Pastoral Letter 19

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
I greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whose name we have the permission to come before God. He is our Lord, our Saviour and our Advocate. He loves us and He is always with us regardless of what challenges we are facing at the present. He is our hope and our refuge.
Sadly, we are still not able to come together to have our Sunday Services and our weekly programs. For the last several weeks we were pleased to hear that things were getting better and the restrictions were easing week by week. Gatherings are allowed with bigger numbers, restaurants and coffee shops are open, some entertainment programs have commenced and the social distancing area has been changed. The signs are good, positive and promising. But unfortunately, Victoria is facing a second wave and some areas are in lockdown and its borders are closed. The NSW Premier is expressing the fear of having a second wave in our state too. We should hope and pray that we will not go through a second wave. Let’s hope for better days and virus-free times.
Some churches from the Lower North Shore have and will open their doors. Here, at St. Andrew’s, the Elders and Church Council met last Wednesday and after lengthy discussion, decided not to reopen our doors for Sunday Services or other activities and continue what we have been doing in the same way as we have done since mid-March. The Elders and the Church Council will meet again on the first Wednesday of August and revisit this matter.
As we don’t feel that we are ready yet, please join the others tomorrow morning in worship, following the Order of Service. This week the majority of the hymns are suggested by Mark. Thanks Mark. Do not forget to light a candle, if you wish, and enjoy singing the chosen hymns and praise God.
Also, if you have any hymns to be included in our future Orders of Service, please let me know.
Praise God and trust in His precepts and instructions. Continue to pray and bring all you have in your heart to Him in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Prayer points:
1. Pray for the congregations who have decided to reopen their doors. Pray for the safety of those who will attend and the leaders who have taken on board the responsibility of providing a safe space.
2. Continue to pray for those countries who are still in the midst of the pandemic, where the number of cases of COVID-19 is still growing.
3. Pray for those who are struggling financially.
4. Pray for those who have lost loved ones and are still in pain.
5. Pray for those who are not well and lonely.
6. Pray for world peace.
If you have any prayer points, please let me know and I will include them in the next week’s letter.

Krikor
Your Minister

Message Summary
Twin Brothers
Genesis 25:19-34

There is a funny comedy movie, released in 1988, titled TWINS. It is about unlikely twins, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, who were separated at birth. Their mother, Mary Ann, is told they’re dead. Vincent, a short street hustler and a con man, makes a living in Los Angeles. Julius, a strong muscular man, raised by a scientist, grows up humble, intelligent and strong, but very naive about the larger world. When Julius learns of his mother and brother, he heads to Los Angeles to find his family. The story line is about the adventure that starts first by Julius trying to find Vincent and then when they are on the way to find their mother, Vincent is on to his job transporting a package to get a few million dollars. On the other hand, Julius tries to convince Vincent to return the dirty money to the authorities. The story goes on, until they find their mother and they do the right thing. The story concludes with the happy family, when both marry, have twin babies each and live happily ever after.
A comedy movie, full of twists and turns. Funny and enjoyable to watch, with its happy ending.
In the first book of the Bible we read another story of twin babies, or brothers, who are also on a quest. If not both, but at least the younger, who planned to receive the firstborn’s birthright from his older twin brother. In this story, also we see twin brothers who have a different physical appearance. One was hairy and a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents (vs. 27-28). Later, we read Jacob tricked his visually impaired father and received his blessing, with the mother Rebekah playing a major role in this trick. And as a result, animosity starts between the twin brothers, to a point that Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given and decided to kill his brother. They became enemies and that extended and resulted in making Edom and Israel enemies for a very long time, but fortunately Jacob and Esau met and reconciled later at some stage.
Now let’s look into the Biblical twin brothers Jacob’s and Esau’s story in some depth.
Isaac was the promised child born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, when Sarah was long past the age of bearing children. A bride was secured for Isaac from Abraham’s family in Mesopotamia. Rebekah left her family and friends, moved to the Promised Land and married Isaac. However, like her mother-in-law, Sarah, Rebekah was also barren, unable to bear children. And it appeared that God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 to make a great nation from him had come to an end with Isaac and Rebekah. But God kept his promise and gave Isaac and Rebekah twin boys, named Esau and Jacob.
God had called Abraham and given him seven promises in Genesis 12:2-3:
1. I will make of you a great nation
2. I will bless you
3. I will make your name great
4. So that you will be a blessing
5. I will bless those who bless you
6. Him who dishonours you I will curse
7. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
However, several hundred years later, after their enslavement in Egypt, their exodus out of Egypt, and their wandering for forty years in the Sinai desert, Edom refused to allow the people of God safe passage through their land so that the people of God could get back to the Promised Land.
God’s people felt defeated. The narrative that we are studying today addressed God’s people who felt defeated, but still God had plans for them and for their victory, through His sovereign grace.
As we look to the passage and look into the story of the twin brothers Jacob and Esau, we see the following three main points, which we are going to look at briefly.
1. The Prophecy about the Two (25:19-23)
2. The Difference between the Two (25:24-28)
3. The Exchange among the Two (25:29-34)
I. The Prophecy about the Two (25:19-23)
Moses began this narrative by saying in verse 19, “This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac”. The book of Genesis is structured on the ten generations, starting with the Creation story, The heavens and the earth, Adam, Noah, Noah’s sons, Shem, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau and Jacob (37:2-50:26).
Moses drew attention to the fact that Isaac was Abraham’s son and reminded the people of God’s promises to Abraham. Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean and the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. Isaac and Rebekah remained childless for 20 years before their twins were born, when Isaac was 60 years old. Like her mother-in-law, Sarah, Rebekah was also barren. But unlike his father, Abraham, instead of having a child from a maidservant, Isaac simply went to the Lord in prayer. “Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.” (vr. 21)
What do we do when we are desperately in need of something?
First, we should remember that He has not and does not abandon us, but He is teaching us to depend on Him. He is showing us that He is in control. He takes care of us and He does things in His ways and in His own time and not ours.
Second, we should go to Him in faith with our prayers, seeking His help, guidance and wisdom. Be assured that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We should trust Him and believe that everything will be for our good according to His will.
In our story we see that after twenty years of barrenness, Rebekah became pregnant. Moses (the writer) said in verse 22a: “The babies jostled each other within her, and she said: ‘Why is this happening to me?’” Rebekah was experiencing a very painful pregnancy. Perhaps she was aware that she was having twins. Nevertheless, she went to inquire of the Lord. 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.” (vr. 23)
By the time when Moses wrote these words about the twins, Esau and Jacob, the law of The Right of the Firstborn was established. Moses wrote about the inheritance rights of the firstborn in Deuteronomy 21:15-17: “If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him”.
But in this instance, God made it clear to Rebekah that in this case his blessing would fall on the younger and weaker child. Why? Probably the answer in this case could be that both sons were born as twins from Rebekah, the wife that Isaac loved. So, somehow the law of the first born being from the unloved wife does not apply. But what God was making clear is that the younger and the weaker could be the one who rules and deserves the father’s blessing. But this could only happen and be the result of God’s sovereign grace. In this case God made His plans clear, even before the twins were born and with their struggle in their mother’s womb.
II. The Difference between the Two (25:24-28)
It is clear and easy to notice the difference between the two sons, Esau and Jacob.
Verses 24-25 say: “When her time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. The first to come out red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.” The meaning of Esau is not known. It is perhaps a sound play on the Hebrew word for “hairy”. But Esau was also red when he was born, and Moses noted in verse 30: “That is why he was also called Edom”, meaning red. So, they had physical differences, like colour and hair.
But also, we should note that Esau and Jacob, did not get along well, because the firstborn’s rights were taken by Jacob, as well as Isaac was tricked and gave his blessing to Jacob, not Esau, who was the rightful one. When Moses wrote these words, he wanted to remind the people of God that Esau, also known as Edom, was Israel’s enemy. Many years later, when the people of God left Egypt, Moses politely requested that the king of Edom allow the people of God to pass through his land. “This is what your brother Israel says: You know the hardships that have come upon us … Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s highway….” But Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword” (Numbers 20:14–21). And throughout the following centuries there was enmity between Edom and Israel.
Moses also noted in verse 27a that: “The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country….” Esau was a man of outdoors; he was tough, rough and capable. Moreover, Moses noted in verse 28a that “Isaac who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau.”
And in verse 26a we read about the birth of Jacob: “After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.” Jacob means “He grasps the heel” or “He cheats or deceives.” Unlike his brother Esau, “Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents” (25:27b) and “Rebekah loved Jacob” (25:28b).
Two sons (twins) and two parents. Each parent undoubtedly loved both sons, but Moses noted that each parent had a definite preference for one of the twins. Why? We don’t know, but sometimes this is sadly true.
This description of the twins and their parents sets the stage for what is to come in the future.
III. The Exchange among the Two (25:29-34)
In this fascinating unique story, there is an exchange of words among the two sons, which results in serious consequences for both, but mostly for Esau.
Moses said in verses 29-30a: “Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of the red stew! I am famished!’”
This is where we first see the clever and crafty of Jacob. Undoubtedly, his mother (and perhaps his father) had told him and Esau about God’s prophecy before the twins were born that the older shall serve the younger. In verse 31, Jacob said to Esau: “First sell me your birthright.” Apparently, Jacob had planned for this a long time ago and he was waiting for his brother’s moment of weakness.
In response to Jacob’s demand, Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; what good is the birthright to me?” (25:32). Hearing these words, Jacob asks Esau to swear to him (25:33a). Jacob knew that Esau could easily go back on a verbal agreement, but he could not reverse a legally binding commitment. So, Esau swore to and sold his birthright to his younger brother and weaker brother Jacob.
That was a tragic exchange, a birthright for bread and stew. “Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Esau’s action and easily giving away his birthright, makes clear that he was not spiritually fit to be the vehicle of divine election, the bearer of the birthright of Abraham’s seed. His selling of the birthright in the circumstances here described is in itself proof that he is not worthy to retain the birthright. This narrative shows that he did not want the birthright. He despised it and he was not worthy to be the rightful father of the nation. Very sad, he failed to receive God’s grace and he was not worthy of the grace of God.
But Jacob was not worthy either. The “heel grabber” could not wait for God to fulfill His promise in His way at His time. He would get the birthright by his own cunning and craftiness. He plotted to get the birthright from his brother. Later, he would deceive his own father in order to obtain the blessing of the firstborn. Still later, he would trick his own uncle Laban so that he might accumulate financial wealth. Jacob was a “heel grabber” and a deceiver. He was also not worthy of the grace of God.
The point of the narrative is that even though neither brother was worthy of the grace of God, God nevertheless chose the younger instead of the older to be the recipient of His grace. The Apostle Paul explained God’s sovereign, electing grace this way in his letter to the Romans in Romans 9:10–13: “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might stand: not by works but by him who calls— she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’”
Hence looking at this interesting story of the twins, not the funny story of the movie “TWINS”, we as the church, the body of Jesus Christ, we may be assured that by the sovereign grace, God has chosen us to be His victorious people. We are chosen to act and fulfill all the requirements by faithfully obeying to His commands and being the instruments of love, hope and peace.
God frequently chooses the weaker and younger over the older and stronger. God chose Jacob over Esau, Abel over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Joseph over his brothers, Ephraim over Manasseh, David over his brothers. This same trail continues into the New Testament when God chooses His Son, our Lord Jesus, to be born in a manger of a stable, raised in Nazareth, poor and lowly, and in turn choosing simple and ordinary people, lowly disciples to be His agents to act on His behalf.
As God assured His people in the Old Testament of their ultimate victory, so Jesus assures His people in the New Testament of our ultimate victory. Jesus promised His disciples that “the gates of Hades will not overcome it [the church]” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus acknowledged to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble.” Yet He immediately assured His disciples, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In Revelation, the Apostle John received a vision that unbelievers will make war on the Lamb. But “the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers” (Revelation 17:14).
Let us not be discouraged or despair, especially at this time, when we are under pressure and facing so many challenges. By His sovereign will and grace, God has chosen His weak and despised people to be His victorious people and His Church. We are the chosen, we are the agents and we are the blessed. All we have to do is to put our trust in Him. We should surrender to His will and walk in His paths of righteousness and He will take care of us and be with us always, now and forever.
Amen!