will establish 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:06.059 my covenant with him. So now he's getting focused 00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:08.940 with this covenant. for an everlasting covenant 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:12.799 and for his offspring after him. So no more are 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:15.799 any of Abraham's children going to be recipients 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.399 of this covenant. Not that they won't benefit 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:20.980 from it, but this covenant is specific. Why? 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.580 Because God's going to trace this seed, remember? 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:26.220 This is Arad, the descendants, right from the 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.720 lineage of Seth. We're already up to Abraham, 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:31.259 and it's going to be through them. It has to 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.480 be. And this is why this is a continuous story. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:35.700 It has to be. So he says, And as for Ishmael, 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.120 I've heard you. Behold, I blessed him, and I'll 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.519 make him fruitful and multiply him. He'll be 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:44.960 a great nation, which Islam is incredibly large. 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:47.919 And he shall father twelve princes, which talks 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:50.500 about the Muslim nations. There's one Jewish 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:54.320 nation, but many Muslim nations. But I will establish 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.750 my covenant with Isaac. and she shall bear a 00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:01.789 son next year at this time." So, God went from 00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:05.230 Abraham and started to live his life out. And 00:17:05.230 --> 00:17:07.849 we follow this story, which we're not going to 00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:10.789 go much further here, but we'll see that when 00:17:10.789 --> 00:17:14.529 Abraham is visited by an angel of the Lord, it 00:17:14.529 --> 00:17:17.130 seems like, to him at first, and then he finds 00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:20.670 out it's actually God. and two angels alongside 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:23.730 of him and they meet and they have a meal together 00:17:23.730 --> 00:17:26.950 and Sarah prepares it and in that process she 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:30.869 still hasn't had a child and so she hears Abram 00:17:30.869 --> 00:17:33.750 speaking to these two angels and God she doesn't 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:36.769 recognize that they're who they are and but she 00:17:36.769 --> 00:17:39.509 overhears them talking about Sarah will become 00:17:39.509 --> 00:17:42.210 pregnant and she will bear a son and his name 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:45.049 shall be Isaac and Sarah laughed it's like how 00:17:45.049 --> 00:17:49.299 can this be come on how can I who I'm so advanced 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:52.920 in my years, how can the way of women, the way 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.299 of pleasure, which would mean becoming pregnant, 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.039 be with Sarah? She's saying this to herself. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.240 And she says, after I am worn out and my Lord 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.660 is old, shall I have pleasure? And then God shows 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:07.039 up in the conversation and says, to Ibram, why 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:09.900 did Sarah laugh? And then Sarah says, oh, no, 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:13.059 no, no, no, I didn't laugh, for she was afraid, 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:16.200 it said. She realizes that these people are authoritative. 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.380 Jesus is feeding Emil too. And God says, no, 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.259 but you did laugh. Now I've heard this say like 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:25.180 God was angry at Sarah because she laughed at 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:27.420 him. But, you know, let's get the human side 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:30.859 of this thing straight. She's been faithful to 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:34.920 her husband to the point of disgrace. And yet 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:38.259 she's still married. She's still his wife and 00:18:38.259 --> 00:18:39.980 she's still serving. He says, come on, let's 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:42.180 go. We ought to make some food for our guests 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:45.359 here. And yet she laughed. I mean, she's on... 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:50.420 She's passed the way of women. And at this age, 00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:54.019 you expect me, I'm 90 years old. Am I going to 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:57.000 have pleasure? I'm worn out. Now, what would 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.599 you do if you were in her shoes? But she laughed 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:01.279 at least. She didn't get mad. She didn't throw 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:03.740 a tantrum. She didn't throw a fit. So why did 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:07.519 God show up and tell his son from Sarah is going 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:11.220 to be called Isaac when the son from Hagar was 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:13.440 called Ishmael? Well, Ishmael just means that 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:16.519 God hears. Isaac? means laughter. Now that might 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.460 seem like, you know, just a play on words because 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:23.420 Abraham laughed and then Sarah laughed and then 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:26.240 Isaac's going to be called laughter. To me, I 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.980 think that's honor and it's respecting their 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:32.980 human response to an impossible promise. And 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:35.440 it is extremely impossible. Have you ever been 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:37.720 in that position where you've been waiting and 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.619 waiting and expecting, planning, doing things? 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:43.069 putting other things aside so something else 00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:45.309 could take place and it seems impossible, it's 00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:47.089 not going to happen. And there's a deadline to 00:19:47.089 --> 00:19:49.809 it and it just keeps growing. I know exactly 00:19:49.809 --> 00:19:51.670 what that feels like. In fact, I'm in that place 00:19:51.670 --> 00:19:55.990 now. But God wants us to laugh at the impossibility 00:19:55.990 --> 00:19:59.509 of our life as we follow Him. It's no less difficult. 00:19:59.950 --> 00:20:02.490 This is an emotional struggle. The wrestling 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:05.210 match that we saw earlier with Jacob, which will 00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:07.700 actually be later in this story, That was difficult. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.079 He wrestled the Angel of the Lord, which turns 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:12.920 out to be God. He didn't know at the time. He 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:14.859 wrestled through the night, through the darkness 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:17.400 of night. That's a long time. And sometimes this 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.660 is what we have to do. We need to wrestle out 00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:24.319 unbelief and allow God's promise to take its 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:27.400 place. And this is what laughter does. Let me 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:31.059 just tell you this about laughter. It's somewhat 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:34.380 of an anomaly. for people that have struggled 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:37.640 so much through life. By the way, I want to go 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:40.559 back to Jacob's name because his name was Jacob 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:43.640 and God changed it to Israel. So this becomes 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:46.839 the Israel of the people today and the land today. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:50.519 His name represents both people and land and 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:54.859 promise. It's rooted in the promise. But his 00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:58.049 name was changed from Jacob, which means struggling 00:20:58.049 --> 00:21:02.250 against God, struggling against truth. And Israel 00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:05.450 means struggling with God. It could also mean 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:08.549 Prince with God. But the struggle part has not 00:21:08.549 --> 00:21:10.549 disappeared. This is what I want to bring out. 00:21:10.809 --> 00:21:14.509 The path of the righteous oftentimes feels like 00:21:14.509 --> 00:21:17.410 a struggle. And the struggle means we're going 00:21:17.410 --> 00:21:20.910 against the grain of humanity, against the grain 00:21:20.910 --> 00:21:24.430 of this kingdom of darkness that prevails in 00:21:24.430 --> 00:21:27.259 this world so often. unless we take authority 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:31.079 over it, unless our belief conquers our unbelief. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:33.900 The key thing is believing, trusting. Do not 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:35.920 lean on your own understanding. Look what happened. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:40.259 When Abraham was facing, the land of Israel was 00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:42.980 in the Canaan at the time, was having a famine. 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:47.099 So Abraham heads towards Egypt because it's green 00:21:47.099 --> 00:21:49.420 there. He hears that it's fertile there. And 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:52.319 they go. Well, that's all well and good, it seems 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:55.720 like. But the way of man seems right sometimes. 00:21:55.930 --> 00:21:58.950 but it ends in a dead -end street or destruction, 00:21:59.150 --> 00:22:01.789 even worse. So they go to Egypt. And in the place 00:22:01.789 --> 00:22:04.509 of Egypt, God still blesses him and he blesses 00:22:04.509 --> 00:22:07.069 the Pharaoh through him. But it's not right. 00:22:07.130 --> 00:22:09.450 He shouldn't be there. He should have continued 00:22:09.450 --> 00:22:12.150 on with God until God told him. If he told him, 00:22:12.329 --> 00:22:14.869 go to Egypt. But he didn't. He made a decision 00:22:14.869 --> 00:22:16.650 to go one way and he could have gone the other. 00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:20.029 So fast forward to their return. They leave Egypt 00:22:20.029 --> 00:22:23.380 and they leave Egypt with a ton of cattle and 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:25.359 livestock, and things seemed to be going good, 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.380 but they also left there with people, servants. 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:32.000 So guess who one of the servants was that came 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:35.059 out of Egypt with Abraham and Sarah, a young 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:37.960 lady named Haggai. Why is she coming with us? 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:40.119 Well, because you took her, and because you came 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:43.519 to Egypt when you probably shouldn't have, and 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:45.960 now this trouble has begun. So this trouble, 00:22:46.220 --> 00:22:49.460 the consequence of this, did not affect Abraham 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:52.369 in the beginning. but has affected all of mankind 00:22:52.369 --> 00:22:55.549 at this point. Because things don't naturally 00:22:55.549 --> 00:22:58.349 get better on their own. It's a matter of a built 00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:01.130 -up consequences of wrong decisions. And we're 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:03.890 in that place now where the sons of Ishmael and 00:23:03.890 --> 00:23:06.869 the sons of Isaac are not getting along too well. 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:09.509 And it's causing grief throughout the whole entire 00:23:09.509 --> 00:23:12.069 world. I'm not saying it's the only cause of 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:14.970 grief, but it's one cause of grief that we have 00:23:14.970 --> 00:23:17.609 to pay the consequences for. Now, do you curse 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:20.009 Abraham in that process? No, not at all. you 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:23.109 recognize that these things are taught to us. 00:23:23.230 --> 00:23:26.789 These things are written on our behalf, upon 00:23:26.789 --> 00:23:29.930 whom the end of the ages have come, that we might 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:32.829 learn from it. This is from the New Testament. 00:23:33.029 --> 00:23:36.670 It's quoted differently in Romans and Corinthians. 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:39.230 So we need to learn. This is it. If you want 00:23:39.230 --> 00:23:42.329 to know why is the purpose of the Old Testament, 00:23:42.710 --> 00:23:46.400 or more properly, the Hebrew, Bible is that we 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.880 would learn from it and grow from it and appreciate 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:52.220 our ancestry. If you're a believer this is your 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:55.759 spiritual ancestry and so it's our opportunity 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:59.039 to take it and take it kind of lightly at the 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:02.500 same time the difficulties show up and find faith 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:04.900 something that's exciting to live by. It's a 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:07.140 gift. I can't understand boredom, let me put 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:09.099 it that way, but I knew what boredom was growing 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:12.009 up. But when I got saved there was no more. And 00:24:12.009 --> 00:24:14.509 I honestly say that there was no more boredom 00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:16.910 because I was living for Jesus and I knew what 00:24:16.910 --> 00:24:19.430 it was like what to live without him and it was 00:24:19.430 --> 00:24:23.470 painfully harmful for me and people around me. 00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:26.309 And so this light -heartedness is what we're 00:24:26.309 --> 00:24:28.430 supposed to live by because Jesus said, my yoke 00:24:28.430 --> 00:24:31.190 is easy, my burden is light. So this laughter 00:24:31.190 --> 00:24:35.190 is the fruit, literally the fruit of the Abrahamic 00:24:35.190 --> 00:24:39.220 Covenant, the first fruit of the Covenant. fruit 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:42.339 meaning descendants, was Isaac. And God named 00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:45.259 it that way. This covenant has a likeness to 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:47.640 it. And why did he bring laughter into the world? 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:50.259 Because the world needed laughter. And here's 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:53.559 another thing. The Jewish people have this DNA. 00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.119 I know that sounds suspect. Oh, and here we go 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:58.420 again promoting the Jews. It's not that way. 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.900 It's God has given the Jewish people a certain 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:05.559 particle of you. It's microscopic. We can't see 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:09.759 it. It's not measurable. But where This capability 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:13.259 of laughing through hardships has been part of 00:25:13.259 --> 00:25:15.720 the history all along. In fact, there was an 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:18.200 article in Time magazine, Why are the Jews still 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:20.619 laughing? And this goes way back. And in that 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:25.220 article, it said that if you were to count the 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:28.039 number of Jewish comedians in the world, then 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:29.819 I really don't remember when it was written, 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:33.140 but it's in my lifetime for sure. that there's 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:37.259 far more Jewish comedians per capita than any 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:39.759 other people group in history. Why is that? They're 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:42.240 asking this question. Why is it? And there's 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.400 no other answer. It doesn't make sense. They're 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.319 the ones that have gone through the hardships 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:48.720 like no other people, have been persecuted and 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.500 kicked out of countries like no other people, 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:53.839 and ultimately the final solution, Hitler thought, 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:57.569 was in his hands to execute, but he failed. And 00:25:57.569 --> 00:26:00.349 he failed because God has made eternal promises. 00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:03.049 And in that promises there are stories you can 00:26:03.049 --> 00:26:06.490 read about activity in the Holocaust, during 00:26:06.490 --> 00:26:08.549 the Holocaust, that were horrible, absolutely 00:26:08.549 --> 00:26:10.849 horrible. But there was also a sense of humor, 00:26:11.009 --> 00:26:13.109 not everywhere. I'm not saying it was a funny 00:26:13.109 --> 00:26:16.170 thing, but that just flowed. And it was to keep 00:26:16.170 --> 00:26:19.309 them alive, this element of laughter. You know, 00:26:19.589 --> 00:26:22.069 it's good. The Prophets say it's like medicine. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:25.180 to laugh. So it's a gift from God. And embrace 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:27.599 that gift. Not the kind of laughter that's dark 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:30.119 and at the cost of putting someone down. That's 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:32.519 not God's laughter. But the laughter that is 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:35.319 just because this world is actually kind of a 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:37.500 funny place to live in. So take that to heart 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:40.440 and then begin this recognition, if you haven't 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:43.940 already, that we live a naturally supernatural 00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:47.359 life. And that's for our benefit and the benefit 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:50.759 of others to want what we have. Shalom, shalom. 00:26:51.470 --> 00:26:54.410 We bless you for taking the time to consider 00:26:54.410 --> 00:26:57.269 this message. May it cause you to be fruitful 00:26:57.269 --> 00:27:00.089 and effective and lead others along the way with 00:27:00.089 --> 00:27:03.910 confidence and determination. Check out our website 00:27:03.910 --> 00:27:07.150 at comfortmypeople .com to become better informed 00:27:07.150 --> 00:27:10.109 and equipped to restore righteousness to the 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:13.710 people of Israel, America and beyond. Please 00:27:13.710 --> 00:27:16.250 consider sharing this and visit us on social 00:27:16.250 --> 00:27:18.829 media. Shalom and blessings.