Grace Over Deception

Introduction

Well, good morning!

If you’d take your Bible and turn in it with me to the book of Genesis…we’re gonna be in chapters 26 and 27 this morning.

If you were with us last week, you’ll remember we began the third part of our Foundations in Genesis series. And we looked at the one chapter in Genesis that focuses exclusively on the life of Isaac—Genesis 26. And what we saw was a man who, like his father Abraham, he struggled with fear and compromise…And yet, just like with Abraham, God showed Himself to be faithful, right? In fact, that was kind of the theme last week: that God’s covenant, its dependent on Him…His presence and His faithfulness, it doesn’t waver—even when His people do.

If you remember, We saw Isaac lie. We saw him settle where he should’ve sojourned. We saw envy and conflict in that story. But we also saw God’s presence, His protection, His provision, we saw His peace through all of that.

God was faithful to Isaac…despite Isaac.

But now, as we turn the page into chapter 27, the story starts to widen…We move from the individual to the family unit. And listen, the same theme continues: God’s faithful even in the mess. Even in the dysfunction…in the deceit.

We’re gonna see a lot of brokenness in this story. We’ve got favoritism. We’ve got manipulation. We’ve got lying. We’ve got division between parents, between brothers. But above all—through all of it—Moses, he’s trying to show his reader something very important here…God’s plan doesn’t fall apart just because His people do.

His promise to bless the nations through Abraham’s offspring…It’s not hanging by a thread of human morality. The covenant doesn’t collapse under the weight of our sin. Because listen, God never tied His covenant to our righteousness in the first place.

And that’s what we’re gonna see this morning. We’re gonna walk through a story filled with deception and dysfunction—but behind every human failure, we’re gonna see a God who’s faithful to what He’s promised.

Despite the uncertainty and the downright sin among God’s people, we learn, above all, about the absolute certainty of God’s covenant.

That’s the heart of this passage.

Sin might complicate what God makes clear. And deception might divide what God’s designed. But listen to me, grace—grace accomplishes, always, what God promises.

Now, before we dive in, let me just say this as a bit of a warning: What happens in this passage, its not a model to imitate—it’s a mirror that we have to examine. It’s a picture of what happens when a family stops trusting in the Word of God, and its a mirror of what it looks like when they start trying to take His promises into their own hands.

And for those of us who come from broken homes or painful family dynamics—this story might hit close to home…but I want you to listen: God’s not absent in the dysfunction. He’s present. He’s active. He’s sovereign—even over the brokenness…And listen, that’s really good news for every single one of us this morning. Amen?

And so, with all that in mind, let’s read this passage together. We’re gonna start in Genesis 26, verse 34, and continue through chapter 27, verse 29.

Would you stand with me as we read from the Word of God? [It is a bit of a longer passage, but it says this starting in verse 34]:

Genesis 26:34–27:29 ESV

When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri (Berry) the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath (Baas-a-moth) the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

Thank you, you can be seated.

[Prayer]

If you’re taking notes this morning, our 3 points as we walk through this passage together…Number one: Sin complicates what God makes clear. Number two: Deception always causes further division. And then finally, Number three: Grace accomplishes what God promises.

Let’s look at this first point together.

I. Sin Complicates What God Makes Clear (vv. 26:34-27:4)

Sin complicates what God makes clear.

Let’s look back at the last two verses of chapter 26—because Moses intentionally includes ‘em to set the stage for what’s about to unfold.

Look at verse 34:

“When Esau was forty years old (Now, remember who Esau and Jacob were…they were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah…so the third generation of Abraham’s line) So When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri (Berry) the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath (Baas-a-moth) the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.”

Alright so, the chapter, it ends with a pretty heavy sentence. Pay attention to the details here.

Esau, he’s forty. That’s not just some throwaway age marker—it’s intentional. If you remember, Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah. So in other words, Esau, he’s a fully mature man in this story. He knows what he’s doing. He’s not impulsive here—he’s deliberate. And yet, instead of marrying a woman from the covenant line—someone who feared the Lord and honored the God of Abraham—Esau takes TWO wives from among the Hittites.

That’s the first sin we see here that complicates what God’s already made clear.

God already revealed, both implicitly through Abraham and explicitly through the promise, that His people weren’t to marry the surrounding pagan nations. Not because of ethnic pride—but because of spiritual purity. In fact, if you remember back in Genesis chapter 9, when we were talking about Noah and his family…these people, they were cursed.

God’s people, on the other hand, they were set apart. They were meant to be holy, different, distinct. But here, Esau ignores that entirely.

And not only that, Esau doesn’t just choose one wife, it says he chooses two, right? The last time that happened, it was back in Genesis 4 when it was highlighting Cain and his descendants. And so that should probably tell you something.

But listen, Moses, he tells us here, these marriages, that Esau chooses, they “made life bitter” for Isaac and Rebekah.

That word “bitter” its the same word used elsewhere for grief of soul. In other words—they weren’t just annoyed. They were crushed…Because listen, this wasn’t just some bad “in-law” drama…This was Esau stepping outside the covenant line…outside the promises of God…He didn’t want anything to do with God. And it crushed his parents.

Hebrews 12:16, the author there calls Esau “godless”—a man who rejected the birthright, a man who despised spiritual things, someone who lived for the moment.

William Philip, he said this, “Esau’s sin wasn’t just a mistake—it was a manifestation of a heart that didn’t want what God had to offer.”

And so here’s what we need to see: this first sin—Esau’s rejection of the covenant—it didn’t nullify God’s plan, but it did complicate it. He willingly and knowingly distanced himself from this spiritual blessing, and that choice, it created ripple effects in their family for decades to come.

But listen, that not’s it…Esau’s not the only one at fault here…look at chapter 27, verse 1—because we see a second sin here

It says:

“When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, ‘My son,’ and he answered, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons... and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.’”

Now on the surface, this just looks like a touching father-son moment. But there’s more going on here under the surface. Because here’s what we’ve got to remember: God had already spoken.

Back in Genesis 25:23—before Jacob and Esau were even born—God told Rebekah, “The older will serve the younger.” You remember that?

God’s will was clear: the blessing would go to Jacob. But Isaac? Isaac’s trying to go around that. He calls Esau in private. No mention of Rebekah. No mention of Jacob. No gathering of the household, no public ceremony. It’s all done in secrecy.

Why? Because Isaac knows this isn’t what God had said. But he loves Esau. He’s attached to him emotionally. He wants his favorite son to get the blessing—despite what God clearly revealed.

Listen guys, emotions…they’ll always get us trouble. Emotions stem from the heart…which the Bible says is inherently evil. That’s a separate sermon…but don’t allow your emotions to make your decisions…allow what God’s made clear through His Word to motivate you.

Isaac’s sin here, that’s the second sin we see: Isaac’s favoritism, his defiance. It’s a sin of the heart that’s been simmering since chapter 25, when we were first told “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game.” Now it boils over into action. Isaac’s attempting now to bless the son he loves, not the son God chose.

RC Sproul said it like this: “We’re often tempted to override God’s Word when it conflicts with our preferences. But when we do that, we’re not just ignoring Scripture—we’re exalting ourselves over God.”

I mean, isn’t that what’s happening here?

Isaac doesn’t trust that God’s plan is best. And so, instead of leading his family in faith, he tries to sneak around God’s Word in secret. But listen—there’s no shortcut to God’s will that doesn’t go through obedience. Right? Abraham figured that out the hard way.

Let me give you a picture.

Imagine you’re hiking through the woods. You’ve got a map. You’ve got a compass. But after a few miles, you don’t like where the trail seems to be taking you. So you pull out a magnet and place it next to the compass… just to “nudge the needle” a little closer in the direction you prefer. Now it still looks like you’re following the compass—but you’re off course. And the longer you walk, the more lost you become.

That’s exactly what’s happening here.

Isaac still thinks he’s leading the family—but he’s nudging the compass away from what God already made clear.

And what do we see happen? Well, everything starts to spiral. Deception creeps in. Rebekah overhears. Jacob gets involved. We’ll see that in a moment.

But it all starts right here—with sin that complicates what God made simple.

Let me bring this point home for us.

This part of the story, it forces us to ask:

Where am I complicating what God’s already made clear? Where have I chosen preference over obedience? Where have I rationalized sin because it feels easier than surrender?

Maybe for you, like Esau, it’s in your relationships. You know God’s call to pursue holiness—but you’re compromising for convenience…Or maybe like Isaac, you’re trying to manipulate outcomes behind the scenes instead of submitting to what God’s already revealed. You’re praying for God’s will—but you’re ignoring what He’s already said in His Word.

Matt Chandler said: “There’s no amount of scheming that can improve upon the sovereignty of God.” “All our efforts to force His hand are just wasted energy. Because God doesn’t need our help—He asks for our trust.”

So here’s the encouragement: Even when we complicate the story, God’s plan, it doesn’t fail. He’s not handcuffed by our disobedience.

But listen to me, don’t mistake that as permission to just keep on going in the wrong direction.

Spurgeon once said,“God’ll have His way—either through us, or in spite of us. How much better, then, to walk with Him in joy than fight Him in futility.”

So let me ask you:

Where do you need to surrender control, like Esau refused to do?

Where do you need to believe again that God’s Word is good, that His plan is better than yours?

Because here’s the truth: when God speaks clearly, we don’t need to rewrite the story—we just need to trust the Author.

Let’s keep moving…because what we’re gonna see—once sin starts to complicate, deception doesn’t stay far behind.

II. Deception Always Causes Further Division (vv. 27:5-17)

Point number 2, deception always causes further division.

Verse 5:

“Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau…”

Now let’s just pause right there.

Right away, the scene shifts from Isaac and Esau to Rebekah—who’s eavesdropping on the conversation. Now remember: Rebekah knows what God had said, right? She was the one who received the prophecy back in Genesis 25:23:

“The older shall serve the younger.”

She knew Jacob was the child of promise. And so, it’s not that she’s unfamiliar with God’s will—it’s that, like her husband, she doesn't trust God's timing. She hears Isaac plotting to bless Esau, and rather than confronting him, or seeking the Lord, what’s she do?

She schemes. She takes matters into her own hands. Look at verse 8:

“Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you…”

We see even more sin within the family.

Rebekah begins instructing Jacob in deceit. She plots a full-scale identity theft. “Kill the goats. Make the stew. Wear Esau’s clothes. Pretend. Lie. Take what’s “yours” by force.”

This is heartbreaking.

And it’s easy to villainize Rebekah here—but what we’re seeing is a mom who believes the promise, but doesn’t trust the process. She believes the right thing—but she attempts to achieve it through the wrong means. It’s kind of what Abraham and Sarah did back in Genesis 16 with Hagar…leading to Ishmael.

Guys—this is where deception always begins. Not with a lie we hate—but with a desire we love too much.

She’s not trying to sabotage God’s will—she’s trying to secure it. But here’s the thing: God’s promises don’t need sinful strategies.

The minute we think we need to “help God out,” we’ve already headed into compromise.

Thomas Watson, he was a Puritan preacher, he said this: “He that fetches a lie to help him, must go the devil’s errand.” Meaning, someone who resorts to lying or deception in order to achieve a goal, they’re aligning themselves with evil and ultimately the negative consequences that come with that. The devil’s seen as the “father of lies” in Christian theology…and so, using lies, its serving his purposes, right?

And that’s exactly what Rebekah and Jacob do here. They take God’s good promise—and they try to force it with deceptive means. But listen, what begins as a “clever solution” it quickly spirals into division.

Look again—verse 11:

“But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me… and I shall bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.’”

Now notice—Jacob doesn’t protest the plan on moral grounds. He’s not saying, “Mom, this is wrong.” He’s saying, “What if I get caught?”

His concern isn’t with sin—it’s with consequences…which is the fourth sin we see here within the family unit.

And let’s just be honest—how many times is that us? We don’t stop sin because it grieves God—we stop it when we think it might cost us.

But Rebekah presses on. She says in verse 13:

“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice.”

She’s so committed to this plan that she’s willing to take the fall herself.

But guys, here's what we need to see and the point Moses is trying to show us here: Deception divides. Always.

This one act of deception, it fractures this family for decades. Rebekah would never see Jacob again. The brothers would be torn apart. Isaac would be betrayed…And listen, a family that was meant to walk in covenant unity, it becomes a picture of deep relational brokenness.

And that’s exactly what deception does.

Satan’s strategy hasn’t changed since the garden—it’s always deception that divides. He whispers, “Did God really say?” And we start doubting His ways, distrusting His timing, taking shortcuts that carve canyons into our relationships.

Proverbs 26:28 says:

“A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”

And that’s what we see here. This lie—no matter how “righteous” the goal—it works ruin into the family.

Sin, once its justified, it never stays small.

It grows. It multiplies. It divides everything it touches. Rebekah’s divided from her husband. Jacob’s divided from his brother. The family’s torn apart by mistrust and bitterness.

John Calvin said: “Nothing is more ruinous to families than when faith gives place to craftiness, and integrity is sacrificed to expediency.”

Let me say that again: when integrity is sacrificed to expediency (ex-ped-iency).

That’s exactly what’s happening in this tent. Rebekah’s trying to force God’s plan because she’s afraid she’s about to lose what He’s promised.

And so, what do we do with this?

We have to ask: where are we trusting our plans more than God’s promises? Where are we justifying deception in the name of protection or provision?

Maybe it’s in your marriage. Maybe it’s in your parenting. Maybe it’s in finances or friendships. Maybe it’s private sins of concealment—just a little bit of hiding, a little shading of the truth, just to keep the peace…

But listen: peace built on deception is a counterfeit peace. It doesn’t last. It divides.

Here’s the call: Come into the light.

God doesn’t bless deception—He exposes it. And listen, that’s not judgment—it’s grace. Because when God brings what’s hidden into light, He’s not trying to shame us. He’s trying to heal us.

As Charles Spurgeon once preached: “God will not use dirty tools for His holy work.”

God didn’t need Jacob’s lies to fulfill His promise. He chose Jacob in His mercy, and He would’ve accomplished His plan despite the deception—not because of it.

So don’t believe the lie that says: “The ends justify the means.” That’s not the gospel. Because at the heart of the gospel is truth. Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6)

So if Jesus is truth, then deceit is always a step away from Him—not toward Him.

And so:

Where are you tempted to manipulate instead of trust? Where have you traded truth for “results”? Where is deception dividing what God’s designed to be whole?

Whatever it is—bring it into the light. Confess it. Lay it at the cross. Because only when truth enters can grace begin its healing work.

And that brings us to our final point this morning.

III. Grace Accomplishes What God Promises (vv. 27:18-29)

Grace accomplishes what God promises.

Let’s keep going, verse 18:

So he [Jacob] went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn..."

Let’s stop right there because that’s the fifth major sin in the story — Jacob lies. He says plainly, “I am Esau.” Not once, but three times throughout this conversation. He doubles down…he even uses the name of the Lord to justify his deceit.

Look at verse 20:

“How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.”

That’s not just lying — that’s spiritual manipulation. That’s using the Lord’s name in vain to justify a personal agenda.

And yet, what happens?

Isaac blesses him.

He eats the meal, smells the garments, hears the voice — and despite the tension, despite the uncertainty, despite the wrong methods — Isaac pronounces the covenant blessing over Jacob.

Now, here’s the question: Why? Why would God allow this deception to “work”?

Listen — it’s not because He approves of it.

God doesn’t reward sin.

It’s because His grace is greater than any sin. It’s because He had already chosen Jacob — not based on merit, not based on honesty, not based on morality — but on based grace.

Romans 9, verses 10 through 12, it really unpacks this for us. Paul writes:

“When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of Him who calls — she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’”

You see it? Paul says the blessing went to Jacob not because Jacob was the better son. Not because he tricked Isaac better than Esau could. Not because he earned it.

But because God called him — before he was even born.

That’s grace.

And what we learn here, its very foundational: God’s promises don’t depend on our performance…Listen to this, God’s promises depend on His character.

That’s what Moses is trying to show us through this dysfunctional mess of a family — God’s not bound by human sin, neither is His plan threatened by human failure.

God’s covenant with Abraham was never based on how righteous Abraham’s descendants would be. If that were the case, the story would’ve ended in the first generation!

No — the covenant stands because God is faithful, not because His people are perfect.

And that’s good news for us…

Because how many of us would be disqualified if God’s plan required our perfect obedience?

How many of us have lied…How many of us have manipulated…or tried to take matters into our own hands?

And yet, despite all that — God’s remained faithful to you. He’s provided for you. He’s pursued you. He’s worked in your life not because of your sin, but in spite of your sin.

That’s what grace does. Grace steps into the mess and still accomplishes the will of God.

Let me put it like this:

Sin complicates.

Deception divides.

But grace? Grace completes what God starts.

Paul writes in Philippians 1:6:

“I am sure of this: that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

That’s the God we serve.

Even in our worst moments — in the Esau moments of compromise…In the Isaac moments of favoritism…In the Rebekah moments of manipulation…In the Jacob moments of deceit…

God’s still sovereign. He’s faithful. He’s working — not because we deserve it — but because He’s full of grace.

Tim Keller wrote, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

And the reason that still stands true today…its because even after 2,000 years, God’s still faithful to His Son, Jesus.

Grace accomplishes what God’s promised.

Closing

And so, as we close—this story in Genesis 27, its full of brokenness. Full of rebellion, deception, manipulation, favoritism.

And yet—through every failure, through every wrong turn, God’s will was still accomplished.

Why? Because God's plan to redeem the world was never dependent on human perfection—it was always dependent on divine grace.

From the beginning, God had a plan to bring redemption through the offspring of Abraham—and despite the dysfunction of this family, that plan kept moving forward.

Jacob would receive the blessing. From Jacob would come Judah. And from Judah… generations later… would come Jesus.

Listen—God wasn’t surprised by their sin. He wasn’t forced to adapt or pivot. He didn’t change the plan. He fulfilled it. And He still does.

Even today—God’s accomplishing His will to bring salvation to sinners, and to conform His people into the image of His Son.

And guys, as a believer, you have to understand this…that plan includes you.

If you’re in Christ this morning, hear this: Your sanctification (your growth), its not hanging by the thread of your willpower—it’s anchored to the unshakable faithfulness of God.

You may stumble. You may fail. But He who began a good work in you will complete it. Grace accomplishes what God promises.

And if you’re not a believer—if you’re here and you feel the weight of your sin, or like you’ve messed up too badly for God to want anything to do with you—listen to me:

The gospel’s for you. There’s hope for you.

Because just like with Jacob, God's redemption was never offered to the deserving—but to the desperate.

Let me share a story I heard in another sermon:

There was a great king—just, righteous, feared by all. And one day, it was discovered that someone had committed a serious crime in the kingdom, one that carried the punishment of 40 lashes—a sentence no one could survive.

Eventually, the investigation uncovered the criminal: it was the king’s own daughter.

And so, the nation watched very closely—would the king uphold justice, or would he bend the law for his own child?

The day of sentencing came. The daughter was brought out. The whip was raised.

But then, right before the first lash fell, the king stood up from his throne, took off his robe, walked down, wrapped himself around his daughter—He shielded her with his own body.

And then, he gave the order: “Give the punishment.”

The executioner said, “I can’t do that…I’ll hit you!”

The king, “Do it!”

And he took every single blow in her place.

He died…the daughter lived!

That’s what God did for us in Christ…Just, righteous, merciful, gracious, holy.

We were guilty—caught in our sin, unable to escape the judgment we deserved. And yet, the King of Kings stepped off His throne, wrapped Himself in our humanity, and took the punishment Himself.

Why?

So we could live.

So you could be forgiven. So you could be free. So you could receive the blessing…because that was His will. And guys, in spite of all of our rebellion, His unimaginable grace accomplished His will.

He died in our place…taking our sins, our punishment…so that we could live!

Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

The praise team’s gonna come back up, lead us in worship. Let me give you some final encouragement.

To the believer:

Even in your stumbling, God’s faithful. His grace is working in you. And He will not stop until you’re whole. Trust in that! Not in yourself…but in the God who’s shown to be able.

To the unbeliever:

You don’t need to clean yourself up before you come. Jesus already took your lashes. The offer’s open. Come to Him.

Paul writes in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 ESV

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Acknowledge your sins…turn from ‘em…turn to Him…put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

And so listen, whoever you are…whatever the Spirit’s doing in your heart right now…you take this time and I’ll close in just a moment.

[Prayer]