Romans 8. We are going to look at the story of Jacob and Esau today regarding their birth and their birthright. And that portion of their lives, it doesn't cover that many verses. We're doing these stories, and some of these stories are covering large portions of scripture. That particular component of their lives, it doesn't cover that many verses, but I didn't want this to be rushed. So I decided to separate something from the story for a Bible study. and then focus on the story itself for the message.

And that went well until I realized that the story itself needed to be a part one and a part two. I just didn't, I didn't want to just rush through. It just kept opening up. I just kept writing and writing and I didn't want to rushed through, so I realized this has got to be a part one and a part two. No problem, I can take the Bible study and move it to tonight and do a part one and a part two this morning. That was fine until I realized that the story needed to be a part one, a part two, and a part three. And so that's what we're going to do today. Lord willing, we'll come back and look at this separated part next week if the Lord leads me to do that.

But again, this is not many verses, but this is a clear picture of the gospel. I have been working on this, and I don't know if I've ever worked on, I have, I've worked on stuff this much, but this is a clear picture of the gospel. I just want us to take our time with this. This is important. This is important.

There's a lot of things that I really want to say right now, but I'm not going to do it. I'm going to go right into it, but just ask the Lord to really open your eyes. You're going to need to do that. You're going to need to ask the Lord to open your eyes. Now, let me go right in by saying this.

The only way that any sinful man or woman can be saved is substitution with Christ. I'm telling you that is the only possible way. That's exactly right. People come up with all these ways and this way and that way and baptism and whatever and whatever. There is only one way. Substitution with Christ. That's it. That's it. A man or a woman cannot earn God's favor or blessing or inheritance. And it's because no man or woman is owed God's favor, blessing, or inheritance. No sinful man or woman on this earth is even eligible for God's favor or blessing or inheritance. And here is the reason why. I'm telling you this is the reason why. Look at Romans 8 verse 29.

It says, For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be, that Christ might be, the firstborn among many brethren. The firstborn among many brethren, that He, with God, He established from the beginning something called the birthright. That meant that the goodly portion of all that the father had, a father had, went to the eldest son. This is what God ordained. Some gifts were given to the other sons, some physical things were given, and haven't we all received some physical things in this life? But the true inheritance, the spiritual blessings of ownership, leadership, authority, headship, the position and place of the father, this is what the birthright is and means, the position and place of the father went to the eldest son only.

God the Father is the one who ordained this. And God the Son, the firstborn. Not that he was born by way of creation. Jesus Christ was not created. He was in the beginning with God and he was God. All things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. He is the eternal I am. So it's not that he was created But that is the position that he holds in the Godhead Trinity.

I'd love to take an hour and get sidetracked on God. When we say God, we're speaking of three distinct persons in one entity. You have the Father of God, the Son of God, and the Spirit of God. It's not that God is the Father and then God has a son and they have a helper. The Son of God holds the position in the Godhead Trinity of being the firstborn. The firstborn Son of God. And the Father in the Scripture is referred to as the Father of God. Because of that, the Father has ordained all of the position and place of the Godhead to go to the son. In Matthew 13 verse 17, the father said, this is my beloved son. In whom I'm well pleased.

In Matthew 11 verse 27, the Lord Jesus Christ said, all things are delivered unto me of my father. In Matthew 28, he said, all power is given unto me. In John 5, he said, all judgment is given unto me. Ephesians 1 says all spiritual blessings have been given to Christ. Ephesians 1 and many other places say all the glory has been given to Christ. Turn with me to John chapter 3. John chapter 3 verse 35 it says, The father loveth the son, and hath given all things into his hand.

Now when God says all things, what does God mean? That's right. He means all things. God does not exaggerate. God does not lie. When he says all things, he means all things. If all things are given to Christ, what's left over for us? That's correct. Nothing. Nothing. What else is there besides all things? If you put all things into a category right here, what else would be left to go over here? Here's the answer. Nothing. Nothing.

Men and women in their natural condition before God, the way that people come into the world, a soul in flesh, we're born, we live, okay? People in their natural condition before God are leaving this world at their appointed time. Everyone has an appointed time. And they are leaving this world with nothing.

Nothing. They're taking nothing from this world with them, what can we take with us? We accumulate and accumulate and accumulate and we leave with nothing. Job said, naked I came into this world, naked I'm going to go back out of this world. And they are receiving nothing in the world to come. In man's natural condition, man receives nothing in the world to come except for condemnation for the sin, the condemnation that was promised to us because of our sin. Now, why is that? It's because the father has given everything to the son. Everything is to the Son, the firstborn among every other brother and sister. The entire birthright has gone to Him.

And that's why verse 36 right here in John 3 says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Everything has been given to the Son, including the faith to believe on the Son. Even that has been given to the Son. If we receive faith to believe on the Son, That has to come from the Son.

The soul that believes on the Son is the soul that has been given faith by the Son to believe on the Son. That's just so. And when the Son gives it, what does that soul believe, all right? What is that soul believing on? What is the soul's hope? Here it is. When the Son gives faith, what is the hope?

Here it is. Substitution with Christ. Not that I've lived a good enough life for God to be happy with me. Substitution with Christ. What is a believer's hope? Substitution with Christ. That's it. That is it. Substitution before the Father with the one who holds the birthright.

Now that is what the story of Jacob and Esau represents. This truth from God is this truth that everything is going to one and nothing is going to the other. Everything's going to one, nothing's going to the other, and the only hope that the other one has is substitution with the one who everything is going to. That's what the story of Jacob and Esau is declaring.

And this truth is so firm, it will hold to be so true. Our Lord used some of the strongest language in scripture to declare it. Turn with me to Romans nine. Romans nine, verse nine. For this is the word of promise. At this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son." Abraham and Sarah. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, with Jacob and Esau. For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand.

That means God choosing who God wants to choose. God saving who God wants to save. Him being gracious to whom he will be gracious. And him being merciful to whom he will be merciful. Verse 11, the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand. Not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. God said one is loved, one is hated. What does that word hated mean? It means hated. Turn with me to Malachi chapter one. That's the last book in the Old Testament before Matthew, Malachi chapter one. Verse one, Malachi 1, verse one, it says, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, saith the Lord. And he's speaking to Israel, whose name was Jacob, changed to Israel. Verse two, I've loved you, saith the Lord, yet you say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness." This truth is repeated all through the scripture. Isaiah 44 verse 1 says, "'Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant,' and Israel, name was changed to Israel, whom I have chosen. I chose Jacob and not Esau. Psalm 135 verse 4 says, for the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure. Now, here's our question.

How? How could the Lord God do that rightfully? How could he do that rightfully? How could he do that legally according to the birthright that he ordained? The answer to that is in the story of Jacob and Esau. Go with me over to Genesis 25. Now it has been said before that no type or picture is perfect. Meaning just because you know you see a picture of Christ in a person in the scripture, it doesn't mean everything about that person's life will picture Christ. That is definitely a true statement, that is definitely so. In Genesis 24, Isaac was a picture of Christ and Rebecca was a picture of Christ's bride.

But in Genesis 26, he sins against her. And he committed the same sin that his father Abraham committed. There was a famine in the land and they had to go to the Philistines for food. And he told the Philistine men, she's my sister. So they wouldn't kill him. Isaac did the same thing Abraham did.

And that was a sin against her. That was a sin against God. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew no sin. So the picture ends in that moment. That just proves Isaac is a sinner just like everybody else. In Genesis 22, when Abraham took Isaac up Mount Moriah to sacrifice him, Isaac carried the wood.

He willingly crawled up on that altar. He was a picture of Christ. Until the ram entered the picture. by substitution. Substitution. At that moment, the ram became a picture of Christ. Isaac became a picture of every soul that the ram became a substitute for. You see what I'm saying there? Like it doesn't just, you can't just say, well, Isaac is Christ and then just carry that right on through. You can't do that with anybody.

Sometimes a person pictures Christ. Sometimes it's an event. Sometimes it's part of an event. Sometimes it's one verse. Sometimes a character will picture Christ in one verse, and then that character will just go right back to being the sinner he or she is.

No picture can fully display the glory of the one it's picturing, and that is the case here. I want to make that clear. I want to make it very clear. That's the case here. With that being said, The portion of this story that declares the picture, this is one of the greatest pictures that could ever be seen. This is one of the greatest pictures that could ever be seen.

In this picture, Isaac now represents God the Father. Rebecca represents God the Spirit. Jacob represents God's elect sinners that he chose to save. And Esau represents Christ. And we'll give everybody a minute. Y'all take a deep breath. Just take whatever time you need. I know that's a shocking statement. I'm not here for shock value. But I'm telling you, after seeing the truth of this picture and then hearing the words, Esau have I hated, you're going to see the glory of the cross like we've never seen it before. This is where the amazing part of amazing grace comes from. Look at Genesis 25. I was going for the Bible study, I was gonna focus on something from verses 20 to 23, and Lord willing, maybe look at that, come back and look at it next week. But look at verse 20, I'll read it.

It says, Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren, And the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her, and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she inquired of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy vows.

And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. And the elder shall serve the younger. Boy, that's amazing. All right, now verse 24 is where we're gonna pick up. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

And the first came out red all over like in hairy garment. He had hair all over him. And they called his name Esau, the firstborn, the elder brother. The name Esau means hairy. He was covered in hair. He was a baby covered in hair, hairy with a covering.

That's the first definition that you'll find, but you can get a concord, I would encourage you, get a concordance on your cell phone, look this up for yourself. His name comes from the root word that means, now this is what the name Esau means. Here's the root word for the name Esau. To accomplish, to do the work, to make the offering, to bring to pass, to make finished, to bear. to bruise, to labor, to offer, to sacrifice, to yield to, to yield up.

That's Christ. That's Christ. Verse 25 says, and the first came out red. That means to be red, dyed red, caused to show red, to flush, to show blood. Esau came out with his own covering. He came out, he already had his own covering. When he came out, he already had his own covering. Dyed red. That's the righteousness and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 26, And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel. That's what sin did to Christ. In Genesis 3, the Lord told Satan, who is the author of sin, you're going to bruise his heel on the cross of Calvary. Verse 26, after that came his brother out and his hand took hold on Esau's heel and his name was called Jacob. That means center. It means trickster, supplanter.

Verse 26 goes on to say, and Isaac was three score years old when she bared them and the boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter. The word cunning means all knowing, all perceiving, all wise, all skilled, marked, perfect. What cunning means? Hunter means provider of provision, a provider of nourishment. Verse 27, Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. Man of the field means a worthy husbandman, a servant of the land. Verse 27 says, and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. I'm going to tell you what that means down the road.

Verse 28 says, and Isaac loved Esau. The father loves the son. Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison. The father loves the son because of what he provided. That's why the father loves the son, his worthy provision. Philippians 2 says, because of what Christ provided on the cross of Calvary for his people in humbling himself and becoming of no reputation No birthright reputation. Becoming obedient to death, the Father has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, bestowed the blessing on him. That at the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that he's Lord to the glory of God the Father. In John 17, our Lord said, therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life. But I might take it again.

Verse 28 says, and Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob. Physically speaking, and I'll tell you this is the end of this Bible study, but physically speaking, that's not necessarily saying that Isaac and Rebekah were at odds. It's not necessarily saying that Isaac didn't love his other twin son, Jacob, and Rebekah didn't love her other twin son, Esau. But even if that was the case physically, That's definitely not the case spiritually.

What that's saying spiritually is, but God, that's what it's saying. But God, but Rebecca, representing the Holy Spirit of the Godhead. loved the sinner. The sinner. First Timothy 115 says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Not the righteous, not the righteous, but sinners. Romans 5 verse 8 says, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2 verse 4 says, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace, by substitution with Christ, you are saved. Verse 28 says, Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob. And we're going to see how that Love came to Jacob in just a moment. All right, we'll stop there and we'll come back here in just a moment. You're dismissed.