How far can you go back with your family roots?
How many of you can name 2 grandparents??
How many of you can name 4 grandparents??
How many of you can name a great grandparent??
Many of us know our ethnic backgrounds, but isn’t it interesting that most of us have not much interest beyond our grandparents?
The reason for this of course is that most of us live for the present. But isn’t this statement true? Knowing what you inherited from your family roots and having a vision of your future will help you succeed in your present life!
Remember this Filipino Proverb? "Ang hindi tumitingin sa kanyang pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa kinaroroonan." One who does not think of where he’s been, will never get to where he needs to go!”
If you don’t learn from the mistakes in the past, you will repeat the same mistakes. And if you don’t have a vision of what your future will be like, you will be lost!
Please open your bibles to Genesis 35-36.
Genesis was spoken by God through the writings of Moses. Genesis and 4 other books is called the Pentateuch or the Torah. These books were written for God’s People Israel as they lived in the Promised Land. Remember Joshua reading these books publicly as they entered the Promised Land? God gives a history lesson in Genesis 35-36. Read along with me from Genesis 35:21…
What did God wanted the Israelites to remember?
God reminded the Israelites where they came from and the type of people they have to deal with.
Who was the person Israel?? Israel was Jacob.
Jacob and Esau were brothers and their father was Isaac. Who was Isaac’s father?? – Abraham.
And what is significant about Abraham??
In Genesis 12:1-3, “The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
God’s blessing started with Abraham, then passed on to Isaac, then to Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the Israelites.
We note at the end of Genesis 35, Abraham’s son Isaac dies and his sons Jacob and Esau were reconciled. But 2 nations emerged from Jacob & Esau: Israel and Edom.
We know that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for food.
And Jacob lied to his father in order to receive the blessing. By God’s divine providence and wisdom, God’s promise was given to the line of Jacob.
God chose the nation Israel to reveal Himself and the Messiah to come.
But what can we note from Genesis 35:22??
There was sin in the nation of Israel and again Jacob lacked spiritual leadership.
And what can we note about the nation of Edom?
Edom started when Esau married Canaanite women for selfish reasons. But based on Genesis 36, what can we say about the Edomites??
The Edomites were:
- productive hard-working people
- enjoyed life
- good leaders (God noted chiefs and kings)
The Edomites looked like a good people. But, does the Bible give an indication that they were godly people??
We don’t read anything about the Edomites being godly.
Remember how Esau was when he was young. Esau was wild and ungodly till later on in his years. Do you think Esau’s children pick up on his bad traits?
Turn with me to Numbers 20:14…………
The Edomites were ungodly people and became an enemy of Israel. We can read in Jeremiah 49:17-18
"Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns," says the LORD, "so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it.”
And so, from this account in Genesis 35-36, what was God trying to say to the Israelites as they moved to live in the Promised Land?
Israel was not perfect but God was faithful to them anyway! God is gracious and chose a people, the Israelites. We read in Isaiah 65:9, “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live.”
And like the Edomites, there will be people in the world who look good on the outside, but if they refuse to follow God, they will bring trouble. Israel was to be careful of affiliating with secular people. But, did this mean the Israelites were not to relate to secular people like the Edomites?
We do need to note that although they were not God’s chosen, God gave the Edomites opportunities to be blessed anyway! God is a gracious God!
We read in Deutoronomy 23:7-8, “Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as an alien in his country. The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.”
And in Samuel 8:14 and other Scriptures, the Edomites became subject to King David.
There are many biblical principles from God’s history lesson to the Israelites. Let me highlight some biblical principles for us today.
First of all, do you know the good traits your parents and grandparents had?
Let’s give ourselves homework for this week. Write down the good traits you’ve experienced with your mom and dad. If they are still around, ask your mom and dad what good traits they experienced with their parents.
We have inherited good traits from our parents and grandparents; use them and thank God for them!
The bad news of course is we also inherited bad traits from our parents and grandparents. No, I am not going to ask you to write those down. But like our parents and grandparents, we sin and will sin against God.
But God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
God is still gracious and still calls people back to Him! God chose Israel as His people to bring the Savior Messiah Jesus Christ. Today, God chooses people who believe in and follow Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:9-10 states, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
God chose the Israelites to bring the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to the world. God chose Christians to declare the praises of Jesus Christ to the world!
Do you sense the honor of being chosen by God? You should if you are a Christian. And if you do sense this honor of being chosen by God, then declare to the world the praises of Jesus Christ!!
But for some, this warning: If you are not part of God’s chosen people today, in other words, if you are not truly trusting Jesus Christ, you are part of the secular world and trouble will come.
And if you are a Christian, be careful of affiliating with the secular world.
A survey was taken from multimillionaire executives. What do you think they said were the top 5 reasons for their success??
99% - Hard work
97% - Intelligence and good sense
83% - Higher-than-average I.Q.
62% - Being the best in every situation
32% - Luck
What’s missing, or a better question is, who’s missing on the list?
The secular world and its people may look good, after all they are still God’s creation, but life without God leads to trouble. The world’s economy has not been doing well. What is the common denominator for all the economic problems today? Experts will tell you that GREED has caused our economic problems of today!
Be careful of the secular world and its people!
But like with Israel, although we are to be careful with secular people, we are to relate to them and share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Let us take heed of the age we are living in. God is a gracious God and we are living in the time of ultimate grace! God provided once and for all the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. There is only THIS lifetime to belong to God! When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He will not suffer anymore for people, that was done on the cross. The next time people see Jesus, He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords!! Are you ready for His return? Are your family and friends ready for God’s judgment?
Knowing what you inherited from your family roots and having a vision of your future will help you succeed in your present life!
And if you’ve already believed in “His” story, then you already have a history worth telling! God taught the Israelites a history lesson. You as a Christian are a walking history lesson to those who don’t know Jesus Christ. Share your Christian story to the world!
