Grace that Doesn’t Make Sense - Genesis 25:19-26

On Sunday, we continued our sermon series going through the book of Genesis. Pastor Michael preached on Genesis 25:19-26, telling us that God fulfills His promises according to His sovereign grace. God’s grace is displayed in both our unexpected circumstances and His unexpected choice.

In the passage, we see Isaac and Rebekah met with an unexpected circumstance: Rebekah was barren. You may remember how in Genesis 24, the Lord worked in an amazing way to indicate to Abraham’s servant that Rebekah was to be Isaac’s wife. Why, then, was Rebekah unable to conceive?

We don’t always see the purposes behind our circumstances, but God does. We can call on Him, confident that His power is not restrained by the difficulties we face, and He has a plan.

Isaac prayed for Rebekah, and the Lord granted his prayer. In yet another unexpected circumstance, Rebekah conceived not only one child, but two! The Lord revealed His grace by answering Isaac’s prayer.

How do you respond to the unexpected? Are you quick to worry, or quick to pray? Do you rely on your own solutions, or seek direction from the Lord, trusting His sovereignty? God invites His people to cast their anxieties on Him, because He cares for them (see 1 Peter 5:7).

As we see in the passage, the children struggled within Rebekah, and she prayed to the Lord about this. The Lord answered Rebekah, revealing to her a surprising truth: the older son would serve the younger. In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were typically given authority over their siblings, being seen as first in rank among them. For Rebekah’s sons, however, such would not be the case. Esau, the firstborn, would serve Jacob, his younger brother.

God’s grace is revealed in His unexpected choice. Just as this was true with Esau and Jacob, this is true today. God sovereignly chose those who are to obtain salvation. He chose His followers before the foundation of the world and predestined them for adoption to Himself (see Ephesians 1:4-5). The doctrine of election shows us that God’s choosing is not based on human merit. We are all undeserving of God’s choosing; it is grace for Him to grant salvation to anyone. 

Rather than speculate who may or may not be members of the elect, Christians can properly respond to the doctrine of election by praising God for His grace, resting with assurance of salvation, and sharing the gospel with urgency. After all, God’s ability to draw people to Himself is not thwarted by the callousness of people’s hearts. The Lord will make disciples by His own power and plan — and He will use His church, sharing His gospel and seeking Him in prayer, to do it.

Resources:

Reflection Questions:

  • How does divine election display God’s grace?

  • Consider an unexpected circumstance in your life. How can you trust God’s sovereignty in the midst of it?

  • Isaac prayed for 20 years for Rebekah to conceive. Have you given up on any prayer requests? How does Isaac’s answered prayer encourage you to be steadfast in prayer?

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