All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Genesis 33. We've been considering the life
of Jacob and the life of Jacob up till this very point where
we are right here is a beautiful pattern of the lives of God's
people. Jacob was everlastingly loved
of God. If God loves, he's always loved. He doesn't change. Jacob had
received the blessing from his dad, Isaac, but it was the blessing
of the Lord. And in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we've all been, God's people, have all been blessed with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And because
God was pleased to bless Jacob, he was hated by his brother,
Esau. He was alienated from his family.
Therefore, being loved of God, blessed of God, hated by the
world, alienated, from people, he's a picture, he's a type of
all God's people. That's the life of God's people. But the Lord had promised that
he would be with him. Here again, we see a pattern.
God's people keep him in the midst of great tribulation. Jacob was a man that, by the
grace of God, was willing to lose whatever for God's friendship,
for God's presence. He did as he was directed by
the Lord. He was a sinner. We see that. Jacob, though, whenever God was
pleased to bless this man, the Lord was pleased to bless him
by wrestling with him and showing him his need of Christ, showing
him his weakness, how weak he really was. God touched the hollow
of his thigh. And the scripture said he halted
because the sinew that shrank. So now here he is, he's gone
all this way, left home, he's been in Pandanaram, where his
father-in-law, his mama's brother, his uncle, his mama's brother,
his father-in-law after he married Laban's daughters, father-in-law
has mistreated him and now God's delivered him and he's going
back home. The Lord has told him to go back to the land of
his fathers. Now he's getting ready to come
face-to-face with Esau. And by the grace of God, instead
of there being a struggle, there's reconciliation. And the Lord
blessed that reunion and granted that reconciliation. So that's
where we are. Now Jacob has met his brother. They've hugged each other, wept
on each other, kissed each other. Jacob's family's been introduced
to him. Jacob offers him gifts and Esau tells him that he's
got enough. But Esau was saying, I've got much, I've got plenty.
I don't need anything else. Jacob said, I have enough. But
Jacob's word was, I have all things. All that which God had
blessed. That was Jacob's blessing, inheritance. And now they're getting ready
to part. They're getting ready to go on. That's where we pick
up right here. And he, that is Esau, He says
to Jacob, let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go
before thee. And Jacob then speaks, and he
said unto him, my Lord knoweth that the children are tender,
and the flocks and herds with young are with me, and if men
should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my
Lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, I will lead
on softly. according as the cattle that
goeth before me and the children be able to endure until I come
unto my Lord unto seer." Now, all appears well. They've had
a good meeting, they've had a good kind of a family reunion there,
and these two brothers have spoken. to each other with kindness,
and now they're ready to leave. They've had their meeting, and
now Esau is ready to leave with the 400 men, and he tells Jacob,
he said, listen now, let us take our journey. Let us go. I will go before thee. Now, hearing the words of his brother, Let's go, let's take our journey.
It's gonna be me and you now. Let's take our journey and let
us go, but I'll lead. I'll lead. Someone says, well,
he was going back to his house, and I understand that. But in
hearing the words of his brother Esau, there's a lesson. that
we're being taught here. Let's look beyond the obvious. It's like in the book of Proverbs.
Let's look beyond the obvious. Jacob expresses a concern that
we all need to consider. He realizes the care that must
be taken because of the children. That's what he told him. He said,
my Lord, verse 13, knoweth that the children are tender. I've got some young kids. They
were probably somewhere between three and 12 in that area, as
closely as I could tell, 12, 13 years old. Being young and having to travel, these saws
got 400 men. And these are men, these are
men. And when they leave, they're
gonna leave the way men are gonna leave. They're getting out of
here. And so there, he said, well, wait a minute, wait a minute. He said, my Lord know what the
children are tender and the flocks with herds with young are with
me. These herds, they've got some
little ones with them. And if you overdrive them, he
said, They'll die. These young, they're gonna, if
they're nursing, they get, I can't go as fast as you're going. And
I'm gonna have to exhibit some care and some gentleness and
tenderness like a thoughtful father and a wise shepherd would. But behold, in the words of Jacob,
the tender words of our great shepherd. tender care of our
great shepherd that he bestows upon us. We're being led through
this world. We're not driven, you know. That's
the way we're gonna do it. We're going to the house, Esau
said. It's gonna be me and you. I'll
lead, you follow. You keep up with me. And Jacob
said, well, wait a minute, I've got some young. I've got some
young kids. They're mothers. I've got these
flocks. They're with young. How does
the Lord lead us? Turn to Isaiah. Hold your play.
Turn to Isaiah 40, verse 11. Isaiah 40, verse 11. Here's the
way we're treated. Now, the Lord brings us, in whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every one that
he loveth. everyone he receiveth. But how
is the Lord treating us, his people? Isaiah 40 verse 11, he
shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with yon. This is how the Lord leads us. Isaiah, I mean Psalm 23 verse
two, he leadeth me beside the still waters. So whenever Esau
said, look, we're gonna take our journey, and it's gonna be
us, it's gonna be me and you, I'll lead, you follow, Jacob
said, no, no. We're taught something of the
gentleness, the kindness, the tenderness, of our Lord through
this world. He knows we are flesh. He knows
that. He knows that. How gently, how
tenderly. He's loved us everlastingly.
He gave his son to die for us and redeem us from the curse
of the law, made a curse for us. You think he's gonna drive
us like a hard task? No, no, no, no. How do you treat
your children? They're kids. You raise them
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and you teach them.
You love them. If you have to discipline, you
discipline, but you love them, and you're going to teach them
that way. So he says, no. But not only was Jacob's concern
for the children in the flock, but there was care to not be
directed or led or guided by those that know not our God. Now there's another lesson here.
It's gonna be my journey, mine and your journey, and we're going
together, this is us. I'll lead. Esau, though at this
point, right here, a reconciled brother. The scripture says,
Hebrews 12, 16, still, he was a profane man. Godless is what
that word means. And so Jacob wisely answered
him accordingly. But the trial didn't stop there,
and it never does. Look at verse 15. Okay, Esau,
I mean, Jacob had told him, he said, no, you go on ahead, I'll
follow softly, I'll just, now, and Esau said, well, let me now
leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. Jacob said,
what needeth it? Wherefore is this? Let me find
grace in the sight of my Lord. Jacob now answers, after having
answered about the kids in the flock, and now when Esau says,
okay, that's fine. You'll have to go slow. I'll
tell you what I'll do. Let me leave some of my men with
you. Let me leave some of my guys with you, You need some
guidance and you need some protection. Let me leave those from my group
with you. And Jacob didn't want, obviously,
to unnecessarily offend his brother, but he answered being wise as
a serpent and harmless as a dove. He said, now what? There's no
need in this. Why is this? Let me find grace in your sight.
I don't want to offend you unnecessarily. But no, turn to 1 Corinthians
15, 1 Corinthians 15, 33. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 33. He said, I tell you what, if
you don't wanna go as fast as me, that's okay, but I'll leave
some of my men with you. Jacob says no. 1 Corinthians
15, 33, be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. Has the Lord kept Jacob up to
this point? Did the Lord promise him, you
go back to the land of your fathers and I will be with you? Did the
Lord tell him that? Yeah. Whenever Esau said, I tell you
what, to make things better for you, Let me leave some of my
men with you. Let my men be in with your group. That'll be Jacob said no. The
Apostle Paul was moved by the Spirit of God to say don't be
led into error. Be not deceived. Evil communications. Here's what that means. Now listen
to this. I looked this word up. Worthless companionship. worthless companionship or communion,
corrupt, corrupt, virtuous character. I'm sure that Esau's intentions
were sincere. I don't doubt that a bit. I'm
sure that he desired Jacob to come to seer with him. I don't,
I don't believe for one second that he was, you know, didn't
mean what he said. I'm sure he did. But Jacob again
showed wisdom and great respect for the Lord, who had promised
him, I will be with you. I will be with you. And Esau,
exhibiting no sign of bitterness toward Jacob, didn't possess
the same heart as Jacob for the Lord. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. And those of the world that speak
kindly or respectfully, you know, I'm telling you, I've told you
before. I'm telling you, the moment somebody finds out that
I'm a preacher, and I do my best, Neil, not to go around and tell
them. The moment they found out. That's
when they go into that religious mode, you know? And I had somebody
stop here yesterday to ask me a question. I mean, I guess just
coming in this building. I mean, they were just, you know,
blessing and honor. I mean, just, I'm sure, again, Esau meant it. But Jacob knew. The Lord has
led him. The Lord's touched him. The Lord's
wrestled with him. The Lord's taught him. The Lord's taught him. And
he knew that there's danger when two walk together unnecessarily
in this world. I know that we cannot abstain
from all contact with the world. We live here. But we have to
show some wisdom in matters pertaining to becoming too intimate with
this world, I'm telling you, it's dangerous. It is dangerous
to knit yourself together unnecessarily with those of this world. They
don't think the same way we do. They don't have the same going
into business. No, no, no. It's dangerous to do that. I'm
going on ahead. I'll leave these guys with you.
No, no. Scripture says in verses 16 and
18, So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob
journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths
for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place
is called Succoth. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city
of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from
Pandanarum, where he was with his with his uncle Laban, and
pitched his tent before the city. Now, Esau returned to the place of
his residency, and Jacob was said to journey to Succoth. Now, when you first read this,
we just read where Jacob had told him, when he told him, he
said, let's take our journey together, it's just me and you,
I'll lead, Jacob said no, I'll lead softly according to the
cattle that goeth before me and the children are able to endure
until I come unto my Lord unto seer. And he says he journeyed to Succoth. And though it may appear at first
that Jacob either just flat out lied to him, failed to do what
he said he would do. The scripture doesn't bear that
he lied to him. He didn't say he'd, you know. And I got to wondering about
that. And so I looked, it said, it says that Esau, verse 16,
returned that day on his way to Seir, and Jacob journeyed,
journeyed. Now, we'll miss a very important
thing here. if we fail to understand what
that word journeyed meant. It's a word that does mean to
set out, to set forward, to depart, to march, but more specifically,
it means to do all those things by stages, by stages. First mentioned, hold your place,
turn back to Genesis 12, nine. Genesis 12, nine. Genesis 12, nine, first time
it's used. Genesis 12, nine. And Abram journeyed
going on still toward the south. It was like a progressive thing.
He was journeying and he was going and he was going. So it
doesn't mean that Jacob didn't go to see her. But I wanted to
make that point, because it appears as though he said, OK, I'm going
on to see her. OK, I'll see you there. I'll be there. And he
went to suck off. No. The word that's used means
to go to march in stages. So before we throw him under
the bus and just say, you know, there he is, lying again. No. Look at the word. It means to
journey in stages. will leave it exactly where the
Spirit of God left it, right there. We don't read into something
that the Spirit of God hasn't revealed and Jacob seems to have
done what he said he was going to do, but he didn't stay long
because he continued in stages and went to a place called Succoth. Now the Lord had told him, he
said, go back to the land of your fathers. He said he went
to Succoth. Well, where was Succoth? Well,
hold your place right there. Turn to Joshua 13. Joshua 13. Where was Succoth? I've got a
wonderful, it's very, very old book. It was a book that really
was at Fairview Elementary and it was in the library and I I
found it somewhere, and it was really neat. It was a Bible atlas,
and it's got some of the greatest pictures of the Holy Land and
where these little towns were, and it's the best thing to be
able to find some of these places, but I found it. But anyway, here's
the scripture that proves. He told him to go back to the
land of his fathers. Where was the land of his fathers? Canaan,
Canaan. And he went to Succoth, Joshua 13, verse 24. And Moses gave inheritance under
the tribe of Gad. That's one of the boys of Jacob,
one of Jacob's boys. Here we're over in Joshua, and
here's one of the heads of the tribes of Israel. Moses gave
inheritance under the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of
Gad, according to their families. And their coast was Jazer, and
all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children
of Ammon, and Aurora, that is before Rabah, and from Heshbon
onto Ramath-Mizpah and Betanim, and from Mahanaim onto the border
of Debor, and in the valley, Betharim and Beth-nirah, and
Sukkoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king
of Heshbon, Jordan, his border even unto the edge of the Sea
of Chinereth on the other side of Jordan, Ishwer. You know how
I know it was in Canaan? Because it was part of the inheritance
that was given to Gad. So Succoth, he's gone back to
Succoth, so he is in the land of Canaan. He journeyed back,
and it tells us exactly where Succoth was over in Joshua. So he's in the park, of what's
going to be the future inheritance of the tribe of Gad. So Jacob, in his obedience unto
the Lord, to go back, to return to the land of the father, he's
there, and he builds a house, the scripture says. He builds
the house with some booths for the cattle, but the appearance
of the scripture seems to indicate that he wasn't there long. because,
and I looked it up, I mean, as soon as he said when he built
the house immediately, I'm thinking of, you know, dug out some foundations
and built, you know, I mean, he built a big house for himself
and some booths. No, it was a dwelling place there. He had him a place there because
immediately after he built him a house, he built him a place
to stay in. He was there, obviously, for a while, made some booths
for his cattle, And then in 18, and Jacob came to Shalem, a city
of Shechem, and he's still, he's moving. He's on, which is in
the land of Canaan, when he came from Pandan-Aram and pitched
his tent before the city. Now, so he builds a house there
for a while, and it seems as though that he, now he leaves
there, and he goes to a place called Shalem, and I looked it
up again. I found it on the map. It was
a little country. It almost appeared like it was
a state. It would be like a state of West Virginia, and you found,
you know, Farmington on it. So he came to Shalem, a city
of Shechem, and Shalem, the word means safe. He came safe, came
to this place. He came unharmed. That's what
it meant. God had delivered him a city
of Shechem, which actually the word Shechem, it means back or
shoulder. And there's a beautiful point
that I got to looking at as I read this next verse, but it's that
he came to this place. That's where he's in a place
that's name means safe and unharmed. in a city, you know, a city of
this place, of this state-like place called Shechem. It means back or government.
I mean back or shoulder. I'm almost used my illustration,
my scripture here. It says in verse 19, and while
he was there, he bought a parcel of field, of a field, where he
had spread his tent at the hand of the children Haymar, Shechem's
father, for a hundred pieces of money. Now he's coming to
this place, he met his brother, he journeyed in stages, he comes
to this place, Sukkoth, and he's there a while and he builds this
house and booze for his people. He comes to this next place,
a Salem, safe, unharmed, and it's a city of Shechem, shoulder
or back, and verse 19 says, and he buys a parcel of field there. And he spreads his tent in this
place. Now, here's an amazing thing. All of this land, all
of the land of Canaan, all of the land of Canaan. It had been
promised to his daddy, his grandfather, Abraham. It was promised to his
daddy, Isaac, for inheritance. It was promised to Jacob, who
now is Israel. And from Jacob, Israel himself,
God made him a prince with God. And his 12 sons are going to
be those that occupy All of this land, all of Canaan, is gonna
be Jacob's posterity. He's in a place, but he hasn't
bought it yet. I mean, he hadn't possessed it
yet. But he buys a little parcel of
land there because possession, total possession, has not been
accomplished. So he buys this parcel, of land
for 100 pieces of silver. He buys it in a place called
safe, unharmed, back, shoulder. Surely, Jacob bought this piece
of ground according to faith, by faith, in the future possession
of that country, which was to be his posterities, his boys. God had promised that this was
going to be his. But Jacob's actions to buy that
piece of property was by faith and conviction in the promise
that had been given him by the Lord. But until the Lord openly
gave the land to him, He, as we all are, acted according
to that which was right and honorable. Whenever Abraham bought that
cave, Machpelah, he wanted to buy a cave to bury his wife,
Sarah. You say, well, that was in a
place that was gonna be Abraham's anyway. Yeah, but it wasn't his. It wasn't his by full possession
yet. What did he do? He paid the going
rate for it. He told him, he said, we'll give
it to you now. No, no, no. I want to know what the going rate,
I want to know what the praise value of that is. Now I read
that verse of scripture, right there, verse 19, and this afternoon
before I left the church going home to just kind of relax for
a few minutes, come back up here, I thought, I looked at that verse
19, and as I normally do, started rewriting. And as I read that,
he bought a parcel of the field which had spread. It was in a
place that was safe. It had been delivered from harm.
A place where the back and the shoulder was being spoken of. And that land was his by promise
It reminded me of the Lord himself. The Lord of glory, who spoke
this whole world into existence? The Lord. Earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof. All souls are mine. All souls are mine. All men are
the Lord's by creation. Some are His by electing grace. Some are His by redeeming grace,
regenerating grace. His by willing submission, made
willing in the day of His power. And where Jacob came and bought
a parcel of a field that was His by promise, but not yet fully
possessed, the Lord of glory came into this world into the
world that He made and came among men, some of which He everlastingly
loved. And though those that He everlastingly
loved had fallen into sin and Adam's transgression, He paid
the price to redeem them the full price of their redemption
on Calvary Street. Just like Jacob, this was his,
that was his land by promise from God. But as of yet, he hadn't
taken possession of it. He bought it, he paid what was
his by promise. He bought it, and the Lord too. Bearing the sins of his people,
and answering the full demand of the law. Upon his shoulders
was the government of the redemption of God's elect. It was on his
back. Jacob was in a place that was
named safe and secure and kept from harm. Why? Because it was
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. that had brought him to that
place safely, securely, delivered him a picture of man's redemption,
God's people's redemption by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He bore it all. And that's where Jacob bought
that little parcel, a picture of our Lord paying the full price
of our redemption. And the scripture says, being
in that place, verse 20, He erected there an altar and called it
El-El-Oh-He-Israel. Margin says God, the God of Israel. Jacob knows who he is in himself,
but he by faith believes God. God Almighty was pleased to show
mercy to Jacob called him Israel. And Jacob is said here, he raised
this altar up and he said, this is an altar to the God, the God
of Israel. This is my God. But I looked
at this word in closing. I can't go past this. I got to,
I got to bring this out. The name of that altar, I looked
at the name of that altar, El, I know El, I know that means
God. El, El, oh he, El, oh he, I kept
looking at the words, I wanna look them up. I wanna know what
do those words mean? It's made up of three words,
three different words. You look up that word and you're
gonna find out that El, El, oh he, Israel is actually three
words. And here's what it means. I'll
tell you where I got it. If you want to know, I mean,
this would be a blessing to you if you want to look it up. The
name of the altar, from three words, first word is Strong's,
again, I told you, I don't speak Hebrew, but I do have a concordance,
and I can't look it up. It's Strong's number H410, E-L,
E-L, L, God. It means God, the one true God. the one true God. That word El,
E-L, it's the name setting forth the power and the strength of
the God of Israel. Vine's concordance reveals that
this was the name that was synonymous with the Lord who delivered the
Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. and made them victorious
in battle. Whenever the one that delivered
them out of it, that was El. It spoke of his power. And then the altar next was from
Strong's H430, and that next word is Elohim, Elohim, E-L-O-H-I-M,
Elohim. And the name, this name is plural,
it's a plural name. that which represents the Godhead,
the very fullness of his deity, God Almighty, God Almighty, the
Godhead God, Father, Son, and Spirit. And then the last name
of that altar was from Strong's H3478. I'll give you these if
you want to know them. And that word, I'll just spell
it. It's Y-I-S-R-A-E-L. Yisrael. Yisrael starts with
a Y. And it means, this word means
God prevails. It's a name from a word that
means to persist, to persist, to persevere, setting forth this
truth. He will rule as God. He will rule as God. Jacob had been brought, had been
delivered from Pandanarum, where his uncle had mistreated him. God told him, go back to the
land of your fathers. And he did. Reconciled his brother
with him. Brought him back to this place
right here. And he bought this little parcel of land. And he
built an altar. He built an altar and he named
it El Elohi Israel. God Almighty, Jehovah, Jehovah, the Godhead
himself, he'll prevail. He will prevail. Jacob declares
that God is his God, the God of Israel. his protector, his
preserver. He made me, he made me to be
a prince with him. And he is, by the grace of God,
pleased to make his people, as he made Israel, to be a prince
with him. Kings and priests. I pray God
bless this to our heart, for his glory and our good.