SERMON 12 July 2026 “The God Who Never Stops Sowing”

Last week, Rebekah said, ‘I will go,’ and left everything she knew to marry a man she had never seen, becoming part of a story bigger than herself. Today we meet her again. She is now married to Isaac and has become the mother of twin sons, Esau and Jacob. But their story begins even before they are born. While they are still in Rebekah’s womb, the two brothers struggle against each other. The struggle is so intense that Rebekah cries out to God, Why is this happening to me? God tells her that two nations are in her womb and that two peoples will be divided from birth. Then comes the surprising part: “The elder shall serve the younger.” In other words, God’s promise to Abraham will continue not through Esau the firstborn but Jacob.

For Rebekah and for Abraham, this would have been a shocking announcement. In their world, the firstborn son stood at the centre of the family. He inherited more than his brothers. He became the leader of the family. And God’s promise was expected to continue through him.

But being the firstborn does not determine God’s choice. Does that mean Jacob was a better person than Esau? The passage never says that. Genesis takes the story even further. Verse 28 quietly tells us, “Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Even within one family, there is division. Each parent favours a different son. The conflict is only going to grow deeper. Yet this is the very family through whom God chooses to continue his work.

Now we begin to see how God’s words, “The elder shall serve the younger”, unfold.  Esau the hunter comes home from the field exhausted and starving. Jacob is preparing a meal. The smell of Jacob’s stew must have made Esau’s mouth water. “Quick,” he says, “let me have some of that red stew. I’m starving.” Who knows. Maybe his blood sugar had hit rock bottom. At that moment, all he could think about was food. Jacob does not miss the opportunity.

As we read Genesis, one thing becomes clear. Neither brother comes out looking good. One gave away everything for a bowl of soup. The other took advantage of a starving man. Esau treated his birthright lightly. Jacob did not act honourably. But Genesis is not finally about Esau’s carelessness or Jacob’s cleverness. It is about God’s promise.

Now picture another scene. A sower walks across a field. He does not first inspect the soil. He does not mark out only the good ground. No expert farmer would work this way. Yet he does. His hand moves in one continuous motion, scattering seed without pause, without calculation. Some seed falls on the path. Some falls on rocky ground. Some falls among thorns. It is a strange way to sow. But that is exactly the point.

Today, I’d like us to look not so much at the seed but at the sower. When we hear this parable, we immediately jump to the different kinds of soil.  And naturally we ask, Which soil am I?  We begin to evaluate ourselves. Some of us may think, I’m the good soil. Others may quietly wonder, Perhaps I’m more like the rocky ground. But the real focus of this parable is not the soil. It is the ‘sower.’ Jesus is not inviting us first to judge the soil. He is showing us what God is like.

Why does Jesus describe a sower like this? Because no one would sow this way. That is the point. God does not come to us after measuring our potential. He comes generously. He calls us. He plants the seed of his word. God is not simply looking for good soil. He is the God who makes soil fruitful.

Now, think about Jacob. He thought the birthright was something to be earned, or won, or stolen. He kept grasping. Yet Jacob’s grasping was never the centre of the story. In the womb, and in the field, we meet the same God.

So how should our church hear this parable today? Within every congregation there are paths, rocky places, thorny places, and good soil. The same is true in our own lives. Some days God’s word takes deep root. Other days we are easily shaken. The worries of life can crowd our hearts. A hard week at work, a difficult diagnosis, or simply the noise of life can choke what God is doing within us. And still, the sower never stops sowing.

Whether you have been here for many years or you are still finding your way, whether you come full of hope or carrying a weary heart, the sower scatters the same seed. The church is a community of people whom God refuses to give up on. Our hope does not rest in all of us becoming good soil.

Jacob tried to secure the birthright for himself. We, too, tend to hold onto whatever we think will secure our future. But God is not bound by those things:  not Jacob’s cunning, not our own worthiness. Long before Jacob grasped, God had already spoken. Long before we prove anything, the sower is already walking the field. That is what we call good news.

He has not stopped sowing among us. He is still writing stories that are not yet finished. He is still the God who brings life. Amen. Let’s come before God together in prayer.