--A Promise is a Promise!--
I. Introduction
Opening Scripture Reading
Psalm 105:39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. 40 They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. 42 For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; 44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for-- 45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.
At the beginning of our church service I read Psalm 105:39-45. In those verses it talked about the LORD remembering and sustaining the Israelites in the desert during the 40 years of wandering. It also spoke of the LORD remembering the promise He had made to His servant Abraham. When we read about the LORD, YAHWEH, remembering, we have to remember that the Lord only forgets one thing, and that one thing He forgets on purpose. That one thing is your past sins. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, your sins are remembered no more by the Lord. The Bible says they are cast away from Him as far as the east is from the west. But, on the other hand, when the Lord makes a promise or a covenant of blessings, protection, love, etc., you can be sure He won’t forget.
The Lord had made a promise that He would bless Abraham and His descendants, and, in Genesis 27 we are beginning to see the nation of Israel develop. Yea, yea, it seems a little on the shady side because of the deception of Jacob, but,
(Romans 8:28) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Some things are put into motion by the Lord before a person is born. Knowing everything, the Lord is capable of Romans 8:28. Knowing your reactions today, the Lord paved the way for you thousands of years ago. Knowing your heart at this very moment, the Lord enabled history to ‘mesh’ together to work for the good of those who love him. If things are not going your way, AMEN, because they need to be going HIS way.
Your promises to your loved ones, your friends, and your co-workers are important to your testimony and to the Lord. They are important to your testimony because people know, or may be aware that you are a Christian and they may be thinking about putting their faith in Christ. And, that move may be based entirely upon your promises to them, or promises that they see you break with other people.
If you are a man or woman of your word, it will become known by people. If you are not a man or woman of your word, it will become known by people. Yes, your promises to your loved ones, your friends, and your co-workers are important to your testimony, and, they are important to the Lord. Your promises to the Lord are part of your Christian walk. Essentially, when you put your faith in Christ, you promised to follow and to walk in His ways. Essentially, when you put your faith in Christ, you promised that you would live your life according to His will and way for your life. And, if you don’t think you made that promise, well, then, I think we need to call your salvation into question.
Promises are important to God, and they are important to us. When the Israelites were wondering around in the desert, and preparing to enter the promise land, they were specifically told not to enter into any agreements with the people of the land. They were told not to promise or make a covenant with the people that occupied the land they were to claim. However, in Joshua, Chapter 9, though they were tricked, the Israelites entered into an agreement with the people of Gibeon and without the counsel of the LORD. They wound up losing many men in defending Gibeon against a battle by the five kings of the Amorites.
Promises are important to God because they should not be made without properly consulting the Lord’s will. In Joshua, 9:14, it tells us that they listened to the men of Gibeon tell them the lies about where they were from and what they wanted but the Israelites did not inquire of the LORD.
In chapter 25, of Genesis it talks of Esau ‘selling his birthright’. It says there,
(Genesis 25:33) But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Esau swore an oath to Jacob. Esau promised Jacob that he would relinquish any rights and privileges to the birthright of the family of Isaac. In an earlier lesson we discussed that the Hebrew word for blessing is (berakah) and similar to the Hebrew word for both birthright and firstborn (bekorah).
He promised Jacob everything. Now, let’s look at
A promise is a promise
What Can Broken promises do for you?
Son against Son, Wife against Son, Father against Son….
What can broken promises do for you?
They can cause sorrow.
What can broken promises do for you?
They cause grumbling and death.
II. The Message
What Can Broken promises do for you?
Son against Son, Wife against Son, Father against Son….
Genesis 27:1-29
We said that, in Genesis 25, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. So, when Isaac tells him that he is ready to die and that he wanted to bless him before that happened, Esau should have confessed that the birthright had been sold. But, he didn’t. Instead, he followed the directions of his unknowing father to go out and hunt for his favorite game and prepare it, then, he would receive the blessing.
The promise that was made earlier by Esau to Jacob is now turning his mother against him, his brother against him, and later on, his father will be against him. The end result, he will turn against the family, all because of a promise he made that he was not willing to keep.
God desires that when you make a promise to someone that is based on God’s leading and direction, that you fulfill that promise. If it illegal or ungodly, of course the promise should never have been made, but, any other promises, even those that were made without God, such as the one that Esau made, should be honored.
Yes, we know that Jacob’s name means supplanter. And, that means one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another. Yes, it was wrong of Jacob to demand that Esau sell his birthright to him, but it was also wrong of Esau to sell his birthright to him.
To me, it’s like those people that accuse MacDonald’s of making them fat! Or, the Eastern countries accusing the Western countries of ruining their culture! Esau didn’t have to sell his birthright, it was his to do as he wished, and at that point in time he sold it for a bowl of soup.
What can broken promises do for you?
They can cause sorrow.
Genesis 27:30-40
Why was Esau upset? He is clearly in the wrong. As we said before, the blessing had been sold, yet he breaks down and cries before his father, Isaac.
My own personal thought about this is that Esau was being selfish. Can you imagine what could have become of the Edomites if Esau had not been selfish and sold his birthright in the first place?
Taking a close look at these two boys and probably due to the close influence of their mother, they both seem to be very selfish. And, their selfishness has done what? It has driven them to a promise that was almost broken, but, when it was forced to be kept, turned Son against Son, Wife against Son, Father against Son….All because of a selfish promise that should never have been made, now there is only sorrow.
In the book of Judges, there is another story about a promise that should never had been made and it, too, brought misery and sorrow to the man that made it.
Judges 11:30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
When Jephthah came back home with the victory over the Ammonites, the first thing to come out of his door was his daughter. It doesn’t pay to make promises. If you desire to have the Lord work in your life, then surrender to the Lord and He will work in your life and get rid of those bad habits. And, it doesn’t take a lot of promises to get those blessings. You don’t have to say, Lord, if you get me through this situation, I’ll read the Bible more. It doesn’t work that way, because usually you won’t keep the promise. The Lord desires to work in your life without all the promises. Just give Him the glory and praise for working His power in your life.
What can broken promises do for you?
They cause grumbling and death.
Genesis 27:41-46
Jacob’s deception and Esau’s unwillingness to keep his promise that he made with Jacob, caused a division between the two. The only thing that kept Esau from killing Jacob was because his father, Isaac, was still alive. If it had not been for that Jacob would have died. However, this, along with previous portions of scripture gives us some further insight into the amount of influence that Rebekah had in the family. It was apparent who she favored, and it looked like she would do anything to get her way.
Promises can hurt, promises can cause divisions, promises can ruin families, and promises can even kill.
III. Summary
What can promises do for you? Well, if they are made in all sincerity and do not exceed the limits of the one making the promise, they can actually be very beneficial. Which brings us to this: there is no limit to God, and there is no reason for Him to break any promise that He has made to you. He is there rain or shine, good times and the bad, rich or poor. He is ready to help you in your promises too, especially those promises you have made to Him. Maybe you promised God you would give up a bad habit. Maybe you promised God you would change something in your life. Maybe you promised God to come to church on time, or, to spend more time reading the Bible. Whatever the promise, He is there to help you with that promise.
