Knowing the Bible

Lesson 10

Isaac, Jacob and Esau

(Genesis 25:19-36:43)

Isaac, the son of Abraham, was the father of twin sons, Esau and Jacob. We are not given a great deal of information about Isaac’s life, but we are given enough to understand that he was a believer and a man who did his best to follow God. His two sons were quite different in character and in their response to God and His plan. 

Isaac was the son of promise to Abraham and Sarah. He was the only legitimate son of Abraham and the heir to all things. Even the Abrahamic Covenant was confirmed to Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah, who was unable to conceive until God performed a miracle in response to Isaac’s prayer. The result was the birth of twin boys, Esau and Jacob.

At an old age and with poor eyesight, Isaac was deceived by Jacob into giving his blessing to Jacob. Effectively, this made Jacob the head of the family above his older brother Esau. Esau had sold his birthright earlier to Jacob for a bowl of pottage (stew). The Bible says that Esau hated his birthright, caring more for the things of the world than his family’s business and livelihood. 

The only restitution that Esau sought was from his father and not from God, which tells us a lot about his spiritual condition. Esau is used by the writer of Hebrews as an illustration of a person who had fallen away from grace meaning he had turned his back on God. This passage says that Esau sought to regain his inheritance, but could not bring himself to think differently about his decisions. He had no concern for the spiritual blessings that he had given up earlier when he sold his birthright, and could not take responsibility for his own bad decisions. (Genesis 25:29-34, 27:1-46; Hebrews 12:16-17)

Throughout Scripture Jacob is used as an illustration of grace and Esau is used as an illustration of human works. (Romans 9:10-14) Even though Jacob made many mistakes and was crafty and deceitful at times, he also had a side of his person that loved God. Jacob’s name was later changed by God to Israel – the name by which the entire nation became known. Obviously, Jacob struggled with his two natures, as we all do as believers.

Joseph

(Genesis 37:1-50:26)

Joseph was the youngest and the favorite of the sons of Jacob. Because Jacob favored Joseph, his brothers hated him, especially when their father had a special coat of many colors made for Joseph. Joseph also related two dreams to his brothers and his father, which indicated that the family would someday bow down before Joseph as if he was ruling over them. Hearing this dream made his brothers hate him even more.

There are three main happenings in the life of Joseph: 1) Joseph sold to traders by his brothers and ultimately into slavery by the traders (Genesis 37:13-36 2) Joseph as the ruler of Potiphar’s household, imprisoned by Potiphar, released and promoted by Potiphar (Genesis 39:1-41:57) 3) Joseph is reunited with his family. (Genesis 42:1-50:26)

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. When they saw him coming, they quickly plotted to kill him, but were restrained by Reuben. Instead, they ended up throwing Joseph into a pit and then sold him to a caravan of Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. The brothers then dipped Joseph’s coat into the blood of a goat and brought it back to Jacob. They told him that their brother had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob believed them and mourned for his favorite son.

The traders from the caravan eventually sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt to Potiphar. Potiphar was an officer of the king’s court and the head of the royal kitchen. Joseph was very successful in Potiphar’s house and became the head of the entire household. 

Potiphar’s wife tried on many occasions to seduce Joseph, but he remained faithful to Potiphar and to God. She eventually trapped Joseph in her bedroom and Joseph had to flee leaving behind his coat. Potiphar’s wife used the coat to falsely accuse Joseph and he was sent to prison as a result.

However, even in prison Joseph prospered, being made the head of all prisoners by the chief jailor. Joseph’s release from prison came as a result of being able to interpret the dreams of the king. The king made Joseph his second in command and Joseph effectively ran the country.

Joseph was reunited with his family as result of a famine in the land of Canaan where his family lived. Egypt had plenty of food stored because of Joseph’s efficient planning as the second in command. His brothers made the trip to Egypt to buy food and Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him. After a series of events designed by Joseph to make his brothers see the error of their ways and how God had used their treachery to bless their entire family, his family joined him in Egypt. The story of Joseph is truly a story of redemption, promotion and blessing in the face of adversity. 

The Biblical definition of the word redeemed is “to be purchased from the slave-market of sin.” There are three Greek words for redemption: “agorazo” meaning to buy, “exagorazo” meaning to buy out of or remove from sale and “lutroo” meaning to release on receipt of ransom or payment. (Romans 7:14)

There are several definitions for sin in the Word of God: falling short of God’s righteousness, which is lacking the perfection needed to enter Heaven (Romans 3:23), transgression, which is overstepping God’s law (Psalm 51:1-4), trespasses, which is deviation from God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1), disobedience which is rebellion against God’s law (I Timothy 1:9-10), and unbelief in Christ as Savior (the only unpardonable sin) (John 8:24). Christ redeemed us from all categories of sin.

A believer is also redeemed from the Mosaic Law, which had been distorted into a system of “pseudo-salvation” by religious Jewish leaders. The Law was never designed to provide salvation, but rather it shows us our need for a Savior and points us to Jesus Christ.

Moses

(Exodus 1:1 – 40:38)

Moses is probably the best-known character in the Old Testament and many chapters of Scripture are devoted to him. Moses was the writer of the first five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch. At the time of Moses’ birth, the nation of Israel was in captivity in Egypt. Moses was born to Jewish parents, but raised in the courts of Egyptian royalty by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses eventually became God’s representative and the deliverer of the people of Israel.

There are five major events in the life of Moses for us to consider.

• His birth and deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh and the circumstances surrounding his upbringing by Pharaoh’s daughter.
• His killing of an Egyptian guard and his exile from Egypt, his days as a shepherd and the first time he met God “face-to-face.”
• His return to Egypt as God’s representative, his confrontations with Pharaoh and the ultimate release of the Israelites from slavery.
• His escape from the pursuing Egyptians and the miracle at the Red Sea.
• His role as the leader of the nation of Israel, the giving of the Ten Commandments and the entrance into the Promised Land.

After the death of Joseph, who had found favor with the king (Pharaoh) of Egypt and had been the second in command, a new king came to power who did not know of Joseph. The result was a fear of the Israelites because of their sheer number. His fear was that there would be an uprising and the Jews would overthrow him as ruler. Therefore, the Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew male babies were to be killed at birth.

Three months after the birth of Moses, when she could hide him no longer, his mother placed him in a basket and sent him down river to a place where Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe. Moses’ sister Miriam followed the basket and offered help to Pharaoh’s daughter in finding a woman to nurse the child. Miriam brought the child to Jochebed, the mother of Moses. When he was old enough, Pharaoh’s daughter took Moses and raised him as her own.

Secular Jewish historian Josephus relates stories regarding the upbringing of Moses and said that Pharaoh’s daughter, who raised and educated him, desired that he be the next Pharaoh. She went so far as to convince her father that Moses should lead the Egyptian army against their enemy Ethiopia, which according to Josephus he did successfully. Josephus also said that the Ethiopian princess fell in love with Moses and they eventually were married as a compromise for surrendering their kingdom to Moses. Moses was said to be a most handsome man that turned the heads of all who saw him. According to Acts 7:22 Moses was educated in the wisdom and the culture of the Egyptians. It also says that Moses was mighty in his speech and deeds. The two accounts of the early life of Moses seem to be somewhat compatible.

Moses obviously knew about his Hebrew heritage because at age forty he decided to visit them. The Hebrews (Jews) were slaves at the time and were building the pyramids and many other Egyptian structures. It was at this time that Moses observed an Egyptian mistreating a Jewish worker and defended him by stopping and killing the Egyptian. Thinking his deed had been exposed, Moses fled Egypt to Midian.

In Midian he became a shepherd and married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. It was in Midian that Moses had a “face-to-face” encounter with God on Mount Sinai. It was at this encounter that God informed Moses that he had been chosen to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses did all he could to get out of the task that God had chosen for him. He complained that the Jews would not believe him. God fixed that by giving Moses a rod that turned into a snake before his eyes. Moses complained that he was slow of speech and awkward. God told him that He would be with his mouth and also chose Aaron the brother of Moses who was well spoken to assist him. 

Aaron joined Moses in Midian and they returned to Egypt with God’s message to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free. Most of us know the story of how Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh and related God’s message to “let my people go.” Pharaoh’s heart hardened with each plague that God sent upon him. It was only after the angel of death was sent to take the life of every first-born child, which included Pharaoh’s son, did Pharaoh let the children of Israel go free. The only thing that prevented the death of the first-born of Israel was the blood of a lamb that was placed over the mantle of their doors. This, of course, was an obvious demonstration of God’s deliverance then and in the future in the Person of Jesus Christ. (Exodus 11:1-12:14)

After Pharaoh agreed to let Israel leave Egypt, he had a change of mind and assembled his army and pursued the Israelites. The Egyptians were about to overtake Israel as their backs were to the Red Sea. Moses was directed by God to raise his staff and the sea parted and Israel went across on dry land. The Egyptians followed, as God knew they would, and the sea engulfed them, killing them all. God, once again, provided the protection that Israel needed from her enemies and showed Himself to be all powerful.

The journey to the Promised Land began after God had destroyed the Israelites’ enemy. It took forty years for Israel to make what some scholars say should have been an eleven- day journey into the land God had promised them. During their journey the Israelites murmured and complained about everything. God provided for their every need including food from Heaven (manna) and water to drink. He provided protection from enemies that they met along their journey. Also, along the way, God gave Moses instructions to relate to the nation regarding His mandates to avoid the pagans and their gods. These instructions were ignored and finally God sent Moses up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments written on tablets. Upon his return Moses found the Israelites worshipping idols to other gods and engaging in all forms of debauchery. In his anger, upon seeing this, Moses threw the tablets of the Ten Commandments to the ground and broke them.

Eventually, Moses was able to lead his people to the Promised Land, but was prevented from entering into it, along with anyone above the age of forty, because of his sin and their sin of disobeying God. Moses’ sin happened when the nation of Israel was once again complaining that they had no water. God commanded Moses to speak to a rock and water would flow from it. Instead, Moses in his anger hit the rock with his staff. This simply act of disobedience was grave enough in the sight of God to keep Moses from entering the Promised Land. Moses died on a mountain overlooking the Promised Land, but God did show him the land before he died. Moses died and was buried by God in a place that no one knew. (Deuteronomy 34:1-8)