Jacob is speaking prophetically
about his 12 sons. He says in verse 2, gather yourselves together and
hear ye sons of Jacob and hearken unto Israel your father. He's
going to tell these 12 boys what will happen to them in their
latter days. Now he says first to Reuben,
this is his firstborn. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might,
and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and
the excellency of power. Wouldn't you admit reading that
that almost sounds odd that he would speak of Reuben in that
manner? After all, Reuben is the one
who lost his birthright. And yet he speaks of Reuben apparently
in these glowing terms. But look what he says next in
verse four, unstable. as water. Thou shalt not excel. Because thou wentest up to thy
father's bed, then thou defilest it. He went up to my couch. Now, this is the same sin that
Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, if you'll remember.
Remember he talked about that one, he said it shouldn't be
named even among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father's
wife. Well, that's exactly what Reuben does. And I want you to
think of the utter contempt he shows for his father in doing
this. He went in unto his father's
third wife or concubine, whatever she was, but he lost his birthright
over that. Now, Reuben was the firstborn
son. I've entitled this message Reuben
Unstable. Reuben Unstable. Reuben was the firstborn son.
His mother was Leah. And you remember the story of
Jacob and Rachel and Leah. Jacob fell in love with Rachel,
worked for seven years. And on his wedding night, when
he wakes up the next day, he's been fooled. He's been tricked.
It's not Rachel. It's Leah. And he was not at
all happy about this, but he was willing to work another seven
years for Rachel. But you've got to feel kind of
sorry for Leah. She was not an attractive woman.
She was a woman that nobody really wanted. Jacob didn't want her. You can remember when she would
come to say, I want to do this. Maybe now my husband will love
me. Maybe now my husband will love me. And you've got to feel
a bit sorry for this woman, the predicament she's put in. Reuben, the firstborn, we know,
was the one who found the mandrakes, which are aphrodisiacs. And he
gave them to his mother. and his mother ended up having
more children. That's kind of strange for someone
to give their mother something like that. I wouldn't dream of
doing that, but I can't imagine doing that. He did. We know that he committed sexual
sin with his father's third wife or concubine. Which, like I said,
is what the man in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul confronted and said,
it's not even named among the Gentiles that a man should have
his father's wife. And here you all have this going
on in your midst. Well, Reuben did the same thing. He went in a place where he should
never go. And we know he's the one who
didn't want Joseph dead. You remember that? to not have
Joseph put to death. And he was upset when he found
out they had sold him into slavery. And you remember that when he
volunteered to take Benjamin down to Egypt, Jacob said with
strong language, he ain't going with you. Zero percent chance
I'm going to send him with you. Now this is Reuben. He's also the one who, when they
were in trouble, Reuben said, I told you so. I told you not
to do this. He was that type of guy. I told
you so. Now notice what Jacob says about
Reuben. Like I said, if we look at his
biography, there's not much good to see. And here's what Jacob
says about him. Reuben, thou art my firstborn. Thou art my firstborn. My might, my strength, this is
the best Jacob can produce. You represent the strength of
my human nature. You're the best I can do. You're the excellency of dignity.
You're the beginning of my strength. You're the excellency of dignity,
the excellency of power. Now, my might, the strength of
my human nature, the beginning of my strength, my ability to
exert myself, excellency is that which juts out, that which can
be seen. You're what is seen for me. My, my, my excellency. Something that cannot be hidden.
Dignity means swelling. Swelling. As a matter of fact,
it's the same word used to describe a rising in the flesh when someone
has leprosy. The excellency of my swelling.
The word is actually translated pride. So we see, if we look
at this passage of scripture, he's not really complimenting
Reuben, is he? He's saying Reuben is my firstborn. He is what comes from me. He was not being complimentary. It seems he was almost being
sarcastic. Reuben, you're the best I can
produce. You're the best I can come up
with. And look what he says once again. Unstable as water, thou
shalt not excel because thou wentest up to thy father's bed,
thou defilest it. He went up to my couch. Like
he couldn't believe he did such a thing. Now Jacob mentions this
sin of going back to Jacob's concubine, and it's mentioned
in one verse, Genesis 35, 22, it's mentioned. And we read in
1 Chronicles 5, verse 1, that Reuben lost his birthright over
this. And if you'll remember, a couple of weeks ago, we were
looking at Jacob saying to Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, you're
my sons. He knew then that Reuben had
lost his birthright. That's why he said that. Ruben
and, I mean, Manessa and Ephraim are going to take the place of
Ruben. Unstable as water, thou shalt
not excel. Unstable as water. Water takes
the shape of the container you put it in. It's so unstable. It can take any shape. There's
no rigidity. There's no strength to it. It
takes the shape of anything you pour it into. The idea is quick
and sudden changes. No stability. I think of that
proverb, meddle not with him that are given to change. Somebody
that's always changing, he's not to be trusted. And this is
Reuben. Unstable as water, thou shalt
not Excel, no stability, temporary. The word means frothy, non-substantial,
light. Judges 9.24, Ahimelech hired
vain and light persons. That's the same word. Unstable
persons that followed him. Zephaniah 3.4 speaks of the prophets
in Israel that they're light and treacherous persons. That is the way he is speaking
of his son, Reuben, likeness. And this was demonstrated when
he went into his father's concubine. He says, unstable as water, thou
shalt not excel. And he didn't. Nor did any of
his descendants. No honorable person, no prophet,
no king is mentioned who came out of the tribe of Reuben. The
most famous Reubenites that came out of the tribe of Reuben are
Dathan and Abiram, who led that revolt against Moses and God
opened up the ground and had them all swallowed. Unstable
as water, thou shalt not excel. Unstable. You know, we live in a very unstable
world, don't we? Even physically, it's unstable. Earthquakes, storms, floods, our ever-changing planet. We
live in very unstable bodies. Every one of us are just be dead
like that, or everything can change just like that. We might
become ill or crippled. We live in very unstable bodies. We are under unstable governments
all the time. There's never been a government
that lasted. I mean, I'm thankful for the government we have. But
if time goes on, it won't last. Some other government, some other
world power will take a place. That always happens. We live
in among unstable people. You know, even when we talk about
the church, when we're talking about the local church, it's
unstable. As long as folks like me and you are in the church,
it'll be unstable. No local church continues. Where is the church at Corinth?
Where is the church at Ephesus? Where is the church at Laodicea?
All the churches mentioned in the Bible, they're gone now.
Something happened. Something changed. Unstable. You can just write that down
about everything you know and see. It's unstable. We sing that hymn. Change and
decay in all around I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me. Aren't you thankful for him who
is the same yesterday, today, and forever? God in the three persons of the
Trinity is the only stability there is. Unstable as water, he says to
Reuben, thou shalt not excel. Now this word unstable is only
used twice in the scriptures. Here, when he describes Reuben,
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. Reuben's the best
I can produce and we see what he is. Like I said, this was
not a compliment to Reuben when he makes this statement. And
the other one is found in James chapter one. Would you turn with
me there? James chapter one. Verse eight. A double-minded man is unstable
in all his ways. Now let's try to pick up why
he said this and get the context of this passage of scripture.
Look in verse five. If any of you, and that's any
of you, that's talking to me, that's talking about to you,
that's talking about to anybody else who will hear. If any of
you lack wisdom. Now the word lack is used six
times in the New Testament, and it means you don't have any.
Look in James chapter two, verse 15, how the same word is translated.
If a brother or sister be naked and destitute, that's what the
word means, destitute. You lack wisdom. You don't have any. and you're
aware of it. If any of you lack wisdom, now
what is wisdom? It's the fear of God. The beginning
of wisdom is the fear of God. That's the only true wisdom there
is, and I think that's the description that most comprehensively describes
a real believer. He's somebody who fears God.
He fears God. He stands in awe of God. This
is not a slavish fear of mistrust, afraid God's gonna get me, punish
me. This is that respect and awe
of God that makes me afraid to look anywhere but Christ. That's
the fear of God. Somebody that looks to Christ
only, there's a person who fears God. Somebody that doesn't look
to Christ only, they have no respect for God. They have no
fear of God. Now, if any of you lack this
wisdom, let him ask. Well, how can I ask? Ask. Ask. You know, when we say, how
can I ask, we're asking a pretty dumb question, really. Ask. You
have not because you ask not. That's what the Lord says. Now,
what an encouraging statement. If any of you lack wisdom, Let
him ask, and God gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not. He's not gonna bawl you out.
Anyone that asks for wisdom, you ask for this, right? Ask
the Lord to give it to you. Ask, and you shall receive. Let him ask of God, who gives
to all men liberally and upbraids not. He's not gonna bawl you
out. He's only gonna say, why would I give it to you, you hypocrite?
You can imagine why he would say that, but that's not the
way the Lord is. Ask for this wisdom, this fear
of God. But, verse six, if any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth through all liberally
and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. Do you hear that?
If you ask, it shall be given. Don't doubt it. This is his promise. If you ask, it shall be given.
But, Let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like
a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed, for let
not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord. Now what
about that verse of scripture? Does that mean If I have the
slightest doubt that maybe God won't answer me, he won't answer
me. Is that what that means? Well, when have you ever asked
for anything when you didn't have some measure of wavering
as to whether or not you'd have it? You ought not, but we do. We do. He's not saying that though. He's not saying let him ask in
faith in the sense of let him ask knowing that he'll get whatever
he asks for. No. Let him ask in faith. Nothing wavering. Now what's
it mean to ask in faith? I can answer that question. To
him that worketh not. And do you know what that means?
You know that you cannot earn God's favor on any level by your
works. Do you know that? To him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. It's not just believing on him.
It's believing on him that justifies the ungodly. You see, when you
believe him, you know you can't be saved by your works. Now,
if you ask according to your works, don't think you're gonna receive
a thing from God because you're not. Underline that in your heart. Let him ask in faith. Nothing
wavering, not going back and forth. For he that wavereth is
like the wind of the sea. But let him
ask in faith, nothing in waver, for he that wavers is like a
wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. Let not
that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man, two soul,
two beliefs. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways,
divided in interest, vacillating in opinions and purpose, a double-minded
man is unstable in all his ways. Now, I want you to turn to 1
Kings chapter 18, and this is going to tell us what a double-minded
man is. It's been three and a half years
since it rained in Israel. Can you imagine three and a half
years without a drop of rain? And there was a certain prophet
who it wouldn't start raining until he said it would rain. Now can you imagine the resentment
that would have built up against Elijah? If he'd asked for rain,
it'd come, and he hadn't done it. And Ahab was out looking
for him. And we pick up beginning in verse
17 of 1 Kings chapter 18. And it came to pass when Ahab
saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth
Israel? And he answered, I've not troubled
Israel. but thou and thy father's house,
in that you've forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed
Balaam. Now, therefore, send and gather to me all Israel unto
Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal 450, and the prophets
of the groves 400, which eat at Jezebel's table." Now, picture
in your mind 850 false prophets, one truth. I doubt that that's as small
a gap as now. I don't think there's
one true preacher for every 850 preachers. There might be, I
don't know, but let's just take that number. 850 false preachers,
one true. So Ahab sent unto all the children
of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. And
Elijah came unto all the people and said, how long halt ye between
two opinions? How long are you going to be
double minded? How long are you going to be
unstable? How long halt ye? between two opinions. You won't give up either one
of them and you really don't stand for either when you don't,
if you stand for both. Now how long do you halt between
two opinions? And I love the appeal he makes. If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. His only appeal
is the truth. If God be God, follow him. If Baal, follow him. But don't
try to jump back and forth between the two. Don't try to hold to
both. How long halt ye between two
opinions? And that's what a double-minded
man does. He goes back and forth between
two contrary, opposite opinions. God's will is either sovereign
or man's will is sovereign. The one excludes the other. You
can't halt between two opinions. Men are either dead in sins,
according to the scripture, or they have the ability to save
themselves. The one excludes the other, and
both of them demand absolutely different messages, a different
gospel. How long halt he between two
opinions? The Bible is either inspired
by God every word or it's not. Now these two views exclude one
another. It's either God's word or it's
not. God's Word. There are not parts that are
true and parts that are not. How long halt ye between two
opinions? The Bible either declares that God elected
a people or it doesn't teach that. And
the message of a God who elects a people and an opposite message
are two completely different messages. They don't have anywhere
they go together at all. How long halt he between two
people? The Bible either declares that
the death of Christ saved or it didn't. There's no in between. You can't
bring them both together. You can't preach both. How long, holy? Going back and
forth. It's what Paul called yea, nay
preaching. Do you believe the blood of Christ
saves? Oh, yes. No, it saves if you. Yea, nay preaching. God the Holy Spirit either gives
life or it's up to you to get life. There's no in-between. One's
a false message. One's the truth. They can't be
brought together. How long, Haltdee, jump back
and forth between two opinions? How long will you be double-minded? Now, let's go on reading. I'm not going to make much comment
on this, but I love this story. Then said Elijah unto the people,
I think it's interesting first, and the people answered him not
a word. Now you'd think they would have answered him a word
at this time, but they didn't. The people answered him not a
word. They tried to remain neutral. You see, it was politically expedient
to be a bell worshiper. You would do better, and they
were afraid to abandon the worship of Jehovah, so they did both.
They did both. And that's why Elijah comes on
the scene and says, you can't do both. And let's go on reading. Verse 22. Then said Elijah to
the people, I, even I only remain a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's
prophets are 450 men. Let them therefore give us two
bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and
cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under
it. And I will dress the other bullock, and lay it under wood,
and put no fire under it. And call ye upon the name of
your gods, and I'll call upon the name of the Lord. You know
what Elijah means? Jehovah is God. That just galled
them. His name is Jehovah is God. That
means Baal's not, he's nothing. Verse 24, you call on the name
of your gods and I'll call on the name of the Lord and the
God that answers by fire. Let him be God. And all the people
answered and said, is well-spoken. We'll go with that. And Elijah said to the prophets
of Baal, choose you one bullet for yourselves and dress it first
for your many and call on the name of your gods, but put no
fire under it. And they took the bullock which
was given them and they dressed it and called on the name of
Baal from morning even until noon saying, oh Baal, hear us. But there was no voice nor any
that answered. And they leaped upon the altar
which was made. They started doing dances trying
to get the attention of their God. Hear us. And Elijah said, well, I have
respect for you and your religion. I'm not going to say anything
bad about it. And it came to pass at noon that
Elijah mocked them and said, cry aloud. He's making fun of
them. He's watching them cry. Maybe
you need to cry a little louder. Somebody says, is this right? Yes, it's
right. Cry aloud for he's a god. Either
he's talking or he is pursuing. Maybe he's using the bathroom.
That's what that means. Or he's in a journey or per venture
he sleepeth and must be awaked. And they cried aloud and cut
themselves after their manor with knives and lancets till
the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass when midday
was passed, and they prophesied into the time of the offering
of the evening sacrifice that there was neither voice, nor
any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the
people, come near unto me, and all the people came near unto
him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down,
and Elijah took You know, whenever the gospel
is preached, the altar is repaired. The gospel of Christ is preached.
It had broken down through misuse, but now he brings it back to
its prominence, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the 12 sons
of Jacob. He's pointing out the particularity
of his sacrifice, just who it is he's dying for. Elijah didn't
believe in universal redemption, he knew better than that. He
brings out these 12 stones. Unto whom the word of the Lord
came, saying, Israel shall be thy name, And with the stones
he built an altar in the name of the Lord and he made a trench
about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in the order and cut the bullock in pieces
and laid him on the wood and said, fill four barrels with
water and poured on the burnt sacrifice. And he said, do it
the second time. And they did it the second time.
And he said, do it the third time. They did it the third time. And
the water ran round about the altar and he filled the trench
also with water. Now somebody's thinking, where did the water
come from? Well, this was close to the ocean. It's close to the
ocean, because it didn't rain for three and a half years. Every
creek, every well was dried up. He's close to the ocean. And
he filled up these barrels with water the way he did. And it came to pass at the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet
came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,
let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that
I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy
word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that
this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou
has turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell. Now you think about this, it
came out of the heavens. They saw the fire of the Lord come
out of the heavens. And the fire of the Lord fell
and consumed the sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and
the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. There wasn't anything left. Now my dear friends, that's what
happened to your sins in the sacrifice of Christ. So effectual
was his sacrifice. Why? There wasn't anything left. All of a sudden, can you imagine
how they, all that fire comes, everything's gone there. What did they say? And when all the people saw it,
They fell on their faces and they said, the Lord, he is the
God, Jehovah, he is the God. Now at this time at any rate,
they're not halting between two opinions. And Elijah said to them, take
the prophets of Baal and let not one of them escape. And they
took them and Elijah brought them down to the brook of Chisholm
and slew them there. Double-minded. May God deliver us from being
double-minded and being single-minded. You know what single-minded is? Paul said, I fear, lest by any
means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through the subtlety, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity, the singularity,
the singleness of Christ. Now, everybody here has probably heard
the supposed five solas of the Reformation, Scriptures alone,
Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, the glory of God alone.
And I think it is akin to blasphemous to say that those are the inventions
of the Reformation. That's eternal truth. It's always
been the Scriptures alone. Christ alone, grace alone, faith
alone, the glory of God alone. It's always been that way. But
here's what I want me and you to think about. I'm not asking
you if you go to a church where the five souls are upheld, the
scriptures alone, Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, glory
of God. What I'm asking you is this. Do you look to the scriptures
alone? Do you? Do you believe Christ alone is
all you have? Do you believe that? Do you believe
that the only way you can be saved is if salvation is by grace
alone? Do you? Look to Christ alone
by faith and you look nowhere else. Faith is not faith in Christ
and, it's faith in Christ alone. And do you believe that God gets
all the glory in your salvation? If you do, you're not double-minded. You're single-minded. by the
grace of God. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in the high and holy name of your son. And we ask for grace
to not be unstable. Lord, we will be unstable apart
from your grace, and we ask that we might be enabled by your divine
grace to be single-minded and not be corrupted from the simplicity,
the onlyness of thy dear son. Bless this word for Christ's
sake, in his name we pray, amen.