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Guest (Male): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, we love helping you understand God's word and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement. And if you'd like help to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and exclusive resources designed to help you stay strong in your faith, all delivered right to your inbox. Signing up is quick and easy, and you'll be glad you did. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That's connectwithskip.com. Before today's teaching, stay with us for a special invitation from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: Have you ever dreamed of visiting Israel? Lenya and I want to invite you to join us for a life-changing journey through the land of the Bible in April of 2027. You can walk where Jesus walked, you can worship on the Sea of Galilee, you can celebrate baptisms at the Jordan River, and we're going to share communion at the empty tomb. You'll also have the option to attend the Epicenter Summit in Jerusalem, where I'll be speaking alongside of Joel Rosenberg, Greg Laurie, Anne Graham Lotz, Jack Graham, and more. So, join us April 5th through April 16th. You can learn more today at connectwithskip.com/israel.

Guest (Male): Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: So by this time, if you are reading through the book of Genesis, by this time you're ready for a break. You need a little laughter, and that's good because chapter 21 kicks in. And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

You're going to have a baby, Sarah. I'm 90. I'm going to laugh about that. That is so funny. What a good joke. No, it's not. It's really going to happen. I didn't laugh. Yeah, you did.

So time elapses, and it happens. She ends up pregnant. She has a child. You know God is never late. God is always exactly on time. He's always punctual. You say punctual, why did God then make this couple wait 25 years from making the promise to fulfilling the promise? Why did they have to wait so long? Well, wouldn't you agree that would make the fulfillment all that much more dramatic? Because as the years go by, God is stacking the odds against Himself that that could ever happen.

You say, well, you know, a 90-year-old man can't have a child. Well, what about a 100-year-old man? Well, you know, a 70-year-old woman can't have a baby. Well, what about a 90-year-old woman? See, God just makes it harder and harder so that when it happens, you go, whoa. I guess God can do anything. It makes the fulfillment more dramatic.

So verse 2 of chapter 21, for Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. Verse 5, now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me. She also said, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have born him a son in his old age. God basically turned a retirement home into a maternity home and made this couple so happy they're laughing. But they're not laughing a laughter of unbelief. This is a laughter of sheer joy that God pulled it off. They're rejoicing.

Chapter 22 is a pivotal chapter. Verse 1, now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, hardest test he's ever had so far, by the way, and said to him, Abraham. And he said, here I am. And he said, take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.

When Abraham heard this, his first thought must have been, that doesn't make sense. That's counter-intuitive. God promised me a son. It took 25 years for that son to come. He was born miraculously according to God's promise. Why would God want to kill the kid He promised and gave so miraculously?

I want you to notice the wording here. Take now your son, your only son. By this time he had two sons, not one. He had Ishmael. That was his son. That was his firstborn through Hagar, the Egyptian handmade. This is his second son, but God calls him his only son. It's the only son God is recognizing because this is the son of promise, not the son of the flesh, not the son of trying to help God out, but this is the son of promise.

So the wording is interesting. Take your only son, or your only begotten son, if I can add a word, whom you love. Does that mean he didn't love Ishmael? Of course he loved Ishmael. But again, the wording is remarkable. Take your only son whom you love. The very first time the word love is used in the Bible is here, and it's the love of a father giving his only begotten son in a sacrifice. That's noteworthy.

What also is noteworthy is he says go to the land of Moriah. Now, Moriah is a ridge system of mountains in Jerusalem. I'm going to throw up a couple slides and let you look at them. First of all is a shot of modern-day Jerusalem. That is the little section of where Jerusalem started. That's Salem, where Melchizedek lived. It became the city of David. That's the very beginnings of Jerusalem. But then look at how the mountain goes up, and this is the Temple Mount area, right? See how it rises in elevation from down here? This is the ridge of Moriah. Now notice in the distance, this area is actually topographically taller than this area. This is modern Jerusalem. Let me take you to slide number two.

Okay, I showed you David's Jerusalem, Salem. That's right here. See that little tongue? Mark two and below. And then above it, you see that area, the Temple Mount? Today there's a mosque on it. That's where the temple stood. Okay, so this is the ridge of Moriah. It goes from the city of David, goes up to the Temple Mount, but then it rises further north of the city. The elevation here is taller than that. Now go to the next slide. I'm showing it to you again. City of David, that's that little tongue I showed you. Temple Mount, Solomon's Temple. The peak of Mount Moriah is further north.

So think about it in Abraham's day. Abraham didn't see a temple, didn't see a mosque, didn't see the Hilton hotel or the Sheraton hotel or the bus stops. It was all just mountain ridge. For him to go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice his son on top of Mount Moriah, he would have gone north of today the city of Jerusalem because that's the tallest point. Makes sense?

What's interesting is that that is the region north of that Temple Mount area where it rises up where we find Golgotha, the place of the skull. So take now your son, your only son whom you love, to the mountains of Moriah. And on that place where Abraham almost sacrificed his only begotten son, God Himself sacrificed indeed, not almost but indeed, His only begotten son, probably in the same spot or area where Abraham. So that's a significant chapter. It's a foreshadowing of things to come.

So verse 3, Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son, split the wood for the burnt offering and rose and went to the place which God told him. Then on the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. What that means is his son Isaac was dead to him in his mind for three days. For three days he said, I'm going to kill my son. I'm going to kill my son. I'm going to kill my son. For three days he had to live with that. My son is going to die.

And Abraham said to the young men, stay here with the donkey. The lad and I will go yonder and worship. Now watch this. And we will come back. He didn't say we're going to go and worship and I'm coming back alone. Said we're going, but we're coming back again. This is why the book of Hebrews says by faith Abraham went to offer or sacrifice his son. Hebrews 11, listen to what he says. Concluding that God is able to raise the dead. Concluding or reasoning in his mind and in his heart that God is able to raise the dead.

So he brings his son to Mount Moriah, and as he's bringing him up there, he's thinking God is not a liar. God told me I'm going to have a son. Here is my son. He has to live through this, or else he's going to die and God's going to raise him up. That's the faith he lived with. That's the reasoning Abraham went through as he brought his son.

So I want you to apply that to your hardships in life. When you are facing insurmountable obstacles, I want you to think logically about it. Think like this. I'm going to reason here. God is able to do anything. I'm going to reason based on God's character. I'm going to reason based on God's ability and what God has promised. I'm going to bring God into the equation, and then that will raise your faith to a higher level when you start calculating your hardships like Abraham calculated when he was about to sacrifice almost his son.

Now, chapter 23, we come to the story of Isaac, and we're going to sum this up very quickly. Chapter 23, Sarah dies. Chapter 24, Abraham knows his son Isaac needs a wife, sends his servant Eliezer to go back to his hometown to find the right wife to bring a bride for his son Isaac. Turns out to be Rebecca. Let me have a little fun with this. We have Abraham sending out his servant to find a gentile bride for his son. Ring any bells? The church, gentile church, the bride of Christ. Moreover, the word Eliezer means the helper or the comforter. So the comforter, the helper is sent out to go to a country to bring a gentile bride back for his son Isaac. I just think the Holy Spirit has a lot of fun putting this text together.

Chapter 24, verse 64, she's coming back. Her name is Rebecca. It says Rebecca lifted up her eyes and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel. I'm glad that this is the translation. The old King James says she lit off her camel. That's old English. She lit off her camel. And when I read that as a young kid who used to smoke, I think, wow. Rebecca lit off her camel. She was smoking unfiltered at the time, I guess. Modern translation, she dismounted from her camel. For she said to her servant, who is this man walking in the field to meet us? The servant said, it is my master. She took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. The Bible is a big book, 66 books filled with history, poetry, prophecy, letters, law, and more. It's easy to lose sight of how it all fits together. That's why Pastor Skip Heitzig wrote his new one-year devotional, Soaring Above It All. It gives you a panoramic view of scripture, helping you understand the key people, events, and themes from Genesis to Revelation while deepening your walk with God. Request Soaring Above It All as our thanks when you give $50 or more today to help Connect with Skip share clear verse-by-verse Bible teaching with people everywhere. Give now at connectwithskip.com/offering or call 800-922-1888. Now, here's more from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: Then Isaac brought her to his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Did they live happily ever after? Nope. They had kids. They had Esau and Jacob, and that takes us to chapter 27 through 36. Now, Rebecca is also barren. She cannot have children. Isaac prays, she gets pregnant, but it's a very difficult pregnancy. And now we find out why.

Chapter 25, verse 23, the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. Well, that explains it. Two nations in there? Come on. No wonder I have a hard pregnancy. That's a lot. Two peoples shall be separated from your body. One will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. Now the firstborn Esau, he's named that because his name means red or hairy. So he came out all hairy and so they said, we're going to call him Harry. Makes sense?

The second born came after grabbing the heel of his brother, so they called him heel catcher, Ya'akov, Jacob. So Harry and Heel Catcher are born. Harry was an outdoorsman, liked to hunt, fish. Jacob liked to cook soup with mom in the kitchen. So he waited till his dad got really old and couldn't see because he wants to take the blessing, which he does. Chapter 27, verse 18, so he went to his father and he said, my father. And he said, here I am. Who are you, my son? And Jacob said to his father, and he probably had to lower his voice, I am Esau, your firstborn. Because he probably didn't naturally sound like that. I have done just as you told me. Please arise, sit and eat of my game that your soul may bless me. Verse 21, then Isaac said to Jacob, please come near that I may feel you, touch you, my son, whether you really are Harry, you know, like Esau, or not.

So he steals the blessing, he goes east to Laban Land where his uncle Laban lived to find a wife for himself. Esau runs after him. They'll be joined and reconciled later on. But God is still up to fulfilling His promise, that the older Esau will serve the younger Jacob. That's what this chapter is about. On his way to Laban Land, he lays his head down on a rock at night and he has a dream, he has a vision of angels going from heaven to earth and earth to heaven. It wasn't a stairway to heaven. It was a stairway to earth from heaven. It was God invading the scene. And he woke up and he said, surely the Lord is in this place and I didn't know it, but I know it now. It was a confirmation to him.

Genesis 28, verse 13, behold the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give you and your descendants. So he goes to where Laban lives, meets the gentleman at the well. Out comes this beautiful knockout girl named Rachel. Look at chapter 29, verse 11. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, lifted up his voice and wept. One of the funniest verses in all the Bible. Because she's thinking, what? Was it the garlic I ate? I mean, this is a weird date.

He ends up working for her father for 14 years. The labor, it says, seemed but a day to him because of the love he had for her. So now he gets married, the family grows. He has two wives by this point, Leah and Rachel, two handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah, and 12 sons and at least one daughter. So a large family.

Chapter 32, verse 24, Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till the breaking of day. And when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip. The socket of his hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go for the day breaks. But he said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Now, that's what Jacob said to his dad, I want the blessing. Now he's saying it to God, I want the blessing. God changes his name from heel catcher, Jacob, one who fights against God, one who tries to grab something on his own, to Israel, one who fights with God, victoriously fights along with God.

Chapters 37 through 50 ends the book. It is the story of Joseph. It is 14 chapters of Joseph's story. He's the central figure. He was the dreamer of dreams. Remember he had a dream and he said, I was out in the field, you guys, says to his brothers, and there were 12 sheaves and 11 of them bowed down to my sheaf. And they hated him because of that. He had another dream and he said, well, I had another dream of the sun and the moon and 12 stars, and the sun and the moon and the 11 stars bowed down to me, my star.

Why is that significant? Because by the time we get to Revelation, we're going to understand that metaphor is used again. And people say, who is the woman clothed with the sun and the moon and the 12 stars? We now know from Genesis, it's the nation of Israel. Because that is how Jacob interprets the dream to his son. It's a representation of all of us, the 12 tribes of Israel, your mom and me, bowing down to you. So that unlocks a very important prophetic piece later on.

Well, he is sold to the Midianites, he is taken to Egypt. He is accused falsely of coming onto Potiphar's wife. He is placed in jail with a butler and a baker. They have these wild dreams. Joseph says one of you will be raised back to Pharaoh's employment, another of you will have your head chopped off. But remember me, he says to the butler when you go back to work for Pharaoh. Two years go by, doesn't remember him until Pharaoh has a dream. Pharaoh has a dream of seven emaciated cows coming out of the river, seven fat cows. Remember the story? The seven emaciated cows do what? Eat, consume the seven fat cows, but they're not fatter.

Then he sees bundles or sheaves of grain, seven plump ears of grain, seven withered ones, and the withered ones consume the plump ones, but they don't grow any bigger. Genesis 41:25, Joseph said to Pharaoh, the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are one. The seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. He tells Pharaoh, prepare for seven years of hell on earth, worst famine you have ever seen that will affect this part of the world. He does so. Verse 37, the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and the eyes of his servants.

And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? So he is promoted to the second most important authority in the land of Egypt. So Pharaoh's chariot, his license plate said Egypt 1, Joseph's license plate said Egypt 2. He was like the prime minister. He was second in command.

The famine hit hard. Even the people down in Canaan were hit hard by this famine. Jacob, the father of Joseph, the father of the 12 tribes, sends his boys to Egypt to get grain but leave their youngest, Benji, Benjamin. The youngest stays at home. I love him, I don't want anything to happen to him.