Tracing the Line of Covenant Blessing

TRACING THE LINE OF COVENANT BLESSING

An Exposition of Genesis 25:12-28

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: June 11, 2023

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

This morning – after a twelve-week break – we are returning to the Book of Genesis. As most of you know, we are walking through Genesis in four stages, and we completed the second stage on March 19. Now it is time to begin the third stage, which will take us from Genesis 25:12 all the way through Genesis 35:29.

The previous passage, Genesis 25:1-11, brought closure to the remarkable life of Abraham. After 175 years, “Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age” (Genesis 25:8), after which he was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. As we move forward to Genesis 25:12-28, we learn of some events that actually took place before Abraham died. Abraham was 140 years old when Isaac married Rebekah, and Abraham was 160 years old when Isaac’s sons Esau and Jacob were born. This helps to make sense of Hebrews 11:9, which says, “By faith he [Abraham] went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” (Hebrews 11:9) So, Abraham knew his grandson Jacob into Jacob’s early teenage years.

Nevertheless, Genesis 25 recounts Abraham’s death first in order to bring closure to Abraham’s great journey of faith, and then it shifts gears to put the focus on how the Lord’s covenant with Abraham is going to be carried forward and reaffirmed with Abraham’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹² These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. ¹⁷ (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) ¹⁸ They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

¹⁹ These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² The children struggled within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.²³ And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴ When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:12-28)

THE LORD’S FAITHFULNESS CONCERNING ISHMAEL (v. 12-18)

The first thing you must consider is the Lord’s faithfulness, specifically the Lord’s faithfulness concerning Ishmael. If the only information in front of us was verses 12-18, all we would have is factual data. Ishmael had twelve sons, with each son becoming a prince over his own tribe. Thus Ishmael the man became a nation consisting of twelve tribes, and they dwelt in the regions of Arabia, in between Egypt (to the west) and Assyria (to the northeast).

These facts are important because they testify to the Lord’s faithfulness. Ishmael, of course, was not the chosen one through whom the Abrahamic Covenant would be extended. Nevertheless, Ishmael was included within the scope of the Lord’s providential care. In Genesis 16, the Lord promised Hagar, who was distressed and pregnant with Ishmael: “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Genesis 16:10) Then in Genesis 17 the Lord made a promise to Abraham. Abraham had wanted Ishmael to be his covenant son, but he had to come to terms with the fact that the Lord had a different plan. Even so, the Lord made this promise: “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.” (Genesis 17:20) The Lord reiterates these promises regarding Ishmael to Abraham in Genesis 21:13 and to Hagar in Genesis 21:18. Therefore, the development of Ishmael into a great twelve-tribe nation in Genesis 25:12-18 is nothing less than the Lord keeping His Word. The Ishmaelite nation is the Lord’s doing: the Lord blessed Ishmael and made him into a great nation. The Lord is faithful in all that He says, including in that which He says about His providential dealings with nations.

In Monday School we have been studying the Book of Daniel, and our study of Daniel has shown us the Lord’s active involvement in the rise and fall of pagan nations, including Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

The final detail in the passage, that “[Ishmael] settled over against all his kinsmen”, is a fulfillment of the word that the Lord spoke to Hagar back in Genesis 16: “He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” (Genesis 16:12) The Lord’s Word is settled: as He speaks, so it comes to pass.

When Ishmael died at the age of 137 years old, we are told that he “was gathered to his people” (v. 17). Since this rarely used phrase is also used of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses, it might suggest that Ishmael himself had actually come to trust in the Lord. Earlier in Genesis we learned about the Lord’s special care for Hagar, Ishmael’s mother. And we also know that the Lord saw to it that Ishmael was blessed for Abraham’s sake, because he was Abraham’s offspring.   

THE LORD’S SOVEREIGN CHOICE TO WORK OUT HIS COVENANT THROUGH ISAAC AND ISAAC’S YOUNGER SON (v. 19-28)

As important as it is to consider the Lord’s faithfulness concerning Ishmael, it is even more important to ponder the Lord’s sovereign choice to work out His covenant through Isaac and Isaac’s younger son. After the Lord promised Abraham that He would bless Ishmael and multiply him greatly, the Lord immediately added: “But I will establish my covenant with Isaac” (Genesis 17:21). Even though Abraham had a father’s heart for his oldest son Ishmael, he had to get aligned with the Lord’s plan to extend the covenant through Isaac. And he did: Abraham disinherited Ishmael, and “gave all he had to Isaac” (Genesis 25:5).

The specialness of Isaac in God’s plan is set in contrast to the ordinariness of God’s blessing upon Ishmael. The section introduced by the phrase “These are the generations of Ishmael” gets a total of 7 verses. By contrast, the section introduced by the phrase “These are the generations of Isaac” gets 364 verses – the rest of Chapter 25 and all of Chapters 26-35. The next section begins at the beginning of Genesis 36 with the phrase “These are the generations of Esau” (Genesis 36:1). So, Ishmael’s legacy gets 7 verses, but Isaac legacy’s gets 52 times 7 (or 364) verses. The overwhelming emphasis is clear: Isaac, not Ishmael, is the son of promise. As the Lord told Abraham in Genesis 21: “through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (Genesis 21:12).

The Focal Point

Now as we look at Genesis 25:19-28, what is the focal point of these ten verses? What stands out? What stands out is the personal interaction between Isaac and the Lord as well as the personal interaction between Rebekah and the Lord. If you took these personal interactions out of the equation, you just have factual data: “Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah… to be his wife.” (v. 19-20) The process whereby Rebekah became Isaac’s wife was recounted in great detail in Genesis 24. Two decades after their marriage, Rebekah conceived and gave birth to twins: the older, Esau, red and hairy; the younger, Jacob, who “came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel” (v. 26). It seems that the name Esau bears some relation to his hairiness, whereas Jacob’s name is a play on the word heel: Jacob’s name signifies that he is at the heel of his brother. In due course, “the boys grew up” (v. 27). Esau had a penchant for venturing out to hunt wild game, whereas Jacob dwelt in tents. As it turns out, Isaac had an appetite for roasted game and savory stew, and so Esau favored Esau. Jacob, however, was Rebekah’s favorite, although verse 28 doesn’t tell us why. Those are the raw facts. But so what? Why does this matter? It matters because the Lord is working out His covenant succession plan. It matters because the Lord is personally interacting with His servants Isaac and Rebekah. It matters because the twins conceived in Rebekah’s womb are His handiwork. It matters because the Lord reveals His plan to Rebekah.

Isaac’s Intercession

The fact of the matter is that verses 19-28 are not presented in a matter of fact way. Instead there is dramatic tension: first, a barren womb; and second, conflict between brothers in utero. Like Abraham’s wife Sarah, so Isaac’s wife Rebekah was barren. Isaac dealt with his wife’s barrenness by praying to the Lord for her. Isaac set a great example by interceding for his wife and by making his request known to God. Are there times when we face some frustration, opposition, or trial, and yet we fail to pray? We do not fail to be anxious and worried, but we fail to pray. Let us be reminded that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hears and answers prayer. The Lord encourages us to make our petitions known to God: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) The Lord doesn’t promise to grant all of our requests, but He does promise that His grace is always sufficient to uphold us. In this case, however, “the LORD granted his [Isaac’s] prayer, And Rebekah his wife conceived” (Genesis 25:21).

Conflict in the Womb

Rebekah’s conception sets the stage for the ensuing conflict within her womb. It was obvious to her that there was prenatal struggle within her. This isn’t what she had signed up for: she had signed up to carry a child in her womb, not intense conflict in her womb. But in this fallen world, the two often go together. If Rebekah’s experience of childbearing doesn’t correspond exactly to the reality described in Genesis 3:16, it is at least an echo of it: “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” (Genesis 3:16) The verb translated “struggled” in Genesis 25:22 literally means ‘to crush’. There was a crushing weight in Rebekah’s womb, and she wondered why: “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” (v. 22) Like her husband, Rebekah brought her grief to the Lord: “So she went to inquire of the LORD.” (v. 22) Rebekah also sets a good example for us. Don’t sulk in your struggle. Instead, take heart and seek the Lord, inquire of Him, and seek to understand the matter from the Lord’s vantage point.

Pay Attention!

All that is happening here in verses 21-23 is meant to get our attention. The Lord didn’t want the conception and birth to simply happen. Instead, the Lord wanted Isaac and Rebekah to understand that what was happening is consequential. Esau and Jacob were not to be conceived and born willy-nilly, but as a specific answer to prayer. The different trajectories of Esau’s life and Jacob’s life were not to be discovered by careful observation many years into the future, but they were to be understood by divine revelation before they were born. Abraham had to come to terms with the fact that Isaac was the Chosen Son, and Ishmael was not. Now it is Rebekah’s turn: Rebekah has to come to terms with the fact that although two sons are in her womb, the younger son is the Chosen Son.

The Lord’s Answer to Rebekah’s Inquiry

Just as the Lord granted Isaac’s prayer in verse 21, in verse 23 the Lord answers Rebekah’s inquiry:

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the older shall serve the younger.”

Every child conceived in the womb represents a significant future that is greater than just that one child. Children grow up and, generally speaking, become fathers and mothers, and eventually grandfathers and grandmothers, and so on. Children grow up and build a legacy, have influence, and make a lasting impression within their network of relationships. Most of us, of course, never become famous or infamous. But within our own sphere of relationships, we matter a great deal. The little fetus in the womb has a big future ahead. The little fetus will become the progenitor of a family, a clan, a tribe, or perhaps even an entire nation.

When Abraham was 86 years old, he fathered Ishmael through Hagar. Less than 200 years later, a caravan of Ishmaelite traders would purchase Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph for twenty shekels of silver and take him to Egypt. The little fetus becomes a big actor on the world stage.

Now here is the reality in verse 23: there are two sons in Rebekah’s womb, and these two sons represent two nations. Though brothers, these two sons won’t be united as part of one nation, but will be divided as two distinct people-groups. They will be divided and unequal in terms of strength and honor. The younger son shall hold a position of strength and honor over his older brother, and “the older shall serve the younger.”

We know that in the ancient world and in the Old Testament itself that the position of firstborn son was a privileged position, and yet the Lord often bestows His favor upon a younger son. Cain was Adam and Eve’s firstborn son, but the favor of the Lord was upon Abel and then later upon Seth. Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn son, but the favor of the Lord was upon Isaac. Much later, Eliab was Jesse’s firstborn son, but the Lord chose Jesse’s youngest son David to be king. Here Genesis 25:23 points to the fact that although Esau will be Isaac’s oldest son, the favor of the Lord will be upon Jacob.

God’s Sovereign Choice

When we consider these things, we have to reckon with the biblical truth of God’s sovereign election. When the Lord tells Rebekah that “the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger”, He isn’t merely telling Rebekah what is going to happen; more than that, the Lord is telling Rebekah what He has determined shall happen. We know this is the case, because Romans 9 tells us so. Let me start reading in the middle of Romans 9:10 and read through Romans 9:16. Scripture says:

“… when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad–in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls–she was told, “The older shall serve the younger.” As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:10-16)

The Bible confronts and critiques mankind’s exaltation of mankind. Sinful mankind likes to make much of itself, and make little of God. Sinful mankind prefers to think of itself as the decisive shaper of world history, but it isn’t. When people desire to exalt mankind and diminish God’s authority, what do they do? They exalt man’s will to decide. They exalt man’s ability to exert himself. They exalt man’s capacity to work and achieve and succeed. They exalt man’s power to choose what is good. If there must be a difference between one person and another, if there must be a difference between Ishmael and Isaac, if there must be a difference between Esau and Jacob, then sinful mankind wants that difference to be explained by human choices and human behavior. Sinful mankind doesn’t want to acknowledge that we are bound by the decisions of the Most High God. Sinful mankind wants the ball to be in its own court, but it isn’t. Sinful mankind doesn’t want the difference to be explained by the Lord’s sovereign grace. But the apostle Paul makes clear that Esau’s future conduct and Jacob’s future conduct had nothing to do with the fact that God chose Jacob and not Esau. God didn’t choose Jacob because He could foresee that Jacob would be a winner. God didn’t reject Esau because He could foresee that Esau would be a loser. It doesn’t work that way. Esau and Jacob had this in common with every other human being: they were sinners. Not because of their works but because of the Lord’s sovereign freedom to choose, the Lord chose to have mercy and compassion on Jacob the sinner, and He chose not to have mercy and compassion on Esau the sinner.

Lest you think this is a detour into abstract theology, it isn’t. What the Lord tells Rebekah in Genesis 25:23 should actually shape the way that we read the upcoming stories about Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25:24 through the rest of Genesis. When we learn about Esau’s unfolding life and the folly that he pursued, what we are seeing unfold is the fact that Esau is a sinner who has not been granted mercy and compassion. Esau’s unrepentant waywardness is not the reason God didn’t choose him; instead, Esau’s unrepentant waywardness is the result of God not choosing him. On the other hand, when we learn about Jacob’s unfolding life and, despite his flaws, when we behold the Lord showing mercy to Jacob and watching over him and strengthening his faith, what we are seeing unfold is the fact that Jacob is a sinner who has been granted mercy and compassion. Jacob’s slow but steady increase in godliness over the course of many years is not the reason God chose him; instead, Jacob’s slow and steady increase in repentance over the course of many years is the result of God choosing him.

A Glimpse into the Character of Esau and Jacob

We get a glimpse into the character of Esau and Jacob in verse 27. I am indebted to Arnold Fruchtenbaum and other commentators for helping me understand that there is more in verse 27 than meets the eye of our English translations. Rarely am I befuddled by how a certain word is translated, but the translation that “Jacob was a quiet man” is befuddling. The Hebrew word tawm that is translated “quiet” doesn’t mean quiet or mild-mannered. Instead, tawm means complete – as in perfect, blameless, upright, morally intact.[1]  This word is used to describe Job: “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless [tawm] and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) This word is used to describe the righteous man in Psalm 37: “Mark the blameless[tawm] and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.” (Psalm 37:37) This word used to describe those who are persecuted by the wicked in Psalm 64:4 and Proverbs 29:10, which says, “Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless [tawm] and seek the life of the upright.” (Proverbs 29:10) This same word is even used by the man in love in the Song of Solomon to describe his bride: “My dove, my perfect one [tawm], is the only one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her.” (Song of Solomon 6:9) Given the evidence of the word’s meaning and common usage, Genesis 25:27 is actually saying that Jacob was a perfect man, a blameless man, a complete man – in much the same way that Noah was a blameless man (Genesis 6:9) and that Abraham was a faithful man. Noah was the blameless man in Genesis 6-9; Abraham was the blameless man in Genesis 12-24; and Jacob is the blameless man in Genesis 25-35. This doesn’t mean that Jacob didn’t have any flaws, but it means that the trajectory of his life was unto the Lord. As Henry Morris puts it,

“Jacob, in God's evaluation, was a perfect man. This does not mean he was sinless, of course, and neither was Job. But his heart was right toward God, believing His Word, caring for his family, earnestly seeking the will of God in preparing for the future ministry which God had revealed to his mother before he was born (Genesis 25:23).”[2]

Jacob dwelt in tents – and, as Hebrews 11:9 tells us – did so with his father and grandfather. The point isn’t that Jacob was a homebody, but that he was in proper alignment with the family heritage and the family mission. By contrast, Esau was disconnected from the family. Arnold Fruchtenbaum puts it this way:

“Esau was a skillful hunter, just as Nimrod was a skillful hunter (10:8-12). In the context of Genesis, being a skillful hunter is not a positive statement, but a negative one…. Furthermore, Esau was a man of the field, meaning he chose to work outside the family unit…. To continue the biblical description of Jacob, he was dwelling in tents (Genesis 25:27b), which again is misconstrued to picture him as mamma’s boy; but that is not the meaning of the phrase. Rather, it means that he chose to labor within the family clan unit; he chose to follow his family’s profession, that of a shepherd, as was true of Abraham and also Isaac. Taking on the job of a shepherd was not the job of a sissy.”[3]

Therefore, we see a trajectory from the prophecy of verse 23 to the summary evaluation of Esau and Jacob in verse 27 to the unfolding events of their lives in the verses and chapters that follow. Jacob, despite his flaws, is the blameless man who seeks to follow the Lord. Esau, despite his abilities, is the immoral man who throws away the family heritage and makes a shipwreck of his life. However, this difference in their character is not the basis of the Lord’s decision to choose Jacob and reject Esau. The Lord chose Jacob out of pure grace, and Jacob’s increasing godliness was the result of the Lord choosing him. In perfect justice the Lord chose to leave Esau in his sin, and Esau’s life played out accordingly.

Romans 9:13 and Genesis 25:28

The Romans 9 passage sheds light on another part of the Genesis 25 passage. Think about the phrase “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” in Romans 9:13, which is a quotation of Malachi 1:2-3. There in Malachi 1, the Lord says:

““Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yes I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”” (Malachi 1:2-3)

Now contrast the Lord’s assessment of Jacob and Esau with their parents’ assessment in Genesis 25:28, which says: “Isaac loved Esau…, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Do you see the contrast? “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” in contrast to “Isaac loved Esau…, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

Of course, at the mere level of practical parenting, Genesis 25:28 is not a recipe for success. When Dad favors one kid and Mom favors another kid, get ready for some stressful family politics. But Genesis 25:19-28 is not mainly about parenting. So, the point I am about to make is not about parenting, it’s about something much bigger – it’s about being in alignment with God’s plan. And this passage is about God’s plan to extend the line of covenant blessing through Isaac and through Isaac’s younger son Jacob. So the fact that “Isaac loved Esau” on account of their shared love of wild game points up the reality that Isaac is going to have to learn the same thing that his father had to learn. Abraham loved Ishmael, but eventually he had to let Ishmael recede in his affections so that he could rightly esteem Isaac as the Chosen Son. Now in Genesis 25:28 we learn that Isaac is in a similar predicament. Isaac has a natural affection for Esau, but eventually he will have to let Esau recede in his affections so that he can rightly esteem Jacob as the Chosen Son. Unfortunately, Isaac was slow to learn this lesson, and in Genesis 27 he is on the cusp of giving the covenant blessing to Esau, which would have been a grave error! As for Rebekah, since the Lord had revealed to her that the younger son would be superior in strength and honor over his older brother, it is not surprising to read that “Rebekah loved Jacob”.

TWO IMPORTANT LESSONS

Lesson 1: Humble yourself under God’s sovereign hand

One hard but clear lesson from this text is simply to humble ourselves under God’s sovereign decisions. We need to be shift our eyes from our works, our will, our exertions, our conduct (whether good or evil), and we need to focus our attention on the Lord’s work, the Lord’s choice, the Lord’s grace. Don’t remain stuck on yourself, but lift up your gaze to the Eternal God who governs the affairs of men. Lift up your gaze and trace the line of covenant blessing all the way to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is far better than Jacob. He didn’t grab the enemy’s heel, but rather crushed the enemy’s head. Gabriel told Mary:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

Then John 6 teaches us that the work that God requires of us is to not be focused on our own work. Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29) God calls us to behold His work, His provision, His mercy, His salvation.

Lesson 2: Seek the Lord!

A second lesson from the text is to not let the first lesson lead you into a cold and unfeeling fatalism. The Bible is remarkable in the array of truth that it presents to us. People often find it difficult to hold together what the Bible holds together. Some people get ahold of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and then they infer that nothing that they do matters. Other people assume that what they do matters, and therefore they reject what is clearly taught about God’s sovereign choosing in Genesis 25 and Romans 9. We must admit that in our weakness and sinfulness we have a difficult time holding together what God holds together. But that is our problem, not the Bible’s. The problem is with us, not with the truth. We must have a robust view of God’s sovereign authority to do whatever He chooses to do, and at the same time we must understand that God interacts personally with us and invites us to engage with Him in real ways in real time. “Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” That’s not unfeeling fatalism. Isaac sought the Lord and obtained an answer! “The children struggled together within her…. So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD [spoke] to her” and revealed His plan to her. That’s not cold determinism. Rebekah sought the Lord and obtained an answer! In Genesis 32 Jacob will wrestle with God, and obtain the blessing!

So while we must be anchored in God’s sovereignty and in His absolute authority, we also must be encouraged and energized to seek the Lord and call upon His name and engage personally with Him in prayer.

If you ask me how these two things fit together, I don’t have a neat and tidy answer for you. I simply believe that both aspects are true because the Bible says so, and we must seek to think and feel and live accordingly.

So, if you are someone who believes in God’s sovereignty but is prone to be lackadaisical, keep believing in God’s sovereignty and earnestly seek after the Lord and His ways. If you are someone who understands the importance of diligence and effort but who is tempted to assume that it all depends on you, take a step back and learn to get anchored in the sovereign authority of Almighty God. Submit yourself to the Lord’s authority and seek after the Lord’s kingdom with all your heart. 

ENDNOTES

[1] See Bible Hub entry for “8535. tam”. Available online: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8535.htm

[2] Henry M. Morris, “The Perfect Man”. In The Days of Praise Devotional.  October 31, 2009. Available online: https://www.icr.org/article/4902

[3] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020: p. 367-369.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Assohoto, Barnabe and Samuel Ngewa, “Genesis.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Zondervan Edition (first edition published in 2006).

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.

Morris, Henry M. The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976.

Steinmann, Andrew E. Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019.