Taking Inventory in Israel
Genesis 35:16-36:43
December 28, 2014
In our Genesis story we are about to make a pretty big transition.
The spotlight is going to move off of Jacob for a time
And seem to focus more on the life of Joseph.
This morning we are really in sort of a transitional period.
And honestly the text even reads that way a little bit.
What we have here are some seemingly last minute
And almost random facts just sort of thrown in.
It seems as though Moses is trying to tie up all the loose ends of one story
So that he can begin the next.
The result is that it makes these couple of chapters a little bit difficult to deal with.
But as I read these chapters it seemed to me that Moses is
Reminding Israel of some very basic and yet monumental realities.
And I think it is important that Moses do this.
In fact I think it is important that we all take inventory from time to time.
Consider the congregation that Moses was preaching to.
They had been led out of Egypt and then we read:
Exodus 15:22-24 “Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
And the very next chapter:
Exodus 16:1-3 “Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to them, ” Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
And the very next chapter:
Exodus 17:1-3 “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Then later in the book of Numbers:
Numbers 11:1-6 “Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them. The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
When you study the character of the children of Israel,
It is obvious that they are neither perceptive, nor grateful.
They seemed to easily forget all that God had done in their life
And instead seemed only to focus on their current circumstances.
If ever there was a people who needed a reminder
Of all that God had done for them, it was the group.
And I think that reality helps us understand passages
Like the one we are studying this morning in the book of Genesis.
Instead of there being some sort of great new adventure or story,
It is a chapter that really seems to just remind Israel of who they were,
What God had done, and why they should be grateful.
(almost a summary of things past and intro into things to come)
And as I said, this is a good idea for all of us.
All of us are prone to be thankful when things are going good.
When things go according to plan we are a people who love God.
But all too often things get rough we can quickly become
Complaining, bitter, ungrateful people.
And this should not be.
Paul said:
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
There is no excuse for a child of God to ever reach a point of
Self-pity or bitterness of grumbling.
In fact Paul specifically told us in the New Testament
That we should learn from Israel’s example and do the opposite.
1 Corinthians 10:6-12 “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
Paul was very clear that we should learn from their example
And not follow in their footsteps.
But the point is that these were an ungrateful people.
They quickly forgot all that God had done for them and thus were prone to grumbling.
Because of this, I have no problem understanding
Why Moses would take every opportunity
To reiterate to the children of Israel
Exactly how gracious God had been to them.
And that is what he is doing here.
We don’t have a full blown story
Instead we have random pieces of information that almost come up like twitter statements.
But corporately examined and looked at together
We are reminded about the work of grace in the history of Israel.
This portion of Scripture (as I ponder Israel)
Brings two very distinct points to my mind.
(and realities that apply to your life and mine)
#1 THE REALITY OF GRACE
Genesis 35:16-36:43
Understand here that if you read what Moses is saying
As though you were part of the nation of Israel
Then hopefully you would be reminded of
The tremendous grace that has come to you as a people.
Implied in this passage are two very strong realities
That point to the grace of God in Israel.
1) THE SELECTION OF ISRAEL
Now I know when we read this chapter a moment ago,
We read nothing about God choosing Israel,
But look at the chapter and then look at the next.
Chapter 35 reveals the birth of Israel’s 12th son.
It contains a list of all the chosen sons of Israel.
But when you go to chapter 36 it is a record of the “unchosen”,
It is a record of the descendants of Esau.
Revealing Esau’s descendants has two purposes.
On one hand it reveals the faithfulness of God
As He keeps His promise to Abraham.
Genesis 17:4-6 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.”
God didn’t just promise to make a nation out of Abraham,
He promised to make nations out of him.
Esau (along with Ishmael) is a fulfillment of that promise.
Indeed, more than one nation has come from Abraham.
But this isn’t the only reason for listing Esau’s descendants.
Reading this list also serves to remind us that:
NOT ALL WHO ARE DESCENDED FROM ISRAEL ARE ISREAL
Romans 9:6-13 “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
By reading this lineage of Esau we are reminded of that other brother.
We are reminded of this massive group of people
Who did not receive the blessing of God.
In fact Malachi said:
Malachi 1:1-5 “The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the LORD of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever.” Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!”
God had chosen Jacob – God had rejected Esau
And that is clearly seen even in Genesis 36
READ GENESIS 36:6-8
There we see Esau leaving the land of promise.
• Esau had certainly prospered
• Esau had certainly multiplied
• But Esau was not the chosen seed
Jacob was
And reading how Esau left the land of promise
Certainly was meant to be a huge reminder to those
Who were about to re-enter it.
MOSES WAS REMINDING HIS CONGREGATION ABOUT THEIR ELECTION
He was reminding the children of Israel
How blessed they were to have been those who were chosen.
They could have just as easily been Esau, but they weren’t, they were Israel.
It was a reality of grace in their life.
That reality of grace is also seen in:
2) THE SUCCESS OF ISRAEL
First we see the birth of Israel’s 12th son.
(READ 35:16-18)
Then if you skip down to the end of verse 22 we read the listing of all his sons.
(READ 35:22b-26)
Israel now has 12 sons.
In a few years they will travel to Egypt and their number will be 70.
Genesis 46:26-27 “All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.”
They may not seem like a massive number of people to you,
But remember we are only 3 generations removed from Abraham.
And might I remind you that God brought forth these 70
From a 90+ year old barren couple?
• Abraham should have a son
• Abraham shouldn’t have a grandson
• Abraham shouldn’t have 12 great-grandsons
• Abraham shouldn’t have a generation of 70 relatives.
The success of Israel can again only be attributed
To the reality of grace in the life of Israel.
As Moses preached they are coming out of Egypt
As numerous as the sand on the seashore.
The reality is that God had been gracious to Israel.
They would come out of Egypt and grumble and complain,
But obviously they should realize that they wouldn’t even be a nation
If God hadn’t already done more for them than they deserve.
They were a nation
They were a chosen nation
It is good to take inventory of that.
I realize that life can be a bitter pill to swallow
I realize that circumstances can be less than pleasant
At the end of the day we are still a chosen member of the body of Christ.
At the end of the day we cannot deny that God has lavished His grace upon us
By adopting us as sons and making us heirs of the covenant.
And we should be all the more grateful
Since we are not even descended from Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
We are of the unchosen race
And yet God has called us into His kingdom anyway.
(We are that wild olive shoot grafted in)
It is the reality of grace that Israel (and us) needed to remember
As they sat there grumbling against God.
The second truth that comes to my mind while reading this chapter is not only the reality of grace but…
#2 THE NECESSITY OF GRACE
Genesis 35:16 – 36:43
Also splattered throughout this chapter is a reminder of
Just how badly Israel needs the continued grace of God.
And there are two things again that readily jump off the page.
1) THE SINFULNESS OF ISRAEL
READ VERSES 21-22
Now there is a pleasant story.
Here we have the oldest son of Jacob,
No doubt trying to lay his claim to being the next family patriarch
Actually having an incestuous affair with one of Jacob’s wives.
The grossness of the event is really quite appalling.
This was not only a clear case of sexual immorality
But was also a tremendous show of disrespect toward Jacob.
It is vile.
But by now “vile” shouldn’t surprise us when it comes to Jacob’s sons.
A couple of weeks ago we already saw
Simeon and Levi slaughter the entire city of the Shechemites.
When their sister Dinah was raped these men asked for the circumcision of the city as a bride price and when the city was in pain of recovery those brothers went and slew that entire city with the sword.
They didn’t just kill the man responsible, they killed all the men.
And then they plundered everything they owned
And then they stole their wives and children
It is easy to see that the sin of Jacob’s sons
Far out-distanced the sin committed against Dinah
And when you couple that sin with Reuben’s sin here
We find that Jacob’s sons are a mess.
And that isn’t all.
We can fast forward to chapter 37 and watch 10 of Jacob’s sons actually conspire against Joseph their brother and sell him to Ishmaelite traders.
They certainly would have killed him, but Reuben saw saving the boy’s life as a way to gain back his father’s good graces and so he talked the brothers out of it.
They settled on selling him.
Those boys are a rough bunch.
Or you can fast forward to chapter 38 where Jacob’s 4th son Judah watches his two oldest sons die due to their own wickedness and then eventually sleeps with the widow of his oldest son thinking she is a prostitute.
Are you kidding me?
Or watch them later travel to Egypt and leave another brother locked in prison while they go home and devour grain.
The point to all of this?
There is still an enormous amount of iniquity in Israel.
And we haven’t even talked about Jacob’s apathy
Or propensity to value one son over all the others.
If ever there was a nation that was going to need God’s grace,
It would most certainly be Israel.
These were sinful men and they need grace.
And that is a message that should have resonated
Among the children of Israel to whom Moses was preaching.
• We already read about their constant complaining and grumbling.
• Or perhaps we should talk about their golden calf and idolatry.
• Or perhaps we should talk about their attempts to overthrow Moses.
• Or maybe we should talk about their unwillingness to enter the Promised Land
The fact is that for Israel to be a blessed nation
They not only needed grace to choose them,
But grace to continually forgive them.
Israel was a wicked nation – and they started out that way.
Of course none of us can throw stones at those boys
When we take a look at the sin in our own lives.
To assume that Jacob’s sons needed grace and we don’t
Is obviously a deliberate blindness.
No doubt as the children of Israel poured over their history there would be
Many events that would cause them to hang their heads in shame.
And I would imagine as you pour over your history
There are a few events that cause you to hang your head in shame as well.
And some of those events might not have happened that long ago.
The reality is that we all need grace.
• I need for God to be merciful toward me
• I need for God to be gracious to me
• I need for God to count me a son even when I don’t deserve it
• I need for God to be more faithful to me than I am to Him
Because if He isn’t, I won’t make it.
I need what the Psalmist wrote about:
Psalms 103:6-14 “The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
I need that mentality from God if I am to make it.
Grace isn’t just some benefit that I get… Grace is a necessity,
Just as it was in the lives of Jacob’s sons
And in the lives of those Moses preached to.
The necessity of Grace is seen because of the sinfulness of Israel.
But the necessity of grace is also seen because of:
2) THE SUFFERING OF ISRAEL
We could already begin to think back about the hardships of Jacob’s life.
(even if some of them were self-inflicted)
• He had to flee from Esau
• He worked 7 years for the wrong wife
• He then worked another 7 years for the right one
• Those marriages were less than fulfilling and more of a fight
• He worked 6 more years for his flock
• His daughter has been raped
• His sons are murderers
• And his oldest son has totally dishonored him
That is bad enough.
And then we read of more adversity here.
(READ 35:19-20)
Jacob was forced to bury the wife that he loved.
And this is no minor affliction.
Then by the end of the chapter we read:
(READ 35:27-29)
And there Jacob had to bury his father.
And as anyone who has ever done this will tell you, it is not a pleasant moment.
And all of that would be bad enough,
But the pain is just beginning for Jacob.
As I mentioned earlier his favorite son will sold into slavery
And Jacob will be made to believe that he has been killed by wild animals.
And Jacob’s response to this is telling.
Genesis 37:34-35 “So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.”
Jacob would not recover from the loss of Joseph.
(having lost a mother, a wife, a father, and now his favorite son)
Following that a severe famine would hit the land
Threatening the lives of Jacob and his family.
Another son would be lost to chains in Egypt and Jacob would even have to part with his next favored son.
And finally Jacob would have to leave the Promised Land altogether,
Never to return.
MY POINT?
Jacob’s life was a life that needed the grace of God.
Not just because of his sin, but also because of his suffering.
Jacob would endure much adversity during his life
Jacob would endure much hardship
And he would need the grace that only God could supply.
Certainly Israel should remember that.
They were about to enter a land they had been absent from for over 400 years, if they were to succeed, THEY WOULD NEED GOD’S HELP.
It certainly DIDN’T MAKE SENSE for them to grumble against Him
And seek to abandon Him at every turn.
And that is also a good reminder for you and me.
We need God’s grace.
We need it not only because we are sinful,
But also because we live in a cold harsh world that offers many trials.
We need the strength of God to carry us through our adversities.
And because that is true, it doesn’t stand to reason
That we should become an ungrateful type of people
Who would complain against Him.
Paul is right when he warns us to learn from the example of Israel.
Remember that you are a child of grace
God has already done for you far more than you deserve
And remember that you are still in need of His grace
To complain against Him and grieve Him with ingratitude would be a most unprofitable thing.
Take inventory of your history Israel
And see that God is for you and that you should be for Him.
Take inventory of your history church
And see that God is for you and that you should be for Him.
Grace has been real in your life and that is good, because you need it.
1 Corinthians 10:6-12 “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
“Do not be idolaters”
Do not “act immorally”
Do not “try the Lord”
Do not “grumble”
All of those things were to be ungrateful and bitter people
Who seemed to push the Lord away.
And in view of the fact that we are those “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” I don’t think it is wise to push God away.
We need His grace far too much.
