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Bob Davis: To obey is always better than sacrifice. God's not interested, and he says it in a few other places in the Old Testament and even in the New, you'll find it. But in the Old Testament, God said, "Do you think really all I'm after is the blood of animals? Do you really think that's what this is all about?" No, those are lessons to show you, to point to Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and all the things that he will accomplish by grace through faith that we can have freely given to us.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply his word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse by verse through the Bible. As our study of Genesis continues in chapter 33, verse nine, we see Esau's reaction to Jacob's attempt to win his brother's favor. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Jacob says, "I sent these gifts to receive grace in your sight." Esau smiled and said, "Listen everybody, did you hear the answer he gave him?" Esau smiled because, what is it with these? "I sent these gifts to receive grace. I want you to be kind to me." Esau smiled and said, "Well, thanks, but I have enough." In America, that would literally mean, "I have more than enough. So you keep those. Thanks, though. That was a kind thing. But I have plenty and more than enough. I don't really need your little gift of 500-something animals."

But Jacob argued, "No, please. Please accept these gifts." But now something's changing in Jacob. Watch. The truth is, "I gave you these gifts to find favor, to find grace in your eyes. And now, my heart's changing just right here on the spot. Now, I see that I want you to have these gifts because of the grace you've just shown to me. I want you to have them. I was trying to get grace out of you, but you've been so graceful the whole time. I want you to take them just because of the grace you've given to me."

That's amazing, isn't it? Because God, he says, has been gracious to me. I want you to have them. I have plenty. Good! But I want to give you some more. I just want you to have them because God, you've shown me this grace. But my God has shown me so much grace, I want you to have them. Please take them. And Esau took the gifts because Jacob said, "I've seen the face of God. I've seen your face now. Seeing your face has reminded me of the face of God. Not that you look like him, just that God gave me such grace that you're doing the very same thing. So please take them. I want you to have this."

And so Esau said, "Fine." There was a change in Jacob in just that little bit of time. Notice it. It happens to you and me. Do you remember Zacchaeus? He was a very short man, and he was one of the most powerful tax collectors in the entire nation of Israel. He was a little guy with a big attitude, and he was one of the main tax collectors. People were afraid of this guy.

In Luke chapter 19, let me read to you verses one through 10. Read them with me if you can get there. Luke 19: "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, the tax collectors, and he was rich. And he wanted to see Jesus, he wanted to see who he was. And he could not because of the people, the crowds were too big, because he was of little stature. He couldn't see over everybody else. He's too short."

"So he ran ahead and he climbed up into a sycamore tree just to get a look at Jesus. He climbed up in a tree because Jesus was going to pass that way. Now verse five says, when Jesus came to that place, Jesus looked up and he saw him and he said to him," he knows Zacchaeus's name. He said, "Zacchaeus, hurry up, come down, for today we're going to have dinner at your house tonight." That's rude, inviting yourself to dinner. No, he's Jesus. And Zacchaeus couldn't have been more thrilled. Not only did he want to see Jesus, now he's going to have him for dinner. He's going to bring him over to his own home. What a thrill!

And he did. He hurried. Verse six: "He made haste, he came down and received Jesus joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured saying, 'He's gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner.'" Zacchaeus was a tax collector and they were sinners and they were hated. And he was a sinner because he was rich and he bought everything he needed. He'd buy people, he'd buy whatever. He just ran the show. And the people said, "Boy, if Jesus was really God, he would know this guy. You don't want to hang out, you don't want to eat with this guy." Yeah, Jesus does. He eats with me and you.

And then Zacchaeus, verse eight, he stood at dinner. He said to the Lord, because he'd been listening to Jesus at dinner just talking. He said, "Lord, behold, Lord, half of my goods, I'm rich. Half of everything I have I will give to the poor." Where did that come from? His heart's not the same as it was an hour ago. He changed, just like Jacob, just like you and me. He changed. Look: "I'm going to give half my goods to the poor. And if I have taken anything from any individual by false accusation, I will restore four times what I took."

You know what Jesus said? Because Jesus knows his heart: "Today salvation has come to this house, forasmuch as he is also a son of Abraham. For the son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost." Jesus just said that man was born again. And all you had to do is have Jesus come to dinner and just sit there and listen to him a little bit. Jacob had a change while he's just talking with his brother. And he says, "God has blessed me. You've blessed me. I want to give you something. I just want to give you this gift. Oh yeah, I wanted at first to try and buy that grace from you. But you've shown me that grace and God Almighty has shown me that grace. I just want you to have it."

Look at the grace Jacob received and in turn he gave to others. He gave his brother, who's very wealthy, Esau. "I don't need it. I love you, Jacob, but I don't need it." "I want you, please take it. Let me do something for you. You've just blessed my heart." Before, I'm telling you, he's not the Jacob that we know. Before, Jacob traded a bowl of stew to get the birthright, recall, from Esau? Now he's willing to give flocks and herds to his brother for nothing. What are these? "It's a gift. I want to give it to you." "Well no, no, I don't need it. You know, why do you want to give me that?" "Well, because I wanted to make sure that you gave me grace. But the truth is you have given me grace before any of that. God gave me the grace. I just want to give you some grace."

Look at that. Before, he would cheat you with a bowl of red bean stew. Now he gave his brother something for absolutely nothing in return. He's another man. Almost done, ready? This is where it goes down south. He goes ugly here. Verse 12: "And he said, let us take our journey and let us go and I will go before you." Esau's saying, "I'll go with you. Let's go! I'm glad I caught up with you. We'll go with you, me and my 400 men. We'll protect you, we'll defend you, we'll be right with you. Let's do it."

And Jacob said to him, "My lord knoweth that the children are tender." You've got some really little kids and they go slow and they want to stop and pick up rocks and look at them and then they want to pet the little lambs that are running about. Right? So he said, "My lord knoweth that the children are tender and the flocks and the herds are with young that are with me. If men should overdrive them one day, all the flock would die. We've got to really go too slow. I don't want to slow you up, man. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant. And I will lead on softly, gently, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure until I come to my lord unto Seir."

And Esau said, "Well, let me now, in other words, if that's what you want to do, let me leave with you some of the men, some of the folks that are with me. In other words, I want to leave you some protection. You don't have much here." And Jacob says, "What needeth it? Let me find grace in your sight. You know, we don't need it. Thank you. Go on, you guys go on." And in verse 16, it says, "Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built him a house and made booths for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place was called Succoth: booths or covers."

Okay, wait, wait, wait. Something's going on here. Esau says, "Thank you. Thank you for the gifts. Thank you for everything. We want to go with you. We'll just lead you on over to Seir and then, let you rest up where we hang out, where we live. And then you can move on from there." That's the idea. We'll travel on together. Esau and his 400 men could escort Jacob and his household the rest of the way. Jacob is still a little nervous and not quite trusting his brother. He ought to be just relaxed and trusting in God. I don't see that I'm not told, you're not told, that we put our trust in each other. We love one another, we trust in the Lord with all our heart, right? You don't have to trust your brother. You trust God. And you listen to God and you do what God tells you to be doing.

So he just, he's a little nervous, he's afraid. What we see here is fear and suspicion. He doesn't need to, but he's Jacob, just like you and me. We've got a lot to learn and we're going to learn it as we walk as we go. And Jacob says, "You know, thank you for the offer. We're moving way too slowly. We'd slow you way down. We've got the little kids and we've got the young animals and you can't push these little ones too far. We've just got to really, we're slow. It'll just, you'll be miserable." So he says, "We'll just meet you in Seir." Notice he didn't go to Seir. Notice that. The Bible said he went on to Succoth. How about that? He lied. He's having some issues here and he's having them because we all have them and we're starting to learn how to walk with God.

Esau says, "All right, then let me leave some of the men. At least they can make sure that you get safely wherever you go." And Jacob said, "Thanks, but we got this. It's good, thank you though." So Esau and his men, they went on. Jacob says, "I'll catch up with you." Instead of heading back to Seir, Jacob went northward a little bit to Succoth and he built a house there for his family and stalls and stables for his herds. Succoth means booths or covered places. It's east of the Jordan River. East of the Jordan River, you're not even in the Promised Land. Is that a problem? Yes, it's a problem.

And I'll tell you why: because Genesis 31 verse 13. "I am the Lord God," remember way back in Genesis 31 and God says, "I am the Lord God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where thou vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land and return to the land of your kindred. Go back to the Promised Land." Is he in the Promised Land? No. He stops over there and builds a house. What? He's backsliding already. He's going to have a lot more to learn, everybody, just like I do and you do. He's going to have a lot more to learn. He couldn't do it the easy way, could he? He has to do it the hard way.

Jacob is disobeying God. God's command was clear and simple. I'll read it to you again: Genesis 31:13. Remember when God spoke to him, he told his wives about what God said: "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get up now, get thee out from this land and return to the land of your family, the Promised Land, Canaan." And he stops east of the Jordan River and doesn't cross it. He's going to cross it in a minute, don't worry. We're not told exactly how long. He's disobeying God. He's disobeying God. He was supposed to go into the Promised Land, instead he builds a house on the wrong side of the river, just right outside the Promised Land. Isn't that like we are? You sort of follow God. You've got one foot in and one foot out, and it depends on the day or the week or depends on the mood.

Well look at verse 18. Don't let it confuse you. "And Jacob came to Shalem." In other words, we don't know exactly how long Jacob lived east of the Jordan River outside of the land. Maybe it was a short time. We don't know. We're just not told. "And Jacob did come, came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan." Okay, he's kind of now he's in the land. But, verse 18, which Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram and pitched his tent before the city. Before the city. Where have we seen that? Didn't we see Lot pitch his tent towards Sodom? He wasn't in Sodom yet, but he was close so he could do business with Sodom.

Now he does the same thing in the area of Shechem. "And he bought a parcel of ground where he had spread his tent at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar and he called it El-Elohe-Israel," meaning the God is the God of Israel. Okay, and you think, "Oh good, finally he's in obedience." Well, no. No, it's kind of like you and me now. This is kind of where we apply it. It looks like Jacob's family weren't comfortable or something went on on the east side of the Jordan River that caused them to come on into the Promised Land. But he comes in not very far at all. He stays on the edge. He doesn't go back to Bethel that God told him to and back to his father's house. He stays on the edge of the Promised Land.

And what does he do? They crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, but instead of going back to Bethel and do what God told him to do, Jacob settled just outside of Shalem, a city of Shechem. And just like Lot, Jacob didn't settle in the city, but he settled near it. So let me put it another way: Shechem was technically in the Promised Land, but the area was a carnal place like Sodom and Gomorrah. Just like Lot, you get close to it, you start acting like everything that's in it, right? And that's what Jacob's doing. Why did he do that? Why didn't he do what God told him to do? Well, that's like saying, "Why don't you do what God told you to do?"

Right? Put it all together. Just like Lot, Jacob didn't settle in the city, just settled near the city. Shechem was technically in the Promised Land, yeah, barely in. It was a very carnal, wicked city. And people say, "Here's what people say," because that's how we are. We're always trying to make ourselves look better. "Well, at least he was a good witness. He's in the Promised Land, finally. So that's good." Is it? Didn't God say go to Bethel? Yeah. Did he go to Bethel? No. But he's okay. Why is he okay? He's disobedient to God. Why is that okay? It's not okay.

And they say he was a good witness. "At least he built an altar to the Lord and he called it El-Elohe-Israel. The true God is the God of Israel." He names it that. "Well, there you go. He's a great witness," they say, "He's witnessing. And you know, he would offer sacrifices." That's what the altar was there for. So he'd offer sacrifices to the Lord God Almighty and his tent faced toward that carnal city so they'd see him offering and he was being a nice witness, a good witness. Sacrifices. That's how a lot of Christians justify half of what they're doing anymore. "Well, you know, yeah, maybe we're living right in the middle of Sodom, but we're being great witnesses, offering a little here and offering a little bit there."

Watch out everybody. Watch out. He would offer sacrifices to the Lord God Almighty and his tent faced that carnal city so people say he was at least being a witness. Listen closely to the word of God. The Lord God himself says sacrifice is no substitute for obedience. Remember all that in 1 Samuel? Do you remember all that? We've been through it. Sacrifice is no substitute for obedience. Remember King Saul? He was told, "You go and kill everyone there and the animals too, because of what they'd done." God said, "I gave them enough time to repent, they haven't. Kill them all."

And Saul didn't kill them all. Blamed it on the moon, blamed it on the bossa nova, said it was the people. But he wouldn't admit that he had sinned. "I did obey God." No you didn't. To obey God would be to go to Bethel. You stayed on the edge here where there's a big city and you might make a little money. You could sell the animals there and make all kinds of profit and keep having more, right? What are you doing? 1 Samuel 15, I'll just read verses 21 through 23. And Saul said, "But the people took the spoil, they took the sheep and the oxen and the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice to the Lord." They disobeyed God, but they're going to sacrifice to the Lord. They're going to sacrifice those animals so they really sort of did good.

And verse 22: "Samuel said to Saul, 'Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?' Do you think God wants dead animals?" Then he goes on: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. To hearken is better to listen to God than the fat of rams. But instead, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."

Jacob knows better. He should have gone and did exactly what God told him to do, but he had a better idea. "This is a big place here, you know, and I'll get there whenever, no big deal. We can learn here. We can make, man, we can raise a ton of money." Because he's got herds and, remember, he knows God's blessing them, and so he'll have more sheep and more cattle and more camels. He'll have all that stuff and he'll just be able to sell that and buy and sell and get gain. And he's going to be a rich dude. But he's not doing what God called him to do.

But he does have an altar that he offers to the Lord. And God in his mercy won't strike Jacob dead when he's not striking us dead either, is he? And he's patient and he's kind and he keeps calling, "Come on, walk this way. Come on, you can do this." And Paul writes to all of us, "These things that are written in God's word are examples for us. There's examples about how to do what's good and right and how to do what's wrong and bad." And we learn. We don't have to go experience it. We can learn by watching Jacob. Don't you worry, he's maturing. And he is going to get back over there to Bethel. He's going to get there.

But he's in disobedience right now. And as a matter of fact, what's going to happen, I don't want to ruin it for you, but the next chapter, he's going to get run out of town. He'll have to run away to save his own family. He's going to have to clear out of town because his daughter was going to get raped and then the boys are going to murder every man in town. That's always tacky to try and stay there after that. So you get driven away, right? There all kinds of lessons we can get from this if we will hear it. Because you can see in Jacob, I can see stuff in me. You can see in Jacob, boy or girl, you can see stuff in you. And we say, "Yeah, we obey. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, yeah."

What are we doing? And why are we doing what we're doing? To obey is always better than sacrifice. God's not interested, and he says it in a few other places in the Old Testament and even in the New, you'll find it. But in the Old Testament, God said, "Do you think really all I'm after is the blood of animals? Do you really think that's what this is all about?" No, those are lessons to show you, to point to Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and all the things that he will accomplish by grace through faith that we can have freely given to us.

So if you belong to the Lord, draw near. If you don't belong to the Lord, receive him tonight before we take another step out into this country and out into this situation that everybody's running into out there. Let's bow our heads.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM. You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies.

If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho, 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again: 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the live stream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse by verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel.