T t t E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S 133 Lesson 1— April 6— Jacob and Esau. Gen. 2 5 :27 -34 ; 27 :1 -45 . Golden Text— Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for Him.— Isa. 3 0 :1 8 (A . R. V .). I. Abraham’s Last Days.
re a d s “ o v e r ag ain st his w ife,” som e ta k e it, “w ith ” his w ife— th ey k n eeled tog e th e r. H ow fitting, b e a u tiful, p ro fitab le ! T ho se so jo in e d in G o d a re n o t like to b e “p u t a su n d e r” b y m an. Som e ta k e it— Isaac set his w ife “ o v e r ag ain st” him , in L u th e r’s sense— “W h en I p ra y fo r an y one, I p la c e him righ t in view o f m y he a rt, an d n e ith e r see n o r th in k o f an y th in g else, b u t look a t him a lo n e w ith m y sou l.” N o w o n d e r “Je h o v a h w as e n tre a te d o f h im .” III. The Births. 1. Twins — th ey a re usually alike. T h ese w e re oppo site in ap p e a ran ce , disposition, d e stin y ; an d an tagon istic befo re, a t a n d a fte r b irth . T h e y w ere to figure th e flesh an d th e Spirit. C h ild ren o f th e sam e p aren ts, an d hou seho ld o ften tu rn ou t different. A s in this case (see th e re c o rd ) th e fau lt m ay b e tra c e d to th e paren ts, th ough g o o d an d believ ing people. One, like Esau, is w ild, restive, u n d e r restrain t, a h u n te r ( “s p o rt” ) a n d fellow w ith his like. A n o th e r like Ja co b , is dom estic, te n d s to his sheep an d schem es fo r a fortune. M ild Isaac favo rs E sau ; active an d th rifty R eb ek ah , Ja co b . 2. Jehovah’s choice. B efore b irth G o d rev e a led th e ir re la tion s to th e cov en an t. T h is is d e e p ly signifi cant. T h e case w as a n o rd e re d a lle go ry (R om . 9 :1 1 - 1 6 ) . W e a re sav ed by grace, n o t o f works, c h a r acter, o r m a n ’s w ill (J o h n 1 :1 3 ). J a c o b w as no b e tte r th an Esau, who c ertain ly w as unw o rth y o f th e b less ing. L et b eliev ers th a n k G o d fo r it; a n d unbelievers ca st them selves on H is sovereign m ercy an d claim th e G o spel o f “W h o so ev e r will m ay come” (Rev. 2 2 :1 7 ) .
1. Keturah, his second wife, b o re six sons. T h ey w ere separated from Isaac, w ho se inh eritan ce w as n o t im p a ired . G o d ’s p ro v id en c e secures H is cho sen th e prom ise. 2. Abraham’s burial. T h e p a tri a rch d ie d a t 175 years. Ishm ael jo in e d in th e burial. U n d e r a m osque a t H eb ro n , in th e C av e o f M acpelah, lie G o d ’s elect, w aiting th e com ing ex p lo re r w ith a M oslem ’s firm an ; o r th e com ing Seed, unless a lre a d y a s c e n d e d w ith H im “ a fte r H is resu r rection ” (M a tt. 2 7 :5 1 -5 3 .) II. Isaac’s Succession. 1 . His blessing. “G o d blessed Isaac” (v e rse 1 1 ) ; con firm ed th e h o p e to him a n d passed it th ro u g h him to us (T itu s 2 :1 1 -1 5 ; A cts 2 6 :6 - 8 ) . 2. The hope deferred. R eb ek ah w as b a rren . But th e w o rd , “ In Isaac shall th y seed b e c a lle d ” (ch. 2 1 :1 0 ) stood . Isaac w aited . W hile he w aited h e p ray ed . T h e se delay s a re typical. Sarah, R eb ek ah , R achel, E lisabeth, all b a rren , like Israel th e n ation al m o ther, w aiting fo r th e prom ise till H e “m ak e th e b a rre n to k eep hou se” (P s. 1 1 3 :9 ; Isa. 54:1 ). T h is is to te a ch us all to wait, w ithou t H agars, o r b a rte rs, o r schem es to an tic ip a te th e k in g d om ; to tu rn o u r e ars from scoffers who say, “W h e re is th e p rom ise ? ” (2 P et. 3 :4 ) . 3. Praying for the promise. S trange! W e m ust p ra y fo r w h a t is p led g ed . T h a t is G o d ’s p lan . “ I will b e enqu ired o f to d o it” (Ezek. 3 6 :3 7 ) . Isaac “ e n tre a te d fo r his w ife” (v e rse 2 1 ) . The H eb rew
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