Sermon Tone Analysis

A Deceiver Receives God’s Promises

CONTEXT

A Deceiver Receives a Blessing

READ — Genesis 27:18-29

EXPLAIN

Isaac had come up with a plan for Esau to bring him his favourite meal so that he could bless him as his firstborn son.

Back in Genesis 25 we read of God’s prophecy about the twins in Rebekah’s womb:

Genesis 25:23 (ESV)

And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

We don’t know why Isaac was not following God’s Word.

Maybe:

He didn’t know.

He forgot.

He ignored it.

Rebekah though, had not forgotten!

She was so committed to God’s plan for Jacob that she was willing to receive a curse if her plan was found out.

Her plan works perfectly!

Isaac blesses Jacob as the one through whom the promise to Abraham would be continued.

God’s Word comes to pass, affirming that His promises are true, and that He is able to do what He says He will do.

Esau is not thrilled, and vows to kill Jacob.

So Rebekah hatches a new plan to get Jacob out of there.

She tells Jacob she does not want him to marry a foreign woman, so Isaac sends Jacob to Rebekah’s family to find a wife.

On the way, God Himself affirms His promise to Jacob.

Genesis 28:10–15 (ESV)

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.

And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set.

Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.

And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.

The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.

For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

God affirms his promise to be with Jacob… to accomplish his purposes in his life, and not to leave him until he has.

We can point forward to Christ from this passage.

Jacob dreams of a ladder between heaven and earth.

Jesus would later come to bridge the gap between heaven and earth.

He tells Nathanael…

None of us can go to heaven because of our sin, but when we place our faith and hope in Christ, we can through His righteous life!

APPLY

God’s promises are true.

He will bring them to pass.

We can trust God.

What promises do we have in Christ that are sometimes hard to believe or trust?

What are we to make of Rebekah and Jacob’s deception?

Is lying ever okay?

Story of me telling the kids a present (mini hockey sticks) was for someone else.

Was that a lie?

As God’s children, we must strive to faithfully represent Him as His image-bearers.

We must never justify sinful behaviours since we are representing God.

So Jacob returns to Rebekah’s family to seek a wife, and he falls in love with Rachel.

He promises to work for 7 years for her hand in marriage.

Now we are going to see the principle, “you reap what you sow” in action.

Jacob had been sowing deception, and now…

A Deceiver Reaps Deception

READ: Genesis 29:21-25

EXPLAIN

Jacob’s question “Why then have you deceived me?” ironically mirrors his father’s complaint to Esau in…

Jacob was now on the other end of deception, and it did not feel good!

Rachel helped her younger son deceive Isaac, and now her brother Laban hatched a plan with his oldest daughter Leah to get her married.

She was not as beautiful as Rachel, and he saw this as an opportunity to make sure she would marry.

But sin always brings problems with it.

After Laban gives Rachel to Jacob, we read…

This was going to begin a rivalry between these two sisters as they compete for Jacob’s love through child-bearing.

After having 11 sons through Leah, Rachel, Rachel’s servant Bilhah, and Leah’s servant Zilpah, Jacob wants to leave Laban and go back to his family and home country.

Laban however, knows that he has been blessed because of Jacob and wants to keep him around, so he asks what it will take to keep him there.

Once again, the deceiver has reaped what he has sown… deception.

Laban takes advantage of Jacob and tricks him.

But God was protecting Jacob, and uses this as an opportunity to make Jacob wealthy.

God reveals a mating plan to him where all the flocks give birth to striped, speckled, or spotted, depending on Laban’s mood that day.

God caused Jacob to become extremely wealthy despite Laban’s deception.

APPLY

God will ultimately protect us as His children, and bless them.

Does God protect us from all the consequences of our sinful actions?

Why or why not?

Can you think of a time when you reaped what you sowed?

We know that God will ultimately protect us from the sinfulness of our decisions, but that should never excuse our actions.

We sin, and make poor choices, and we must accept the fruit that comes as a result of those decisions.

We must be careful not to blame God for the circumstances that we have brought on ourselves.

After fleeing with his family and possessions, Laban chases down Jacob, and they end up making a covenant before separating.

But now Jacob has a new problem as he must deal with his past deceptive actions as he fearfully makes his way to meet his brother… Esau.

Jacob sends some messengers to let Esau know that he is coming, and they report that Esau is on his way with 400 men.

Jacob is terrified!

He separates his family into two camps, so that if Esau attacks, at least one camp has a chance of survival.

This will be Jacob’s greatest trial, but God will use it to change his identity…

A Deceiver Receives a New Name

The first thing we see Jacob do is to pray, and call on God to remember His promise.

READ: Genesis 32:9-12

Genesis 32:9–12 (ESV)

And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’

”

EXPLAIN

Jacob has fully embraced God’s plan for his life, and has learned to trust him.

His prayer is instructive for us.

This is a great model of prayer.

Jacob acknowledges who God is.

“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac”

He has been faithful in the past, so He will continue to be faithful now.