Date: 15 September 2024, 9.30 am
Speaker: Ps Daniel Tan Sermon Text: Genesis 35:1- 37:1
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TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Blessed Sunday to everyone, including those who are joining us online.
I am indeed thankful for the technology that enables us to live steam our service. Last Sunday, Dawn and I were able to worship together with all of you from our hotel room in Indonesia.
And through mobile apps like WhatsApp, to participate in our CG group sharing of our thoughts to the 2 reflection questions.
To recap, from Genesis 34, Scripture teaches us that our approach to injustice in this world should not be silence nor severity but instead it should be surrender.
To surrender it to our Sovereign Saviour.
As Pastor Luwin shared about the protest march at Kolkata, I was thankful for the safety and security my wife and daughters have in Singapore to walk unharmed in the night.
But maybe I should also be indignant as well, that it is not a given that a woman’s safety is presumed around the world.
That sin has marred our image of who humans are. That we are no longer viewed as God’s image barriers, worthy of respect but instead to be frequently taken advantage of.
Now we know that it’s not just the fairer sex that’s being taken advantage of. In many places, there is also oppression of people because of their race and social economic status, regardless of gender.
As I reflected, I was reminded that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to man’s sin.
Eph 4:1 to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-5 highlights for us that in Christ Jesus, there is unity, there is oneness.
We are one body, we have one Spirit, we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
And because we have this unity, we enables us to walk with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.
To use the phase of the Kolkata protest march, “to reclaim the night”.
I submit for us believers, to reclaim the night is to shine the Gospel light into the hearts of man.
It is to pray and participate in Gospel witness such that through Jesus, man is made right with His Creator and thereby also restored in his relationship with his fellow men.
So, from the chapter that displays the depravity of man, let us turn to chapter 35 and 36. And I submit for our consideration the wonderful matchless grace of God towards us.
It covers a multitude of sins
Let’s begin with Genesis 35. I submit that in this chapter, we see that the wonderful matchless grace of God covers a multitude of sins.
To appreciate God’s graciousness to Jacob, let’s recap the context.
Firstly, after Jacob deceives Esau and is fleeing to Haran, the Lord met him in the incident we call the Jacob’s ladder. And God’s promise was:
Gen 27:15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Secondly, after serving Laban for 20 years, God again appeared to Jacob and told him:
Gen 31:3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
But what did we see in Genesis 33 and 34, Jacob, instead of going back to Bethel, settled in the city of Shechem and was possibly willing to contemplate the marriage of his daughter Dinah to the locals.
To journey back to Bethel was God’s instructions to Jacob. But instead, we witness Jacob’s disobedience. (pause)
Yet, Genesis 35 records that God condescended to appear to Jacob again. And it is not to rebuke him but instead to remind him - arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there.
Church, how gracious God is to Jacob.
Remember, Gen 28:20, Jacob had also made a vow to God that he will follow God as his Lord.
Gen 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
So, by pushing Jacob to journey to Bethel, God is also graciously enabling Jacob to fulfil his vow.
To add to this context, what do we see is the spiritual condition of Jacob and his family? Are they on a spiritual high?
Gen 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.
No, they are not. V2 tells us Jacob had to instruct them to put away their foreign gods and purify themselves.
These gods could be those that Rachel stole from Laban and maybe even those adopted from the people of Shechem.
Jacob and his family were disobedient and assimilated into the culture of the land.
Yet God graciously appeared to them and reminded them, journey back to Bethel to worship me.
At the end of chapter 34, Jacob told Simeon and Levi, because you have murdered the family of Hamor and Shechem, Jacob has become a stink to the inhabitants of the land.
Gen 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”
Because of what Simeon and Levi has done, the locals were threatening to gather and attack Jacob and his family.
Genesis 35:5 informs us that this was a terrifying reality.
Gen 35:5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
For if not for the providential protection of God, they would surely be harmed.
Despite Jacob’s disobedience, God yet mercifully and graciously provided the way back to Bethel.
Church, God continues to do that for sinners like you and me today.
Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
By nature, we want our own way, we are disobedient to God, yet it is God who has prepared the way back to Him through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the wonderful matchless grace of God. And church, this good news is too good to keep to ourselves.
This is the good news that we should share with our loved ones and with those whom God has given Hermon access to in ASEAN.
Now, when we acknowledge this grace, would Gen 35:2 be our response?
That we put away idolatry, that we purify ourselves, that we seek a renewed heart to worship God.
Have we compromised like Jacob, settled in ‘Shechem’ instead of going all the way to ‘Bethel’? Have we assimilated into the culture of our times such that we are just like anyone else in society?
As Christian Singaporeans, we are part of the Singapore society giving the 5Cs a reboot. Now would C for Christ and His glory be at the top of our list?
May God remove us from the clutches of materialism. And instead, grant us godly discernment and a sanctified will.
After Bethel, we see that God, the third time, graciously appeared to Jacob and reaffirmed the Abrahamic covenant.
That the promise to Abraham, to Issac is also for Jacob. Repeating again the name change to Israel.
Gen 35:10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
What underserved favour.
Here is a man who in chapter 35 was silent to the sin of defilement of his daughter, who was silent also to the excessive vengeance of his sons and who has permitted idolatry in his household.
Yet, to this, man and his dysfunctional family, God says, you will be fruitful and multiply. Nations and kings shall come from you. And the land of Canaan will be given to your offspring.
Instead of punishment for his constant disobedience, here is the reminder of the promise of Abraham. The wonderful matchless grace of God covers a multitude of sins.
Not only is it significant that God appears again to Jacob at Bethel to reiterate the Abrahamic promise, I would like to see it also as God graciously comforting Jacob.
In this chapter, there are 3 recorded deaths - v8 Deborah, v19 Rachel and v28 Isaac.
Deborah must have been asked to accompany Jacob at his mother Rebekah’s request and Rachel was Jacob’s beloved wife.
So in-between these 2 significant deaths, we see God appearing to Jacob. Reminding him that God has a plan and a purpose for Jacob.
Is that not gracious of God to do so? He meets Jacob in a timely manner, when Jacob needed it.
God’s dealings with Jacob here brings to light, Psalm 103 (this is such a comforting Scripture. Can I invite the congregation to read the odd verses in Yellow):
Ps 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
Indeed, this is the gracious Word of God. Amen.
I submit that it is because of Jacob’s encountered with this gracious God, that though grieving the death of Rachel, is able to say that her second son should be called Benjamin instead.
This second son should not be called son of my sorrow, but instead Benjamin, son of the right hand.
I’m sure Jacob would also have remembered Rachel’s prayer when she named her first son Joseph. For it meant asking God for another son.
Gen 30:24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”
So Benjamin is God’s fulfillment of Rachel’s prayer, that the Lord will give her a second son.
Benjamin is not the son of sorrow, but instead the son by God’s gracious favour.
Remember when we went through Genesis 29, we saw how Jacob fathered 12 children through 4 ladies – Leah and Rachel his wives and their 2 maid servants.
It was a picture of a dysfunctional family.
Gen 35: 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Now in chapter 35, Moses tells the nation of Israel, here are your forefathers, the 12 tribes of Israel, and Moses goes on to highlight some more shocking history.
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn but he inherited his father’s deceitful grasping for more.
It looks like he wanted to usurp Jacob’s place in the family. He wanted to claim his inheritance before time. Reuben’s punishment is recorded for us in Gen 49.
Gen 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
I submit, Moses is not painting a pretty picture of the ancestry of the nation of Israel. Thus, Moses is saying to Israel, be utterly grateful that God has chosen you.
See, your forefathers only came into being because God enable Leah and Rachel and their maid servants to conceive.
Your forefathers were also not quite likable. Jacob was a deceiver, his sons, Simeon and Levi murderers and Reuben dishonoured Jacob.
Here is a God who exhibits matchless grace, grace that covers a multitude of sins.
To the first audience, Moses is saying, this is your God who has brought you out of slavery in Egypt, who now is bringing you into the Promised Land. He is fulfilling His promise to Abraham.
Is your response the response of Jacob in v2?
After Joshua led the people to conquer Canaan, he made the same charge to them:
Jos 24:14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
In the light of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus, the call of Moses and the call of Joshua resound.
Since the matchless grace of God covers a multitude of sins, our proper response is a sacrifice of worship.
It is not like anything the world offers
The 3rd death ends Genesis 35. It is the death of Isaac at 180 years. And both Esau and Jaccob buried him.
With the passing of Isaac, Deborah and Rachel, that generation has ended and from chapter 37 onwards, the prominence goes interestingly to Joseph and not Jacob.
Jacob disappears for many chapters and only is featured again in Gen 48 and 49, just before the book of Genesis ends.
Why then is there Genesis 36 in the bible? And that it’s all about Esau and his descendants?
One significance I submit is that Moses is showing us that the line is passing down from Isaac to Jacob and not to Esau.
And we will sense echoes of Cain and Seth too.
I’ve entitled this section, the wonderful matchless grace of God is not like anything the world offers.
Moses emphasizes this difference between God’s line flowing through Jacob against that of Esau by the use of the word ‘generations’.
Gen 36:1 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom) …. 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
Gen 37:2 These are the generations of Jacob.
These statements need to be seen in the context of the Abrahamic promise repeated to Jacob in Gen 35:12.
Remember, God said to Jacob, you will have the land. Nations and kings will come from you.
Which is better, the generations of Esau or the generations of Jacob?
With the Abrahamic promise in mind, we see the establishment of Esau and the Edomite kingdom. But in contrast, today’s sermon text ends with:
Gen 37:1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
Jacob was sojourning. It means wandering in a temporary abode. Well, at least he was wandering in the Promised Land.
So, from an outward look at Jacob and Esau, who might be experiencing God’s promises of land, nation and kings?
Esau would seem a better bet than Jacob.
But as we have learnt from Genesis, looks can be deceiving. God’s ways are different from man’s.
Let’s see what Genesis 36 can highlight for us about Esau.
Gen 36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.
Gen 36:14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah …. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah.
Firstly we see that Esau intermarried with foreigners. He took wives from the Canaanites, from Ishmael and also from Seir, the original people of Edom.
Oholibamah the daughter of Anah was from Seir. Anah is one of the sons of Seir the Horite as v20 informs.
What’s so bad about the Canaanites?
Gen 10:1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth …. 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan…. 19 And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Genesis 10 tells us that Canaan was the son of Ham who was the son of Noah.
Now Genesis 10:19 says, the cities of Canaan included Sodom and Gomorrah. And we know the evil that these two cities exhibited from Genesis 19.
So, it was Esau’s wilful disobedience to have married Canaanite and Horites wives. People that had a totally different faith outlook and a manifestation of sinfulness that surpassed even those of Jacob’s sons.
Since the Israelites were going to occupy the Promised Land of Canaan, might this be taken as a warning against intermarrying those of a different faith. Don’t follow the ways of Esau.
Secondly, we see that Esau is tightly linked to Edom.
Gen 36:1 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom) …. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) …. 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.
Esau came to Seir and they were known previously as the Horites (v20), yet now the people of that land are called Edomites after Esau the father of Edom.
In contrast Jacob though called Israel but he was not a nation yet.
At the time of Moses’ first listeners, the people of Israel were former slaves and they did not have any land.
Yet at the same time the Edomites were already an established kingdom. Genesis 36 tells us that from Esau’s sons came chiefs and kings.
It was an established political dynasty.
Knowing the history of the Edomites, it is thus enlightening to understand why Moses instructed regarding who may enter the assembly of the Lord when they have conquered Canaan.
Deut 23:3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever …. 7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.
In Deutoronomy 23:3, no Ammonite or Moabite can enter, even to the 10th generation. But not so for the Edomite. Moses reminds them, an Edomite is a brother.
That is the Esau link. And so after the 3rd generation, an Edomite might enter into the assembly of the Lord.
Now for Jacob and his family, seeing how Esau was prospering materially, they will be faced with the issue of trusting God for His promises and His timing.
Remember, the promise of land, nations and kings was to Jacob not Esau, yet, before their very eyes, Esau seem to have the blessing.
And alongside this issue of trust, it will also be the temptation of compromise.
To want to fit in with the world with its prevailing attitudes and cultures.
How long will Israel have to wait for a king?
They waited through the lifetime of Joseph, Egyptian slavery, the time of Joshua and Judges.
Then during the time of Prophet Samuel, they got impatient:
1 Sam 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
Remember Cain? He was disobedient towards God. He rebelled and built a city. And his descendants were a very spectacular people.
Genesis 4 tells us they pioneered the rearing of livestock, of living in tents, they invented the lyre and pipe and introduced instruments of bronze and iron.
Esau followed in the footsteps of Cain. Dazzling but only from human eyes.
In contrast to Cain, we have Seth. And the ending of Chapter 4, we read:
Gen 4:26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
The Seth and his family introduced congregational worship of God. They lived with spiritual vision.
Recently in the news, there has been a lot of talk about the GEP – the gifted education programme. The majority of all Primary 3 students will volunteer to take this test. Many even spend money for tuition to score well.
Some have speculated that Singapore Society is like one big GEP when compared with many other nations.
How about we believers in Singapore, seek for a different type of GEP – Gifting Emmanuel Programme.
Nice name for discipleship right? We stretch believers to be gifted Gospel witnesses.
Tapping on the goals of Singapore’s GEP, could the spiritual GEP be:
The goals of the spiritual GEP are to:
Develop intellectual depth and higher level thinking on Scripture
Nurture productive creativity towards missions and evangelism
Develop attitudes for self-directed lifelong learning about Jesus
Enhance aspirations for individual excellence and fulfilment in spiritual maturity
Develop a strong social conscience and commitment to serve society and the nation by being His salt and light.
Develop moral values and qualities for responsible Christ-like leadership.
Because the wonderful matchless grace of God, is not like anything the world offers, may we model after the line of Jacob and not Esau.
Conclusion
The deaths of Deborah, Rachel and Isaac are reminders of the wages of sin. Yet we all know, God made a promise the very day that Adam and Eve sinned against Him.
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The Serpent Crusher is Jesus, who is
Luke 3:23 being the son of Joseph …. 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham …. 38 the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
The dynasties of the world like that of Cain and Esau will seem so prosperous and blessed. They will look like the highest achievements, humankind can attain.
But it is the dynasty of Jacob, Issac, Abraham and Seth that you and I should be concerned about.
For in that line, is found Jesus the Messiah. In Jesus, we will have entrance into the divine dynasty for we will become children of God Almighty.
Every faithful church is a good church. They all offer this Gifting Emmanuel Programme. All you need to enter is believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and proclaim that He is Lord.
Hermon seeks to be such a faithful church. And once you are in, every Hermonite is in the GEP not just the top 10%.
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