Genesis 27:1-46
Notes
Transcript
Genesis 27:1-46
Genesis 27:1-46
Last week, in Genesis 26, there was a famine in the Promised Land. Like everyone else when there is a famine, they want to leave and head to Egypt where the floodplain is lush and ripe for people to live.
As Isaac and his family were headed south, the Lord showed himself to Isaac and told him to not go to Egypt, but stay in the Promised Land and He would bless Isaac because of the promise He made with Abraham.
So, Isaac and Rebekah stopped in the town of Gerar, and met the men of Abimelech. Abimelech is a title, not a name, and we made a parallel with Genesis 20. In that passage, Abraham gets afraid for his life, because his wife Sarah is very beautiful, and he thinks that the men will kill him and take her as their wife.
The story in Genesis 26 for Isaac is so close to what happened to Abraham. The past few weeks, we’ve noticed that the Lord repeats a story to teach us a lesson. What was this lesson? It was that, if the Lord can take a man like Abraham, who will even risk the life of his own wife to save his own skin and redeem him, he can redeem any one of us. If he’s done it before, he can, and will do it again. And he can do it with you too. The question is, how are we going to do it? Our way? Or His way? Genesis 27 is about the consequence of our choices toward God.
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1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
How old was Isaac at this encounter? Most scholars say he was about 137 years old. How old was he at the end of the last chapter? 100 years. So, that’s about how long it had come to pass. Blind and feeble, clearly he thinks he’s going to die. Isaac asks his son to prepare a feast so he can give Esau, his firstborn (by seconds), his favorite son, his blessing.
There’s a problem with that though, isn’t there? Before the boys were born, there was a conversation in Gen 25:21-23
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”
Isaac prayed for his wife…and the Lord spoke to who? Rebekah. Do we know if Rebekah told Isaac about the dream? The Bible isn’t clear. There was also another event that happened that we’re not sure Isaac knew about also, isn’t there? Gen 25:29-34
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
According to the Lord, Isaac can’t give Esau his blessing, can he? Do you think God has a plan on how to intervene in the events here to stop the blessing from happening to Esau? He can’t receive the blessing of the firstborn, per what the Lord said to Rebekah. That went to Jacob.
Did this discussion between Isaac and Esau happen around the rest of the family? Does he say “make the family a savory dinner?” No, this is between the two of them.
Where was Rebekah? Let’s continue on:
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
What is the matter with this family? It’s like an episode of Survivor! Alliances have formed, right? Happy and Harry, vs Ensnare and Deceit - It’s the new Grisham novel. It’s funny, Rebekah means to ensnare, like you would if you lasso’d a horse, to grab it by the fetlock, which is right at the ankle area of the horse. Jacob was heel catcher, pretty close there.
What a family! Could you imagine if your family was like this? Making secret plans, subverting each other’s plans…this is soap opera stuff.
Want me to bend your mind right now? If Rebekah never told Isaac about what the Lord told her, THEN Isaac is just doing his fatherly duty and making sure to pass on the blessing and rights to his firstborn and favorite child.
What if Rebekah DID tell Isaac about what the Lord said? That the older son would serve the younger? That means, Isaac is trying to out-smart God here, right? “Shhh, now Esau, Don’t tell your mom what’s going on, she’ll ruin everything like she always does. You know that kid that still lives in our basement is her favorite. That’s why she won’t let him move out. You go do this and we’ll surprise her”
That’s a big paraphrase there, and that’s all me, but that’s what it was like in this family!
Also, how old are the boys? Any idea? This is 137 year old Isaac, about 100 year old Rebekah, and the boys are how old? 77. Again, what a family, and the Jesus came from them. You’ve got a 100 year old mother telling her 77 year old son “Hey, you need to do what I tell you. Look at me, 1st word...” Again, I’m toying with you, but look at what she says! Genesis 27:8 “8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.” She’s saying “Don’t screw this up!”
I make fun here, but isn’t this becoming more and more real to people? Adult kids not wanting to grow up? Won’t take responsibility, hanging on everything mom and dad say AND give to them? We can do something about this, but it takes movement. It takes us having some hard talks with our kids. for some of us, that’s really hard.
Is this a good plan? Well thought out? Well, let’s continue on...
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Jacob finds the glaring flaw in the plan…Esau is hairy, and Jacob is smoothie. The word can also be translated slippery. Jacob is very familiar with the differences between him and Esau, and he knows Isaac knows the difference between them too.
His mom comforts him by saying she’ll take the curse that comes on her. Were curses real back then? Are curses real? This isn’t a witchcraft thing…what does the Bible say? Gen 12:3
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Rebekah says she’ll take the curse that’s coming if they get caught. She’ll take the blame. Rebekah knows, the time is now to act. We have to keep asking ourselves this question: “Is what the Lord had intended to happen?” I don’t have any idea how God would have saved this one. There’s only hours to fulfill God’s will here and pass the blessing to Jacob over Esau. I don’t see a righteous way…but my brain isn’t going to settle on it.
Again, Mom wags her finger at her 77 year old son…I can’t get enough of that fact, just blows my mind, so Jacob goes and gets the goats and prepares the meal.
THEN, Get this, parents. Especially parents of boys…She goes and gets his choicest clothes. What does that mean? Yeah, I can see it on your faces now, those are the clothes you find in the special pile on the floor IN HER HOUSE. The pile that didn’t get in the clothes hamper, probably because they could get up and walk out of the room on their own.
Have you ever pet a goat before? HOW HAIRY WAS THIS GUY?? What kind of goat? I’m a former sheep shearer…I hate shearing goats, and there’s pointy hair, there’s curly fine hair. Ever worn cashmere? Had someone boast about it? It’s goat hair.
So, she slaps this pelt on Jacob, then piles on his stinky, nasty clothes, with a steaming bowl of goat in his hands, and says “This is the way.” Gross…thanks mom.
Ick
18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”
Dad knows. What did Jacob just do here in verse 20? He blasphemed the name of the Lord. Jacob…you’re going to pay for that.
Isaac sees thru this ruse. He’s no fool, and he knows the voices. 77 years. And he knows Esau isn’t going to just go just bring back the first thing that comes along…He was to bring the best, that takes time. So what does Isaac do?
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
The voice he was hearing, he knew…but he was relying on what to confirm it? His other senses. Smell, touch, taste. A few weeks ago, we talked about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob, we just read it a little bit ago.
We talked about the fact that the devil is the god of this world, and he is the great deceiver. He is willing to give us the desires of our heart, but the cost is steep. That cost is our soul. What had Isaac lost? His sight, so he relied on his hearing to tell him who he was talking to. To confirm he used his other senses.
How do we know God’s Word? Thru sight, reading it, then we hear it and recognize it because we’ve internalized it and know it’s truly His word. There is no fleshly distraction to your eyes and your ears. Everything else is fleshly. See the similarity here? Isaac’s ears KNOW the truth…but the flesh is deceived. Learn God’s Word and know it, and you will not be deceived. Don’t sell your soul for the satisfaction of those 5 senses.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Be master over your brethren, let your mother’s sons bow down to you. There is the fulfillment of the promise to Rebekah. This is what Isaac wanted for Esau all along, and Jacob just stole it from him. What a family!
30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
Uh oh...
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
Isaac is trembling and upset. Either the source of this is agony because Rebekah never told him about what the Lord said about Esau serving Jacob, OR, it’s out of anger because he thought he could outsmart the Lord. I don’t know which. I’d like to assume the fact it’s out of sorrow, but knowing more about this family…I just don’t know.
Did Jacob take away Esau’s birthright? Or was it sold for a bowl of chili? What a web of lies this family lives by! Why does the Bible do this? It does this, tells these stories warts and all, to ensure we know it’s true. If it only told the glitzy and good things about people and left the ugly stuff out, it could so easily get dismissed as biased.
BUT, it’s CAPTIVATING. Like last week, we talked about what shows up in your Facebook or YouTube feed? The want to watch people fall! God knows this is not an inspiring story, it’s a cautionary tale. We’ll learn so much more as this story in Genesis goes on about the fact that God will fulfill His plans and keep His promises.
Esau begs for what’s owed to him, even though none of the responsibility that comes from being the firstborn meant anything to him. What did it mean to have his birthright? It meant he received a double portion of what remained over the other brothers…BUT, it meant that YOU WERE NOW THE SPIRITUAL HEAD OF THIS HOUSEHOLD when dad was gone.
Esau was a man of the flesh. He didn’t want the responsibility, he just wanted the stuff. Jacob wanted the more important things…what have we learned these last few weeks also that happens when the spiritual head of the household changes? The crucible comes, right? Pressure, heat, and time happens. Jacob faces a wall ahead of him. What does Esau face? Back to the text:
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Esau’s descendants would become the Edomites. They would serve his brother’s people. The end of this blessing came true as well. The Edomites are no more today, but there is one last Edomite we read about in Scripture.
Before Jesus, there was another King of the Jews. We read about him in Luke 1:5
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Herod the Great was what he called himself. He was crowned the King of the Jews by Rome and set to rule over Jerusalem and all of Judea, and he helped rebuild the temple. His father was named Antipater, who, if you trace his lineage back thru Roman records, he’s known as an Idumean. That’s translated to Hebrew as a descendant of the Edomite people. That’s where the fulfillment of the end of v 40 comes to fruition: “And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.” King Herod would be among the last of the Edomites.
So, back to feelings, not clarity, how does Esau feel now?
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Is Isaac dead? How old did Isaac live to be? Genesis 35:28
28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
He lived another 43 years. Is Esau saying hes going to mourn his father for 43 years? Isaac thought his life was at an end soon, what about Rebekah?
42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
How does Rebekah respond to hearing about Esau’s plot? This is the plot of a 77 year old man, not a young boy like I have always thought. I hate it when the Bible’s truth crashes down on my perception of scripture. It just puts a new perspective on things. How many old men do you know that hold grudges from 3rd grade? There are a LOT of them.
What is Rebekah saying here? Go stay with Uncle Laban, 450 miles away for a few days and this will all blow over. I’ll send for you when it does. Why should I bereve the death of both of you. Even she thought Isaac was a goner.
Rebekah sends Jacob off to Laban’s house, who, if we think Jacob was a trickster, wait until we start talking about Laban. The battle of whits is about to begin there.
On a serious note, though, Rebekah sends Jacob away not knowing she’ll never see him again. This anger, this dysfunctional family will never get over this event. Ever. All the way to the jealousy of King Herod over a toddler.
My flesh loves sordid stories like this. My logic says “What just happened?” In the face of God’s sovreignty, I must, WE MUST understand that we’re to seek God’s face, not try to understand what goes on in His mind. God’s ways are so far above our ways.
My plan for my life was so small. College football at the Air Force Academy, fly jets, work on space ships for NASA, big city, high life. What He did, taking what I wanted and saying “Nope, you’re going to play Rugby instead of football. Drop out of college, and get an associates degree, break your will shearing sheep, move to South Dakota so you can help my sheep launch from this world to Me.”
If He’d have laid it out to me, I’d have not taken that road. Psalm 23 says “Your rod, and your staff comfort me.” The rod is for correction, the staff is for direction. Both are used to protect and to correct. The Lord trains us for righteousness thru the broken roads. Thru the behind-the-scenes stories.
I often find myself in the same boat as Habakkuk, who lived at the same time as the Prophet Isaiah. Crying out to the Lord, challenging Him:
1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. 3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk is saying “Why aren’t you doing anything? You see what’s happening here, right? Do something!” how does the Lord reply?
5 “Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. 6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
The terror Habakkuk must have felt. He responds to God “Surely a Good and Holy God wouldn’t do this!” But he ends his rant with this phrase:
1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.
I will wait for the Lord to correct me in my indignation.
One thing the Lord taught me when I was growing up. I was never the biggest, or the strongest. I wasn’t the best athlete. I knew I could outwork anyone from a physicality standpoint…you wouldn’t believe that looking at me today. But I am always learning. My kids know, that I learn from them as we play games together.
I always play by the rules, whether they’re mine, or made up by someone else. Until someone breaks them…then I take great pleasure in beating them at their own game.
See, I don’t think, that in this family, this could have been done any other way than the way it was done. When you’ve got a table full of liars, you play the table, not the cards. Right? Isn’t that the hidden rule of Poker?
This Book, our Bible, is so fantastically written, interwoven. Story foreshadowing story, those “OOOOHHHH, now I get it” moments. The “I never noticed that before” points.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word of God - I hold it here in my hands. If you don’t hold it in yours, I want you to have one before you leave today. Before the foundations of this world were laid, Ephesians says, God wrote this book. The things that aren’t written in this book, he wrote too. He wrote your life, for the day and place of your birth, to right now, knowing you’d be here today to hear that, in the mess that’s been your life, I can work in it. I can use you. All you have to do is be willing to go where I say go, do what I say do, and speak to whom I say speak to.
Like I said last week, all a light can do is shine. If you’re light hasn’t been on for a while, or is getting dim, do some maintenance in this book and watch the world around you light up. Darkness flees from light.
Jesus said John 3:17–20 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
Has evil crept into your life? Your family? Your habits? Then a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit is what you need.
COMMUNION - FAMILIES - Men lead
At The Cross -
There's a place
Where mercy reigns
And never dies
There's a place
Where streams of grace
Flow deep and wide
Where all the love
I've ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down
At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I'm in awe of You
I'm in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You Jesus
There's a place
Where sin and shame
Are powerless
Where my heart
Has peace with God
And forgiveness
Where all the love
I've ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down
At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I'm in awe of You
I'm in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
Here my hope is found
Here on holy ground
Here I bow down
Here I bow down
Here arms open wide
Here You save my life
Here I bow down
Here I bow down
At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I'm in awe of You
I'm in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
Jesus (oh
